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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask your advice if you know about detached retinas healing?

26 replies

loveyouradvice · 05/09/2019 20:02

Hi...

I had a detached retina just two weeks ago and got the most brilliant advice on here - I'd no idea what it was, and whizzed into A&E once Id heard from all of you and they operated fast as it was so bad.

Now two weeks on it hasn't healed as well as they might hope... a fuzzy line across the middle of my vision, the line where my retina detached up to, and waviness above and below... They have said this will hopefully settle over the months to come.

Has anyone had this happen to them, or to someone you know?

And what happened next?

And top tips on helping healing? I know there's no real evidence base, and they're clear not much makes a difference but anything that might I would like to try. So far I've got:

eating lots of green leafy veg, highish protein, fish oil, taking Macuguard and a multivitamin,
wearing sunglasses and a hat
not carrying heavy loads but otherwise normal activity including swimming and dancing - and plenty of rest, not too much "eye-work" (reading etc)

OP posts:

Pumpkinsalad · 05/09/2019 20:28

My husband had one. After his op he felt like his vision was back to normal. About 5m later he started getting spots. Turns out it hadn't healed well and re-detatched and he had lots of new tears. He needed another op. The recovery was harder as the op was bigger/different but it worked and has been totally fine since. Sorry if that's not much help but that's my experience

PumpkinPie2016 · 05/09/2019 20:30

A friend of mine had one after a surfing accident and had it operated on - from what I gathered it healed quickly and no lasting effects on his vision.

If you still have issues, I'd see your GP.

Original poster

loveyouradvice · 05/09/2019 21:24

Thanks both - I think most do get v good vision back fast and am just hoping that mine will come back even if more slowly!

OP posts:

halfacup · 05/09/2019 21:36

My retina detached in March. It took nearly a month for the line to go , it was from the gas they put in your eye in the operation. However, I have been left with much worse vision, even with new glasses I can only be corrected to read the big E on the chart. The op also causes a cataract to form . I should be getting it sorting soon and I’m hoping my sight might improve a bit. I’m pretty disappointed at how poor my vision is but it’s better than being blind! and you get used to your good eye dominating.

LenoVintura · 05/09/2019 21:52

I had a retinal repair op a year ago. I had a large tear and a smaller one, which was in a more difficult spot than the other. I was very lucky to have it done by the top guy which has meant very little collateral damage - my optician said that in some cases the cataract starts as little as six months after the op. However, I do have a large floater which was very obtrusive at first and drove me nuts. The surgeon said at the three month check up that it would improve over time as the brain eventually stops seeing it, and that has happened to some degree, although it moves around and sometimes is more visible than others.

I don't do anything or take anything to help it, and nor have I changed my exercise routine - surgeon said no scuba diving and no trampolining but as I've never done either it's not a problem .

inboxmayhem · 05/09/2019 21:55

My DM had a detached retina. Was operated on, took ages to heal. Then detached again and her vision is worse. She is awaiting specialist. I hope she's going to be ok

theunrivalledjoysofparenting · 05/09/2019 22:03

Did you do all the positioning you were told to do when you were recovering? It’s to encourage the gas bubble to press against the back of the eye and ‘stick’ the retina back on.

My mum had this two months ago. She followed advice to the letter -most unlike her - and her sight is getting better every day.

That was her lazy eye and she had a cararact on it, which the surgeon removed at the same time as the retina. So perhaps that’s why her vision is better.

@halfacup -I don’t think the op causes cataracts?

Earlgreyandcake · 05/09/2019 22:06

Cataract depends on what op you have. If gas or oil is used, you will get cataract

JemRed · 05/09/2019 22:13

Hi, I'm an Optometrist.

Do you know if the macula was still attached before surgery?
This has a massive bearing on visual prognosis. You said it was 'bad' - how long after you first noticed symptoms did you have the op to reattach?
As others have said cataracts are really common after any invasive eye surgery.

Fizzywinegum · 05/09/2019 22:13

Yes the op does cause cataracts - I had mine done and my vision is actually better than before I had my detached retina.

I think it took about 4-6 weeks for my vision to settle down after my detached retina op - my vision seemed to be changing all the time which was pretty scary but it did settle down eventually. I had to sit still and sleep in a certain position for 14 days.

Good luck - it’s not a nice experience.

halfacup · 05/09/2019 22:16

I did all the positioning as instructed, I had to lay on my side but it depends where the repair is. I had victrectomy with gas which is know to cause a cataract my consultant told me he will do the cataract op about 9 month to a year afterwards.

Lwmommy · 05/09/2019 22:21

When I had mine done they did a lens replacement at the same time as said a cataract was pretty inevitable so they recommended putting a plastic lens in at the same time as doing the retina repair to avoid the cataract. Only 2 years ago, so strange how the process differs.

I had 3 days face down after the surgery which was a right pain, but it was a Serous Macular detachment so bubble had to stay central. Mine was a very slow detachment over a number of years, due to an Optic disc Colaboma letting fluid build and recede behind the retina over and over, they didn't want to operate while it wasn't affecting vision, then all of a sudden my Visual acuity tanked.

Went as low as 6/60, 3 months after surgery it was 6/48, so still crap but better

Yellowbutterfly1 · 05/09/2019 22:26

My friends retina partly detached, they had the op with gas and it took a good month to heal.
Unfortunately it then fully detached a couple of months later so needed another op.

As others have said, it caused cataracts which has just been operated on and so far so good.

Original poster

loveyouradvice · 08/09/2019 21:03

unrivalled - I love this and yes I am doing this, including the posturing which luckily for me was sitting up and not lying on my back..... She followed advice to the letter -most unlike her - and her sight is getting better every day. Hoping the same happens to me.....

I've been warned 50% risk of cataracts and have bought some seriously big sunglasses and a hat, which might help....

halfcup I am so sorry to hear this....

jemred - it happened really fast - all fine until late at night and by 5 am it had almost detached to the middle - but not quite! Fast operation. I am assuming this means the macula wasn't affected as no one mentioned this but my line is just under the half way mark... What do you think?

Huge thanks all

OP posts:

Lwmommy · 08/09/2019 21:26

Wish my Posturing had been on my side or sitting up! 3 days of laying on my stomach staring at the floor through a sun lounger with a face hole was the worst part of the whole ordeal

jgjgjgjgjg · 08/09/2019 21:46

My detachment was in the bottom half of the retina. It was fixed with a schleral buckle so gas or oil and no positioning or posturing needed afterwards. This was quite a few years ago and I still have the buckle around my eyeball but it doesn't cause me any trouble. No noticeable losvs of vision and no cataract. I don't remember bring asked to do anything different after the surgery, just told to avoid boxing or bungee jumping!

jgjgjgjgjg · 08/09/2019 21:47

That should say NO gas or oil...

JemRed · 09/09/2019 14:08

The fact they operated so quickly probably means your macula was at least partially still attached and they wanted to stop it from fully detaching. I'm guessing the detachment was at the top of the retina and that's why it happened so quickly (gravity!).
The line in the central vision is probably due to damage to the macula, as its responsible for your central/detailed vision. Difficult to say for sure without seeing scans or a photo.
Hopefully you will get a bit of further improvement over time.

Original poster

loveyouradvice · 10/09/2019 14:21

Thanks all... and deeply reassuring to hear how many have improved over months. Also realising how important it is to do anything that will prevent it re-detaching... or the other one doing the same. I've been told its a 5-10% chance of it happening to the other eye, given its happened once.

Jemred Absolutely right - it was at the top, and yes they did say gravity ... but at no stage did anyone suggest I lie down to prevent it deteriorating before the op (and I asked!). Is there anything I could have done (or could do if it re-detachs) to stop it deteriorating so fast? ie working against gravity!

OP posts:

LivingDeadGirlUK · 10/09/2019 14:42

I had a detached retina in May which happened fairly suddenly to me, but they reckon it was detaching for a week or so before I noticed (I'm visually impaired anyway). Detaching from the bottom and had peeled up to the center so operated on me the next day. I had it secured via laser and then had the longer acting gas bubble put in.

The gas bubble getting smaller creates a line across your vision, and it will 'clear' from the top down, could the line you see be the line of your gas bubble (if you had one put in)?

I think my eyesight has gone back to how it was, but for me I could only read the top two lines with my glasses on anyway. Now I'm just hoping it doesn't happen again or on my other eye :(

Puzzledandpissedoff · 10/09/2019 14:47

About how fast it happened ... unless the detachment was caused by trauma, you may have developed holes in your retina over time without being aware of them, allowing the vitreous to seep behind and eventually "push it off" (luckily they caught mine when it was still just holes)

If it does detach, the big issue is apparently how fast the repair's done - and since yours happened straight away, fingers crossed that your vision will gradually improve

Original poster

loveyouradvice · 11/09/2019 09:34

Thanks all - it happened so fast because it was from the top down - gravity they said. Im keen to learn if it does happen again if there is anything I can do - at no stage did they say lie flat so doesn't deteriorate!

I've regular checks with my optician so think he would have picked it up if anything had indicated problems

OP posts:

LivingDeadGirlUK · 12/09/2019 11:09

@loveyouradvice I had just had a check up 3 weeks prior to mine detaching and nothing had been visible then! The key thing is to look out for distorted vision and 'flashing lights' (I didn't get these so no idea what its supposed to look like).

I'm so worried that it will detach again and I won't notice till its past the center of my vision again. Or that it happens in the other eye which I have very little vision in anyway :(

RacheyCat · 12/09/2019 13:07

I had a detached retina (mine went sideways, from the outside edge to the middle. Like a curtain half drawn) and it was repaired with the gas, the freezing it on, and a scleral buckle. I had the buckle removed after a few years because my immune system wouldn't tolerate it.

I remember, the first year or so after it, being terrified about it happening again, or something going wrong, and being obsessed with how my vision was. The thing is though, you've got two eyes and a brain that will correct any discrepancies to give you an overall decent picture of the world.

If I look out of my damaged eye, the world is a bit dimmer, a bit more out of focus, and a bit skew-whiff, and there is a bit right at the edge which I can't see out of, but most of the time I'm looking out of two eyes, and it seems fine. I got glasses with a prescription just in the eye I injured, and that helped a lot with headaches.

OP, it was really traumatic. I felt quite adrift and vulnerable for at least a year. Take care of yourself.

LivingDeadGirlUK · 12/09/2019 17:06

'The thing is though, you've got two eyes and a brain that will correct any discrepancies to give you an overall decent picture of the world.'

Speak for yourself :( I've been visually impaired all my life after having cataract surgery when I was a few months old in both eyes. A detached retina mid 30's really threw me. At least I can't get a cataract again though!

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