Just had my scleral buckle surgery! Laying in my hospital bed now as they are keeping me overnight especially due to the trauma I already have in my eye from multiple surgeries after my car accident 3 months ago. Anyway I’m definitely in alot of pain! It feel like there staples in my eye😳 especially when I turn my eye ball even though my eye is clearly shut with the patch on. How was everyone else day 1?
Found out today I’ve a retina detachment they’ve booked me in for on op on Friday. Bit of history I had cateract removed 15 years ago. a IOL lense removed 5 weeks ago as it had dislodged. Also I have Corneal Guttuta (can’t can’t out water ) last week had post op check up put on steroids and sodium water for inflammation and bleeding. Went for check on that and they said the retina has detached, I didn’t even notice as was blind anyway as they’ve not replaced the lens and can’t until I’m fixed. I ask about cleaning job because AI google said absolutely not but the Doctor said nothing about resting etc apart from post op.
I am a 31M with severe myopia (-10) with no other medical history. I’ve always been told to be wary of retinal detachment symptoms which I have, and have had retinal photos done during optometry appointments with the last being two months ago where I was told that my retinas looked “perfect” with a floater in my left eye. My last formal dilated retinal exam was a couple years ago after first noticing said floater in my field of vision where they simply told me to return as needed and did not see anything abnormal.
Earlier today I woke up and while groggy and half asleep noted a brief flash of light essentially across my whole visual field while my eyes were closed. This occurred essentially right after waking, half asleep, and soon after this I fell back asleep. This recurred again right after waking up a little while later in the exact same way (half asleep, etc) while eyes were closed, and after the second time I fully woke up.
I have no visual field deficits or visual acuity changes, no new floaters, and flashes have not recurred since waking with my eyes open. I faintly recall having flashes or some other visual things happen while half asleep with my eyes closed right after waking every couple months or so for a while now although I’m not entirely sure and could be making that up.
How concerning is this and should I be organizing a retinal exam?
I was told 22 years ago that I have retinal tear due to high myopia. I also had scar tissues in my eyes from cataract surgery 30 some years ago. I am 74 now.
Have been under the care of a group of ophthalmologists. I went in two or three times a year.for more than 20 years. They did various tests and took pictures of the back of my eyes. They are watchful for potential tears, possibly glaucoma, but have not done one thing. No eye drops, no surgery, no recommendation, no medication. The only thing my retinal specialist each time after looking at the pictures was ‘You have a lot of scar tissues… See you next year!’
Is that normal?
I guess I'm looking for some thoughts from those of you with experience in all this. I'm feeling very discouraged.
I had cataract surgery on my right eye on Monday 8/3. I had plans to fly out of state on 8/6 for a long weekend, and cleared that with the doc ahead of time. She had zero concerns. She mentioned retinal detachment as a risk, said it happens 2% of the time, and really didn't seem concerned. I wasn't familiar with it, so I didn't put much thought into it.
The cataract surgery was fine; I worked all day Wednesday with just some blurry vision, and flew out on Thursday. On Friday, I started noticing an increase in floaters. I thought it was odd, but I had no idea what that meant. I wasn't told to watch for that at all, so I thought it was a normal part of the recovery. By Saturday, they had gotten worse, but I still went about my day.
On Sunday I woke up with a dark half circle at the bottom of my vision and got concerned. Called the doc on call, and she was a little concerned too. Wanted me to come in Monday morning. But my flight home didn't land till 7PM Monday night, so she said come in first thing Tuesday.
I went in Tuesday, they confirmed it's a detachment. Luckily, there's a doc upstairs at the same facility who handles that sort of thing. By 2PM I was getting the procedure done. He gave me two options: the outpatient gas injection, faster recovery but only a 60% chance of success. Or a more invasive surgical option, which has more like a 90% chance but a two-month recovery period.
At his recommendation, I went with the lighter procedure. Got the gas injected. He said to keep upright at all times for the next week. Including while sleeping. So I haven't been horizontal in six days now. I bought a neck brace to help me stay in position, and I sleep on a recliner just barely reclined. I'm exhausted, frankly.
So it's now Sunday after the procedure last Tuesday. I still have a black "bubble" in the bottom of my vision, and blurred vision above it, with floaters. I have my follow-up visit tomorrow morning. He said if things are going well, they'll do a laser treatment. If not, we'll have to talk about a more invasive surgery, where I'm completely knocked out, and recovery is more like 2 months.
I feel like the doctor who did the cataract surgery could have been a little more forthcoming about the risks. At the very least, she should have told me what to watch for in terms of floaters, so I could have sought help sooner. After researching now, I know I had so many of the high-risk factors -- male over 50, long-term severe nearsightedness, had Lasik years ago.
But mostly I just feel discouraged. The lack of improvement, the lack of sleep, the uncertainty of what lies ahead, not knowing what the eventual results are going to be. It's a lot.
Should I be concerned that I'm not seeing any progress since Tuesday?
If you got this far, thanks for reading.
Just a record for the curious / worried.
Tl;dr: Retinal detachment. Vitrectomy. Nothing much to do, just buckle up and git r dun. So far, working well with me and my contition.
Three years ago, tears in my right eye, laser surgery to fix. At the same time, they noted lattice degeneration in my left eye, and hit it with the laser pro-actively.
Four months ago, first: Hemorrhagic posterior Vitreous detachment in that left eye, doc said to chill out, it'll fix itself. A week later though: Inferior retinal detachment with a horseshoe tear. I saw: Lots of black dots, "Film Grain" I called it. A fair number of floaters. Same as I saw for the right eye years ago, so I knew what was up. Difference: Flashes, and slowly, a dark veil. The dark veil was not pronounced: it was sort of like if you were wearing a hat, and the brim was kinda just outside your vision, but you knew it was there. Like that.
So I knew what was up, and things happened fast. Buckle up! Optometrist at 9am, local specialist at 5pm, and Regional centre surgery with a vitreoretinal surgeon next morning 9am. Surgery was mostly straightforward, indeed kind of interesting. I say "mostly" because I was nearly mis-operated on. When you go in, they are very particular about confirming the surgical eye. You're asked many, many times which eye, you point to the eye, and they put a sticky dot over your eye. Then: English intervened. Pre-op, the nurse came in to give me drops, IIRC, she said, "Ok, we're working on your left eye today", and I recall saying "Right". So she put the drops in my right eye (ignoring the sticky dot over my left eye). I said, "Umm... are we doing procedures on both eyes"? She was taken aback, and left, I could then hear a very long discussion laying out what happened. It actually sounded like a very big deal. Anyway, it got sorted out. Left eye vitrectomy.
A little foggy as I was under happy anesthesia. That's where the 'interesting' part started. You're awake and reasonably lucid the entire time. You won't worry abut having to keep your eye open or still, it's surgically neutralized. It was determined that I would get the gel. So you sort of see swirling stuff as I guess the vitreous is removed, and more neat lava-lamp action when the gel gets put in. It was neat. Then, that was it. Time was timey-wimey, I'd guess 10 or 15 minutes? There was no pain at any point in the procedure.
Day surgery. I was lucid after 10 or 15 minutes. An hour recovering a bit, then released. NO MATTER WHAT YOU THINK OR HOW TOUGH YOU THINK YOU ARE YOU WILL NEED A RIDE HOME. Your eye is literally flopping around. Take photos, they're funny.
I was in a way grateful to receive the gel. Three weeks face down with gas would have been more than just uncomfortable: I likely would have lost my business and my livelihood (small business owner).
You will see shapes, colours and contrasts, and it's for lack of a better word, 'blurry'. Like looking through frosted glass, or a poor prescription, like a -5 or 6 diopter. This is from the gel, which is behind your lens obvi, so it is uncorrectable. One thing I did note: pre-op I did wear glasses, about -2.5 diopter. I found my acuity was slightly better WITHOUT my lens, so I removed it from the left eye of my glasses. Looked a little weird. Sometimes I could see the shadow of a ceiling fan in my vision. Outside. That's the gel. You'll wear a night guard over your eye for a number of weeks (so you don't scratch at night). You may be sad, I was: Aging, health failing, looming different-ability, I was away from my activities so was somewhat lonely and isolated. Discouragement. Talk to someone if you feel this way, and remember that this too shall pass. That said...
Important: DON'T PANIC! Especially early on, you're going to see some weird stuff. In the beginning you'll still see dots and floaters, and they may come and go in intensity. Weird light effects through the gel too. I was told, monitor it, if you get a LOT of floaters, or the veil returns (it should be gone), then go to Emerg. / doctor.
Time passes. I, personally, was very conservative. I religiously took my drops (initially four different ones... for infections I'd guess, and to control pressure, which will be an ongoing thing likely). I stopped my physical activities, other than walking. I followed the instructions (no lifting, flying etc.) Daily functions were fine. I could drive after a number of days, but avoid it. I was never fully comfortable with it. You'll have good days and not so good days: Heat and humidity seemed to make my eye gooey and gross, or sharp and not too bad. It's a spectrum of acuity and grottiness. My vision got somewhat better as time went on, I'd guess as some of the gel was maybe absorbed? Could have been neuroadaptation too. You won't forget that you're in the middle of a procedure though.
Three months later, the gel was to be removed. That's the downside to the gel option (as opposed to Gas which, I'm to understand, simply gets absorbed). Surgery was essentially the same as before (but with the correct eye! I wondered if my experience actually changed their procedures, there were many more checks this time around). It was actually a fantastic experience: I didn't wait longer than five minutes for anything. I was greeted by name and everyone was very thorough and took the time to ask if I had any questions. I was rolled down the hall and there was a guy standing there, he introduced himself as the anesthesiologist, we yapped for a bit. Into the OR, everyone greeted me by name, 70's and 80's rock was playing. 10 or 15 minutes of lava-lamp action, then recovery, then discharge. It seriously felt like private health care at the fanciest hospital, but nope: Canadian healthcare at it's finest (ymmv). Cost for the entire course of treatment, surgeries, follow-ups: $32 for eye drops, and gas money. Humble-brag, but I was extremely pleased with the treatment and (as of five weeks post-op) the result.
The result: I was disappointed that I couldn't see "perfectly" right away. But it was much better. No pain really. Just two drops, four times a day. I put my lens back in my glasses and was disappointed that it wasn't much better. That's brings us to the biggest PITA (and that I'm still going through): My prescription changed, quite a lot: from -2.5 or something, to over -6. I was told that it would be some months before things are settled, and that I could expect prescription changing. But, I gotta see, so to the optometrist I went. Exam. New lens and... still blurry :/ Much better: 80-90%. And that's where I am: it gets better and worse, no one prescription would work it seems. I see rainbows around bright lights at night. I'll need cataract surgery eventually, guaranteed. It is settling down to consistency, but pretty sure it'll be a lot different than before. I was told that 10-15% of cases can result in re-detachment.
Five weeks on now. It's not perfect, probably 85-90% vs. pre-op. I feel I've plateaued a little, and I'm a little disappointed that this might be "it". But then I slap myself upside the head (right side!) and feel extreme gratitude that I received excellent, timely treatment for a condition that not too long ago would have left me blind in one eye. And that said, I am hopeful that over time it'll get even better, and my brain will adapt, and, well, here I am.
Hopeful, and grateful.
hi guys idk if i just have health anxiety but i feel like the peripheral vision in my left eye has decreased. i don’t have any floaters or dark spots, i just feel like the corner of my peripheral vision is more blurry or just “missing”. can’t tell the difference. i’m broke for an eye doctor atm but idk if this is a medical emergency. this happened after i slept in contacts by accident i noticed . i even have high myopia so ik im at risk 20F
A little bit of context of my situation.
In October last year, I went to the ER because I was having problems with my eye. It turned out that I had lattice degeneration of the retina, which caused a three retinal detachment and three retinal tears. As a result, I had surgery and a scleral buckle was placed around my eye.
Since November, I have been taking supplements; I had never taken supplements before.
In June, I had another retinal tear, this time without retinal detachment.
The supplements I take every day are:
In general, I take most of them in the morning with breakfast.
I take vitamin C and collagen in the middle of the day.
Should I change anything?
Is there anything I should add to help support my eyes and aid their recovery?
First was May 29, then June 22, major improvement. I started seeing double of things and things were becoming more bent on week 2, so the doctor called me in and said fluid was building up again… so I switched to a stronger medicine and I got another shot that day, July 7. August 7 was the latest. Last scheduled one is September 4, and from there, we’ll see if I improved and if I need more.
I did notice that after switching to the stronger one, I was feeling a bit more of soreness on random days. Also, is it normal that texts zoom out/become smaller?
Hi! I have extremely poor eyesight, and in the last year noticed a decline in my vision in my left eye, including waviness and a grey spot in the centre of my vision.
This has gotten progressively worse over the past 10 months, with my latest appointment at the hospital (St Peter’s, Surrey) advising me to have surgery.
For some context i have:
epiretinal membrane with vitreomacular traction
myopic foveoschisis
posterior vitreous detachment
Visual acuity Right 6/6 with glasses, Left 6/24 with glasses
I was told the surgery would be to r love the detachment and to remove a cataract, where possible. My pre-op is early Sept.
Surgery is going to be approx 90 mins and will comprise of: Left epiretinal membrane peel, pars plana vitrectomy, phacoemulsification + IOL in about 12 weeks under LA. Not sure what IOL is though?
I have elected to have this under local anesthetic and am quite nervous, just looking for anyone else that might be suffering from something similar or reassurance about the local anesthesia. I know I have to have the operation because my eyesight is failing so quickly in my left eye that I cannot read anymore.
Hello! was playing catch with a small ball indoors, and when I caught it with my hand above my head, I didn’t jump. At that moment, I saw these moving white lights in the peripheral areas of my vision. They looked exactly like the white blood cells in the blue-field entoptic phenomenon, only larger and a bit brighter. I closed my eyes and lay down in bed, and when I opened them again about two seconds later, it had passed, and I haven’t seen them again. Could they have been related to the retina, or could they have been caused by the exertion of raising my arms above my head?
25 male, -4.50 and some floaters too
For context, I had a completely detached retina, which had folded up into the corner of my eye and shrank over the course of about 2 years (I procrastinated rlly bad). I had a scleral buckle & vitrectomy done 7/1, and was face down for 14 days. Was cleared by my doctor after. Then the next week during a checkup, the doctor saw 20% of my retina had peeled off and not fully reattached. He had planned a procedure in 2.5 weeks (tomorrow 8/12) to cut off the part that wouldn’t stay. In between this time I moved apartments, hung out with my friends, was out in the pool (didn’t get my face wet). When I had my pre-op appointment today, the DR/Surgeon canceled my procedure and said my retina had fully reattached on its own. I have attached a picture (top is 2.5 weeks ago and bottom was today). They said they haven’t seen something like this in 20+ years. Has anyone else ever heard of something like this happening?
Context: 22F, recently got diagnosed with lattice degeneration.
I noticed a small flash in my peripheral vision one night a while ago ( can’t remember how long, I think last year at some point) I didn’t think much of it, just thought it was weird but I wear contacts and just thought maybe a weird vision thing since my eyes aren’t technically perfect anyways. I hardly noticed it ever and if it did it was in the dark and very quickly. Fast forward to February of 2026, I figured I should call the eye doctor and ask. I go yearly and I guess since they didn’t see anything wrong in 2025 I just didn’t think much of it.
I go in, he dilates me and tells me I have lattice degeneration. At first he didn’t even notice it but then checked again and saw it. He said it’s something to monitor and that I could go see a retinal specialist.
I go see a retinal specialist in my area and she wants to do barrage laser on the spot since I’m seeing a flash. I go back two months later and get the laser done. ( wasn’t a bad experience at all!) but I still see the flash every now and then. She told me it might not go away.
Does anyone else experience flashes in their peripheral? I’m just heavily concerned for my future and what this means since it’s tugging on my retina I guess. I have really bad heath anxiety and honestly cry about this at least once a week since May. Anyone have any similar experiences? please try and give positive responses so I don’t cry more lol.. thanks
Im asking for my little brother (17 years old). He has a rare syndrome (about 11 people in the entire world have this syndrome last time we checked) and he lives a very restricted life because of the risk of a retinal detachment.
In 2023 he had a retinal detachment. It was a traumatic period to say the least. Then he had a vitreous detachment in 2026, for which he got operated about a month ago. They tightened his retina to ensure it wouldn't detach, and they also operated his cataract. This surgery went great.
Now he has gotten sick, something unrelated, perhaps a stomach virus. But he has been puking constantly. Our mom lives in a lot of fear that whatever he does, it will cause a retinal detachment. He is not allowed to take out the trash, because of the weight. He is not allowed to do sports, because of the risks etc.
Im wondering how much of this is true. Does "trauma" such as puking and coughing cause a retinal detachment? And to be honest, I need reassurance more as of right now. It is a very hard thing to live with his syndrome and I am glad to have found this community, as I initially thought that he was very rare for having a retinal detachment at his young age.
I’ve been thinking about Sugar Ray Leonard’s retinal detachment. He had surgery, recovered, and was eventually able to return to boxing.
My question is: can someone potentially get a similar outcome after a retinal tear or small detachment that was treated successfully with laser photocoagulation, or is that kind of durability more associated with procedures like a scleral buckle?
Basically, when it comes to returning to a high-impact sport like boxing, does a well-healed laser treatment provide comparable long-term stability, or would a buckle generally make the retina more secure?
I know every retinal injury is different and this ultimately depends on a retina specialist’s evaluation. I’m mainly interested in hearing from anyone who has experience with this or knows more about how these procedures compare.
Hoping to hear about your experience following retinal laser surgery. 2 weeks ago I had an in office procedure to laser a retinal hole (upper left peripheral) and lattice degeneration (upper mid-right peripheral) in my left eye. It took a week for the dilation to wear off but my pupil finally went back to normal. A week into recovery I noticed a dull constant pressure pain in the back of my eye which lead to severe headaches. I went in for my 2 week follow up and they told me everything is fine. The scars look great and that the pain Im feeling behind the eye is probably a migraine since im prone to migraines and the procedure probably irritated a nerve.
But here is what Im dealing with now. The vision in the lasered eye is not 100%. I told the doctor that it felt like the prescription on my glasses/contacts was to strong in the eye that was lasered. My vision seems sharper and more crisp in that eye. He just said to give it a few more days and was very dismissive about it. So now I have to deal with constant eye strain for who knows how long. Has anyone else experienced this?
TIA!
I’m 25, and I have been experiencing floaters (little greyish dots) for the past couple weeks, maybe over a month. I’ve never had them before until now. I have really bad eyes (-8.5 in both eyes), so I thought maybe it was a result of that, but I noticed about three hours ago that there’s a big, black splotch blocking my lower left vision in my right eye. It’s only really noticeable when my left eye is closed, and it’s not painful. I googled more symptoms, and I have also been experiencing “lightning flashes” in my peripheral vision for the past couple of days.
The doctor at the ER diagnosed me with a swollen lower eyelid and said it’s probably nothing vision-wise, but he referred me to an ophthalmologist just in case. (I’m kinda wondering if my eye was slightly swollen because I’ve been rubbing it and pulling my eyelid down to inspect the blotch). Said ophthalmologist doesn’t see patients on the weekends, but I’m wondering how quickly something like this could cause permanent vision loss. Does it sound like it could be retinal detachment, and if so, is it something that can wait until Monday?
I noticed floaters at 29 years and 6 months. I got exams and was diagnosed with PVD in August 2025. Have had multiple doctor’s visits tell me I’m fine. I had a dilated exam with a retinal specialist on June 22 and said that I’m fine and have “garden variety” of floaters. After him I’ve had 2 Octomaps, most recent in July 21. Everyone one tells me I’m fine and that most people have them and just live with them. The reason for those visits is because my right eye vision got worse but they only prescribed 0.25 with astigmatism.
Sometimes I see new floaters. I thought I did recently but at this point I think I’m chasing zebras. I worried I won’t be able to tell if a retinal detachment happens now.
I’m worried because I am a photographer and videographer.
15 day of barrage lesar I’m seeing same floters and cowweb small snake 100 flashes and floters on bright background what should I do ??
Over two years post retinal detachment (scleral buckle) surgery. Is the appearance of the buckle normal here? It doesn’t cause pain, but often feels very tight and like my eyeball has been squashed into the socket, and of course the appearance of my eyeball is significantly smaller and more set back than the other eye :(