Hi,

I had laser surgery last Wednesday for partial detachment of the retina. Tomorrow I go back for the first checkup. I am really worried that the retina will further detach some time without my knowing it. I never noticed any symptoms to begin with. Does anyone know of an obvious way to tell? I cannot tell from floaters because I have so many in both eyes all the time (nearsightedness curse). I would never notice if they got worse. Any ideas?

Is it safe to exercise after laser surgery for retinal damage? I know it needs 2 weeks to heal so not sure (tomorrow will be one week).

Thanks for any input/advice,

Sidony

The dr told me that if the retina detaches there will be a "lot" of floaters or what looks like a black sheet over the eye. I have vitreous detachments & see lots of black strings, floaters & flashing lights. I was told not to exercise or bend over for 2 weeks. I started back light weights after 2 weeks but I feel it is making my symptoms worse. I would not do anything strenous. Good luck!

Thanks!!! I appreciate the input!

Sidony

Of course I remembered that I did weights twice since my surgery. Do you think I've screwed things up? How would I know? I did that before I realized I wasn't supposed to (I verified today that I shouldn't). I wonder if I should try to get them to see me again right away. I feel fine though (except for a persistent headache, but I've had that since the surgery).

Thanks, Sidony

Also, is it that exercise would tear my retina further or is that exercise would mess up the laser scarring? Apparently I've had the retinal detachment (very minor detachment in the periphery) for ages (years possibly) so I'm not so much worried that I made it worse. But maybe I messed up the laser work? Any ideas? I definitely won't exercise any more until they say it's okay.

:confused:

Scared,
Sidony

Hi,

I had laser surgery last Wednesday for partial detachment of the retina. Tomorrow I go back for the first checkup. I am really worried that the retina will further detach some time without my knowing it. I never noticed any symptoms to begin with. Does anyone know of an obvious way to tell? I cannot tell from floaters because I have so many in both eyes all the time (nearsightedness curse). I would never notice if they got worse. Any ideas?

Is it safe to exercise after laser surgery for retinal damage? I know it needs 2 weeks to heal so not sure (tomorrow will be one week).

Thanks for any input/advice,

Sidony

Hi Sidony
Glad you got the detachment fixed before it created any problmes. I've had my retina detach 4 times in the right eye and a retinal tear in the left.
Normally, and you are lucky you didn't have the symptoms, when the retina detaches, you would have a shower of floaters (hundreds or more) so it would be obvious. Also you would probably have flashes of light in the peripheral vision. It fluid gets behind the retina you would have a "curtain" type of effect in part of your vision, totally blocking sight.
Please don't exercise till the doctor gives you the go ahead. No weights, no contact sports, nothing which could compromise your sight. If in doubt, call your doctor to find out what exactly you are allowed to do or not do. You can't replace lost vision.
Best of Luck!
Hellas

Thanks Hellas,

I definitely won't exercise any more! But I'm not having any of the symptoms you describe so I guess things are okay. I might see the doctor tomorrow just in case though. At least I can ask him about the horrible headache. I think the laser surgery might have caused a migraine (and it's a good excuse to have him check my eye again).

I'm sorry to hear you've had so many detachments! What a total drag. It's scary to me that I seem to have had one without symptoms. I never saw a shower of floaters (though I regularly see lots of floaters), and I saw no flashing lights or curtains or anything. Nothing. Their guess is that it happened so gradually I wouldn't notice. I guess if it happened all at once it'd be more obvious.

They're probably going to do some lasering on the weaker areas of my eyes to try to prevent future detachments. I wish I could feel safe about my eyes. :(

Sidony

I see like a piece of thread in my site like I thought lint was on my eye lash and then discovered it was on my eye and moved with my eye movement.. Could this be what you call floater or detached retina? I am 61 years old.

It does sound like a floater. They do move with your eye movement. You should probably make an appointment with your ophthalmologist to be on the safe side. But luckily most people have more symptoms than just one if the retina's actually detaching. Also most people start seeing more floaters as they age anyway, so it may not be anything bad. Still. Make an appointment with the opthalmologist and have a dilated eye exam to rule out any real problems. Just my suggestion!

Sidony

I would also suggest going in very soon just in case. I suspect you would have had more than one floater if it were a detached retina. But if it happens that it IS a detached retina (and obviously I'm no authority on what is and what isn't), you'd need it treated immediately.

This is all new stuff I've learned in the last couple weeks from my own problems!!!

Sidony

Thanks all for the information. I will make an appointment.

I have had two surgeries for my detached retina. Now the surgeon is suggesting removing part of the retina and trying to reattach the remainder. Has anyone ever heard of this?