RMV4285

I began getting a blurry "blind" spot in the lower right quad of my right eye. I went to an ophthomologist who sent me to a neuro-ophthomologist. I was diagnosed with having had an optic nerve stroke. My vision continued to degenerate. When I got to about 50% loss, all below central vision (horizon view) I went back to him. He told me there was virtually nothing that could be done. He did tell me of a retina surgeon who had been providing an experimental surgery that would help relieve the pressure on the optic nerve by opening the "disk" or hole in the back of the eye. I opted for this since my vision was degrading on a daily basis. The surgeon went in through the eye and opened the hole in the back of the eye by simply slitting the opening slightly. He told me it would take up to 6 weeks for the swelling to go down. I was using several drops for various things for the first week. Since the pressure of the eyeball itself was OK, at 13, then he took me off drops and photographed the inner eye once dye had been injected into me. The nerve head did appear to have had some pressure taken off it. He explained to me that the opening has an artery to supply the eye & nerve, a vein to return the blood, and the optic nerve running through the opening of the back of the eye. He went on to explain that an optic nerve stroke usually occurs when there is some occurance that leads to the cutting off of blood flow to the optic nerve. He explained it this way: If you are wearing a shirt, buttoned to the neck, and the next day, you tried putting on a shirt several sizes to small, you would be "cutting off" the flow to your head. If this continued to a critical point, then the blockage would cause the optic nerve to be damaged and could result in partial to complete and irreversable blindness.

After my surgery, my vision got a bit worse with cloudiness coming into my central vision a bit. After about 2 weeks, some of the central vision came back for a few days. Now, at 3 weeks, the sight has begun to erode again with a sort of "wrapping around" of the central vision. Tunnel vision? Anyway, my periphrial vison is being lost quickly. The central vision is beginning to erode again also.

Anyone with similar issues? I've been told I have a 12% to 20% chance of the other eye being affected within 2 years.

I'm also told that I have what is commonly called "Disks at Risk", meaning, the opening of the back of the eye (disk) is much smaller than normal. Mine is appx 1mm when the average is 1.5mm. This was just the way my openings developed.

What say anyone?