So, am I about to get a detached retina?
November 25, 2018 4:51 PM Subscribe
For a few years I've been noticing weird things on the right side of my vision. They'll leave me alone for months but become frequent at times. They'll appear for a second, usually related to movement of my head but sometimes just movement of my eyes. I got a thorough exam in May by UCLA ophthalmologists and they didn't find anything. This weekend I've been suddenly seeing the shapes much more, but some of that may just be random reflections I'm focusing on due to anxiety. I've made a diagram so you can see it. Questions below the fold.
It's kind of like if you were looking at white dots printed on a black label, and then you suddenly looked away but the image was burned into your eye for a second. It's very brief, but sometimes its like a faint gray and other times it's much more vivid. There's no pain. I've had a million floaters forever but I'm not noticing any increase now. There's no blurring or light sensitivity, although I've seen starbursts on lights for years and I've been told I have the beginnings of a cataract. I have no history of migraines. A million years ago some eye doctor told me I was at an increased risk for a detached retina but I've mentioned that to other eye doctors recently and they've said they see no reason for it.
I'm in the UCLA network through my insurance but they make it a real pain to see eye doctors and it can take months to get an appointment. I do most of my eye care through Costco but that's an $80 appointment and I'm pretty broke. Plus, this is the same weird thing I've seen before and I suspect that if I went through all the trouble to get checked again nobody would find anything. A Costco doc once told me she thought it was a migraine but I really doubt that. I know I'm supposed to watch for "flashes" as a symptom of detachment but this isn't a flash and looks more like the same random after-image over and over. I have responsibilities today and tomorrow I REALLY can't shirk, and basically I just want to hear that this doesn't sound like a detached retina and it's more likely just my weird old eyes doing their thing.
Has anybody here had a detached retina, or do you know a lot about them? How worried should I be, given these symptoms? Is my UCLA work-up this May recent enough to rule anything out? I can probably get looked at at the urgent care on Tuesday. Is this something a GP could check, and can it wait a few days?
It's kind of like if you were looking at white dots printed on a black label, and then you suddenly looked away but the image was burned into your eye for a second. It's very brief, but sometimes its like a faint gray and other times it's much more vivid. There's no pain. I've had a million floaters forever but I'm not noticing any increase now. There's no blurring or light sensitivity, although I've seen starbursts on lights for years and I've been told I have the beginnings of a cataract. I have no history of migraines. A million years ago some eye doctor told me I was at an increased risk for a detached retina but I've mentioned that to other eye doctors recently and they've said they see no reason for it.
I'm in the UCLA network through my insurance but they make it a real pain to see eye doctors and it can take months to get an appointment. I do most of my eye care through Costco but that's an $80 appointment and I'm pretty broke. Plus, this is the same weird thing I've seen before and I suspect that if I went through all the trouble to get checked again nobody would find anything. A Costco doc once told me she thought it was a migraine but I really doubt that. I know I'm supposed to watch for "flashes" as a symptom of detachment but this isn't a flash and looks more like the same random after-image over and over. I have responsibilities today and tomorrow I REALLY can't shirk, and basically I just want to hear that this doesn't sound like a detached retina and it's more likely just my weird old eyes doing their thing.
Has anybody here had a detached retina, or do you know a lot about them? How worried should I be, given these symptoms? Is my UCLA work-up this May recent enough to rule anything out? I can probably get looked at at the urgent care on Tuesday. Is this something a GP could check, and can it wait a few days?
Response by poster: Well, I think they were specifically checking out my retinas because of my history of seeing these things. IIRC they did the drops to dilate my eyes, they did the glaucoma puff test, they shined lots of lights in my eyes until I saw my veins on the ceiling. It's been a while but I have had CT scans in the past to look for various other issues, like when I was having leg weakness and they checked for MS and other diseases.
I should also say that while the shape is usually dark or faint gray there are rare moments when it actually will be more of a glowing shape. But even then, I don't know if I'd call it a flash.
One thing I haven't been able to find out is, if you have a retinal problem, does the shape/flash/whatever move around in your vision? This thing stays on the right but otherwise it's definitely not fixed.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:28 PM on November 25, 2018
I should also say that while the shape is usually dark or faint gray there are rare moments when it actually will be more of a glowing shape. But even then, I don't know if I'd call it a flash.
One thing I haven't been able to find out is, if you have a retinal problem, does the shape/flash/whatever move around in your vision? This thing stays on the right but otherwise it's definitely not fixed.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:28 PM on November 25, 2018
This sounds like a scintillating scotoma to me. I get these too, especially during times of high stress but I've had them occasionally since childhood. They're a bit of a nuisance but not really a big problem on their own.
IANAD, etc. etc.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:49 PM on November 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
IANAD, etc. etc.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:49 PM on November 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yes, scintillating scotoma. Depending where you read, you might see it called optical or ocular or visual migraine (there isn't usually pain like a migraine though). There are probably technical distinctions between the definitions, but it doesn't matter that much, because it's not dangerous, if that's what it is.
posted by unknowncommand at 5:54 PM on November 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by unknowncommand at 5:54 PM on November 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
You said no history of migraines but it is possible to visual or optical migraines that impact your sight in different ways but never results in a headache. Mine definitely move around. Also, they only last for a little - around 20 minutes in my case but usually under an hour according Dr Wikipedia.
posted by metahawk at 6:08 PM on November 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by metahawk at 6:08 PM on November 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
A visual migraine that never develops further but instead just goes away without progressing to a headache is basically the same thing as a scintillating scotoma. Or anyway a scintillating scotoma is one type of visual migraine, which may progress further or may just go away.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 6:13 PM on November 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 6:13 PM on November 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Agree with the visual migraine consensus, but if you ever do get the flashing you associate with retinal detachment, you have HOURS, not days, and certainly not months, to get yourself to an eye doctor. If you can't get in to see your usual provider the same day, get yourself to a major hospital that has ophthalmologists on staff.
posted by kate4914 at 6:15 PM on November 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by kate4914 at 6:15 PM on November 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
This happened to me recently and it turned out to be an optical migraine - which I now know is officially called scintillating scotoma, cool! In my case it was entirely distinct from headache migraines I've had in the past - this had no associated pain, and I've never had any visual disturbances with my headaches.
However... the symptoms are exactly the same as those of retinal detachment, which is how I ended up getting this explanation from an emergency eye doctor on a Sunday afternoon after my clinic said OMG GO THERE NOW. Since you've had this off and on for years it's probably not at that DEFCON level.
The other thing they told me is that one of the joys of middle age is that the liquid/gel balance inside your eye changes and reshapes the eye in a way that naturally pulls away from the retina. They said it usually happens quickly and most people never notice, but again, exact same symptoms.
TL;DR: three things I know of can cause this, two are NBD, one is a legit medical emergency.
posted by Flannery Culp at 6:17 PM on November 25, 2018
However... the symptoms are exactly the same as those of retinal detachment, which is how I ended up getting this explanation from an emergency eye doctor on a Sunday afternoon after my clinic said OMG GO THERE NOW. Since you've had this off and on for years it's probably not at that DEFCON level.
The other thing they told me is that one of the joys of middle age is that the liquid/gel balance inside your eye changes and reshapes the eye in a way that naturally pulls away from the retina. They said it usually happens quickly and most people never notice, but again, exact same symptoms.
TL;DR: three things I know of can cause this, two are NBD, one is a legit medical emergency.
posted by Flannery Culp at 6:17 PM on November 25, 2018
I have had a detached retina, and a whole bunch of migraines, but this sounds (and looks, now that I've seen your diagram) to me more like a third thing I've had: intermittent swelling of an artery behind the eyeball, the internal carotid artery.
When the swelling was mild, the artery would impinge upon the retina only when I moved my eyeballs strongly to the left or right, and the effect was quite a bit like your diagram, but when the swelling was more severe, the ateries would impinge on the retina without any motion of the eyeball, and the effect was more like seeing the world reflected in a mirror that was rippled in a smaller or larger section.
When moving the eyeball produced it, it would leave an afterimage when I looked straight ahead again.
The swelling also tended to leave the artery resembling a string of sausages, according to the pictures of the condition I saw online, but I saw that only a few times.
Mine was apparently caused by autoimmune problems associated with celiac disease.
posted by jamjam at 6:18 PM on November 25, 2018
When the swelling was mild, the artery would impinge upon the retina only when I moved my eyeballs strongly to the left or right, and the effect was quite a bit like your diagram, but when the swelling was more severe, the ateries would impinge on the retina without any motion of the eyeball, and the effect was more like seeing the world reflected in a mirror that was rippled in a smaller or larger section.
When moving the eyeball produced it, it would leave an afterimage when I looked straight ahead again.
The swelling also tended to leave the artery resembling a string of sausages, according to the pictures of the condition I saw online, but I saw that only a few times.
Mine was apparently caused by autoimmune problems associated with celiac disease.
posted by jamjam at 6:18 PM on November 25, 2018
Oh, and sometimes I would get a migraine after an episode of swelling.
posted by jamjam at 6:22 PM on November 25, 2018
posted by jamjam at 6:22 PM on November 25, 2018
Response by poster: Googling "swelling of an artery behind an eyeball" led me to pages about retinal vascular occlusion, and now I'm utterly terrified that I'm basically having a stroke in my eye and there's no real treatment for it. I have other stuff I absolutely have to deal with tomorrow, I can't get out of it unless I go blind during the night or something. But I guess on Tuesday I'll have to do whatever it takes to get my damn eyes looked at.
I doubt this is a migraine. It lasts for days at a time, not 20 minutes, and it doesn't look like the thing I've seen in diagrams.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 6:35 PM on November 25, 2018
I doubt this is a migraine. It lasts for days at a time, not 20 minutes, and it doesn't look like the thing I've seen in diagrams.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 6:35 PM on November 25, 2018
It never went further for me, and ultimately subsided altogether.
posted by jamjam at 6:44 PM on November 25, 2018
posted by jamjam at 6:44 PM on November 25, 2018
This is not a discussion we should even be having. If you fear a detached retina, you go to an emergency room. At a minimum you call your nurse advice line and follow their instructions. You are playing with blindness here and need to be properly diagnosed and treated, whether or not your self diagnosis is correct.
Stop scaring yourself on the internet and call people who can help you, please.
posted by SLC Mom at 7:18 PM on November 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Stop scaring yourself on the internet and call people who can help you, please.
posted by SLC Mom at 7:18 PM on November 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: It looks like UCLA has a walk-in clinic at their ophthalmology center, so I'll have to go there tomorrow. If I call a nurse line tonight they'll 100% tell me to go to the ER, because that's what they do. I don't want to go to the ER unless this gets worse in some obvious way. I am really scared but this is a thing I've seen before and been evaluated for in the past, and they never found anything bad. It is a bit of a gamble, but I'm hoping nothing will explode before tomorrow.
I'll update after I see the doctor, but otherwise I should probably shut up now for fear of threadsitting.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 8:29 PM on November 25, 2018
I'll update after I see the doctor, but otherwise I should probably shut up now for fear of threadsitting.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 8:29 PM on November 25, 2018
So I’ve never had a detached retina* but earlier this year, my eye doctor told me to see a retina specialist because I have lattice degeneration. There are some small holes in my retina that make retinal detachment more likely (*actually the retina guy said it technically already had detached because there are holes?). This made me unhappy to hear but the retina guy is like, if it gets worse, we’ll just shoot you in the eye with a laser, it takes minutes and doesn’t hurt.
I saw him once in May, then a month later to see if anything had changed (it hadn’t) and now I’m going for a six month follow up. He also said that if it ever becomes something that stresses me out, like I can’t sleep because I’m worried retina will detach or I’m going on safari and am worried it will detach when an emergency room is difficult to access, he’ll just shoot my eye with a laser so it’s not a concern anymore.
Anyway, that’s what it was like to learn I might have a retinal detachment. Hope you figure out what’s up and that it’s not an ordeal!
posted by kat518 at 8:46 PM on November 25, 2018
I saw him once in May, then a month later to see if anything had changed (it hadn’t) and now I’m going for a six month follow up. He also said that if it ever becomes something that stresses me out, like I can’t sleep because I’m worried retina will detach or I’m going on safari and am worried it will detach when an emergency room is difficult to access, he’ll just shoot my eye with a laser so it’s not a concern anymore.
Anyway, that’s what it was like to learn I might have a retinal detachment. Hope you figure out what’s up and that it’s not an ordeal!
posted by kat518 at 8:46 PM on November 25, 2018
Your question reminds me of this question I left. I still see this thing in my left eye and doctors haven't found any issues and I don't have any other symptoms other than this thing I see. I've kind of accepted it as long as I don't notice anything else going on. I'm not telling you to not worry about this thing, but you don't have to freak out either that you're gonna go blind. If you do figure out what's causing your issue, please let me know though.
posted by AppleTurnover at 11:56 PM on November 25, 2018
posted by AppleTurnover at 11:56 PM on November 25, 2018
If it helps you, I had a central retinal vein occlusion several years ago in my right eye and I had some very specific symptoms. It came on suddenly, for one thing, and presented as a brightly burning crescent shape in that eye that blurred out a patch of vision. Reading text was affected as I was effectively reading through a patch of fluid that distorted the text (only through the right eye if I closed the left). The thing was that with conservative management it dissipated over a period of years and I no longer have an issue with it. There are treatments such as steroids that would probably have worked more quickly but in discussion with the consultant I decided to go with aspirin / blood thinners as I'm diabetic and steroids would have adversely impacted on that side of things.
I know how worrying these things are but if it's an occlusion (not a doctor so can't obviously say one way or another but the symptoms don't sound too much like mine) they can resolve / improve. Please try not to worry too much.
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 12:02 AM on November 26, 2018
I know how worrying these things are but if it's an occlusion (not a doctor so can't obviously say one way or another but the symptoms don't sound too much like mine) they can resolve / improve. Please try not to worry too much.
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 12:02 AM on November 26, 2018
Here is the thing that going to the ER is advice because if it's your retina and you do not get it treated immediately (and in some cases even if you do) you lose the vision in that eye. You go blind.
The costs of not going if it is are super high.
Hopefully it is something benign but changes in vision should be taken super seriously.
The only person who can tell you for sure is someone who has completed an eye exam.
Ultimately it is your choice. Yes ER exams are expensive but this is one of those things where you really should find out now.
posted by AlexiaSky at 2:26 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
The costs of not going if it is are super high.
Hopefully it is something benign but changes in vision should be taken super seriously.
The only person who can tell you for sure is someone who has completed an eye exam.
Ultimately it is your choice. Yes ER exams are expensive but this is one of those things where you really should find out now.
posted by AlexiaSky at 2:26 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Ex husband had the laser retina hole fix thing while we were married. He had a giant floater that kind of resembled that pic, though it was constantly there until it reabsorbed (floaters are vitreous material that reabsorbs eventually). So, could be retina holes.
But I am definitely no ophthalmologist. Others in his family have had retinal detachments and it is 100% a genuine medical emergency. Permanent vision loss is absolutely the consequence of not getting detachment treated.
posted by wellred at 6:45 AM on November 26, 2018
But I am definitely no ophthalmologist. Others in his family have had retinal detachments and it is 100% a genuine medical emergency. Permanent vision loss is absolutely the consequence of not getting detachment treated.
posted by wellred at 6:45 AM on November 26, 2018
I also came in to say visual migraine. Migraine's can go on for days. They do not last 20 minutes.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:06 AM on November 26, 2018
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:06 AM on November 26, 2018
Are these things just floaters? They are bits of thread-like stuff in the liquid inside your eyeballs, that just float around. They are kind of cobwebby, and come and go. Every now and then I get one that seems like a piece of yarn, and is very annoying, floating right where I'm looking. They are harmless and basically meaningless, but I have heard of people getting them strained out, which seems excessive to me, but you are worried, so what do I know?
posted by Enid Lareg at 2:23 PM on November 26, 2018
posted by Enid Lareg at 2:23 PM on November 26, 2018
Response by poster: So I'm back from the ophthalmologist. I was seen by a few doctors there and they did a bunch of tests, not finding anything unusual. They did one test I've never had before where they took pictures of my macula, way at the back of my eyeball, while I watched on a monitor. That was weird. It'll be a day or so before I hear back on that but they said everything looks good.
One doctor said this thing I keep seeing didn't seem like a migraine, so she was guessing it was a floater. That doesn't sound right to me. I have a million floaters and this thing doesn't look like any floater I've ever seen. But, it sounds like my retina isn't detaching or anything scary like that. I am on Lexapro and a bunch of other drugs, so maybe this thing is just some visual disturbance related to that.
So, that's where that stands. Thank you to everybody who offered advice!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:24 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
One doctor said this thing I keep seeing didn't seem like a migraine, so she was guessing it was a floater. That doesn't sound right to me. I have a million floaters and this thing doesn't look like any floater I've ever seen. But, it sounds like my retina isn't detaching or anything scary like that. I am on Lexapro and a bunch of other drugs, so maybe this thing is just some visual disturbance related to that.
So, that's where that stands. Thank you to everybody who offered advice!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:24 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by acidnova at 5:17 PM on November 25, 2018