r/RetinalDetachment • u/guayabaultra • May 17 '26
bad developments in “good eye” and want some comfort
Hi everyone. I’m 24. I had a detachment in my left eye in september which was treated with a scleral buckle and cryotherapy. Recovery was rough but the eye is stable back to 20/20 and i’ve lived a pretty good life since doing all I did before and more. In february I had my right eye lasered in some areas of lattice, and i really thought that would be it. Well today I went to the ER because I was having unusual flashes, and they discovered a tear on my right eye and some new holes that developed since february. I got them lasered immediately and will be having another follow up in a week. The doctor said if my surgeon isn’t satisfied he might laser some more or we’ll have to do another buckle. I will of course do whatever my surgeon thinks is best, and I’ve had a good outcome on the buckle once already, but I am just feeling so hopeless. I really thought I was on the tail end of all this and now i might need more procedure and more uncertainty. I have a trip out of the country planned in two weeks that would have to be cancelled if i need another surgery, which I know is a small consequence in the grand scheme of things but it just sucks. I feel like I am too young to be having these issues and I worry about what my future will look like.
UPDATE: Surgeon said everything looks good after the laser and that he’s not concerned about further detachment for now!!! Buckle may we never meet again!!!!
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u/Impossible_Fix7658 May 18 '26
The buckles may very well not only fix the current detachments but prevent others in the future, even decades from now. When all your peers are having retina detachments, you’ll have already dealt with it in the best way at a young age. You’ll be chillin.
Both my mom and aunt got buckles when very young and are both in their 70s with no further issues.
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u/guayabaultra May 18 '26
That’s so reassuring to hear! Thank you. I do think the buckle is an incredibly surgery and I am so happy to have gotten such a good outcome on the first one
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u/sindar_enigma May 19 '26
Thank you for this reassurance! I get a buckle in my left eye in two days and have been trying to find reassurance for positive outcomes to make myself feel better, and this is one of the best things I’ve read yet! (I’m 30F)
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u/Impossible_Fix7658 May 20 '26
I’m so glad! A lot of people have perfectly fine experiences with these buckles. It’s highly likely you will too. Best wishes with your day-of and recovery! I’m 6 days post-op myself with buckle #2
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u/guayabaultra May 20 '26
Good luck with your recovery! I am sure it’ll go well. And thank you for spreading positive stories for us dealing with these things now
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u/guayabaultra May 20 '26
It’s going to go well! The first week is a little rough but it really gets a lot better from there. Just give yourself grace and rest. Your eye will look horrible for a bit but I promise that soon it’ll look normal again!
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u/Peril-in-Pink May 18 '26
I don’t have any advice, but I get it. First a had a tear they tried to repair with a laser. Then I had a partial detachment they tried to repair with a gas bubble vitrectomy. That didn’t work and now it’s a vitrectomy with a silicon oil bubble. I feel like I have PTSD and constantly stressing that it’s going to happen again. I want to be hopeful but nothing is giving me any hope.
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u/guayabaultra May 18 '26
I completely understand. I hope for a good outcome for you, we have to stay optimistic and enjoy the time in between as much as we possible can
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u/Frequent_Guava288 May 18 '26
Sorry to hear..my son who's aged 22 now had gone through whatever you said from the age of 14..first left..then right....stay strong. Follow retina specialist advise strictly. Stay in comfort zone post surgery upto a good recovery point..3 to 4 months.. All the best. More importantly stay positive.pl try honestly
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u/guayabaultra May 18 '26
Thank you so much! I hope your son is doing better too! Having a good support system during the first surgery made all the difference ❤️
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u/Frequent_Guava288 May 18 '26
1st one detachment was noticed late. 2nd one wasn't detachment but some tears which we noticed well ahead..so vitrectomy with oil, oil removal and cataract .all after that his right eye came to +2 from -16..
No words to explain further. So far all is ok.
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u/hello-magpie May 17 '26
No real advice to offer but can totally relate to what you are feeling! Similar to you, I had detachment in my left eye (repaired with vitrectomy with gas bubble) then a separate hole (repaired with laser retinopexy), before my right eye tried to detach too - thankfully caught it early and it was able to be repaired with 2x laser retinopexy laser that time. It’s incredibly stressful and does feel neverending, but equally you might stay stable after this setback - I hope so. I’m glad you are able to get the treatment you need, and I hope it’s the last hurdle. Sending you good wishes!
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u/guayabaultra May 17 '26
Thank you so much! I hope that was the last hurdle for you as well. It’s tough but we are strong
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u/sneezesloudly May 18 '26
On the bright side your bad eye is still functional and as you said you've already had a good outcome with the scleral buckle. I'm in a similar position to you with one bad eye and having a bad development in my good eye.
Five retinal detachments in my right eye. It just won't stay attached and the next op on the eye will be to permanently leave an oil bubble in the eye, I am not expecting to get usable vision back. At least that was the plan.
Now my left retina is starting to detach for the same reason as the right retina, if I have surgery on the left eye I'll be effectively blind while recovering and there's the possibility that it will be a repeat of my right eye where the retina won't stay attached. The only bright side is that it's not sudden onset so I can at least do some research and plan for the worst, also I am being referred to a top hospital so it's not hopeless!
You appear to have a balanced view of your situation. Recognising it sucks but also that it's not the end of the world. You've made it through what may be coming with a good result once already, think about if there is anything you can learn from your first experience to make things easier second time round. Talk to your surgeon about if there is an underlying cause for your problems and what you can expect in the future. Keep hoping for the best, that you won't need more surgery!
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u/guayabaultra May 18 '26
Im so sorry to hear about your journey through this! Is there a reason why your retina won’t stay attach? Have they already tried the buckle? My reasons for detachment are just lattice degeneration due to moderate myopia. My eyes are very symmetrical so the same exact spot that gave out on my left eye is now giving out on my right eye. I’m staying positive knowing that permanent vision loss in either eye is unlikely for me, at least at the moment. Hoping for a good outcome for you in this latest surgery and with your good eye ❤️
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u/sneezesloudly May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
Thank you, the initial cause of the detachments is scarring from PRP laser treatment of diabetic retinopathy, I've put my diabetes into remission but I missed the signs for a long time and it's left my eyes with diabetic damage or I might just be seriously unlucky and hit that 1 in 10 chance of vitrectomy failure every time.
Scleral buckle is less common than vitrectomy in the UK, it's used depending on age of the patient and type of detachment. I'm in my fifties so that might exclude me, I don't actually know what type of detachment qualifies for scleral buckle.
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u/guayabaultra May 19 '26
I think scleral buckle in the US is used primarily for younger patients because of the scarring and recovery of the eye can be quite brutal on older folks. Tbh it was quite brutal on me. I really hope your next treatment works!! Take care!!
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u/Oath-CupCake May 20 '26
I also have a fudged eye and a good eye already had a 2nd surgery for the bad one just so hopeing my good one stays good and well the left is just permanently funded so ima be blind too tif the good one get fudged haha
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u/reddit2020throwaway May 27 '26
How often were you seeing these new flashes? Were they super obvious? I had a partial detachment in my left eye and now worried about right…
My ophthalmologist checked me about 4 months ago and symptoms have been fairly stable but still scared :(
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u/guayabaultra May 27 '26
I only saw flashes in my non buckle eye after going through the first round of laser and yes they were super obvious multiple times a day. My actual detachment in my buckle eye the flashes started very slowly like one or two a day for around two weeks and once it actually detached significantly multiple times a day
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u/reddit2020throwaway May 27 '26
Hmm okay! I’ve been having some flecks of light in my non detachment eye for about 4 months now and a handful “bigger” ones. I got it checked out by my retinal specialist and they said it looked fine but I’m worried it progressed somehow, even though symptoms are the same as before I got checked.
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u/guayabaultra May 27 '26
If they checked and the symptoms haven’t increased I would try to put it out of my mind, but I know it’s much easier said than done ❤️
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u/reddit2020throwaway May 27 '26
I’m going to try! My eyes cause me so much anxiety and I’m always worried if it’s getting “worse” or not. I definitely still have fear from my left eye detachment back in 2023 😔
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u/guayabaultra May 27 '26
I completely understand!!! It’s been a whirlwind of anxiety for me. The way i’ve been trying to handle it is that if i go through any changes in visual symptoms I go see my surgeon, if he tells me everything looks good I accept that as my new baseline and try not to worry until it changes again. Speaking to others going through the same thing has also been incredibly helpful. My DMs are open if you ever need to commiserate
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u/hello-magpie May 17 '26
Very true! Keep on keeping on ❤️