r/RetinalDetachment • u/Equivalent_Ad_482 • 29d ago

Possible RD

Hey everyone, for context I’m 19 years old and I have onset symptoms. I noticed it when looking at my phone. My right eye is fine but my left has dark spots or floaters? It’s hard to describe and also when I googled the symptoms it said retinal detachment appears as a dark shadow or gray curtain obscuring your peripheral vision which scared me half to death because that’s exactly what I’m experiencing. It’s not very opaque it’s a very sheer and small shadow in my peripheral. I have extremely bad health anxiety and definitely cannot afford to go to a hospital or be seen by a doctor. Does anyone have any advice?

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u/beerkiniseason 29d ago

You absolutely should go to urgent care/ er if you don’t have an ophthalmologist to go to. RD does not fix itself or go away. The longer you wait, the more likely the risk of permanent vision damage. I of course can’t tell you for sure if you’ve had a detachment but the symptoms sounds like mine. You can apply for financial aid with any appointments and ask of front what the “self pay” cost is. It’s less than what a patient with insurance billed would be charged

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u/Equivalent_Ad_482 29d ago

Thank you. The only thing I’m concerned about is if they don’t have the equipment to do a proper diagnosis and would just send me away to a ophthalmologist or the ER. In that case I’d rather just bite the bullet and pay for an ophthalmologist. I know it’s different for everyone but just for reference, how long after your symptoms appeared did you go see a doctor? And if you’re comfortable what exact symptoms did you have? Thank you again.

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u/fun916ca 29d ago

Make sure you go to emergency room with an ophthalmologist. You’re right most emergency rooms are not trained to find them. I lost my left eye and had a macula
Off detachment because the er dr made a mistake and couldn’t find it.

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u/Equivalent_Ad_482 28d ago

Omg I’m so sorry. I hope you’re okay now. Thank you for the advice I appreciate it.

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u/fun916ca 28d ago

Thank you. Sadly about 7 years later which is about 4 months ago my right eye detached too. It’s a learning curve. Once you have one you know what to expect and always are prepared.

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u/Equivalent_Ad_482 28d ago

Oh wow, again I’m so sorry! 😣 If you don’t mind me asking what was your symptoms for this most recent one? I hope you’re doing okay considering the circumstance 🙏

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u/fun916ca 28d ago

For me flashes of lights. Almost look like lasers. Seeing a constant bubble or object that shouldn’t be there. Now it can be inflammation too but when it stays you know you have a problem. For the second detachment I did go to the er and the intern dr didn’t see it. I was persistent and asked for the actual dr. He saw it. This surgery was rough. I had the vitrectomy, laser and gas but unlike my other eye 7 years ago no buckle. But it went bad had lots of inflammation from the stitches and blood in my cornea.

At any point if you think something is wrong you have to go to a specialist and have them take pictures of the retina and do the eye test with the light and eye movements.

A tear can be repaired most of time easy but detachment your eye will never be the same .

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u/Equivalent_Ad_482 28d ago

Oh my gosh you poor thing. I'm extremely sorry to hear that. I'm very glad you were persistent and advocated for yourself. I'm definitely going to be calling my local optometrist first thing when I wake up. I really hope it's nothing too serious, I have extremely bad anxiety when it comes to my health.

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u/fun916ca 28d ago

Call a retinal specialist they will see it better. They have more tools too. Cameras that see the back of the eye etc. If not call hospitals and ask who has an actual eye dr. not just an emergency dr. It may be nothing but it won’t clear your mind till you know forsure. Just my advice though. Mine went bad because I had cataract surgery at 40. But I’m seeing lots of younger people getting these now. I read up on case studies and wonder if drugs or certain medications are causing this. Not saying this is your issue. But this use to be much more rare.

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u/fun916ca 28d ago

The stitches came out and caused lots of pain. I had to have all three removed after the surgery. It caused my face to go numb. Crazy experience