Retinal Surgery

[jimmylarge]

hi guys.

im 35 and got diagnosed t1 when i was 9, my a1c is 6.5 and have had major issues with my eyes since around 2017, i have had 9 injections and i have had the maximum amount of laser treatment, just recently i had a rupture in my left eye, noting really special about this one as i have had loads of them they usually occur and then clear up within a week, maybe 2 - 3 for bigger bleeds, i had a rupture around 3 weeks ago and my entire left eye is full of black blotches and liquid, my vision is zero with just light and shapes and it hasn't even started to clear up, just got back from the hospital and they have booked me in to see a retinal surgeon, i suppose what im asking is have any of you had this surgery? what was the outcome etc.

im really quite worried about it all to be honest.

 

[100cas]

hi guys.

im 35 and got diagnosed t1 when i was 9, my a1c is 6.5 and have had major issues with my eyes since around 2017, i have had 9 injections and i have had the maximum amount of laser treatment, just recently i had a rupture in my left eye, noting really special about this one as i have had loads of them they usually occur and then clear up within a week, maybe 2 - 3 for bigger bleeds, i had a rupture around 3 weeks ago and my entire left eye is full of black blotches and liquid, my vision is zero with just light and shapes and it hasn't even started to clear up, just got back from the hospital and they have booked me in to see a retinal surgeon, i suppose what im asking is have any of you had this surgery? what was the outcome etc.

im really quite worried about it all to be honest.

@jimmylarge I’m really sorry to hear that you are going through this. If it is any help I can share my experience with you.

I’m very similar to you (aged 34, diagnosed age 7, a1c 37 (in Jan 2023)). In 2018 I had laser, injection (1) and 3 eye surgeries (due to retinal detachments in each eye and they also performed a vitrectomy in each eye and a third surgery was needed to remove scaring.)

I completely get that this is a horribly stressful time, I felt exactly the same, but from someone on the other side of it my life is back to normal. I still have good vision, easily enough at the level to drive. The surgery itself really wasn’t as bad as I had expected it to be and mine were quite complicated too. If you have already been having injections in your eyes I think the physical part of the surgery will be ok for you. It was a day surgery where I got to the hospital at about 8am and was home by about 3pm with all the eye drops needed for the next few weeks.

Post surgery I had blurry vision as they added an air bubble into my eye to hold the retina back in place for healing, this disappeared (assume was absorbed) within about 10/12 days. My eye didn’t look too pretty at first but I really did see daily improvements. If I’m honest I struggled with the stress and anxiety of it a lot more than the physicality of it.

I was luckily to be able to take 2 weeks off of work, and had my sister come and stay with me too (this isn’t required, but I found it good to have someone here as I lived alone, and really meant I focused on recovering and wasn’t exerting myself in anyway which I believe helped my healing). I found it difficult to watch tv etc so found some good podcasts and quiz games that kept my mind occupied.

Apologies for the long rambling reply, if there’s anything else you want to know please do ask.

 

[Flower]

Hi and welcome @jimmylarge

I’m so sorry you’re having to deal with retina complications and all the fear and dread they bring.

I’ve had vitrectomies in both eyes after maximum laser - this was before eye injections existed in late 80’s early 90’s.

A vitrectomy is the surgical removal of the jelly in the eyeball where all the blood from retinal haemorrhages gets trapped & obscures your vision. The eyeball jelly is replaced with saline/clear liquid that allows light in and out again. It also means any further haemorrhages wash away a lot quicker from the eyeball and don’t get trapped in the jelly. As said above a gas filled bubble is sometimes put in the eye to protect the retina during healing, this isn’t permanent and gradually disappears over time, I drove myself to distraction following the bubble around. During my vitrectomies I also had cryotherapy to seal off areas of my retinas that kept bleeding.

It is a frightening prospect but it will hopefully restore good vision for you. I had to position my head afterwards lying face down for a set amount of hours at a time to protect my retina- i think it depends on the state of your retina whether you need to do this. My vision was very blurry post surgery and my eyes felt very gritty as they had small stitches in them that gradually dissolved.

I hope all goes well for you if you need a vitrectomy. Hopefully it will give you stable sight ongoing and reduce the fear that retinopathy brings. Wishing you well.

 

[Merryterry]

Like others in this posting I have had Victrectomy in both eyes for the same reasons. It is not as bad an operation as you imagine (and you might hav a pretty Nurse holding your hand). The worst thing is the amount of different eye drops you have to put in for weeks afterwards. I am fully able to drive again more or less straight afterwards (6 weeks I seem to remember).

Please do not worry.

 

[jimmylarge]

Thank for the replies they have really helped, I think on the plus. I only need it in one eye at the moment and I haven't got a detached retina by what the doctors are saying the retina is blocked I will know more after a few weeks and met the surgeon, in my small bubble I'm the only person who's dealing with this and it's some what comforting to know other people, other t1s have had to deal with this. Again thanks for the replies and I will post again after my meeting the doc.