Hey There

[Matt21]

Hi I am Matt and I am 27 from the united kingdom.

I have been dealing with anxiety for many years and have always used this site to seek reassurance for myself but never actually signed up until today. I am going through a bit of a crappy time at the moment. I don't have a lot of friends, never really have and I just have a lot of health concerns.

I know I am not the only person out there and I usually tend to just keep everything to myself as I don't like to bother people with my problems. Then I am starting to think I am not doing myself any favors so thought talking to people with maybe the same issues would help.

I was born with something called Duane syndrome where I just don't have muscles to the left and right of my eyes. This means I just can't turn them very well to the left and right. I got a lot of stick for it back in school as I used to have to look up to correct my vision. It never really bothered me when I was younger though and as I got older no one would really notice it. Now that I am getting older I started to see a lot of floaters and had a lot of eye tests done but everyone has said my vision has been fine. I passed my driving test last year and started to drive after being put off for so long due to my anxiety.

Just recently though, my right eye is not really good for reading from far away and when I blink I see a dark/white circle (depending on the background) as if someone is flashing something. Got back from the hospital today and there is something at the back of my eye as had a scan done. I am going to be going for further tests but when I got home I thought I would do a bit of research.

I now believe I could have something called macular degeneration. I did this test at the opticians where you look at a graph with lines in and it's supposed to stay straight when looking at it. When I look with my right eye the lines look wavy which is a sign I could have this eye disease which can lead to vision loss and there is no cure.

I have not been diagnosed with anything yet but after doing that I am certain that's what it is and it's killing me because one of my biggest fears is going blind.

I feel like a lost cause really so I turned to this site in hope of feeling just a little better.

Thanks for reading.

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya Matt21 and welcome to NMP :welcome:

Why not take a look at our articles on our home page, they contain a wealth of information and are a great starting place for your time on the forum.

I hope you find the as site helpful and informative as I have and that you get the help and support you need here and hope that you meet a few friends along the way :yesyes:

[Simon1986]

Hello Matt and welcome :)

I would like to say that I'm sorry for the troubles you have bad and also I think you are very brave.

How are you feeling today?

[missyladybug]

Hi Matt,
I am new to this site too. I am sorry you are experiencing problems with your eyes. I know that is scary. I wanted to reassure you that it may not be macular degeneration. I am 66, and also have the grayish ring around my vision, especially if looking at a piece of white paper and sometimes flashing lights. I, too, thought it was mac. degeneration. However, I was sent to a vitreol/macular specialist and they did a very concise batch of photographs of the area behind my eyes and of the surface of my retina and macula. It turns out I have something called macular traction. This is where some of the "gel" that covers our retina, is shrinking a bit and pulling away from the retina, which is a normal thing for the aging eye to do. Not sure about a younger eye, but I imagine it is common in younger people too. Anyway, a teensy bit of the gel remains stuck to the retina while the rest of it tries to pull away and it causes flashing lights and the grey circle and a bit of blurred vision. My actual macula is "perfect". This is something that should resolve on its own for me, though I have had it for several years now. In worse case scenarios they operate like they do for a cataract and loosen the gel.

You are pretty darned young for macular degeneration. It usually happens in later life. I am wondering if it is the macular traction and if so, it will likely resolve itself on its own. I know of somebody else who had it, too, and he had it for about a year and then the gel pulled away and he was fine.

Take care!

[jayb1]

Hi Matt you would be very young to have macular degeneration as is normally an age related thing . anyway there are 2 types of macular degeneration one wet and one dry. With wet macular degeneration you can have injections into the eye and although your vision may not be perfect it doesn't necessarily mean blindness. Best advice don't research do not Google!!!!!! Ask the ophthalmologist questions instead. Explain your health anxiety issue and ring the hospital to get results as quickly as you can

[MRS STRESS ED]

:welcome: Matt glad you could join us lots of great people here with good advice

[Pepperpot]

Hi Matt - welcome x

[Matt21]

Thank you everyone, really appreciate the advice and has made me feel a bit better.

Thank you missyladybug. I did have it in my left eye or some variation, it just didn't effect my vision or cause the grid to not be normal. Just I can't see well from far away with my right eye. What I saw in my left was worrying but had no issues with eyesight and it did kind of go away so maybe you could be right.

Just glad to know I am not on my own, thanks.

[Matt21]

Hi Matt you would be very young to have macular degeneration as is normally an age related thing . anyway there are 2 types of macular degeneration one wet and one dry. With wet macular degeneration you can have injections into the eye and although your vision may not be perfect it doesn't necessarily mean blindness. Best advice don't research do not Google!!!!!! Ask the ophthalmologist questions instead. Explain your health anxiety issue and ring the hospital to get results as quickly as you can

Thanks Jay, it's just the eye dr is concerned about it and he said I had a lot of scaring in my eyes. He thinks it's to do with aging which is why I think I might have Macular Degeneration.