Do I have a detached retina?

[RainMorgan]

For the past few weeks I've felt strange, like I can't see as far out of one side of my right eye. (Only eye that works.) I try to look as far right as I can and it doesn't seem to have changed but it feels all tight. It might be just dry skin/dry eyes. I have that. But working on the PC today I saw a green blur cover half my vision and then go away instantly. I panicked.

I thought it might be a detached retina because of the 'curtain coming down' affect.

People tell me to calm down because I'd know if my retina was detached. The symptoms wouldn't go away. I don't have any floaters. But I think I had some flashes a week ago. They dismiss my fears and say I just spend too long at my PC.

I guess what I'm asking is: Is a detached retina continuous or would the symptoms come and go? Does this sound like one? Or something else terrifying?

My sight is very important to me as I only have one working eye, and it's not working fully. So anything vaguely strange has me panicked and sobbing, usually.

[NervUs]

I have no idea, but if your vision is impaired like you describe, get to a doctor immediately just IN CASE it is something like detachment or something else that can be corrected fast.

[RainMorgan]

I have no idea, but if your vision is impaired like you describe, get to a doctor immediately just IN CASE it is something like detachment or something else that can be corrected fast.

This just makes me feel extremely frightened. I came here in hopes of not feeling that way. Going to an A&E/ER is very difficult for me and I had a pattern of going there for the wrong reasons and taking time away from others and looking stupid and feeling uncomfortable.

I explained that the weird green bit came and went instantly. I don't have blurred vision or anything. So It's hard to say it's an impairment because I don't have it now for instance?

I appreciate that you're just wanting the best for me but I was hoping for someone to give me the answer to my question so I can know if this is serious or tired eyes or something worse?

[Chris 614]

I'm not a doctor, but my dad and sister had detached retinas and they did not have what you described. It wouldn't hurt to have your eyes checked though. I get floaters and sometimes they appear like sheets of blurry across my vision. Hard to describe.

[RainMorgan]

I'm not a doctor, but my dad and sister had detached retinas and they did not have what you described. It wouldn't hurt to have your eyes checked though. I get floaters and sometimes they appear like sheets of blurry across my vision. Hard to describe.

It was very strange. I was thinking if it happened again I'd go to the clinic to get an eye test but I wanted to rule out emergencies. :c Because I can't get it off my mind.

Mind telling me what they had, how they described it? Was it all at once/prolonged? If that's okay.

[swajj]

What do you mean by only having 1 working eye? I think if you want advice you need to be clearer. People with anxiety often have vision issues, perceived and real. But if you already have a condition that affects your vision (your non working eye) then no one should be telling you it is just anxiety. You should get it checked.?

[Chris 614]

If I remember correctly, they actually lost part of their vision and it didn't get better until after the eye surgery. And, yes, what you said sounds reasonable...if it happens again get it checked out. I'm not giving you advice, but I know how I am at times...if I am feeling particularly edgy and some weird thing happens with my body, I panic. So it's hard to gauge what is real and what is a result of my anxious body. 99.9999999% of the time my symptoms go away when I'm less anxious.

Obviously, we can't know exactly what is going on with your eye. We can only share our experiences.

[Mindprison]

I pretty much agree with everyone else here, it won't hurt to see your optician and get your eyes checked. I suffer from eye strain and tension headaches a lot, both of these give me blurred vision and the feeling that I can't focus on anything without a lot of mental strain.

I don't think anyone was trying to worry you, it's just that when it comes to eye problems it's a bit difficult to tell if it's due to anxiety or not so you'd be much better off seeing someone that's more qualified to diagnose you.

[Fishmanpa]

Jumping on the band wagon here as it would be obvious if something that serious was wrong. Also, the question arises as to why you're doing a self test by looking as far to the right as you can? No one, under normal circumstances does that and of course, doing something you normally never do would cause a strange sensation.

As has been suggested by others, too much time in front of the computer can cause eye symptoms from strain. That being said, if you're that concerned, see your eye doctor.

Positive thoughts

[RainMorgan]

By one working eye I mean, I have a condition called septo-optic dysplaxia which affected the nerves in my left eye and caused me to be born blind in my left eye. It's a condition i've had since birth and nothing to do with this. Sorry for the confusion.

Thank you everyone. It's not happened again! I'm thankful for your feedback. A lot of things were very helpful.

[Anxious Kitty]

I have pathological myopia and have dealt with detached retinas in both eyes. I'm not familiar with your eye condition and if it may increase your likelihood of detached retina but that's how it is with my eye condition. If you're relatively healthy and your working eye is normal and not affected by your eye disease, you probably shouldn't worry as its not common for young, healthy eyes to have detached retinas unless there's some sort of injury involved.

Also in my experience, my symptoms were not like what you described. I did get a "curtain" from the corner of my vision but it wasn't green; it started as more of a translucent brown (due to subretinal fluid) that also distorted my vision. Over a few hours/a day, the curtain darkened to completely black and grew larger in size before I went in for surgery. Your symptoms would not "come and go", they would most likely rapidly worsen in a pretty short amount of time. Detached retinas are considered something of a medical emergency because of how quickly they can progress.

I really don't think you have to worry about a detached retina. It doesn't sound like one. I would still suggest that you get it looked at if you have this symptom again as it could still be something that warrants a check up and since you do have a history of eye problems.

Best wishes.

[swajj]

By one working eye I mean, I have a condition called septo-optic dysplaxia which affected the nerves in my left eye and caused me to be born blind in my left eye. It's a condition i've had since birth and nothing to do with this. Sorry for the confusion.

Thank you everyone. It's not happened again! I'm thankful for your feedback. A lot of things were very helpful.

Thanks for explaining. One of my most frightening and frequent HA induced symptoms was vision problems. I get a check up by an eye specialist once a year and there is nothing wrong with my vision. I can’t imagine how so would be with a real vision problem. It kind of puts it in perspective to read your story. I’m glad things are back to normal for you.?