Seeing stars, flashes, and other symptoms after PRP for lattice degeneration of retina - anxiety???
Posted , 5 users are following.
Hello Group,
I have lattice degeneration of the retina, which is generally harmless but my doctor recommended laser treatment (PRP) to prevent possible retinal detachment so I did it on 8/3.
I remember not really being that anxious about it, until of course, I was at the office ready to get the procedure and started panicking when I was signing the disclosers/waivers.
After the procedure, I was very anxious and when the doctor told me to "come back if I experience flashers or new eye symptoms" he didn't realize it but he set my anxiety off strong, because all I have to do is worry about a symptom and BAM, it appears! I spent the first 2 days after the procedure just fine, but I believe my subconscious mind was at work and 2 days later symptoms started to appear.
I am now experiencing the following:
Visual irregularities, like seeing stars, shimmers, flashes, and flickering light in the corner of the vision.
Seeing lightning bolts, strong flashes of light in 1 eye and sometimes in both eyes at the same time.
I see things moving out of the corner of your eyes yet there isn’t anything actually there or moving.
Vision momentarily brightens or dims. I have flickering in the corner of my vision that is not constant, but does happen when many times daily which is very annoying and makes it hard to focus.
I have been back to the doctor twice and he did a thorough exam and imaging and found nothing wrong and said I am healing up just fine, but the anxiety in me keeps going to the worst and darkest place ever - that is the new fear that I have of losing vision in both eyes. Another doctor at the practice looked independently and said everything was finne.
This has caused my nerves to fall into an anxious state. I am not sure if what I am seeing is due to the procedure or if it’s an anxiety since I have struggled with that before and all of these symptoms can be caused by an anxious mind.
I am doing my best to tell myself that the doc said everything was fine and there is nothing to worry about but my eyes are going nuts, so I wanted to check in here and hear about vision problems caused by anxiety that other members may have experienced.
Thank you all in advance for your responses!
1 like, 4 replies
paige05374 anxiousguy_009
Posted
how are you getting on now with the vision problems? i also get everything you have said its a struggle! doctors also told me
everything is fine with my eyes its just anxiety. hard to belive ain't it ? my biggest fear is also going blind my brain knows that so makes my eye symptoms worse so i worry more 😦 msg me if you want to talk
joshuapryce1987 anxiousguy_009
Posted
The anxiety has gotten the better of you. Its good to be calm and collected and listen to your doctor. Reassurance is good and when a specialist is giving you reassurance, its great to have.
lorre75924 anxiousguy_009
Posted
hey! I had laser treatment, 34 shots on a pheripheral hole 6 days ago . i have the same symtoms as you but I also got this: Every time I blink or I open my eyes after they have been closed I see a big black circle on the side of my vision, it dissapear when I move my eyes a little bit. did you or anyone else have the same?
Lunabug anxiousguy_009
Posted
Your symptoms all sound related to the laser treatment. The lasered part of the retina still senses light but can no longer send normal signals which can explain the strange visual symptoms. The other possibility is the laser treatment may have begun to detach the vitreous in your eye which is attached to the retina. Think of a gentle wave in a current; when the vitreous liquid inside your eye moves, it can tug on the retina and cause flashing. if you had an OCT scan you can ask your doctor to check and see if your vitreous has detached. A vitreous detachment is a benign event but can cause floaters. If you see a dark curtain in your vision, go to the eye doctor ASAP as this could be a retinal detachment.