• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Vitreous haemmorrhages, scared.

B

blackdograilroad

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Insulin
Greetings, friends. Anyone had vitreous haemorrhages? I had one in my left eye about 5 weeks ago and the blood hasn't dissipated enough for the eye clinic to be able to see the retina. I've just had two small ones in my right eye, on which I had laser last week. I can't see well enough to drive and can barely see what I'm typing. My left eye can only see very blurry shapes and the right seems to have a large shoal of very tiny fish swimming about in it, together with a few larger spots. Anyone had similar? What happened? This is really quite scary. thanks Ian
 
No experience myself @blackdograilroad but will bump your post up for a possible reply.
It must be scarey. Did you get any information about how long before an improvement is noticed?
 
Welcome to the forum @blackdograilroad.

I've had diabetic retinopathy and also had a Vitreous Haemorrhage, rather than explain what I went through why don't you have a read of the following which will give you are better understanding why the haemorrhages occur and the treatment involved in dealing with them, but do also have a good read around the whole website as it has some great information and advice on diabetic retinopathy:

http://www.diabeticretinopathy.org.uk/vitreous_hemorrhage.html
 

Thanks very much for that. Would still be interested in your experiences if you don't mind sharing. cheers ian
 
Hi Ian
I had a long series of bleeds I remember the very first one, I actually had an audible pop and then the bleed,
I had so much laser they simply could not fit any more on my retinas, the analogy of fish swimming is a clever one, tried many times to explain to friends and family about what I was seeing, mine was sort of like ribbons gymnasts twirl around I had a lot of time given for the blood to be absorbed, then went on to have vitrectomies, sadly I had so much damage it did not improve my vision much if at all, after than I developed surgically induced cataracts and had both eyes done, it was like someone had switched the lights back on. Of course with my pre existent bad vision it made no difference. My close vision is shot, tho long distance is marginally better, because of the diabetes they say I am not ready for a new glasses prescription, due to inflammation. I have night blindness, and severe intolerance to glare. The eye specialists say I have had more bad luck that most, so don't go thinking that's how it is for everyone. I almost had my cornea rupture in one eye, nothing diabetic related, and I have a 3rd cranial nerve palsy which has given me double vision which is related, so all in all I jus have cruddy eyes I think
 
Thanks for the replies. Frustrating being off work and not being able to do much. Found out at my diabetic check last week that I have high blood pressure which won't be helping my eyes at all. Does seem that things will improve but it will be slow. Thanks again. best Ian
 
Hi Ian,

Waiting for vitreous haemorrhages to be absorbed can take months unfortunately when all you want is a quick resolution. I can remember the bizarre, swirling patches of dried blood in my vitreous gradually fading from red to brown and changing shape. It is so hard to think of anything else when the damage is right in front of you all the while, I used to find myself ducking out of the way of things I thought were flying at me when all the time it was blood in my vision.

Eventually the bleeds will dissipate and hopefully any further laser treatment you have will stop any more bleeds. I had vitrectomies in both eyes where the jelly is removed and replaced with saline solution, this allows any further bleeds to wash away more rapidly.

I wish you well with your ongoing treatment, it is such a frightening experience to go through. Good luck.
 
Hello Blackdograilroad, not really an answer to your question but more of a request for information if that's OK?

I am a non-diabetic hoping to help support my Fiance (and father too should it occur) as he has just been diagnosed with Macular Odema and has been told to go for Laser, the procedure is in just under 2 weeks.

Would you be able to give me a brief account of your laser as I am hoping to try and re-assure him that the procedure is not as terrible as he is expecting (and also so I know what to expect when I go with him)

Sorry if this is awkward
 

Not at all.

First a nurse takes your details, gives you an eye test to check how well you can see at the moment. Then she puts two lots of eye drops in your eyes to dilate the pupils so they can see the inside of your eye clearly. The second lot sting a bit but only for a few seconds.

After they've given the drops 20 mins or so to work either they will start the treatment or they will take some photos of the inside of your eye first.

For the laser they put some more drops in which numb the surface of your eye then you rest your chin and forehead on the laser device and they use something to hold your eye open which you don't feel at all. The laser itself is like a very bright light in bursts of about half a second at a time and my treatment took 10-15 min. You can get some discomfort which is like a sudden burst of headache behind the eye but it's no worse than that. You can take something like ibuprofen before the treatment if you want.

Your eyes are sensitive to light afterwards foe maybe three or four hours so take some sunglasses and don't drive home.

Hope that helps
cheers Ian
 
Thank you so much! I hope your eye gets better and they can laser that for you too!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…