Diagnosis

A few months ago I noticed that I was having some trouble reading small print. The problem was with my right eye. I figured that it was a cataract, because cataracts are common in my family, even among non-elderly folks such as myself. But, I knew that there were all sorts of things that can go wrong with eyes, and I didn’t want to make a foolish assumption. I was overdue for an eye exam anyway, so I decided to visit the eye doctor.

I had my appointment yesterday. Yes, I may indeed have a cataract forming in my right eye, but that’s not what’s causing my vision loss. The problem is something called degenerative macular retinoschisis. My retina is splitting apart, right in the middle of my field of vision. Actually, I have retinoschisis in both eyes, but it’s less pronounced in the left eye and located away from the macula. The doctor showed me the pictures that he had taken of the insides of my eyes. The macula is supposed to look like a cool blue dot, as it does in my left eye. In my right eye, it’s a big red disk. Well, shit.

When I got home, I consulted Dr. Internet. There wasn’t too much information available, and some of it was difficult to understand, but here is the impression that I got–

• Retinoschisis is relatively common in people with myopia.
• Usually it’s not a big deal, because it’s located in a place where it doesn’t cause much trouble, as is the case in my left eye. It is less common for the macula to be affected.
• Unfortunately, the condition causes irreparable nerve damage, but it may be possible to prevent further vision loss with a surgical procedure.

Though this condition can progress rapidly, it doesn’t happen overnight. The eye doctor said it’s probably been going on for a while. I recall now the conversation that I had at my last eye exam. That doctor told me that there was a cataract in my left eye. I asked him if that was what caused the shadow I sometimes saw while reading, and he said that it probably was. Now I wonder.

Obviously this condition sucks but, on the bright side, it’s is only affecting my vision in one eye, and I still see well overall (20/20 with my glasses on, says the new eye doctor). So there’s no cause for immediate alarm. I have an appointment to see a specialist next month, and I guess I’ll learn more then.