It’s been a little more than 5 weeks since my vision in my right eye went blurry.
In this post, beyond telling the story, I want to document what’s happening for future reference. So bare with me if I get a bit too detailed.
The blurriness on my right eye, as I recall, became apparent in a matter of days. Since starting working at Snaptech Marketing I’ve been staring at a screen more than usual so I thought I was just straining my eyes.
The First Optometrist: Dr. Gandham (Feb 16th, 2010)
On February 16th, a couple of days after first noticing the blurriness and it was obvious this was not normal, I went to the optometrist. I told Dr. Gandham the reason for coming in was my blurry right eye. He did the routine check, dilated my pupils and used the stereotypical equipment to look inside my eye.
“Your eyes are totally healthy”, he said. He then tested my vision and, indeed; I needed glasses. So I left the doctor’s office with my new prescription. I didn’t buy the glasses because I wanted to shop around. It was my chance to look intellectual and I wasn’t going to blow it with the first pair that crossed me.
So I took my time.
The Second Optometrist: Dr. Danielson (Feb 18th, 2010)
Two days later after Dr. Gandham I was definitely sure this was not an regular “you need glasses” case. My vision was blurry right in the middle of my sight. If I looked a few inches to the right of the screen I could see things clearly. But once I looked back, the blurriness followed.
My peripherals were working fine, it was the centre, middle, bulls-eye vision that was blurry.
At this point I decided to go back to the doctor and op-in for that retinal colour picture. It was an extra $45 so I told Dr. Ghandam to take it if necessary.
Dr. Denielson, a older and more boring looking guy, took me in and took the pictures. “Your eyes look healthy…” But when he tested my vision he said that I couldn’t see 20/40 and agreed that it wasn’t normal. So eye send me to the “eye-surgeon”.
I don’t know about you, but if an optometrist tells me I need to go to the “eye-surgeon”, my first thought is “surgery”. That’s what “surgeon” means, right?!
So I got an appointment to what I thought was take my eye out.
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The Third Optometrist: Me
After that prognosis I did what most people, smart and stupid, would do: research the Internet… After reading a few posts talking about similar symptoms, I was worried I had ocular herpes.
…I’ll stop right there.
The Eye Surgeon: Dr. Boyd (Feb 22nd, 2010)
Dr. Danielson referred me to Dr. Boyd, whom he labeled as, “The Eye Surgeon”…
In preparation for what I thought was going to be eye surgery, I researched Dr. Boyd on RateMds.com. Most people had bad things to say, he was rude, impatient, impolite… To which I thought, “Great! This guy is the Dr. House of eyes!” After all, no one had complained about anything but personality. (…and I wanted to convince myself that this guy was good).
So I got to Dr. Boyd’s, he dilates pupils, looks into my eye “hmmmm… I think you have a little bit of swelling there…”.
Okay, first of all, this was a blow to my respect for the first two doctors. How can Dr. Boyd see the swelling in the first 5 seconds looking into my eye, using the same instruments as the first two?! (Perhaps he really is the Dr. House of eyes).
Dr. Boyd explains that I have “Choroidopathy”, also known as “Central Serous Retinopathy (CSR)” or just “Retinopathy”.
This condition’s causes are unknown but there’s a connection between CSR and stress or Type A personalities. I’m not Type A, that’s for sure. But maybe I was stressed.
(All this happened amidst the end of my probation period at work, a breakup, and refinancing my apartment. But I didn’t feel stressed. Perhaps I wasn’t listening to my body. Perhaps I’m not listening now, because it’s not going away yet. )
Treatment? Walk it off! Chances of recovery are excellent, according to the doctors and everyone I ask, but it can up to 2 months. I’ve already passed the one month mark, so I hope this goes away in the following days.
Today
I just came back from another optometrist who fitted me with contact lenses, Dr. Ho (Metrotown). I’ve been reluctant to buy lenses because the prescription on my right eye is uncertain. But I’ll buy a cheap pair from clearlycontacts.ca and go from there.
…a few months later, in June.
All is back to normal. They were a scary few weeks, but all is good now.
I kept the lenses thought, it turns out that my left eye is the bad one. Not a huge difference, but I do see more comfortably with glasses especially when reading or looking at the computer.
The End…
…so I thought.
Update: April 6th, 2011 (One Year Later)
Mother%@#&$!… it’s coming back – same eye. The blurriness is not as defined as last year, but is not as strong either.
I’m not sure why. They say CSR is related to stress, and I am under relatively high stress, but not nearly as most people around me.
A year ago, when it first came about, I also thought to myself, “man, I know I’m a bit stressed… ending a relationship and work pressure, but if this is stressful enough to get an eye blister, all non-millionaire parents would be blind…”
There is one suspect, though. Both times I was from being with someone to being alone, which made me crank my work out routine. Every time I do that, I start drinking protein shakes almost daily.
My suspect, the protein supplement. I’ll give you of the supplement, which hasn’t changed in the the last two years since I don’t drink it regularly.
It might be a bit far fetched, but it’s all I have now.
Second Visit: Dr. Boyd (May 31st, 2011)
I managed to go to my local walk-in clinic and get a referral for Dr. Boyd as I knew what was wrong. After a few questions, the family doctor referred me. Though I think just wanted to get rid of me.
Once in Dr. Boyd’s office he was a bit puzzled about (a) why a family doctor referred me so easily and (b) why was I there.
I’ve been using this post as a diary and I forgot an key entry, “Dr. Chui”. Boyd referred me to Chui, she was the specialist for “the back” of the eye.
So after a couple of minutes, I was making another appointment with Dr. Chui.
Dr. Lica Chui (July 13th)
I actually saw Dr. Lica Chui last week, but let’s consolidate entries here. She remembered me. But just because I didn’t cancel my appointment after getting better last year 🙁
Today I had an appointment with the UBC VGH Eye Care Center in Vancouver. They did a fluorescein angiogram. The nurse recognized me from last year. He said, “I remember you from last year. You passed out, right?” I guess it’s good to be memorable like that.
Anywho, after the angiogram I went straight to Dr. Chui’s. She loads the pictures on her computer and explains what’s happening and that we could laser the area since is far away from the optic nerve.
I thought she was just being hypothetical. No, she meant right now.
Laser Time
I had to decide right there if I wanted the laser. At first I said no because of the risk. But then Lica told me that the other risk is that I’ve had the CSR for 4 months now and that having water there for so long might affect my vision permanently. (And now I’m closing my eye as I type, self-conscious).
Then I said yes.
We went to a different room and she took what it looked like a contact lens attached to a small magnifying glass, put some gel on the contact lens-looking part and stuck it on my eye. She then said the good ol’ “look straight”. As I obliged I saw green flashes. like 1 every 3-5 seconds. After 10 flashes or so, it was done.
My vision is still the same. But theoretically it will go back to normal in a few weeks as the leak is sealed. Let’s see.
…this post just got super long, eh?
Dr. Lica Chui (November 10th, 2011)
The laser worked!
I went to my follow up appointment and to make sure everything was good and, well, everything was good! I was also able to get my eye images, photos, pictures (I’m not sure what would be the technical name for it). So I’ll be posting them here in the next few weeks.
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Dr. Lica Chui (June 6th, 2012)
Just a follow up…
My vision has been good since the last year. The laser seemed to work as expected, and we all live happily ever after… that was “ending A’.
What actually happened? Dr. Chui looked at my eyes and there’s some fluid in there… Well, F%$#!
The “spill” it’s not near the area that affects my vision, that’s why my vision is not affected. But has to be dealt with nonetheless. I can only assume it would be a matter of time before it get to my affected area.
Now I have to go get another fluorescein angiogram – scheduled for next week – in preparation for more laser…
…*sigh*…
Dr. Lica Chui (June 27, 2012)
Today I got some cool images from Dr. Chui.
She reviewed the results from the fluorescein angiogram and pointed out where the likely source of fluid is this time. It’s really far from the nerve so the recommendation here was to use the laser and control this episode before it affects my vision.
So laser once again, I did…
Bonus, today I remembered to bring my sun glasses 🙂
This eye thing is getting on my nerves… but I least I can make a pun out of it 🙂
I’ll be heading back to Dr. Chui’s in a couple of days to see the results. Hopefully everything will be find and dandy.
NOTE: Lately, every now and then I feel unusual about my eye. It’s not pain or blurry vision, it feels 1% odd, not sure how to describe it…. maybe “tender” would be a good word? I’m not sure if it’s because of I’m self-conscious about it or what. But I’ll bring this up to Dr. Chui.
It’s been great hearing from people in the comments. Thanks for posting.
Coffee Observation (July 30th)
Today I stumbled against a blog post relating a CSR story similar to mine. In the comments section there are some folks referencing the use of caffeine with CSR.
I drink 1-2 cups of coffee a day, sometimes more. Could it be?
Then I came across this other article recommending the same thing. Give up coffee? Damn, in Vancouver coffee is great. And it’s part of social life.
…thinking about quitting coffee. I don’t think I could give up dark chocolate.
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Agghh!! CSR Is Frustrating!
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Flight or Flight = Stress = No Good (Sep 5th, 2012)
Last month I put myself in a ‘fight or flight’ situation. I won’t go into too much detail but to make a long story short, I almost got into a fight. This is the first time I’m aware of my stress symptoms – trembling hands, dry mouth, fast heart beat. As the situation developed, I was very conscious about the CSR thinking “this can’t be good for the eye.” Well, surprise, surprise, it wasn’t.
Today Dr. Chui told me the situation has changed to the worse.
No Stress = Better (October 3rd, 2012)
Just a follow up, things are better. Still kicking myself for putting myself into a rough situation a while back.
Women… surely they cause 80% or all CSR out there.
Keep getting better (November 7th, 2012)
Things are getting better. Yay!
…and better! (November 28, 2012)
During the last three months I hvae been drinking carrot and beet juice once a week or so. Trying to elevate the amount of carrots I consume, etc. Nothing to the extreme though. Everything seems to be working now. I moved down town so I’m sleeping a bit more. I’m also walking to work.
All of these things seem to have translated into less stress and better situation for the eye.
Right Eye Much Better, Left Eye Now Affected (December 27th, 2012)
My left eye, really?! F#@*K!
I just came from the doctor and she spotted a leak in the left eye. My left eye has been without any problems until today. What the heck?!
I’m trying to think what have I done differently.
The one thing I can think right now is my squash playing intensity. Since everything has been going well, I have resumed my squash playing intensity. There’s one particular exercise called “court sprints”, which could be considered somewhat stressful. It’s basically running up and down the court as fast as you can.
A couple of weeks ago I was running against a player in better condition and I pushed myself for 3 mintues or so… I even got a bit dizzy. But could that be it?
Update (December 21, 2013)
This year my condition went back and forth. I got laser a couple of times in the beginning and middle of the year and now is barely noticeable. It’s still there, but barely noticeable.
My CSR is not near central vision, so my blind spot is not as bothersome. I’ve accepted, however, that my blind spot will likely not go away.
I still try to eat carrots and goji berries when stressed, but my life has been pretty normal. I’ve returned to playing squash, drinking coffee (though in less amounts), and just trying to avoid stress if at all possible – though sometimes is just unavoidable.
*Sigh* …Now On the Left Eye, Japan (November 2014)
Yep. Seems my left eye felt a bit lonely from all the attention the right eye has gotten throughout the last few years. And so I now have the strongest CSR episode on my left eye.
What a contrast of feelings. Whereas when I first got it on my right eye I was in relative panic, thinking I would lose my eyesight or suffered from ocular gonorrhoea (no joke, read the beginning of this post), this time I feel frustrated and a bit angry. I mean, COMMON! …but, it is not the time to get angry.
Factors that happened this year that could have affected my cortisol levels / induced this Central pain in the serous retinopathy’s arse.
- Moving to a new country / city
- Changing jobs
- Getting engaged and civil marriage
- Becoming a citizen of a new country
So, big changes. But things have gone relatively smooth. So I’m unsure why my eye is freaking out.
I went to a regular eye doctor, explained what I had in broken Japanese (my wife helped) and I was referred to 昭和大学病院附属東病院 (Showa University Hospital Fuzokuhigashi) a university hospital.
The doctor did the typical tests of looking a the blurry thing, burst of air… and when it came to the OCT, there was a monitor right in front of me showing the live feed from the machine! It was cool to see my eye real time but distracting as hell because I had to look forward and not to the screen where the results where being showed.
As for the prescription, beyond the “relax” part which was expected the doctor recommended alternative medicine kanpo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampo).
Hoping for this to go away quickly now 🙂
Left Eye, Top Right Field of Vision, Japan (June 2016)
Last month I noticed a clear blur on my left eye, top right part field of vision. I usually check by staring into a fixed spot and wiggling my fingers around my field of vision. They typically disappear on the trouble spot – all of this while I look like a crazy person.
Thought this still comes and goes about once a year, I think it’s good to say I have a new suspect: beer.
I don’t drink much but every now and then I go out with friends or coworkers for a few beers – something I assume everyone does 🙂 My eye acting up and the last beer outing were relatively close to each other. Could this be a trigger? I really hope not, because I do like going out for a beer every now and then.
One thing is for sure, every time I notice a spot I stop coffee, beer, check the hours I’m putting at work, make sure I’m eating relatively healthy, and also check if I’m actually doing exercise so that I can relax. These seem to be the variables that put things back into shape for my eye.
It’s July now, and things on my left eye have calmed down, I’m having a latte.
I’ll keep an eye on… my eye… next time I go for beers. But if you have had this as a trigger, please let me know.
Vision is Good, Japan (June 2017)
It’s been a year since my last post and thought it would be good to make an update.
The last year has been without incident, for the most part. At night, when I’m feeding a bottle to my daughter in the dark I can clearly notice a blurry spot that doesn’t allow me to see well in the dark. During the day, if it’s bright, I don’t notice it. When indoors and dim lighting I can find my blind spot if I look for it by fixing my sight and wiggling my finger across my field of vision until it disappears of blurs – but it’s not an issue.
So far my case is completely under control. Interestingly, I just went through the first year of my first born. That means high stress and little sleep, yet my eyes are as a good as they can be…
Hi There, CSR – Japan (April 2018)
A few weeks ago I had my annual checkout, which included a retinal image. This is the first time I am able to see the CSR at a glance on the retinal image. My vision is not bad though.
This week (4/4) I went back to Showa University Hospital Fuzokuhigashi. I got to check my eyesight, retinal exam and OCT (side note, the bill for the visit and exams was JPY 1,917 or about USD $15. This is covered under my issuance, but also under national insurance). I have another appointment for next Wednesday.
Meh, It’s back. Japan (March 2020)
I’ve been having a mild case since November last year. I went for my yearly checkup and the doctor, probably unfamiliar with my situation, saw a bunch scars and who knows what from previous laser treatments and gave me a look saying, “I believe your eye will self destroy in 10 seconds.” Of course he sent me to a specialist. I still need to go.
I sometimes feel I’m being too complacent.
Ten years sound like a long time until I read some of the comments here. There is one person in their 60s that has had CSR since their 20s. No time for complacency.
Stressful factors in my life now include family, work and completing Masters graduate program. This last one is eating my sleeping time, and I think that might be a contributing factor.
Let’s hope people with CSR are immune to the Coronavirus COVID-19.
Showa University Hospital (昭和大学病院東), Tokyo (March 2021)
Today I am writing this as a wait for the regular battery of eye-related test – blast of air, focus on the blurry the balloon, “tell me, where is this shaping facing, up? down? left? right?, this kind of thing.
I am here not because I feel any worse, but because when I went to my annual checkup, the took a picture of the back of the eye and, without knowing my history, I assume the doctor freaked out at the image (looks like the moon considering the laser scars) and asked me to urgently go to a specialist. So here I am.
I went back a few days later, they wanted to do another fluorescein angiogram just to make sure. So I did.
Reality Check 2021, The Future – Dr. Toujou (Need to find the Kanji for the name).
Later I went back for the consultations on the results. I have leak – cue me rolling my eyes and having my internal voice say “again…”. Let’s review some of the images:
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The doctor must have felt my indifference. After all, it’s not affecting my vision…. so big woop.
She then continued to explain that even though my vision is relatively fine, I should pay attention to the conditions of the leaks. This is because the retina getting detached (by fluid) over and over will eventually increase the risk of more serious issues when older. That was a bit scary to hear.
The recommendation is to cauterize the source of the leak with lasers – maybe? She feels it is a close call and, even if the decision is to do this, I would need to go to a different hospital with a more specialized machine. The machine they have there is for when the area to be lasered is away from the optical nerve.
I decide to proceed with the laser. She writes an introduction letter for the other, bigger hospital – St. Luke’s International Hospital – 聖路加国際病院.
St. Luke’s International Hospital – 聖路加国際病院 (2021, May)
By now I’ve been two times to this hospital. The first one (April), was an initial consultation. The doctor, the youngest looking doctor I’ve had in my life (early 30’s tops), mentions I need to have….. a fluorescein angiography – tada!
I said I just had one last month but he mentioned I needed a new one. Not only the hospitals cannot share this information (what?!) but the procedure at their hospital includes something they didn’t include at the Showa University hospital.
Most of the times I go for something related to my eye I mention that I am keeping a blog and ask if I can take a picture. This time two unprecedented things happened. First, when I got hooked up I asked the nurse if it was OK to take a picture of my arm. She said yes (no one ever has said no to that), but for the first time she offered to take a picture.
Then they hook up the dye, and this time it is two dyes, I ask if I can take a picture of my arm. The other unprecedented thing happened, this nurse told me no. “Sorry, no photos a the hospital”. When I clarified that I’m just pointing at my arm, she insisted, no.
I was not going to throw the previous nurse under the bus, but I was bummed out that she didn’t let me take any more picture because the dye was red and it looked cool. It is typically clear, if I remember correctly.
So in a few weeks I will go back to hear my results and see if I need the laser. The young doctor did mention that, from consulting with other doctors, it seemed like I will likely not need laser…. let’s see.
Dr. Vanessa Wong – Ottawa – Kanata Optometry Centre (Jan 2024)
Well, it was a nice run, but it’s back. I noticed the original blurry spot a couple of weeks ago. I’m not sure if it is the original, but it did remind me of the first time I had it.
I went to Kanata Optometry Centre here in Ottawa. Considering it was an “Optometry Centre” I was expecting to have a brief consultation and a referral to an “Ophthalmology Centre”. To my surprise, they were able to do the OCT (which by the way, stands for Optical Coherence Tomography – I just found that out) and… well, I guess there is not much they can say that I don’t expect.
I liked Dr. Wong. She came across as knowledgeable and approachable. Thankfully, it was the same story. I have it, a bit near the macula but not too critical. (I’ve read some comments here…).
It does look more dramatic than previous
Here’s another view showing the double whammy
Seems the left eye also wants to join the party. Let’s meditate so that doesn’t happen.
Dr. Wong said they will send the images to a specialist and they would follow up. I am looking forward to their call because there is one more image I forgot to take a photo of.
So, what the fk happened?!
Guesses, I suppose. They say there is no clear-cut reason for CSR, but stress is a factor. If I’m forced to come up with a reason, I have real strong candidate.
For the most part, 2023 was one of a hell of a stressful year – from all sides. My manager changed, my primary job role changed, family dynamics were challenging… It was tough, relatively speaking. The thing is, things got better in Q4, and this comes up now. Maybe there is a delayed reaction to the stressful action?
I’ve always been weary of stressful events, like almost getting into a fight at the start of this blog post (picture me rolling my eyes at the stupidity of it all)… but maybe it is not one stressful event but a prolonged stressful environment?
Not sure.
What now?
I take these episodes as a reminder to fine tune balance in my life. Am I not exercising? Eating properly? Sleeping enough? All of these things I’d give a low marks to my current lifestyle. So I’ll aim to improve.
Also, I take a break from coffee. I’m not sure that has any effect, but I welcome the challenge. I really like coffee.
Dr Thomas Lee – Ottawa – The Retina Center (Feb 2, 2024)
I got referred by Dr. Lee by Dr. Wong. This was the shortest interaction I’ve had with a doctor.
I came in. After a few minutes nurse dilated pupils, *snap* *snap* photos, etc. I waited, then called in to see the doctor.
Dr. Lee was in the room about 5 minutes. It was an efficient 5 minutes, but still… He reinforced the warning I had heard in Japan. Just because I can go about with my life with a little CSR it doesn’t mean it’s OK. “It’s like having a flooded basement. You have to deal with it or have consequences later.” He also gave me a new piece of information. “There has been new research in this subject and you probably have Pachychoroid “. Ahem. Say what?
Here is an article with more medical lingo, but in short pachy means “thick” and choroid means choroid.
There is new research that suggests most cases of CSR are because of Pachychoroid (having a thick choroid)”
Dr. Thomas Lee from Ottawa Retina Centre
The comment checks out. I’ve been researching the term and seems there are talks suggesting that CRS is linked to an anatomical anomaly, not stress, coffee, exercise, work, cleanliness, or the other list of reasons we have to theorize is causing this. it’s not definitive, but I hope they find clarity in what causes it and, in turn, how to fix it.
Fluoresceine Angiogram @ Ottawa Riverside Medical – March 7, 2024
When to Ottawa Riverside Hospital (or campus) for the test. Nothing out of the ordinary. Everyone in the hospital was nice. I got there early, at around 8:50am, I was out before 11:00am. It was good.
They called me saying the doctor had received the results and said I could come see him… in June! The hospital person who was calling treated it as “good news, it means nothing critical is happening”. Still, why wait more than 2 months to review the results? Even if it is nothing, you’d figure it would be better to review tests results soon after their results… I feel like these results would expire in two months.
That said, what do I know… let’s see what Dr. Lee says.
Follow up – Dr. Lee – (June 2024)
As suspected, there are leaks. Dr. Lee recommended laser – the less invasive laser that cauterizes the source of leaks – and so he did it. Not much to say here. but let me share a couple of images.
A side, note, Dr. Lee is not the talkative type. He’s professional and responds with nice tone, but no warm-up chit-chat, weather talk, or sharing about your pet – lucky if you get a “how are you?” at first or “take care” at the end.
“Schedule a follow up in 2 to 3 months” and he was gone.
Follow up – Dr. Lee – (September 2024)
It’s been three months since the laser was done. I’m sitting at the doctor updating this, about to understand the follow up. Yet, before I could write much, I was called and my pupils dilated.
And more LASER. My left eye is looking good but the right eye, apparently, needs a little bit more pew pew. And so it was done.
And just like last time, “schedule a follow up in 2 to 3 months,” and he was gone.
Clarification: this is a blog post on my particular case. I’m happy to hear many of you are finding a sense of empathy, validation, relief or frustration by having similar accounts, but please don’t have in mind that this is not a forum. A few people have mentioned a few forums you should check out for ongoing conversations.
In my case, I few years back I interacted with this CSR Yahoo Group – some of the folks here are battling worse CSR and for longer than I have – you might want to check them out.
Verga Jose, ta fea la vaina.
Una cervecita de vez en cuando o una caminata por el parque suelen ayudar.
Un abrazo desde Alemania,
Pablo
Gracias por el comentario Pablo. Ya la cosa esta mejor, la cuestion mejora sola… pero leeentoo. Cerveza no, lo que hace falta es un gluvain aleman… como quisiera pasar de visita por alla 🙂
hi Jose!
Great to hear your story. I’m experiencing the same for more than a week now. Just came from an optometrist, and I’m just fortunate that she was able to immediately suspect that it’s a CSR. But she referred me first to a retina specialist for an x-ray for confirmation.
Just hoping that I’ll be okay the soonest possible like you are.
Tnx!
Glad my experience gave you some perspective Edward. I tried to look for some information when they told me what it was and couldn’t find it.
The best thing you can do now is be patient. Hope it goes away quickly!
I just found out that I have CSR, similar like u, happened over night, my left eye blurry. I also see the black spot in the middle of my focus Point and blocking my vision. it moves. My optimist send me to retina specialist. I hope my vision comes back after for a while. My eyes dr said it’s from stress too. But I don’t feel stress. I’m type A though. Ur article was helpful to understand about CSR better and adapting my situation a little easier. Thanks.
i was noticed that my right eye is blurry and i did the same process as you did and doctors gave me the same results as they did to you .
for a while it went away and again , it’s knocking on my door !!
i’m having calcium and l-methionine for about a month and when you said that it can be related to protein it made me interested , i’m getting crazy about this blurry vision !
anyway hope we find a way to kick it’s ass for a life time .
Dude,
A few days ago mine started for the first time… They diagnosed straight away… CSR – common in pilots, type As and stress heads – like me i guess….. i’m a work-a-holic.
After the surgery did it go away???
It’s all good now! I have a follow up in a couple of weeks but it all should be good… CSR is great for reconsidering your workaholic-ism. Having a blurry eye is a constant reminder that we must take it easy and, if possible, not let oteher things get to us 🙂
…that was my take anyway.
Thanks for writing this. I was diagnosed with CRS yesterday after a similar experience. I woke one morning last week with what I thought was an afterimage from a lightbulb or something in the top-right of my field of vision in my right eye. After a couple of hours of seeing this I realized that something was not decidedly not cool!
I was fortunate in that I started by seeking out a retinologist (fortunately I don’t need a referral for my insurance) who knew right away what my problem was. I go back in six weeks to see how things are progressing.
I, too, can’t identify any major point of stress or anxiety in my life. But I will say that when I posted something about this on Facebook I got 20 replies of “Wow, I’m surprised this hasn’t happened to you before” or “you’re the most Type A person I’ve ever met- no shock there”. So maybe.
I have no idea what I’m going to change in my life right now, but the constant blur in my vision is a terrific reminder that I should calm down.
Thanks for posting your story
Hey Jon – Thanks for sharing. Indeed I’m not sure how we go about identifying these things. I might be in denial as well. There were a couple of things happening around that time which I knew I had under control.
…I still think that was the case… but I’ll review the situation in a couple of decades and see if I see it differently in hindsight.
If it’s CSR what you have, then patience seems to be the prescription. And it’s also the perfect excuse to start planning vacations – one after the other.
Cheers!
God! I thought why these crazy things come to me but after reading your post i don’t feel lonely now. LOL.
Exactly the same symptoms but i guess I’m lucky that my eye surgeon found that i may CSR within few minutes. Has called me for further next Monday. You said something about laser treatment god that is scary.
Thanks for the comment Saty. Yes, laser was scary and I didn’t want to do it until I heard “it could become permanent”… that was scarier. Having said that, the concept is scarier than the actual procedure. I thought I was going to get anesthesia and see a light saber inserted in my eye… but no. As soon as I said yes Dr. Chui took me to the room next door, did the flashy things in about 3 minutes, and that was it…
Hopefully you won’t have to see the flashes though. All the best with your eye and… let’s all calm down 🙂
Great Story…….
The almost same is happening with me……hopefully i’ll be cured….
(from Jose: I’ve added line breaks and some punctuation to the original comment – it was all one paragraph, no punctuation. It felt like a test in school. If something doesn’t make sense please let me know.)
DEAR CSR PEOPLE, I HAVE BEEN BATTLING THESE EPISODES FOR OVER 15 YRS. STRESS IS BULLSHIT. YOU WILL FIND OUT THE PRACTICING BOZOS HAVE NO CLUE.
JOSE, YOUR PHOTO AT THE BEGINNING, I HAVE A FULL FILE OF THESE. AS YOUR GUYS GET OLDER THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO GO AWAY… I AM 52 I HAD MY LAST EPISODE AT 50. IT TOOK ME OUT TO 20/200, BILL BOARDS ALONG ROADS WERE NONEXISTENT.
LASER SURGERY SEEM TO WEAKEN THE MAGULA LINING, SO MORE EPISODES SEEM TO FOLLOW. I HAVE BEEN TO OVER 20 DR FROM BARNES RETINA IN ST LOUIS TO MAYO CLINIC. DO NOT TAKE ANY STEROID SHOTS FOR ANY THING, PERIOD. START TAKING LUTEIN 45MG DAILY, THIS HELPS WITH FREG OF THE EPISODES. KEEP RECORD OF YOUR EYE DAMAGE YOURSELF MAKE THE DR SHOW YOU THERE LOCATIONS, HOPEFULLY YOU DONT HAVE CSR EPISODES IN BOTH EYES… YOU CAN; I HAVE.
THANK GOD MY LEFT EYE IS DOMINATE HASNT EFFECTED MY CENTRAL VISION LIKE IT HAS IN MY RIGHT EYE.
ANY QUESTIONS EMAIL ME, I KNOW FIRST HAND THE WORRIES STRESS OVER CSR FIRST HAND.
Hi guys,
I had this blur vision with my right eye since 2009. The eye specialist had me thinking that it is Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). Besides asking me to take Lutien tablets, no other treatment. I thought it would go away by itself but alas, it doesn’t and I have been living with this since till lately. I went to another eye specialist and he diagnosed me as having CSR instead. Now, I am considering whether to go for this laser treatment called Photodynamic Therapy. He said it is supposed to dry up the fluid beneath the retina. Any one has experienced this and had good results?
Thanks for sharing.
Brian – Thanks for sharing, but I’m hoping is that your theory that the laser weakens the macula is just a theory and doesn’t apply to me. I’ve had laser twice already…
Not sure how to avoid stress and like women at the same time.
And well, I’m now collecting g my own images.
Don – Brian shared his experiences, I’m also sharing mine. I’ll soon be posting the images of the back of my eye so you can see how the laser leaves its marks behind.
Dr. says it’s good as it’s a solution. Having fluid in there could permanently affect your vision.
Then there’s the steroids as Brian suggests, but that’s a consideration long ways for me to take.
Good luck!
My right eye went blurry coincided with a very stressful six months prior, which affected my everyday routines including driving which almost caused a few accidents because of misjudgement of distances. A quick scan in the internet could not pin point what was wrong and my wife suggested that I consult an optometrist since I needed a new pair of glasses anyway. The optometrist was so SURE that I had cataract and the options were explained to me including surgery and new glasses prescribed and paid for. Like all surgeries, it carries a certain degree of risk, my mind was filled with imaginary horrors of going blind with the .0 something degree risk surgery and that .0 something degree risk could just be me.Anyway, a week or two later, my vision got worse and I had big doubts it was cataract and a visit to two eye specialists confirmed it was csr and no surgery was needed at this stage, likely will heal itself with high probability will not regain the 20/20 vision, only very slight distortion which I am experiencing now. All cares, advices noted and taken, including TAI CHI, traditional Chinese massage,unscheduled holidays and good food. Fast forward six months after the eye doctors’ visit, my stress level is more or less the same as before but recurence has not materialised….YET. Maybe it is Tai Chi, maybe it is the massage maybe the good food or the combinations of all , my eye will tell me when to take it it easy. Will keep posted.
CSR is far more dangerous the you might think. I have it since 2009 and it only gets worse. I recommend you join yahoo csr group
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/csreye/
This is the Jon from the 3/20/12 comment. Approximately 5 weeks after my initial complaint and before my 6 week return visit to the retinologist my CSR spot had significantly improved. No longer was there a bright greenish/bluish spot, but rather a just kind of washed out image in my field of view.
The doctor advised EVERYTHING else was fine and healthy (still 20/20 vision, even)- to avoid cortisone creams when possible, and to try to learn to relax. No need to come back unless things get significantly worse.
Maybe two months ago the exact same spot flared up again. This time I didn’t panic and it went away naturally within two weeks.
Two days ago a much smaller spot appeared in my vision, this one in my other eye. DAMMIT! Still, I’m realizing that at least for now my best bet is just to relax. I’m trying to cut back on coffee and just roll with it. So far my experience has been that these things work themselves out with time.
Jose- you should start some kind of internet CSR support group! Your page and the comments here are continuing to help people feel less alone. My first thought after noticing the new spot in my other eye was that I needed to come out here and see how you and others were progressing. Peace and relaxation to you all.
Oh yeah- regarding coffee- I had just mentioned to my wife “Hey, I think I drank way too much coffee this morning, I’m feeling shaky all over” when I suddenly saw the new spot in my other eye. Of course, an anecdote isn’t evidence, but as I sit here sipping coffee and re-reading your July 30 update I’m wondering if I shouldn’t cut it out all together.
I’m not condoning the use of illegal substances, but I’m wondering if anyone has seen any evidence that marijuana, which is purported to have some beneficial effects for some eye ailments would be of any benefit to those of us experiencing this? One would think it might at least help us relax!
Jon – Thanks for sharing your story as well.
I need to update the post but I actually stopped drinking coffee, am exercising less, sleeping more, taking vitamins, and eating carrots like they were going to disappear soon.
Not that I condone it either, but the pot idea might not be bad. If anyone out there has something to say in this respect, please do.
Lastly, Dimon posted a link to a Yahoo Group here: http://goo.gl/9iWTV. Lots of people sharing experiences, pictures, advice… It kind of made me feel good about my episodes as there are people that have really bad cases.
Cheers!
I’m 34 and diagnosed with CSR 6 days ago. It was at 2pm that day and suddenly I feel something in my right eye causing blurry vision. At first, I thought it was an eye lash but I ruled that out. Evert time I blink my right eye, I see an oval shaped gray figure.
Long story short, I just want to tell Jose that I, too, often drink protein shakes because I work out quite a lot and do heavy weights. I’ve been doing this for 2 years,. Though the cause is still unknown and blame to stress, I want to point this workout and protein shakes correlation to CSR. Anyone else on the same boat?
Thank you guyz for sharing your stories. I am experiencing csr right now as the Optemetrist said to me. He was quite confused because this usually happens to male with older age than mine. I’m 20 yrs old girl who at the early age experiencing csr said by the Dr. he then recommended me to go through laser thing but have a go first to that x-ray thingy to make sure of the treatment and for double check up..I was so depressed when I realize than this is really serious case but when i read your posts I was relieved that the laser thing is really true. I just hope it goes well with me..
Mike – though I thought the same thing, what I’ve come to realize is that when they say the condition is “stress” related, it’s referring to both mental and/or physical stress. So if you work out ‘a lot’ you might want to tone it down while you recuperate.
Having said that, I switched to rice protein for breakfast shakes. I only use it once a week or so because of pure paranoia…
Maria – Glad you got some perspective from the stories. The laser is pretty simple. Having said that, some I’ve read some posts of people that are against it and that they blame the recurrence to it… check out Yahoo Group for CSR and you’ll find different perspectives.
Even I was diagnosed with CSR. A homeopath prescribed RUTA 200 to me and it worked and I had my full vision back. I have started doing Yoga and two days fasting every week for attaining calm temperament and the problem hasnt come back.
Dear All,
Please welcome me I just joined the CSR club.
At the beginning I noticed blurriness so I went to see one of the best eye Doctors and he said this is because of the age. I was not convinced, yesterday I went to see another one at Dubai Mall Medical Center. After taking my eye scans he confirmed that I have CSR.
Hi Jose,
Great site – finding something like this online and sharing common experiences does really help, and it is fairly difficult finding specific references to CSR versus Macular Degeneration, which is slightly different (age-related) even though it’s the same end-result.
I would also like to say that what a lot of sites and articles don’t mention is that there is a fair amount of mental stress resulting from this kind of thing happening – no one wants to go blind, and it’s even scarier when you don’t understand what is going on and what your options are, or if there is a fix.
My story goes back to 2003 when it occured in my left eye (age 33). I have managed fine all these years without treatment as I wasn’t aware that something had come out (sadly for me) so I suspect that it may have been too long without treatment.
Stress? Coffee? Sure, but nothing too excessive. I suspect it might be just an unlucky roll of the dice in the end, or maybe the IT industry!
You can still easily get around and do everything you want to with only one eye affected, however it’s probably inevitable that the other one will go, which occured in mid-December last year. Needless to say, this time around I was struck completely blind and knew exactly what had happened.
I went straight down to the local eye Doc (which is a very good thing to do), was given my options and I chose Avastin injections. I must make a point of saying that my Doc has been fantastic, by the way. I am aware that the alternatives are Lucentis (I’m too young as they’re too expensive for me – only 41 now…) and PDT (cold laser therapy) which I’m guessing is what you’ve gone through.
I have had six recurrences in my right eye since then, however it’s been a couple of months now since my last. The Avastin really does work if you’re considering it (it takes between 4-6 weeks to almost-resolve each new break to a small flat hill shape then eventually if you’re lucky you get a nice valley), however I’d always take your own doctor’s advice – it’s just good to know that there are options. So, 27 treatments later (yes, 27 however I’m getting both eyes done at the same time to at least try and deal with the blister in my left also, which is slowly going down) things are starting to settle down. If you’re contemplating any type of treatment and you think you can’t do it, just consider the consequences (ie: no central vision) and you’ll be surprised what you’re prepared to do, and the doctors do look after you through the process.
Please keep in mind that the recurring version (I’ve read) is reasonably rare, so I don’t mean to worry you!
One last thing – my last OCT showed a really looking nice valley (I’m sure you all know what I mean) so I am pretty excited – best photo all year.
Good luck everyone, and wish me luck too!
I got CSR last Jan 16th. Now I have a ~5deg translucent-brownish spot in my central vision (right eye). Everything within that area gets wavy.
Stress? Maybe… The main problem is reading, which is mandatory to me: I’m a grad student. Also, driving at night is a real problem ’cause the spot is not translucent anymore (cone vision + swollen fovea = dark central spot ).
I know I just have to wait for my recovery, but my right eye feels tired easily and this really messes my life.
Remarkably, I found that patching my (sick) eye for some minutes (~15) gave me a lot of relief, and the spot got clear! (although still wavy). Thus, tonight, for the first time, I was able to watch a whole movie since I got this shit 🙂
Ah F**k.
CSR in left eye. Im a compositor for film and tv commercials. In my 4th week of it now. Can’t see me lasting to much longer in work if it keeps up. 🙁
Another sufferer here. Occurred straight after what I thought was a stomach virus that had me in pain for 3 days and nights. No sleep. Plenty of stress too not knowing what I had and when it was going to end.
Doing a bit of Internet searching on CSR and I find that there appears to be a link to helicobacter pylori infection, which can also cause the same stomach symptoms I experienced. In the interest of preventing reoccurance and healing I’m having a simple breath test to check if I have this bacteria.
Many people, I think up to 50% of the population has the bacteria but if this has been an established risk factor I reckon it”d be worth eradicating with a week of antibiotics and protein pump inhibitors.
Has anyone else here considered checking for infection?
Glad to see you continuing to update this story (although sad to hear you’re still battling it, of course!). I went for several months without any recurrence, but after suffering for 8 weeks with tendonitis in my ankle I finally went to the doctor who recommended an oral steroid. I was wise and said no, but because of the severity he recommended at least some kind of steroid cream.
I’m writing you now with a new, bigger than ever spot in my right eye. Sigh. I can’t say it’s totally related to the cream, but it seems like a strange coincidence.
Keep well, my friend
I’ve had CSR for about 3 years now. It hasn’t gone away. I will not get laser treatments because I don’t believe this is the way to go. I know it will help me now but it could also do more damage for future episodes. Some days it is very bad to the point where I wear an eye patch and some days are better where I can keep both eyes open. I’m not a coffee drinker so I don’t think that’s a problem. I am a type A personality and I deal with massive stress. I’m trying to learn to not stress about everything but it’s how I have been my whole life. I smoke a lot of cigarettes and maybe I should quit. I also smoke a lot of cannabis and have been smoking a lot of cannabis for over 20 years. When I smoke it seems to bother my CSR more. I eat pretty well and cook my own food from scratch with fresh organic ingredients. I’m pretty healthy but I don’t exercise much. If anyone knows of any non evasive cures, please email me at [email protected]. Thanks you!
Had my first CSR episode in my right (good) eye 3 months ago. I was really freaked out at first, but got referred to some good doctors who did all the scans and explained what it was. It went away quickly as they said it would, but the CSR just appeared again a few days ago. I expected it might come back but not this soon! It’s not good but I’m trying to be more relaxed about it this time, and hopefully it’ll go away. Also it happened is as I was having a relaxing holiday so I’m not sure I believe stress is a direct cause. I’m definitely a type A personality though…
Thanks Jose for starting this site, it really helps to read about similar experiences!
Good luck to you all
Eyes are one of the most important organ in the human body and vision is one of the most wonderful gift. But often many people neglect the importance of eye care and do not pay proper attention towards eye care.:”,.
Best regards
Kelly
Optometrists are medical professionals but not physicians. After college, they spent four years in a program and got a degree in optometry. Some optometrists undergo additional clinical training after optometry school. They focus on regular vision care and prescribe eyeglasses and contacts.`-`.
I’ve had CSC (CSR) since 2002. I’m now 43. I had it in both eyes, in 2 or 3 different spots.
The good news: it has always gone away.
The bad news: it comes back with stress. Unlike an earlier poster (ALL CAPS GUY), I can directly link mine to periods of my life that are very stressful. I’ve not had any episodes for several years now, and things have been relatively calm until lately, and blammo… I’ve got one in my left eye for the last few weeks. It’s my warning sign. My eye is also twitching quite a bit.
I’ve learned to live with them. I adjust my life (as best as possible) when they come, and they go away. I do tend to internalize my stress, so I need to find a way to release it.
Have patience everyone. And hope. Eventually, as we age, they do go away. The recurrence for me has definitely extended between episodes. Less often and not as long.
I also feel the same way. It comes, it goes. I have scarring, so if I look for it I’ll have a blind spot.
Of course, easy for me to say because it really doesn’t affect me as much as I see some other people out there.
Relax…
Yep… I think most of us had that perspective when we were first misdiagnosed 🙂
Agreed
Thanks for the feedback Francois 🙂
Indeed, there are a few of us out there. You can always check out the Yahoo group, there’s also people constantly exchanging ideas and conversing about it http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/csreye/
Good luck right back at ya!
Hey Ricky – Hope it goes well. I know some people that have had to change jobs because of this. But trust me, I know that “ah F**k” feeling… well I guess we all do :/
the treatment which worked for me
hello, thank you so much for sharing your story,because it gave me more strength to fight this disease when knowing that i was not alone.the treatment which worked for me was consisted of : injection of AVASTIN + lutein tablets everyday + making my faith to GOD stronger.at the first weeks after injection,i had no faith that it gonna work and i will never be healed again.but one day I thought that may be there is something wrong in my life (for example i have stress for every little things) and GOD wants to alert me by this eye situation, to change that wrong habit before it makes a bigger serious trouble for me.so i spent more time by talking to GOD and asking him to show me the way of changing the wrong parts of my life.GOD showed me the way,gave me peace so i became free of stress and finally i healed completely.I wish that it gonna work for any other person who has CSR.
I’ve been suffering with CSR for the last 3 years now. it keeps going and returning and everytime worst than the previous time. i donno why but at the beginning i linked it to a certain protein supplement (caseine) which i stopped. i also had pylori before which is one of the suspected reasons but i also got that treated.
few month back i had the same situation happening and i have to mention that i’m almost a personality A person and my working atmosphere doesn’t help at all. i decided to cool down and it improved and i was seeing things back like normally till i started sleeping late and sometimes sleeping for 3-4 hours especially after my recent trip to Thailand where you can’t sleep. now it’s back all of a sudden while having a BBQ and i feel like i’m becoming blind and preparing myself for the worst. i heard of cold yellow laser, needle in the eye which is the most recommended treatment right now but just mentioning it bring my stress level to a peak point .. did anyone try it? i donno what to do, all i can think of right now is to forget about progress and future plans and just give up for relaxation and the chilling mode so my eye gets better hopefully and i’m willing to travel to different places for meditation and observing the nature and stay away from daily pressures like work, people and habits.
as a side note, if any one recommends a doctor, i’m also willing to travel and meet this doctor hping he/she can help 🙁
Thanks all,
Your brother in CSR 😀
Hi to all csr sufferers, I am going through with csr for the first time. It has lasted for 5 months and im wondering if my vision will ever go back to normal. Just fed up with it. Havent worked for the last 4 months. The eye doctors have suggested that i wait for a spontaneous recovery as the leak is very near to my central vision i maybe left with a blind spotif laser is carried out. I Have been trying to relax n take things easy but its just taking ages to clear. Every now and then my affected eye aches and im wondering if anyelse has experienced this.
If anyone can reccommend any nutritional supplments or Any questions i can ask my doc at next eye appt. Please let me know.
Its reassuring to read about others who are in the same boat as myself
Great info all… Have had csr 2 weeks getting worse in left eye now traveling to my central vision so retina specialist said we need to stop this fast to prevent scarring and vision loss so he prescribed 60 mg of prednisone??!! So confused as ive been reading looks like oral steroids cause csr?? Has anyone been given steroids for this any info would help im 33 and i know stress is bad but this is really stressing me out scared of losing my vision and not seeing my 2 yr old grow up… Sorry for the ranting just very worried… Thanks for any insight
Hi. Try not tp worry the doc will be well aware what medication hes giving you. You wont go blind ive had csr in my central vision. Havent lost vision has just got impaired. Im due to see a different doc to see what they can advise me or if pdt may help. Will keep you posted.
Hey Jon, Thanks for sharing your story, I got diagnosed also of CSR by my eye doctor last 13 feb 2014, got referred to a retina specialist, still need to make an appointment, no idea if Im gettin a surgery or just wait for it to resolve. My right eye is the one affected, Im type A personality, male, 48 years old, have a very stressfull job, i am a registered nurse, i used hydrocortisone cream for a long time and received a couple of steroids shots on both foot for my plantar fasciitis a couple of years ago, I use cpap machine for my sleep apnea . I got all the conditions that will have a CSR. Ill post what will happen to my check up and treatment.
Jose and others-
I want to thank you for sharing your stories. I was just diagnosed with CSR today, Tuesday. I woke up last Sunday with my vision not quite right. My eyes wouldn’t quite focus on anything together. It was something like if you rub your eyes hard (from allergies) when they itch, and it takes just a second for them to come back to a central focal point – it was a similar sensation, but it wouldn’t go away. After a bit I noticed that the problem was in my left eye.
If I only looked through my left eye, I saw a round, greyish/red fuzzy circle that resembled a full moon with craters. It was only in my central vision and everything else around it was completely fine, but just the slightest bit darker. The circular shape was opaque (not see-thru), but I found that with different lighting environments, the color of the fuzzy circle changed. For example, if I was in a dark room and looked at a brightly lit fish tank across the room, the circle was a dark red color. It looked exactly like a blood-red full moon. This is what frightened me to get it checked out very quickly. I thought there was blood somewhere behind my eye.
Two days later after first noticing the problem and getting it checked and confirmed CSR, it seems to have gotten just slightly better already. From the pictures, it looked like there was quite a bit of fluid between the layers, but it was a thin layer of fluid. I don’t know if this matters on the recovery? From the other stories, it seems that this is very soon to notice a difference. I may just be relieved that it is not something even worse.
Here is what I think caused my CSR- I’m self employed and our busy season for our products is just getting underway. I’ve been working nearly around the clock about three nights a week (less than 4 hours of sleep), and at least 10 hour days everyday, for the past two months. Needless to say, the stress levels are very high to get our products to where they need to be on time. I’m continually working against the clock. I had acute bronchitis about a month ago, and still have a nagging cough, which sometimes is pretty bad and causes a lot of pressure in my head to where it hurts enough to make me wince. The day before I awoke with CSR, I had moved a friend all morning and afternoon with a lot of heavy lifting, and then went straight into work until 3:30am Sunday morning. I awoke at 9:30am and rushed off to get groceries for a dinner party we were hosting. That is when I noticed that there was something wrong.
The whole combination of stress, lack of sleep, fatigue and being ill, really added up.
This is my ticket to slow down and relax. I’m just surprised that CSR hasn’t happened to me sooner.
I was relieved to have found this site and it made me feel as though I wasn’t alone in what I was experiencing.