Central Serous Retinopathy: Visiting the Eye Doctor
One of our writers has had to deal with an eye condition known as Central Serous Retinopathy. Since we work with eye surgeons I asked her to write about it and agreed to post it on this blog. She has written a series of nine blogs on her experience with Central Serous Retinopathay.
This is blog post 5 of 9:
I live in a very small mountain town. When all of this started we didn't have an eye doctor in town. More recently I heard that the clinic was trying to get one to come up once a week or something. My really bad episode, the one that convinced me I had to get it checked out, happened on a Sunday night. Monday, I called the clinic to find out if the rumors were true. As luck would have it, they were true and he was going to be in town that Friday. He only comes up once a month and is not coming to town next month, so it was now or wait until July. I booked the appointment.
The eye doctor was wonderful. He took plenty of time to discuss what was going on. When he asked questions, he actually listened to my answers and when I asked questions he answered them thoroughly and patiently even when I needed more explanation. Wow!
He looked at my eyes through different lenses and had me move my eyes around to every possible position until they were sore. He said he could see a blister on my retina and that he felt pretty sure it was Central Serous Retinopathy (CSR), but I needed to come to his regular office for more tests tomorrow, a Saturday. I wasn't sure if I could make it on such short notice, but he insisted. No matter how I worded the question about coming in the next week if there was really no way for me to get there that soon, he would not back down. He was very, very nice about it, but very insistent. He called his office and set the appointment right then and there.
He told me that I needed the tests right away because I might need to go to a specialist and there was a chance I would need laser surgery. If I did need to see the specialist he wanted to get me in as quickly as possible.
We talked about CSR, what it is, what causes it, what you can do about it. He had had it himself, but it wasn't in the center of his vision and it went away on its own. Normally it does go away on its own in a month or two after it first appears. Mine had been going on for nearly nine months. That was what had him so worried. The longer it stays, the more likely it is to do permanent damage to your vision. Plus, he wanted to rule out any other possibilities.
He told me they think it is caused by stress. It happens mostly to young, healthy men with type A personalities. I'm not male and I wouldn’t consider myself a type A personality, but the stress part sure fit.
Humorous moment: he asked me if I ever stare at the sun for "recreational purposes." I don't even want to know what that means.
This is blog post 5 of 9:
I live in a very small mountain town. When all of this started we didn't have an eye doctor in town. More recently I heard that the clinic was trying to get one to come up once a week or something. My really bad episode, the one that convinced me I had to get it checked out, happened on a Sunday night. Monday, I called the clinic to find out if the rumors were true. As luck would have it, they were true and he was going to be in town that Friday. He only comes up once a month and is not coming to town next month, so it was now or wait until July. I booked the appointment.
The eye doctor was wonderful. He took plenty of time to discuss what was going on. When he asked questions, he actually listened to my answers and when I asked questions he answered them thoroughly and patiently even when I needed more explanation. Wow!
He looked at my eyes through different lenses and had me move my eyes around to every possible position until they were sore. He said he could see a blister on my retina and that he felt pretty sure it was Central Serous Retinopathy (CSR), but I needed to come to his regular office for more tests tomorrow, a Saturday. I wasn't sure if I could make it on such short notice, but he insisted. No matter how I worded the question about coming in the next week if there was really no way for me to get there that soon, he would not back down. He was very, very nice about it, but very insistent. He called his office and set the appointment right then and there.
He told me that I needed the tests right away because I might need to go to a specialist and there was a chance I would need laser surgery. If I did need to see the specialist he wanted to get me in as quickly as possible.
We talked about CSR, what it is, what causes it, what you can do about it. He had had it himself, but it wasn't in the center of his vision and it went away on its own. Normally it does go away on its own in a month or two after it first appears. Mine had been going on for nearly nine months. That was what had him so worried. The longer it stays, the more likely it is to do permanent damage to your vision. Plus, he wanted to rule out any other possibilities.
He told me they think it is caused by stress. It happens mostly to young, healthy men with type A personalities. I'm not male and I wouldn’t consider myself a type A personality, but the stress part sure fit.
Humorous moment: he asked me if I ever stare at the sun for "recreational purposes." I don't even want to know what that means.
Labels: Central Serous Retinopathy
posted by Dan Goldstein at 6:43 AM
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