I Have Lattice Degeneration

SeoReborn

SeoReborn

New member
Mar 5, 2008
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London UK
I just got out of an eye examination with the optometrist. She found that I have lattice in both my eyes. Thinning on my right eye and a hole in me left. I found out that it could lead to retina detachment, causing a partial or complete loss of eyesight. FUCK. Shes going to refer me to hospital to get it checked out and already told me I would probably get barrage laser treatment for it. Its supposed to be quite common where 8% of the population has it and mostly happen to those who are myopic. I really don't want to have the laser treatment as I'm sure there are side effects. Moreover, I did some research and it does not guarantee the prevention of detachment.

From here: Handbook of Ocular Disease Management - LATTICE DEGENERATION

In lattice degeneration alone, prophylactic treatment is not practical in that the risk of detachment is only 0.1 to 0.7 percent in the phakic eye. Atrophic holes in phakic eyes with lattice degeneration also do not require prophylactic treatment, as the risk of progression to detachment is two percent or less….

Lattice degeneration both with and without atrophic holes is generally benign and does not require prophylactic treatment, as the complications of treatment are more severe than the natural history of the untreated condition.
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Being doctors I'm sure they will push the surgery on me, on how it WILL prevent detachment and with no or negligible side effects from the treatment.

Have any of you got diagnosed with this? How do you manage it? Did you go ahead with the laser surgery?

I would like to go the natural route if any is available. I wonder if there are any supplements or natural eye drops to help this condition.
 


Bummer dude. Eye disease is like my biggest fear. Do your own research and don't rely on the doctor to give you good advice.
 
Shit bro. I can't advice here anything, but at least here is my sympathy and the best wishes.

denise-milani-rocking-in-blue-bikini-photoshots-11.jpg
 
So you are giving more weight to an article that was most likely purchased in the SBT section than to a physician that spent 4 years in undergrad, 4 years in medical school, 4 years in residency, and probably another 2-3 years doing a fellowship?

Go see the physician, get a second opinion, and stop diagnosing yourself from a website hosted on some overloaded shared server
 
medicalhumor said:
So you are giving more weight to an article that was most likely purchased int the SBT section than to a physician that spent 4 years in undergrad, 4 years in medical school, 4 years in residency, and probably another 2-3 years doing a fellowship?

Go see the physician, get a second opinion, and stop diagnosing yourself from a website hosted on some overloaded shared server
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Agreed.
I have a rare form of Glaucoma, and it all comes down to the doctor you choose. find someone you're comfortable with and let them help you. I'm as opposed to western medicine as anyone, but don't mess around with supplements and natural remedies when it comes to your eyes.
 
medicalhumor said:
So you are giving more weight to an article that was most likely purchased in the SBT section than to a physician that spent 4 years in undergrad, 4 years in medical school, 4 years in residency, and probably another 2-3 years doing a fellowship?

Go see the physician, get a second opinion, and stop diagnosing yourself from a website hosted on some overloaded shared server
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I am going to see the optometrist again on Monday and she will be making the referral to a specialist which I will go to. However, what I won't do is sit back and do no research myself and rely solely on what they say. I have not diagnosed myself either, it is the optometrist who looked into my eye via her magnifying equipment that told me I have this condition.

It doesn't matter how much time they spend in grad school or whatever, they learn the subject from somewhere. Through experience I have known them to over simplify the risks, talk as if there aren't risk and advise as if what they do will prevent or cure when its not 100% guaranteed.
 
SeoReborn said:
I am going to see the optometrist again on Monday and she will be making the referral to a specialist which I will go to. However, what I won't do is sit back and do no research myself and rely solely on what they say. I have not diagnosed myself either, it is the optometrist who looked into my eye via her magnifying equipment that told me I have this condition.

It doesn't matter how much time they spend in grad school or whatever, they learn the subject from somewhere. Through experience I have known them to over simplify the risks, talk as if there aren't risk and advise as if what they do will prevent or cure when its not 100% guaranteed.
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As medicalhumor said, get a second opinion man. Go see another optometrist for a "routine annual checkup" and have them examine you, without telling them that anything is seriously wrong, and see what they say. Get a third opinion even. Like cheshire alluded to above, your eyesight is not to be fucked with. Don't just take the first word out of one person's mouth as gospel, get multiple opinions at all levels of the process before they go zapping your eyeballs with lasers.
 
These guys are supposed to be specialists says similar:

https://www.retinastl.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120&Itemid=190

Laser is sometimes applied around these lesions, particularly if there is a current or prior history of a retinal tear or retinal detachment. However, the vast majority of patients with lattice degeneration or atrophic retinal holes are observed without treatment, as the likelihood of developing a retinal detachment is still quite low, even in the presence of symptoms such as flashes and floaters.
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Fatbat said:
As medicalhumor said, get a second opinion man. Go see another optometrist for a "routine annual checkup" and have them examine you, without telling them that anything is seriously wrong, and see what they say. Get a third opinion even. Like cheshire alluded to above, your eyesight is not to be fucked with. Don't just take the first word out of one person's mouth as gospel, get multiple opinions at all levels of the process before they go zapping your eyeballs with lasers.
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The referral to the hospital would be for an examination before the surgery. If it was directly to the surgery, I would definitely go see another optometrist. I won't rely one like you say.
 
@Fatbat. Thanks man. Its monday when I see the optometrist again, so I'll try booking an appointment with another optometrist tomorrow or Friday to see what they say. I'll going in its a routine check up.
 
I don't know lattice degeneration but I have had a lot of eye surgery. Background laser like what you are talking about is as benign as it gets with eye surgery. It does destroy the vision in the area that the laser is used but that is actually not as bad as it sounds. Unless the work is done in the center (macula) in which case get a lot of opinions before you let them do anything there. You, me all of us are missing tiny bits of our vision in the peripheral but our minds map around it and we don't even know it is not there/gone. So unless you lose a lot you will forget about it easily.

The procedure is not that bad even if it is scary. As you might imagine having a laser shot into your eye is pretty trippy. Your fear will be the worst of it, so if you can relax it wont be a big deal at all. If you know you will be super anxious ask them to prescribe valum/atavan(sp?). The work is also easy for the doctor, so make sure you get a good, experienced one but don't stress too much.

Anyway I know it isn't much fun.
 
SeoReborn said:
@Fatbat. Thanks man. Its monday when I see the optometrist again, so I'll try booking an appointment with another optometrist tomorrow or Friday to see what they say. I'll going in its a routine check up.
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If you aren't sure about what he optometrist tells you, make an appointment with an opthalmatrist. They are MD's and are much more knowledgeable than optometrists. They are also professionals, where optometrists are more business and are more apt to give you advice based on their bottom line.

Good luck!

Edit: Fiver beat me to it
 
angrykoreaman said:
Are you being serious? not sure if trolling or not.
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Yes, I R SRS.

He asked about natural treatments... might be worth a shot. I know if I was losing my eyesight I'd be willing to give some eye exercises a go. Still, I'd do the doctor thing too.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARG9dKNXtb4]Meir Schneider - Yoga for Your Eyes - YouTube[/ame]
 
Just got back from another optometrist where I went in as a 'routine eye check'. They used a flash to get an image for the back of my eyes (which the one yesterday did not do). Then she used the light and magnifying glass to check the back of the eye (just like the way the test went yesterday). She told me my eye is all healthy with no problems whatsoever. After all the checks including the tests for diaptor readings, I came out honest to tell her the real reason for coming. She said its a different opinion and she can't see any problem with my eyes, no lattice can be seen. So i asked her if she could do another check just in case, which she did in more detail and still said there are no problems. She's been working as an optometrist for 8 years now. Its abit of a relief but I wlll still go to the other optometrist on monday, as she will dilute my pupils using eye drops to do a more thorough examination. I'll update here.

Another thing as well is this test and the one yesterday gave 2 different prescription readings. This one gave a stronger diaptor in both eyes by -0.25 compared to yesterday.
 
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