My Goofy Eye
December 9, 2009
In the middle of a hectic end-of-the-year schedule, my (evil) right eye decided to misbehave. My CSR (Central Serous Retinopathy) came back as a result of a reaction to the nasal steroid, Fluticasone. To make a long story short, my retinal specialist informed me that I can never take any kind of steroid medication…nothing with a “sone” in the name. When I do, the vessels in the back of my eye begin to leak and fluid builds up beneath my retina. Weeks after I stopped taking the Fluticasone, my doctor expected the leaks would have stopped on their own…but they didn’t. Eventually I had to visit the retinal specialist again, have an IV stuck in my arm and injected with fluorescein dye – an orange dye used to illuminate the blood vessels of the retina. The fluorescein angiography revealed that I had several small leaks, and no large, single leak suitable for laser treatment. So, at this point, I just have to ‘wait and see” (pun intented) for the leaks to heal themselves and my vision to improve.
Hi Glen! I came across your website in google. I have CSR too! What a bummer, isnt it? Anyway, how is your vision now? Has it improved? My vision is like as if I’m seeing things through water. My right eye is my bad eye too, and it has micropsia, seeing things smaller than they actually are. When I use both eyes, its really bothersome. I’m suffering from really bad anxiety because of this. I’m amazed at how you cope and still be thankful for what youve got! I hope I’ve got some of your spirit. =) Hope to hear from you.
Yes, CSR can be a real downer. Thankfully, it has improved a lot. Not only did I have the “looking through water” vision, but I also had a dark brown spot in the center of my vision for a while. I doubt mine was caused by stress. My CSR came on years AFTER one of the most stressful times in my life. If it was stress related, why didn’t it pop up when I was stressed? When my CSR first showed up, things in my life were good. The only thing I had to stress about was the CSR itself. I still have a little micropsia in the lower/center vision of my right eye. Even that has gotten better. For a while, rectangle shapes looked a little like bowties.
I believe 100% that mine was caused by a hyperactive immune system PLUS an adverse reaction to Nasacort, a cortical steroid. Talking to my retinal specialist, he agrees that I have to avoid anything with “cort” in the name (ex: Cortaid). So, I avoid that and I exercise regularly. For years, I suffered from ulcerative colitis. Regular exercise gives my body something else to repair. When we exercise, it’s not the workouts that build our bodies, it’s the time between those exercises when our bodies rebuild. As a result, both my CSR and my ulcerative colitis are “in check.” Again, this has been my experience.
I’m glad sharing my experience online may have helped you.
All the best – Glen
Thanks for the reply Glen! How long did it take for you before the “looking through water” vision improved? Mine will be 1 year this August and I am quite hopeless and preparing myself for the worst that this will be it for the rest of my life. =(
When you had that vision, how did you cope with driving, watching tv, and simply walking outdoors, doing grocery shopping, etc? Didnt you have a hard time?
And oh, I also have a mini schnauzer. Arent they the best dogs? =)
Was just diagnosed with CSR, so I don’t know anything about how my disease will progress. I find it very suspicious that I also took the nasal steroid beginning in Feb 2011, and was diagnosed with CSR in October. No stress in my life either.