Notice....

[bogaertb]

Hi Lin,

I've been visiting your site some times and have watched your realizations. I realize that your eyes are precious for what you achieve so it must more disturbing for yourself then for us. Take good care and I wish you a speedy and full recovery.

Kind regards,

[cottage]

Lin,

We're praying for a full and speedy recovery. We're here to help in any way we can as you and your family work through this time together. Please don't hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,

Bill

[dagrace]

Lin, our prayers for a speedy recovery. Interestingly enough, a long time friend just reported that he has a similar malady, caused by a serious accident, in his case. So I've heard a little about the symptoms and pain involved.

Get better soon!

[Jill]

Hi Lin,

Sorry to hear of your eye problems, but have no fear your sight will return. I had the same problem of a PVD about 18 months ago. Although it wasn't as bad as yours sounds. It occured after banging my head on a cupboard door. I had dark flashes & then saw grey misty circles in front of my eye. It is very disconcerting when it first happens. But after a few weeks became less noticable & after a couple of months I was no longer aware of the problem.

Hope you will soon be back at the forum with your words of wisdom.

With all best wishes

Jill

North Wales

[Ednys]

Sorry Lin about your eye problem and hope you have a full recovery in the not too distant future.

Unfortunatley we did not get to see any of those wonderfully painted ceramics whilst in Az, we were whisked from one end of the state to the other and many places in between, but none of the few shops we looked in had any of the items. Ah well maybe another time.

Get well soon

Glenys

[RonH]

Hi Lin – Sorry to read about your problem – I know exactly what it’s like but my symptoms only last about 20 minutes and are very infrequent. You must be very frustrated but you must take it easy, even when you are back to normal.

I have reason to be very grateful to you for your tutorials and especially the ‘snow effect’ although even in the far north of England we seldom see snow on the ground these days. We travelled to Canada and even failed to find snow in Churchill last year, the Polar Bears don’t look the same mooching around on the brown sludgy tundra but the occasional smattering of snow was greatly enhanced by your show storm technique!

Get well soon – we need your input

[CorVdK]

Lin,

I also want to wish you a complete and quick recovery.

Back on the forum after some time, I started reading, and saw your message.

I can imagine a little bit how you must feel not to be able to do what you like to do.

Anyway take time to recover and take care of yourself.

My best wishes to you.

And also greetings to Sherry,

take good care of him, Lin is very important to us!

Many thanks,

Cor

[smithrg]

Lin, I'm sorry to hear about your eyesight problem.

Get well soon...!!!

Best wishes,robertg

[Paul T]

Hi guys & gals,

I've suffered an eye trauma which will prevent me from much in the way of forum participation for possibly a couple months depending on how recovery progresses. It's nothing permanent but my vision is greatly affected temporarily and it makes it difficult to see what I'm doing. I apologize to those whom I promised more AV Tutorials on how to implement the snow effects, etc. I'll try to keep working on it if I can make out the screen but it's slow going right now....

Best regards,

Lin

Hi Lin

So sorry to hear about the proplem with your eye and hope you are able to make a speedy recovery and will miss your contibution to the forum for a while.

All the best Paul

[JohnB]

Hi all and thanks for the support. My wife Sherry is kind enough to type this and include an article explaining what happened to my left eye. Hopefully the huge floater an thousands of tiny ones which obscure my vision will eventually be absorbed though the article below doesn't give much indication that this is likely to happen. On the other hand my Opthamologist said they would be absorbed and after some time will no longer be a problem so I'm not sure who is right. The extreme lightning effect every time I move my eyes to scan (read) is the major problem right now. It's very disconcerting and makes reading for more than about 20 seconds intolerable even though my right eye is fine. Even with a patch over my left eye I still have the extreme flashes which the doctor has said should disappear within 2 weeks to 2 months.

So that's where I'm at right now. It's just too difficult to read for more than a few seconds so it makes working at the computer very difficult. When one is "addicted" to the computer it's a tough pill to swallow, but I'm doing the best I can - lots of people have many more serious issues so I've very happy nothing more has happened and hope to be back in a couple of months. Sherry reads the threads to me every day but I'm sure that this will grow tiresome - LOL

Thanks again,

Lin

posterior vitreous detachment (PVD)

With age, the vitreous humor changes from a gel to a liquid. As it does so, the vitreous mass gradually shrinks and collapses, separating and falling away from the retina. This is called a "posterior vitreous detachment" (PVD) and is a normal occurrence between ages 40 and 70.

Commonly, a person having experienced a PVD will report seeing flashing lights and/or floaters in his or her field of vision. The flashes of light occur as the vitreous tugs on the sensory layer of the retina as the vitreous is detaching. The floaters—which are cells or debris released when the vitreous detaches—can appear as little dots, circles, lines, cobwebs, or clouds. They especially can be apparent when looking at a bright background, as the light entering the eye casts shadows of the floaters onto the retina. Sometimes a large, single floater actually can obstruct print that is being read. The observance of flashes and floaters can last two or more weeks. Even episodes lasting as long as six months can occur.

It is said that the percent chance of having a vitreous detachment is at least the same as one’s age. However, a PVD may occur earlier than normal in moderately to extremely nearsighted people, as well as in people who have had cataract surgery. A dilated eye exam should be performed to make sure the symptoms are not due to a retinal detachment, which is a much more serious and potentially sight-threatening condition.

floaters (muscae volitantes)

As a posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) occurs—that is, as the vitreous fluid separates from the retina—organic debris or particles known as "floaters" are released. Another name for floaters is "muscae volitantes" (flying flies). Most floaters are merely compressed cells or strands of the vitreous gel which have clumped together so that they are less transparent than the rest of the vitreous. Some floaters are remnants of the hyaloid artery, which usually disintegrates before birth. These types of floaters are harmless.

Floaters sometimes interfere with vision, often during reading, and they can be quite annoying. If a floater appears directly in the line of sight, the best thing to do is to move the eye from side to side or up and down. Doing so can create a current within the internal fluids to move the floater temporarily away from the line of sight. If a floater is suspended in a portion of vitreous humor which is very viscous, it can be very persistent and bothersome. Unfortunately, in most instances, there is nothing to do but learn to tolerate the floater’s presence. Surgical removal is considered only in the most extreme cases.

Usually, the vitreous makes a clean break as it pulls away from the retina. Occasionally, however, the vitreous adheres tightly onto the retina in certain places; and a small, often horseshoe-shaped tear in the retina can result from persistent tugging by the vitreous. Unless the retinal tear is repaired, fluid can seep through this hole into or underneath the retina and cause a retinal detachment, a very serious, sight-threatening condition. As the vitreous membrane tugs on the retina, at points where the two structures remain attached, the tension can cause "flashing" sensations. Occasional flashes of light usually are nothing to be concerned about, unless they increase in frequency and occur in conjunction with a sudden onset of a large number of floaters, in which case a retinal detachment may have occurred.

Thanks for a very helpful message -- I had exactly the same symptoms about a year ago and it's good to have everything set out because I can't remember exactly what the optician said.

In my case the floaters gradually disappeared after a few months. but (bad news) the coloured flashing is still there. I've learned to live with it, but it's still a bit disconcerting if I turn my head suddenly when driving.

My best wishes for the future.