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Online now: 6 members: Blizzo35, Crumpy, Dbax, Dick6, TABLE SETTER 11, TRosenthal; 86 anonymousDiscussion: What have Been Your Experiences With PVD?
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| April 23, 2012 hombre Men's 60 240 posts | What have Been Your Experiences With PVD? I was recently diagnosed with PVD (Posterior Vitreous Detachment), which is a partial detachment of the gel sac in the eye from the retina. I have some concerns about the effect of softball on this condition. According to Google, 75% of all people over the age of 65 experience this condition, so I know some of you must have some first hand knowledge on the subject. My concerns are: does playing softball exacerbate the condition, do the symptoms eventually disappear, does the condition occur more than once? Any firsthand information would be appreciated. |
| April 23, 2012 docswear Men's 55 99 posts | Hombre... by itself, a PVD is not serious at all. Over time the vitreous shrinks which is just a natural part of the aging process (sorry). The downsides are the irritation you will experience when you see those little spots, lines, strings, tadpoles, spider webs or whatever shapes yours have taken moving around in front of you. Generally you will only see them against a bright background and believe it or not, you will grow accustomed to them and probably get to a point that you won't even notice them. The floating stuff is tissue that has broken away from the retina when the bag of fluid (vitreous) pulled away from the retinal layer. Sometimes the vitreous will "clump" together creating other types of floaters. The biggest downside will be that this will put you at a slightly greater risk to develop either a retinal detachment or a macular hole. These are both much more serious than your PVD. If you get an increase in your floating spots, flashing lights in your vision, a decrease in your vision or a feeling that a curtain is being pulled down over part of your vision, you need to see a Retinal Specialist ASAP... The sooner you get it fixed the easier that fix is (generally). Bottom line is that depending on the amount and intensity of your floaters, you shouldn't have anything more than a minor annoyance from their existence and will most likely not even notice them much in the future. good luck... docswear |
| April 23, 2012 hombre Men's 60 240 posts | Mike, I appreciate the information. I have an appointment 5/5 and hope my doctor releases me. The condition has improved, but I was concerned about the effect of playing softball since I was taking BP when I noticed my problem. Thanks, again |
| April 23, 2012 docswear Men's 55 99 posts | Jim.. ah.. yeah.. you did ask that... sorry... when you are seen at this next appointment, the specialist will let you know if the vitreous has managed to completely detach from the retina which will release the tension on the retina which will minimize the risk and he will tell you to feel free to play ball. He might add that using the "special" senior bats is an insult to your manhood and ask where your pride is.. If you are like me you will completely ignore the question and continue to use the bats...just don't hit the ball up the middle unless there is a screen in which case you will think you are on a minature golf course... sorry a little humor there. My PVD in both eyes occured in my late 40's. I continue to see the spots but have yet to be troubled with any significant retinal issues. I claim that I was a stellar defensive player before they occured but unfortunately those that played with me a long time ago when I was young know better. Just pay attention to any changes in the number of floaters ... watch for flashes of light or loss of vision.. and WAIT until your doctor clears you to play to minimize the risk... Mike |
| April 23, 2012 hombre Men's 60 240 posts | I would have to reply to the good doctor that anyone who uses the "Special Bats" himself and then belittles others for doing the same, has no manhood, but has plenty of hypocrisy. Also, if the doctor doesn't like the way the game is being played, play somewhere else. That is unless the sole purpose of his whining is to have someone notice that he exists. Mike, I'm with you, Play Ball! |
| April 24, 2012 Gary19 Men's 50 2609 posts | Very bizarre thread. And not a lot of comprehension in the posts. =( |
| April 24, 2012 HJ Men's 70 481 posts | Amen and thank you Gary19 for saying it. I don't understand why posts can't be in straightforward English. If you really want to communicate, then just say it. |
| April 24, 2012 salio2k Men's 60 547 posts | It affects older people. Maybe you need to have the condition to understand it. Apparently, hombre understood what docswear spoke of. |
| April 24, 2012 Gary19 Men's 50 2609 posts | salio, that I agree with. It was this stuff: "He might add that using the "special" senior bats is an insult to your manhood and ask where your pride is.. If you are like me you will completely ignore the question and continue to use the bats...just don't hit the ball up the middle unless there is a screen in which case you will think you are on a minature golf course... sorry a little humor there" and then this stuff: "I would have to reply to the good doctor that anyone who uses the "Special Bats" himself and then belittles others for doing the same, has no manhood, but has plenty of hypocrisy. Also, if the doctor doesn't like the way the game is being played, play somewhere else. That is unless the sole purpose of his whining is to have someone notice that he exists" that got a bit bizarre and off course. |
| April 24, 2012 the wood Men's 65 1123 posts | What is so hard to understand? One guy asks a legitimate question about an eye condition that has prevented him from playing. He wanted to know if others have had similar experiences. He hits the jackpot in terms of responses because the other guy not only has had the condition, he is an eye Dr. Yeah, they threw in some banter about 'senior bats, etc.' for humor. Look on the bright side, Gary, it saved you from having to invent a way to interject the 'lack of manliness of senior bats' argument into the thread. It has been stated on here many, many times that if you don't like the subject matter you don't have to read the thread. There are probably only 15-20 other threads to like or dislike. BW |
| April 24, 2012 Gary19 Men's 50 2609 posts | wood, I didn't see a dark side. Just made the obvious observation that the thread got a bit bizarre. Oh, and that was humor???????? |
| April 24, 2012 E4/E6 Men's 70 873 posts | Yes Gary, That is and was humor, evidently something you fail(ed) to recognize with your Vast Education and Lack of Common Sense. Keep injecting your negativity Gary, it re-enforces what many on this board think of your comments. |
| April 24, 2012 docswear Men's 55 99 posts | Sorry Gary... my answer was directed to Hombre. He evidentally understood and hopefully the information I provided was helpful to him.. He also managed to understand the good natured banter and did not find the "twist" either bizzare or incomprehensible. I often find posts on this blog presented as unusual or not related to the original subject but refrain from commenting as such as a matter of good taste and respect. I respect the opinions of everyone that posts including those that do not agree with my own thoughts. In addition, as a response to HJ, my response to Hombre's question was quite straight forward and both he and I seem to feel we communicated quite well.... in English no less. If I offended either of you or anyone else with what both Hombre and I shared as a humorous touch to us, I sincerely apologize. Thank you to my good friends E4/E6 and the wood for seeing both the humor and possible value of my response to Hombre. docswear |
| April 24, 2012 Gary19 Men's 50 2609 posts | doc, sorry but with a comment so obviously directed toward me I didn't think restraint was necessary. And no, not offended at all, just found it all a bit bizarre. That was all. |
| April 24, 2012 Omar Khayyam 1357 posts | hombre, I had this condition a few years ago, first in the left eye, and then 4 months later, in the right eye. Very disconcerting and scary when the flashing starts! Went to a retina specialist right away and here was his advice. The condition can get worse—by two degrees. If it worsens (half vision, sense of darkness, etc.) then you should immediately return to a specialist because laser treatment might be helpful, or in the worst case, surgery. If done within 24 hours, both approaches are usually successful. My specialist recommended that I not play softball for a month to six weeks. He was concerned about sudden motions (snaring a line drive), about batting, and about jolting up and down. He felt even most calisthenics were too strenuous (such as sit-ups), so I began to ride an exercise bike to keep in shape. His recommendation was to turn my head side to side when driving rather than moving my eyes rapidly. After the bizarre checkerboard patterns passed, I had floaters in both eyes. One of them is almost entirely gone (and it took about 2 years) and the other has a larger floater, near the center of my eye, and it is not disappearing. The flashing lights disappeared as the vitreous reattached. Neither interfered greatly with my softball. As docswear said, it is amazing how the eye can adapt. Nonetheless, I always pitch with a mask because of the more limited vision, and when playing outfield, the floater in my right eye can be disconcerting. Although I suspect it is really age, I blame a slight decline in my batting average on it as well. Always nice to have an excuse. :=) I also find it more tiring to read, so I made sure my eyeglasses were properly fit and got a new prescription—helped quite a bit. |
| April 25, 2012 hombre Men's 60 240 posts | docswear and Omar, I truly appreciate the feedback. It's been helpful and reassuring. I have confidence in the specialist who is treating me, but there are some questions best answered by other softball players with first hand experience. Thanks again |
| April 25, 2012 armiho211 Men's 70 449 posts | there is a eye doctor in south florida that uses a laser to work on floaters are too annoying. name is SCOTT GELLER. I HAVE NEVER USED HIM, but if you are have problems and the floaters dont go away, maybe this doctor might be an option. it doesnt hurt to check his website. best of luck with your problem. www.vitreousfloaters.com |
| April 26, 2012 docswear Men's 55 99 posts | Armiho211... great post!.. There are three nationally known docs that perform this procedure.. Dr. Geller in Florida, Dr. Karickhoff in Virginia and Dr. James Johnson here in California. I have met with Dr. Johnson and have referred patients to him for evaluation. The procedure is done using a laser (YAG type) which can vaporize the floaters. The procedure has helped a lot of people that were really bothered. In general, most eye doctors view floaters as nothing more than an annoyance and feel the procedure is both unnecessary and poses undue risk to the eye which is why the procedure is not performed by more surgeons. The treatment plan for floaters is generally either 1.. live with them.. 2. do a vitrectomy (procedure to replace the natural vitreal fluid in the eye) 3. natural remedies (drops) or 4. the laser procedure. The only procedure that does not produce some sort of question in the minds of most eye docs is to do nothing and live with them. For the patient that is bothered so much that they feel they cannot perform their normal daily activities with the floaters present they will reach out and try anything. My suggestion would be to ask the doc that you are seeing now what his thoughts are (you said you had confidence in him) and pick his brain on the subject. If you honestly feel you cannot live with them, schedule a consult with one of the above docs and go from there. I know Dr. Johnson and have spoken with him. I know he is conservative and will not do the procedure unless he feels it is safe and necessary. Hopefully you will not have significant floaters that bother you and you won't have to worry about it. If you want more info let me know your e-mail and I will help. docswear |
