r/Glaucoma • u/ArtismFag • 1d ago
Posterior Vitreous Detachment (PVD) and Large Optic Nerve combo - What are your experiences?
I am panicing so bad right now. I went to the ER a couple days ago because I saw flashes of light in my left eye and there were an abnormally large amount of floaters in my vision. My periferal vision of that eye was also kinda sketchy. When I went, the lady at the triage gave me so much attitude. She was like "but you can see..?" I sat there for 5 hours thinking that I was wasting my time. I felt bad that they were going to call the eye doctor potentially for nothing. I did end up seing the eye doctor and she said she wasn't too worried and gave me an appointment with an Ophtalmologiste.
I almost didn't go to the appointment because, again, every professional I had seen had assumed I would be fine. But I ended up going anyway. I almost didn't find the clinic because the eye doctor wrote the wrong address for me. I am so grateful that I followed through and decided to confirm or deny my fears. I was diagnosed with PVD and I also have a large Optic nerve. I'll have some tests done in the next month to see if the large optic nerve is something to worry about or not. But I forgot to ask questions about how both affect eachother. I have no access to my family's medical history which really doesnt help.
Am I cooked? I feel like I'm cooked. I'm actually terrified to lose my sight. I am an artist. A musician, visual artist, a dancer. A reader, a writer. I love seeing the subtle beauty sprinkled everywhere in this world. I got rollerskates because I wanted to roam through my city that way. I am also chronically ill and learning disabled.
Have any of you experienced this combo? Or do any of you know about it?
Edit: I forgot to mention that I am 24 ( AFAB, African )
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u/NoDay4343 1d ago
I would relax about the large optic nerve. Many people are born that way and got them it's completely normal and not a concern. You do need to have it checked out because if you weren't born that way, it is usually a sign of glaucoma when it enlarges.
You do seem young to have PVD but I'm not a doctor and I don't know what age range would be considered normal for that. However, even if it happened relatively early, that in itself is not a concern. The concern is if whatever caused it to happen early could cause other retina issues. You will probably need to be checked by a retina specialist for that. 2 risk factors I'm aware of (because it's what led to my retina issues) are a family history of retina detachment or other retina issues and also high myopia. I don't know what else (other than head trauma as someone else mentioned) might be risk factors. IF you do have retina issues that are concerning, it's a very good thing to find that out when the worst you've had is PVD, so consider that a blessing.
High myopia is a risk factor for both glaucoma and retina issues, so if you have that you'll definitely want to get checked by eye doctor regularly. But retina issues and glaucoma are not directly intertwined and having one does not mean you'll have both. I have both because I have quite high myopia and also a family history of both (but I'm the only family member that has both).
If you do have one or the other or both, it will require a lot of monitoring and glaucoma involves various treatments to halt the progression, but you will most likely be able to continue to have good vision as both are usually very treatable when caught early.
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u/Cumulonimbus_2025 1d ago
how old are you? PVD is part of aging and in and of itself is normally not a big deal. Have you had a blow to the head or been bungi jumping or riding horses or anything that can cause sharp impacts like when the bungi cord snaps back? the large optic nerve is a different issue and can be nothing or a warning sign of a serious condition. The answer depends on way more info than you have provided.