My left retina is completely detached and I have a right fragile retina that is still attached. I can see 20/400, so I’m legally blind. I am unable to drive, play contact sports, see well in the dark, or see movies in 3D. Frustrating, isn’t it? I’m 25, been blind in my left eye my entire life, ever since birth.

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Yo, late to the party, sorry op.
I'm 24 this month.
I sustained my retinal detachment maybe almost a year ago. I was at a practice for a boffer sport/LARP called dagorhir. Me and a friend were sparing and I caught the brunt of a missed slash with my eye(silly me for not wearing a helmet). I felt what I could remember at a sharp stab and then a full ache that soon faded. I remember feeling like something was swaying past my vision like hair or something but couldn't figure it out.

Later I first started noticing floaters in my left eye that weren't there before(vitreous detachment).

I was living in on my own and money was tight. I just shrugged it off, for like 6 months, until my next eye exam when money was less tight. I had 2 surgeries(a partial buckle and eventually a pneumatic retinaplexi) and some laser. I'm fairly lucky I'd say. I lost vision in the upper right periphery of my left eye, not a ton, and my right eye picked up the slack. This is partly why I waited so long, I didn't even notice the vision loss until the vitreous detachment progressed a bit more and made the floaters more visible.

It's been a very scary time for me the last few months and I hardly lost much vision, so I can only imagine what it's been like for you.

I know in my case it's also been difficult talking to people about it. I feel like alot of people are very squeemish about eye inju
ries.
tl;dr I was sparring for nerd sport(dagorhir) practice and took a fist to the eye. Let it go for atleast six months to find out the severity of what actually happened. Had two surgeries. It's been an anxiety filled few months

Hi, I had a retinal detachment in my right eye in January of this year. I am 15 so it was pretty rare but not unexpected because i have high degree myopia which put me at risk of retinal detachments so it was going to happen eventually. I will probably get one in my left eye too someday.

By the time i had realised what was happening and gotten to the hospital (i was turned away the first time) it was pretty much too late and it was decided it was emergent because my macular had detached has well. I lost 95% of my vision to a point i could only see a tiny bit of light in the upper corner.

I had an operation around 2-3 days later and it was reattached for a week or so my vision was red and i couldn’t see very much at all. Now the red had gone but i can’t see very well out of the centre of my eye, so when i’m doing something like reading i close shut that eye otherwise it’s difficult. As for adjustment there weren’t many i had to make because i was partially sighted anyway but this had made it worse m. I have began to use a cane because my depth perception is awful.

I'm in Canada, so take this with a grain of salt for your country. I have ROP: I had a situation in my life where I got pushed high up in the CS department at my University, because I'm likable, I guess, until teachers didn't want to help me at all. So I saw a counselor and told her I wasn't sure about doing anything else because I didn't want to run into the same problem, and she told me to take a break from school. I'm thinking of moving soon to a new area and maybe in the future, in a completely different area, I'd try school again, because I hear things have changed for the better in the last 3-5 years so don't let the capitalists in this world control your future, because you could put in all the right effort, work with the disability center at the university, and never get anywhere because of stigma and the horrible idea that relying on stack overflow in place of teacher help is an awesome thing! You shouldn't avoid an area you're passionate about, because maybe your passion will be enough to teach the skills required to graduate on your own so keep your eyes open so to speak if you can. my parents wanted to blame the people in the middle, people which didn't deserve the blame because they were extremely helpful when they could be. Not much they can do if the retired prof doesn't want to be there and talks about it loudly to someone, before the class.

My vision impairment has a different cause, but I wanted to suggest it may be worth asking what accommodations your college provides. I work at a university in the US and I know our school offers really extensive support for visually impaired students--almost everything you can imagine from free software to note-taking services to the option to take fewer courses and keep scholarships, etc. Sending you good thoughts and hoping you are able to find community and support. FWIW I'm 29 and also cannot drive due to my vision, and I have a great life and a lot of independence. Don't give up on your education.

I’ve had 4 retinal detachment surgeries (2 in each eye). While legally blind, I completed college and struggled to adjust to normal life. I did regain vision in my left eye after surgeons being super cautious going into cataract surgery, and now I have 20/20 vision without glasses, 20/15 with.

While I was struggling to deal with the retinal detachments, I got into a routine. That was very important to me. I did 5 years of college, and half of them I was legally blind. It was so challenging. One year, I had to take 7 final exams because I had to leave early the previous semester to have another retinal detachment surgery. From someone who’s been there, I would say to not give up. There are many resources you can reach out to in order to adjust - check with your states Education Services for the Blind. They helped me with college, and they helped me get used to day to day activities (especially getting around a big college campus). Ask your college for help- they should have a disabilities division to aid you with whatever you need. It’s going to be tough at first, but you will adapt!

Me. There are plenty of young people with retinal detachments, most of whom were born with retinopathy of prematurity (like me). ROP causes you to be born with totally or partially detached retinas. I've had both retinas detach & 2 surgeries each to repair them. They were successful in one eye & not so successful in the other.

I'm curious how your detachments happened? Anyway, I've been dealing with this since I was born. I got my first pair of glasses at age 2, I think. I don't drive, either & it's a real drag.

How bad is your vision now? Are you monitored by a retinal specialist? Maybe at your next eye appointment, you can talk about referral for voc rehab, if you qualify. It doesn't hurt to ask. They can help with finding a job & getting back in school if you want to finish. Also think about seeing a therapist to talk about how to process your vision loss and the grief that goes along with it.