# Retinal Detachment



## tinyliny

my friend had this happen. She didn't ride for about 4 months, I think. Your eye is the most important thing, so don't rush or risk things.


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## Golden Horse

Ask your surgeon, it depends on so many things, but you really don’t want to risk Your eyesight. My friend was out fir nearly 6 months with hers. @beau159 will give good advice, if I remember rightly, eyes are her thing!


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## tinyliny

yeah, It could have been longer. I can't remember exactly when this freaky thing happened to my friend, but it was a significant period of time after the surgery. Just getting through the post surgery period, where she had to keep facing downward 24/7 for like 10 days was one of the hardest things she's every done, she said. She had a lot of support from her husband


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## beau159

Yes Golden Horse eyes are my thing!


OP, I am an optometrist. Your questions are going to be best directed to your ophthalmologist who is going to be doing your surgical repair. There's a difference on whether you just have a retinal tear, or whether you actually have a retinal detachment. And there are different surgical procedures, based on the type of tear or detachment you have. 



However, in most cases, the longer you can go without riding, THE BETTER. Even if you are a smooth rider on a smooth horse, there still is a lot of "bouncing" that occurs when you ride. Until the retina has had time to really heal, you are at great risk for that bouncing to cause it to tear or detach again. So you really need to ask your surgeon when it will be safe for you to start riding again. There are too many variables based on the type of problem you have, and the type of repair that is going to be needed.



*Don't mess around with your eyes. You only have one chance.* Once you actually sustain a full retinal detachment, you will never have the same vision you once did before. Our current medical technology is not able to "fix" retinal tissue. It is too complex, like brain tissue. Once the retinal cells are ripped apart, there's no putting them back together again. So make sure you follow your doctor's orders to a tee.


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## Eilis Horan

I had a full detachment & had the reattachment surgery 6 weeks ago. I saw my consultant yesterday & apparently I’m doing well. I’m to see him again in four weeks & he said not to ride until after that. I just wondered about people’s experience & if it is safe to ride again, I’m nervous of everything at present!


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## Eilis Horan

Thank you all


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## Eilis Horan

Do you think it will be possible to ride again or could it cause further problems?


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## Golden Horse

Eilis Horan said:


> Do you think it will be possible to ride again or could it cause further problems?



I think that random internet people guessing will not help you, there are just too many variables, ask your surgeon on the risks involved.

My friend had a detachment last year, and has ended up with very poor vision in her damaged eye. She followed doctors orders to the letter, and bullied me when I was itching to get back in the saddle after a repair to a tear in mine. She is back in the saddle now, but for her it was certainly over 6 months, maybe 9 months.


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## Eilis Horan

Thanks


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## beau159

Eilis Horan said:


> Do you think it will be possible to ride again or could it cause further problems?



Once your retina is healed, it's healed. You'll be fine to ride after that. Just wait until your doctor gives you the okay. 



And of course, if you ever have any symptoms in the future, return to your doc ASAP. It is possible to have future holes/tears/breaks, but once your doctor gives you the okay to ride, I would not walk on eggshells the rest of your life, because that's no way to live! Ride when he/she says it is okay to ride.


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## SilverMaple

My uncle had a retinal detachment and repair. His doctor told him 6-9 months. He rode a few times, but his damaged vision and depth perception are not the same, and riding now gives him vertigo and nausea so he hasn't ridden more than a few times since. My friend Jennifer's mom had retinal detachment surgery a year ago and has very little change to her vision now that she's healed and is back to riding. So it's very different from person to person. You'll just have to wait and see how things go. Good luck!


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## Eilis Horan

Thank you for your replies. They are much appreciated and very helpful


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## Michellelh10

How long did it rake for vision to recover? O had surgery on Sunday and blurry seems a bit of an understatement


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## beau159

Michellelh10 said:


> How long did it rake for vision to recover? O had surgery on Sunday and blurry seems a bit of an understatement



Hello Michelle and welcome to the forum. 



Well, it ultimately depends on how bad of a retinal tear/detachment you had and what structures were affected and what procedure was required to fix it. 



You're best bet is to ask the ophthalmologist who did your surgery on where they would *expect* your vision to be down the road. And sometimes, they might not be able to give you an answer. The retina is very complex tissue and it doesn't always respond how you think it will, when you try to "put it back together".


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