Dear Sir,
Don't wait another moment, you probably have a minimum of PVD or most likely a detached retina. I know, I just went through the exact same symptoms. It starts with a slight flashing light off to the side when you de-focus or move your eye quickly to either side. I started to notice it in Sparta at the Grand, I also stated to experience a few more floaters than usual.
I ignored it like a fool!
Two weeks later, a small black cloud like thing started to appear in the corner of my vision when I looked off to one side...I though OH OH...and went to the local Stein Optical...nothing against them, but the Dr. said; don't worry its only PVD (the goo in your eye shrinks with age and causes this). It kinda was a relief, but not what I expected from my research.
About two days later I noticed the black cloud had advanced to not only the corner but now covered 20% of my vision on the bottom. I set up an appointment with a specialist the next day.
I was examined and diagnosed in about 3mins. The retina had torn in more than once place. I was in an operating room at St. Luke's in Milwaukee within an hour with, what I would like to believe is one of the top dudes in the Midwest Dr. Fred Reeser. Dr. Resser determined that the retina had torn in 7 places, and had no choice but to perform a vitrectomy along with a scleal buckle and pin the retina tears with a laser. I was lucky enough to have my buddy as the anesthesiologist, I asked him to take me completely under vs. the twilight version of the surgery...
Other than waking up into twilight at the point where Dr. Reeser was doing the laser treatments and the final stitching...I felt and recall absolutely NOTHING. It was a completely pain free, experience. Albeit, I was scared out of my mind, until they administered the first round of anesthesia. My blood pressure was off the charts. No doubt, I was almost ready to cash in the eye, go blind and call it a day, but the OR team assured me it was going to just fine.
OK, that part almost makes me cry, but its just the way it was. These people were fantastic and I owe sight in my left eye to them...
Now the not so OK part, part of the procedure is to inject an air (mixed gas) bubble in the eye to maintain pressure and to allow the tears to heal. I had to stay face down, looking directly at the floor for 21 days...Oh my God, I had no idea my wife was that good at cleaning the floors...I did a 21 day inspection and found no issues. The bubble in the eye has to stay in the same position, 24 hours a day unless you are doing the 6 different eye drops every 4 hours. Its amazing, the first two and half weeks went by and I couldn't even remember them...the mind blocks out bad stuff just fine. The last few days are the ultimate worse, just waiting for the bubble to disappear so I could lift my head.
In the beginning t took about 3 days to get over the neck pain, and a week to figure out how to sleep. We rented the chair day one, its kinda a massage chair thing you see in the malls. It works, kinda, but it sucks. I'd be happy to team up with a bio-mechanical engineer and redesign the POS chair...
So, I guess you could say I'm lucky, I wised up quick enough to get to the doctor and have regained 98% of my sight; I still see a little speck of a cloud in the corner.
Sir, if you even think you have a problem, your owe it to yourself to get it checked out. The process sucks, but it works, and its painless, and the recovery is actually tolerable.
Apparently, 3% of the population has this issue; that's 1 out of 15,000 people in the US. We elite, as I like to refer to myself now, have a thin retina that pulls apart when the goo in the eye shrinks with age (I'm 55). I have the beginnings of a tear in my right eye as well, but when caught upfront can be treated with a cryo procedure right in the doctors office, and had very little recovery. The unfortunate side effects of the ordeal is probably cataracts in the years to come, but after all this; no big deal.
THE BEST NEWS FROM THE DOCTOR WAS THE SHOOTING DOESN'T CAUSE IT OR MAKE IT WORSE!!!
That's my story...GO GET IT CHECKED OUT NOW!!!!!!
Good luck,
Ron