Vitreous hemorrhage

Hello,
5 days before my c-section i vomited and I had bleeding in my vitreous. Till now it is not clear why it happened. Currently i have cloudly vision and small dark lines as cobweb. I’m very desperate and i’m afraid that the blood will not be absorbed:( i would appreciate if u can share your experience with absorption of blood. Im afraid that blood will not be absorbed and i have to go for vitrectomy which i wanna avoid as much as possible.

I’ve not experienced bleeding into the vitreous but I’ve read about it. Have any doctors told you about the source of this blood? If it were me, I would ensure that a retina specialist doctor was involved.

I can report that a close friend of mine had a bleed into his vitreous caused by a partial retinal detachment. He sought a second opinion at Stanford and doctors used a vitrectomy to effect a reattachment of the retina. In his case, all the blood and debris did reabsorb and he has normal vision in that eye.

I wish you the best. There are members here with direct experience with a vitrectomy. I’m hoping you’ll hear from them. Welcome to TuD!

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It takes a while (think on the level of several months or more for a major bleed) for most of the blood to be absorbed but if it is your first bleed and you are young, it probably will be, you just need to be patient, which is hard and sucks when your vision is compromised. In my experience, it gets a lot better within 3 weeks since even though I will still see plenty of blood, my vision is usually fairly functional by then.

Also, if you vomit or cough badly enough, even someone without retinopathy can get a hemorrhage, so it may or may not indicate a significant problem. But definitely get seen by retina specialist as soon as you can (may need to wait for the blood to clear a bit for them to really get a good idea of what is going on) so they can decide what treatment if any is warranted to prevent further bleeds. Also key, as Terry points out, to rule out detachments, and to check for edema (swelling) of the retina.

It is SUPER scary to have this kind of thing happen, but as someone who did and now has retinopathy as a chronic but largely managed condition (I got laser and more aggressive treatment at the beginning, but now get injections every 3-9 months and only occasionally have small bleeds that prompt sooner injections and clear up fast, but no vitrectomies), it actually isn’t that bad. There are likely many potential steps between where you are and a vitrectomy.

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I have checked with the retina specialist and the retina is attached. I have some changes in my eye because of my pregnancy and one of the reason can be CRVO, but also i was told that most probably my blood vessel has been broken because of the tense vomiting. Could you please say if your friend has some complication after vitrectomy, i have read that it is very risky surgery:(

Thanks for your response

It was really scary. The day of my c section i wasn’t able to recognize who is my brother who is my husband. I was thinking I’m going to be blind… now i see much better, still my vision is haze and i see some blood. I really hope my blood will be absorbed and i will not go for surgery. end of september will be two month that i have blood in vitreous.

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As long as your vision is steadily improving, that’s a good sign! It may take you even longer than me, everyone is different.

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I had 2 vitrectomies 25 years ago, and my vision is fine now. You’re going to have to patiently wait for the blood to be absorbed … it took over 2 months in my case.

You might also look into whether your blood pressure continues to be elevated. My bleeds were the first sign I had kidney disease and was hypertensive.

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I did fully body health check-up and everything seems ok. I have never had issue with my eye ( except i have myopia). I read many articles about bleeding in vitreous. It seems i need to wait till 6 months. I hope eventually the blood will be absorbed:(

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My friend’s eyesight recovered well. Good luck.

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my mom had an early in process vitrectomy and the eye never recovered. But that was in the 1980’s things are way more refined these days. If I needed one I woudl do it.

I have had so many, but never surgery except laser (and two injections of Avastin.) It depends which area it bleeds into. I have had some take a year. Not trying to scare you. What I see is speckles, zillions of speckles against any sky or light background. I do not see them in the dark. Some of those have taken as long as a year. But for some reason I have not heard of that many people with that long of a problem. Minor bleeds absorb quicker, and some do not ruin all my vision. I have had them happen from any kind of strain, including one time when I had to push a grocery cart through a parking lot on a very very windy stormy day. My excellent retinal surgeon said she didn’t think people got them from heavy lifting, but I have to say they have only happened to me during extreme lifting/straining at moving something. I hope yours heals quickly!

I dont have speckles, i have cloudy vision and small/ long dark lines. It seems i look through the cobweb. Im ready to wait even one year if the blood will be absorbed. I read so many stories on internet that if the blood has not been absorbed in 3 months, most probably i will need a vitrectomy, even if it is
absorbed my sight will be worse ( i have already -7.5).

Can you please say if your sight was the same as before bleeding?

My vision returned to what it was prior to bleeds / vitroectomies. It just took time, and everyone is different - there’s no benchmark time (some absorb blood more quickly than others)

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Thanks, you gave me hope:)

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