One eye v. an eye and a half

[Papa Jim]

Due to a detached retina (not woodworking related) I now have 20/20 vision in one eye and 20/150 in the other.  As a result I have greatly curtailed my woodworking over the last 2-1/2 yrs. As hard as my brain tries, these two images prove difficult to combine.  Look at it this way: If one eye is a cherry pie and the other is a cow pie, mixing them together doesn't make the cow pie better. It just makes the cherry pie worse. I am considering using a patch over the bad eye but that sacrifices depth presception. If any woodworkers out there have wrestled with this problem and have any advice I would appreciate it. 

Papa Jim

[stav]

No help for the asked question but I had a coworker that had detached retinas in both eyes and he got surgery for them both and is seeing fine now. Your situation is likely different.

[Papa Jim]

No help for the asked question but I had a coworker that had detached retinas in both eyes and he got surgery for them both and is seeing fine now. Your situation is likely different.

Surgery is successful about 80% of the time.

[lift mechanic]

I lost the sight in my left eye at an early age. I do not have any problems, that I know of, only having one eye. Depth perception with 1 eye is a learned skill, you learn to compensate. If seeing a blurred image is bothering you I would try an eye patch.

[kurt18947]

Surgery is successful about 80% of the time.

If the surgery isn't a financial burden, what's the downside? If it doesn't work you wear a patch, just like you're talking about now.

[museumguy]

I just got over a bad case of double vision. It was so bad, I was sent home from work for 4 days. Liability issue, which I totally understand and respect. Anyway, the only way that I could function was to wear an eye patch. I asked the eye doctor if it made a difference as to which eye had the patch. He said no. I wore the patch for about 6 weeks. All is good now. I didn't really have an issue with depth perception while wearing the patch.

[Gary G™]

Due to a detached retina (not woodworking related) I now have 20/20 vision in one eye and 20/150 in the other.  As a result I have greatly curtailed my woodworking over the last 2-1/2 yrs. As hard as my brain tries, these two images prove difficult to combine.  Look at it this way: If one eye is a cherry pie and the other is a cow pie, mixing them together doesn't make the cow pie better. It just makes the cherry pie worse. I am considering using a patch over the bad eye but that sacrifices depth presception. If any woodworkers out there have wrestled with this problem and have any advice I would appreciate it. 

Papa Jim

Bascom Palmer in Miami has some of the best eye care specialists in the country.
You might contact them to learn if they can repair your detached retina.

[Papa Jim]

If the surgery isn't a financial burden, what's the downside? If it doesn't work you wear a patch, just like you're talking about now.

Oh, I've had the surgery--four times. I'm just one of the 20%. I will be trying the patch.

[thewalnutguy]

Due to a detached retina (not woodworking related) I now have 20/20 vision in one eye and 20/150 in the other.  As a result I have greatly curtailed my woodworking over the last 2-1/2 yrs. As hard as my brain tries, these two images prove difficult to combine.  Look at it this way: If one eye is a cherry pie and the other is a cow pie, mixing them together doesn't make the cow pie better. It just makes the cherry pie worse. I am considering using a patch over the bad eye but that sacrifices depth presception. If any woodworkers out there have wrestled with this problem and have any advice I would appreciate it. 

Papa Jim

Had detached retina about 25 years ago. I'd noticed the field of vision in the left eye was "cropped". This was late one Friday, and I waited until Monday to see my regular eye doctor. Word of advice: I was told by my eye doctor that loss of field of vision rates an immediate visit to emergency room, where they won't be able to do the repair there but they'll know who can do the surgery and get it done immediately. Fortunately my regular eye doctor knew who to recommend, and was able to pull strings to get me scheduled for surgery immediately. The retina was reattached, but with side effects. The image in the left eye is slightly increased vertically, a bit lower than that of the right eye, and also tilted noticeably. I was able to get a prism correction in the left lens of my glasses, which helps. Took a couple of tires to get the correct strength of the prism (slightly more than a vision test indicated would be needed, and I also got the rightmost 30% of the left lens frosted, which gets rid of the majority of the double vision. The detachment included a portion of the macula, so some fine focus is lost, but at least during the daytime hours I don't even notice the deficiencies in the left eye. Driving at night, however, results in double vision for oncoming cars, one image in his lane, the other coming at me in my lane. Scary. The solution to that, however, is simple - don't drive at night.

[Papa Jim]

Had detached retina about 25 years ago. I'd noticed the field of vision in the left eye was "cropped". This was late one Friday, and I waited until Monday to see my regular eye doctor. Word of advice: I was told by my eye doctor that loss of field of vision rates an immediate visit to emergency room, where they won't be able to do the repair there but they'll know who can do the surgery and get it done immediately. Fortunately my regular eye doctor knew who to recommend, and was able to pull strings to get me scheduled for surgery immediately. The retina was reattached, but with side effects. The image in the left eye is slightly increased vertically, a bit lower than that of the right eye, and also tilted noticeably. I was able to get a prism correction in the left lens of my glasses, which helps. Took a couple of tires to get the correct strength of the prism (slightly more than a vision test indicated would be needed, and I also got the rightmost 30% of the left lens frosted, which gets rid of the majority of the double vision. The detachment included a portion of the macula, so some fine focus is lost, but at least during the daytime hours I don't even notice the deficiencies in the left eye. Driving at night, however, results in double vision for oncoming cars, one image in his lane, the other coming at me in my lane. Scary. The solution to that, however, is simple - don't drive at night.

Oddly enough I actually see better at night.  In low light the "bad" eye pretty much shuts down completely so it doesnn't drag the "good" eye down. You are certainly right about advising immediate attention if you feel ANYTHING wierd going on with your vision.