Training & Nutrition - Cortisol/central swerous retinopathy, anyone?

I've had three episodes of central serous retinopathy over the last 3 years. The third episode coming on over Christmas. It's a condition where you get something akin to a blood blister on the macula of your eye. It presents as a blurred/discoloured circle in the centre of one's vision It should be self healing, taking a couple of months. But the trouble is each episode leaves scarring on the macula, thus slowly degenerating the vision. It's usually found in 30 to 50 year olds (I'm 44). Current thinking has it that it's stress related - too high a cortisol level, and also caused by type A personalities, extreme training (bodybuilding and the like), and/or maybe some over the counter drugs, notably decongestants and maybe antibiotics.

I'm wondering if anyone here has had it, and has any advice, specifically related to cycling. I know it's of much lower intensity than bodybuilding, but I do wonder whether anyone has any info on possible effects.

Also, I wonder if anyone has ever been tested for overly high cortisol levels, as I fit a lot of the critera. My doctor, of course, is not really interested in cortisol, and my eye specialist is somewhat vague on the condition, falling back on a general "well, we don;t really know what causes it, so there you go.

I'd be thankful for any input as the though of my eyesight degenerating really does concern me.

Thanks.

Below are two references related to endurance training and cortisol. I think the bottom line is you don't need to worry about it unless your averaging more than 90 minutes per day training.
1. Deschenes, M, Kraemer, W, Maresh, C, and Crivello, J, “Exercise-induced Hormonal Changes And Their Effects Upon Skeletal Muscle Tissue”, Sports Med. 12: 80-93, 1991.
2. Nieman, D, “Immune Response To Heavy Exertion ”, Journal of Applied Physiology, 82(5):1385, 1997.
You can chase these down on "google scholar" (http://scholar.google.com)
Good luck with your eye condition.
rich

Many thanks. Much appreciated.

I had it two or three times. The last time was about 10 years ago. I did some research on the topic at that time, but don't remember the details of what I found. However the action that I took after doing some research was to improve my diet. I now eat alot more fresh vegetables (large salads, etc) and fruit every day, and have had no recurrences. My vision has been tested and there has been no detectable loss of vision, so evidently no significant permanent damage was done in my case.

I've had three episodes of central serous retinopathy over the last 3 years. The third episode coming on over Christmas. It's a condition where you get something akin to a blood blister on the macula of your eye. It presents as a blurred/discoloured circle in the centre of one's vision It should be self healing, taking a couple of months. But the trouble is each episode leaves scarring on the macula, thus slowly degenerating the vision. It's usually found in 30 to 50 year olds (I'm 44). Current thinking has it that it's stress related - too high a cortisol level, and also caused by type A personalities, extreme training (bodybuilding and the like), and/or maybe some over the counter drugs, notably decongestants and maybe antibiotics.

I'm wondering if anyone here has had it, and has any advice, specifically related to cycling. I know it's of much lower intensity than bodybuilding, but I do wonder whether anyone has any info on possible effects.

Also, I wonder if anyone has ever been tested for overly high cortisol levels, as I fit a lot of the critera. My doctor, of course, is not really interested in cortisol, and my eye specialist is somewhat vague on the condition, falling back on a general "well, we don;t really know what causes it, so there you go.

I'd be thankful for any input as the though of my eyesight degenerating really does concern me.

Thanks.