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I am moderately to severely nearsighted (-7.25 in one eye) which has never been a problem for me until a few years ago. I was sitting at my computer and suddenly because away of this squiggly dark spot in the corner of my eye that would dark around and drive me crazy. A search online quickly revealed that I had floaters. And as usual with anything I look up there had to be a big scare involve. The floaters are a sign of retinal detachment which can cause immediate blindness. Holy crap. I went to the optomist who reassured me that my retina looked fine and the floaters would dissolve.
I was able to forget about them ,and they were no longer a bother until this spring. My brain couldn't tune these out. They were huge strands and something globs flying across my vision. I told someone that it was like trying to watch tv and someone keeps throwing confetti in front of your face. Relentless and nonstop. My only relief was being in a darken room. I went to see my optimist who again reassured me that my retina looked fine. That was not the end of it this time though.
His office called me and said I should get a vitreous exam. It would be a medical exam and cost me my specialist copay of $70. Ok, now it was time to go see the experts. I tried to go see a retinal specialist, but they told me I had to see an optomologist first. I went to an eye clinic, and was surprised that the doctor actually started discussing surgical options. I must have them really bad. Nothing I've read online is good about this condition. The surgery would drain out my jelly fluid from the eye and replace it with saline. It would increase my chances of retinal detachment and give me cataracts. No thanks. He also couldn't give me a 100% good bill on my retina. There is a spot that is questionable. So now I have to see a retinal specialist.
Every day has been a struggle trying to get my brain to ignore these dancing threads and globs. Thankfully most of the floaters are clear and not dark. I did find one small way to get a bit of relief. I noticed whenever I use eye drops, it makes my pupil get larger and I don't see the floaters as much. Maybe because more light is getting in the eye and less shadows are produced.
Has anyone found a solution to this awful condition?
I don't struggle with floaters, but I have one huge one. My optometrist said "that's the biggest floater I ever saw!" <proud>
It lopes in and out of view. You know the song "Good Morning Heartache"? Just substitute "floater." That's my attitude; I've made peace with the damn thing.
I have severe floaters that the eye doctor says is due to my extreme nearsightedness, all my life, and had "ignored" them for all my life but now that you mention it now I notice them constantly! But I've noticed them before and ignored them and I'll ignore them again. That's the only thing you can do, I think. Any surgical options carries more risks than just ignoring them and saying, hey, I've got floaters and they are kind of annoying but oh well.
Yes! They're awful. I noticed first one when 20. Now over 10 years later I would say i have over 30 in rt eye and 20 in left. Every doc always tells me their fine. I've never heard of them dissolving and didn't know they could do that. I would love more info on how to get rid of them. Like you, I've only heard "live w them or risky surgery that can make your eyes worse."
It's my understanding that they don't dissolve, per se. They often will drop to the bottom of your visual field so they are less bothersome.
I have large and many floaters, and I'm also missing the entire bottom quarter of my visual field. Total black in that quarter. So the floaters were particularly bothersome because I already have 25% of my visual field blacked out.
The ophthalmologist suggested that I do a couple of things to help by brain deal with it.
* Stop counting them.
* Stop looking for them or at them.
* Stop thinking about them. Change the subject in my mind, call somebody on the
phone, sing a song, whatever. But don't allow my brain to get wrapped up in this
subject.
* Imagine that they are snowflakes that will float down to the ground (the bottom of the
visual field like snowflakes from the sky.
Wanna know something? It helped. A LOT. (Until right now, because I'm seeing the floaters because I'm thinking about them. So I'm done with this thread. )
It's my understanding that they don't dissolve, per se. They often will drop to the bottom of your visual field so they are less bothersome.
I have large and many floaters, and I'm also missing the entire bottom quarter of my visual field. Total black in that quarter. So the floaters were particularly bothersome because I already have 25% of my visual field blacked out.
The ophthalmologist suggested that I do a couple of things to help by brain deal with it.
* Stop counting them.
* Stop looking for them or at them.
* Stop thinking about them. Change the subject in my mind, call somebody on the
phone, sing a song, whatever. But don't allow my brain to get wrapped up in this
subject.
* Imagine that they are snowflakes that will float down to the ground (the bottom of the
visual field like snowflakes from the sky.
Wanna know something? It helped. A LOT. (Until right now, because I'm seeing the floaters because I'm thinking about them. So I'm done with this thread. )
Lol sorry to put them on your mind again. I'm trying hard, but my brain just cant tune them out. They are constantly zipping around or falling, but it's the same damn struggle I had 10 years ago when I got permanent ringing in the ears. Once my brain was able to forget about the nonstop ringing, I started coping and not noticing it.
I have them. They are like little squiggly worms floating around. I have never had any eye dr tell me they were very serious.
I find that if you are looking at a white wall or something like that, they show up quite a bit. I try to ignore them, because if I don't,I think they may make me crazy!
I have floaters in my right eye that started a few months ago from a chronic TMJ disorder. They look like cells you would see under a microscope, and the occasional squiggly line.
I've learned how to relax my jaw muscles, have stopped chewing gum (was up to a pack a day), heat, ice, pressure point massage, stress reducing techniques, so the right eye pain is gone and the jaw is better. The floaters seem to be fading, too, or my brain has stopped registering them as much.
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