Floaters?

[GinaJ]

Before I developed bleph and dry eye I had no floaters or maybe like one. Now I have so many it effects my vision in addition to the severe pain from dry eye. I have had my eyes dialated 4 times in 7 months and they don't see a tear. They are worsening though. I have another eye apt with a new opth tomorrow and then on Wed with a retinal specialist. I know floaters can be normal but I keep getting more and I have so so many. I am near sighted and am turning 30 never had lasik but still the pictures I have seen of floaters are so much less then what I have. Does anyone else have these? Has anyone had that surgery to lessen or break them up? I know it is in severe cases only but my floaters are everywhere and make it hard for me to see. Thanks

[calli66]

It's good that you're going to a retina specialist. They'll do a thorough exam to check the health of your retina.

I'm a lot older than you (58), and I have been very myopic since the 3rd grade. I've always noticed floaters, but after I had vitreous detachments 5 years ago, I had noticeably more of them. So it's possible you are having vitreous detachments--which is uncommon for a person your age--but isn't a real serious problem.

I looked at the websites offering the floater-busting surgery---I used to have a big greenish-black floater right in the center of my visual field. But it sounded a bit risky, and the results not guaranteed. So I never went further.

If it's the vitreous debris---those floaters do break up over time and you also get more used to them.

The vision obstruction is not so much the floater, but it's the shadow that the floater casts upon the retina. So you notice them much more, say, if you're outside on a sunny day, looking at the bright sky. Or if you're looking at a blank light-colored wall indoors. I have heard some suggest that lightly tinted glasses can lessen the effect somewhat.

Floaters are distracting---they swish back and forth---some to the right as others are going to the left. Then there are some that stubbornly hang out right where you're trying to look!

My retina specialist always takes notes on where the floaters are: "floaters at 9 o'clock and 2 o'clock," for example.

Retinal Detachment Warning: if you ever get a "rain of black dots" go IMMEDIATELY to an ophthalmologist or hospital. These are red blood cells (again, casting a shadow on the retina) and it means there's been a tear with some bleeding. Not to scare you, but it sometimes happens.

Calli

[bernmee]

I had a retina detachement at the age of 24...I was hit lightly with a table tennis ball. After that I had floaters that used to drive me nuts.

Good for you for going to have a retina specialist look at itt

Somtimes if I concentrate on them they drive me nuts again, so I try to ignore them. If they are acting like its rush hour in my eye I just lie down for 5 minutes, do deep breathing and think of something nice. When I get up I am feelin more at peace and able to forget about them.

After 12 years I have learned to ignore them, if it is only floaters you have and not something more serious then you will be able to get to a place where you just don't notice them so much.

Good luck with the next appoinment.

Bernadette

[GinaJ]

Hi. Thanks and I am sorry you have to deal with this too. Today I went to my 5th opthamologist in 7 months and I had my eyes dialated again for the 4th time. He saw the floaters but saw like the others no issues. I found this doc in my states top 100 docs and I really thought he listened and explained. My bleph he said is so bad and prescribed more meds and ointments so we will see. I may wait now to go to the retina specialist to see if this helps even though I have tried like 6 meds with little help. He didn't think I needed to see one now. I don't know so many docs and so little relief. Oh yeah the floater surgery all the docs I have seen really don't think it is worth the risk. You think that since so many suffer they could find something to help. They should spend more time finding relief for people in pain or illness and less on coming up with new cosmetic surgeries in my eyes. Thanks again

[bernmee]

You are right, don't think about having surgery unless it is something serious, like a detached retina.

I had Lasik on my floater eye and now have dry eye....boy am I sorry for that.

Remember that you are not in pain. I don't want to put down how annoying they are but honestly I believe that you will learn to ignore them to some degree.

I don't want to come across as so many Dr. do when you are having problems..".just think of something else and they will go away" but if they are going to be with you for a while do you think you can start to think about them in a different way. Sometimes I will watch them and think about them as my own personal clouds, and I'm interested in seeing how they will break up, or how long they will take to break up. I don't do that very often as I usually ignore them but when I'm stuck for something to do....crazy I know.

Having said that everything is relative, and yours could be soooo much worse then mine. If chnageing how you look at something helps, then you should try that.

[bernmee]

I just re read you post and see that you do have dry eye...so I take that back aboiut you not being in pain.

After my retina surgery the floaters used to drive me crazy. I would squeeze my eye shut really tightly and want to scream. What also annoyed me was that the people around me were not seeing what I was seeing, and I got even more frustrated that I could't explain what was happening, and if I did they wouldn't understand. I also felt cheated that at the age of 24 I had procedure and resulting floater, something I felt was more suited to an older person.

I have learned to live with them. i don't try to look around them or through them, I just wait for them to do their thing and pass on by....I'm not sure if they happen less now but i don't notice them as much, maybe because they don't annoy me so much.

As I said though yours could be so much worse then mine.

Just try not to get frustrated with them. It will only make it worse when the next one appears.

Good luck,

Bernadette

[Rebecca Petris]

Does anyone else have these? Has anyone had that surgery to lessen or break them up? I know it is in severe cases only but my floaters are everywhere and make it hard for me to see. Thanks

I have a lot of floaters and they have been increasing the last couple of years. (I first noticed them as a problem after LASIK but after the first year or so I did not notice them nearly as much.)

Lately they bother me a fair amount when I'm at the computer and they are getting to the point where they always bother me on cloudy days. However, I wouln't touch that surgery with a ten-foot pole... personally. I remember one fellow LASIK patient who did, and got premature cataracts.

Better the devil I know than the devil I don't.

[GinaJ]

I do agree I think the surgery for floaters is for only when you just can't see. I hope one day they come with a safe way. Anyhow I am in pain and that is ok. I misread posts too. I do think that if my eyes didn't feel like a constant migraine then they would not be so noticeable but I think of my eyes 24/7 almost right now due to my flare up. I wish I knew the underlying cause of my issue cause I had no lasik and have been to the internist,allergist,dermatologist and neurologists for my other issues or yeah and a rheumatologist. So frustrating. Well feel better and thanks

[bernmee]

Do TBUT and Schimer's tests apply to post Lasik dry eye

A little background first.

So I am 9 weeks post Lasik in one eye and have severe dry eye in that eye. I had RCE for three weeks but the bandage contact lens has helped prevent any more (another surgeon at the practice put this in as my surgeon was off that day). My surgeon seems to believe systane drops are a magic potion and I have had to ask for tear plug one and then plug two. All changes to my diet and environment have come from this site or others.

So my question is about TBUT and the Schimer's test. When I asked at my last appointment about testing to see if it was the quality or quantity of my tears that was wrong he said he already knew. That the Lasik had severed the nerves and therefore it was my reflex tear production that was no longer functioning properly.

I did not have either of these tests before the Lasik, and only heard of them through this site, and read then on the FDA site that a surgeon SHOULD perfomr these tests, though I understand that the reliabilty of the Schirmer's test is open to question...whats done is done on that one though.

So my question to you is....should I be insisting and expecting him to do these tests on me so that I can track my progress, or lack thereof, or do these tests not apply to me as I am a post Lasik patient. I need to know where I stand on this as I need to be firm with him, because it is only because of me educating myself on this problem that I have got this far. And I have you people and this site to thank for that.

thanks for your help.

[DCRdryeye]

More Floaters With Dry Eye

Hi everyone...
I'm a 38yr old male, always noticed floaters but since since dry eyes over passed 12 months - the floaters have increased dramatically. They are everywhere and disturb my vision.
I'm guessing the scientific world see the problem as too trivial to research a cure.
This is a great site (thanks Rebecca)...

[calli66]

The number of floaters can increase as you age, but can sometimes indicate vitreous or retina problems. If you haven't done so, you should have your eyes dilated and examined by a retina doctor, just so you know they're OK.

Just an idea----dry eye affects vision--the drier cornea doesn't do as good a job passing light through, so the image on the retina is blurrier, just slightly. The shadows cast on the retina by the debris in the eye (the floaters) might be slightly bigger and more noticeable because of this.

C

[magoo]

finally I understand this

calli66, Thank you for that explanation of something that I have been wondering about for years. I could not understand how a condition on the surface of my eyes could make my floaters seem so much worse. They are really a lot more noticeable depending on the amount of dryness/irritation I have on different days.

This site is so great! I've learned so much here. Thanks everyone, and especially dear Rebecca.

[DCRdryeye]

Floaters appearing from ocular surface debris?

Yes thanx for explanation calli, it makes sense. I recently had my retina checked and it's all good.
Another eye specialist I consulted recently said the floaters could be from debris on the ocular surface since dry eye causes an unstable tear film. I don't agree because I know the difference between floaters and debris...after flushing my eyes with saline the floaters are still there!!
I recently had a bout of illness and was not able to apply my eyedrops, gels etc - it really does get too much.

[batigol]

Hi,

I have a big floater on my left eye since I was 14....I guess I got this one after a soccer incident where I got kicked pretty close to my eye, not directly thank god. After LASIK, around 10 years ago, I got more floaters and in one year my right eye got a floater as big as the one I already had.

Since then, they are steady, but I do regular retina control every one or two years.

I also agree that with dry eyes, the floaters also become really annoying. Many times is difficult for me to focus due to this fact, but one should try to overlook them; because otherwise our mind will put them against us most of the times.

In addition, when I read a really interesting book I totally forget about them.
That indicates clearly that if I am working and I am not getting results, is not because of my floaters...it is just that working is sometimes difficult....

Keep positive.

Cheers
Carlos