Horrible, distracting floaters in my eyes

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kingjames15

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I was wondering if anyone else has a ton of floaters in their eyes to the point that it is distracting. I'm not talking about a few clear strands, but lines and cobwebs and dots EVERYWHERE. It makes it difficult to study under fluorescent lights, and even more horrible to be outside with all the swirling junk in my vision.

If you do have them, have you sought out any treatment for it like vitrectomy? I've seen a few ophthalmologists about the problem and they provide no sympathy whatsoever and say a vitrectomy has too much of a risk for cataracts and glaucoma. Just hoping to find someone in my situation 🙁
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Yes.

Right eye only but they get awful when I'm stressed out. Very distracting and the movement is nauseating when I try to read. No solution.
 
I have some of those. Very light for me, though. Sometimes I get a pulsing flash in the lower left corner of my left eye. That can be distracting.

Really glad I'm not alone on this. I didn't realize I had treatment options.
 
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Poetic Silence said:
I didn't realize I had treatment options.
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You don't really...

No ophthalmologist will remove floaters from a young person's eye because the risk of complications is far higher than the desired benefits.

I was super excited there was surgery to remove them until I learned it's impossible to get approved for.
 
That's the trouble with eyes, hearts and brains. No one wants to operate until it's too late. 🙁
 
SnowyRox said:
You don't really...

No ophthalmologist will remove floaters from a young person's eye because the risk of complications is far higher than the desired benefits.

I was super excited there was surgery to remove them until I learned it's impossible to get approved for.
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Glad to hear I'm not the only one either. No one else I talk to knows what I'm talking about. I actually did find an ophthalmologist that I've been in contact with who is willing to do a vitrectomy for floaters. His name is Dr. Jerry Sebag and he is located in Southern California. I'm really considering having it done.
 
What exactly is a vitrectomy? What does the procedure consist of?
 
Whoa! That was pretty damn awesome!

How does the patient feel afterwards? Burning or stinging in the eye that was punctured?
 
I've been told that it's a virtually painless procedure despite it looking fairly gruesome! Maybe some discomfort but not really pain
 
kingjames15 said:
I've been told that it's a virtually painless procedure despite it looking fairly gruesome! Maybe some discomfort but not really pain
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The main problem is the early development of cataracts. Some risk of retinal detachment too but because most of the procedures are done on old people the risk of retinal detachment is probably way lower for our age group. They don't care when they're doing it on a 65 year old who already has/is going to get cataracts soon anyway but they do care when it's a 20 year old who will have to get lens replacements at 30 something. Basically have to get eye exams every year (which you might do anyway so not a big deal) to catch and monitor cataracts early.

It's really something you personally have to outweigh the benefits vs risks. I was looking at this stuff before because I just developed a lot of floaters this past year. Luckily for me they're mostly the clear kind so I only notice the movement and I've gotten used to them to the point where I don't feel like ripping them out of my eye. Definitely have to wear sunglasses outside all the time though or I see them moving everywhere.
 
kingjames15 said:
I've been told that it's a virtually painless procedure despite it looking fairly gruesome! Maybe some discomfort but not really pain
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Who cares about temporary pain when it can lead to debilitating, permanent sequelae. Sure, you say you can't concentrate now, but I can guarantee that you'll run into much more trouble as a physician if you get a vitrectomy and end up getting a retinal detachment/possibly going blind.

Benson WE, Brown GC, Tasman W, McNamara JA (1988). "Complications of vitrectomy for non-clearing vitreous hemorrhage in diabetic patients". Ophthalmic surgery 19 (12): 862–4. PMID 3231410.

I have horrible floaters, but it doesn't stop me. I usually forget about it for hours/days/even weeks at a time.
 
During lecture or when reading a textbook the floaters give me crazy headaches and noone really understands them. I have 20/20 but with the floaters started causing a strain now i wear low prescription glasses for work or academics or ill get headaches.
 
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Etorphine said:
I have horrible floaters, but it doesn't stop me. I usually forget about it for hours/days/even weeks at a time.
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Not to discredit your find, but the article is almost 24 years old. Surgical techniques and technology have made huge gains since then. Also, since the end stage of diabetic retinopathy is blindness, I would think that many of the people who underwent the surgery went blind because of the disease than the vitrectomy.
 
I have tons. Developed them quickly my last year in undergrad. They are really bad in the sun so I just always wear sunglasses. I also study in lower lighting, away from sunny windows. I've been told you're just supposed to ignore them. Maybe stop fixating on them so much?
 
kingjames15 said:
Not to discredit your find, but the article is almost 24 years old. Surgical techniques and technology have made huge gains since then. Also, since the end stage of diabetic retinopathy is blindness, I would think that many of the people who underwent the surgery went blind because of the disease than the vitrectomy.
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Did you develop them recently or have you had them for a while? I remember thinking when they started that I would never ever get used to them but now I only notice a few main ones that pop up when I'm looking at the computer. They're still annoying but if they really annoy me I try to look away for a little bit. I know how you feel, I'd spend hours looking up treatments, papers, etc. on them and I thought I'd never be able to live with it.

I still see them swirling around in bright lights and outside but I just try to stay away from those and wear sunglasses as much as possible. If they started within the last year (this goes for anyone) I'd try to tough it out and see how you're doing after a year of noticing them.
 
I have them too. They're really annoying when I notice them but otherwise they're just there. It's like breathing manually. When you think about it, you control it but when you don't, then you breathe automatically.
 
Might want to get your HbA1c checked.. and get a lipid panel. Could be signs of diabetic retinopathy. worked at an ophthalmology practice for a year which makes me ...nothing lol.

floaters are pretty common, part of growing up. Just watch out if you get a lot of them in a short amount of time or a huge one pops up outta nowhere

I AM NOT A DOCTOR and i am not qualified to give medical advice.Duh
 
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Seems like they could be mistaken for something in the surgical field resulting in an accident.
 
Nice, informative video. I hope the risk of complications developing from vitrectomies is negligible.
 
Wow really informative. no idea what a floater was until this thread. By the way that video of the vitrectomy was eye opening.
 
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calvnandhobbs68 said:
The main problem is the early development of cataracts. Some risk of retinal detachment too but because most of the procedures are done on old people the risk of retinal detachment is probably way lower for our age group. They don't care when they're doing it on a 65 year old who already has/is going to get cataracts soon anyway but they do care when it's a 20 year old who will have to get lens replacements at 30 something. Basically have to get eye exams every year (which you might do anyway so not a big deal) to catch and monitor cataracts early.

It's really something you personally have to outweigh the benefits vs risks. I was looking at this stuff before because I just developed a lot of floaters this past year. Luckily for me they're mostly the clear kind so I only notice the movement and I've gotten used to them to the point where I don't feel like ripping them out of my eye. Definitely have to wear sunglasses outside all the time though or I see them moving everywhere.
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Actually the average amount of time from vitrectomy to cataract development is ~7 months. Then you're talking about another surgery that further increases your risk of retinal detachments. Floaters are benign...the risk vastly outweighs the benefit here. Contrast permanent the chance of vision loss with annoyance Insurance probably wouldn't cover it either for such a weak indication, so now you're also paying OOP for a retinal surgery. A vitrectomy is a MAJOR procedure. To get one when you don't need it is a Bad bad bad idea. Floaters are not a pathological process.

DocOfTheBay said:
Might want to get your HbA1c checked.. and get a lipid panel. Could be signs of diabetic retinopathy. worked at an ophthalmology practice for a year which makes me ...nothing lol.

floaters are pretty common, part of growing up. Just watch out if you get a lot of them in a short amount of time or a huge one pops up outta nowhere

I AM NOT A DOCTOR and i am not qualified to give medical advice.Duh
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Lol Why would a lipid panel help you get closer to a diagnosis of DR? The OP has Already been seen by several ophthos who can spot even mild DR a million miles away.
 
I've got this too. I feel your pain. Felt like I was being treated like I had a somatoform d/o by the ophtho

Mine was predicated by bright flashes of light and I thought I had detached my retina. Was told that I had a "posterior vitreous detachment" and that my retina was fine.

I also had Lasik 3 years prior. Was convinced that the procedure caused it (and my perma-dry eye). Now I'm not so sure, but I don't think Lasik is as benign as most people think.

I think myopia (and essentially a longer eyeball, no?) is a predisposing factor. Oddly, another guy in may class detached his retina after 2nd year...he is also near-sighted.

My hypothesis: Med school accelerated a process that was already bound to happen.

Anyway, sorry. S**! sucks.
 
Zenfudge said:
I've got this too. I feel your pain. Felt like I was being treated like I had a somatoform d/o by the ophtho

Mine was predicated by bright flashes of light and I thought I had detached my retina. Was told that I had a "posterior vitreous detachment" and that my retina was fine.

I also had Lasik 3 years prior. Was convinced that the procedure caused it (and my perma-dry eye). Now I'm not so sure, but I don't think Lasik is as benign as most people think.

I think myopia (and essentially a longer eyeball, no?) is a predisposing factor. Oddly, another guy in may class detached his retina after 2nd year...he is also near-sighted.

My hypothesis: Med school accelerated a process that was already bound to happen.

Anyway, sorry. S**! sucks.
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PVDs are very common and typically everyone gets them between 40-70 years old. It was a good idea to get examined because the symptoms are similar to RD. You are righ about high myopia being a risk factor.
 
airplanes said:
Actually the average amount of time from vitrectomy to cataract development is ~7 months. Then you're talking about another surgery that further increases your risk of retinal detachments. Floaters are benign...the risk vastly outweighs the benefit here. Contrast permanent the chance of vision loss with annoyance Insurance probably wouldn't cover it either for such a weak indication, so now you're also paying OOP for a retinal surgery. A vitrectomy is a MAJOR procedure. To get one when you don't need it is a Bad bad bad idea. Floaters are not a pathological process.
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1) No it's not 7 months. It's not as long as I said but it is in the years range. The most recent study I saw that measured it had cataracts occur in 60% of eyes with an average length of time 21 months from surgery. This study was specifically for floaters too.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19860781

2) It's true it is a major surgery...but then again almost no studies have been done on the surgery using a population of younger patients (probably because it's pretty rare). For instance, in the study above the mean age was 62 and almost half the eyes ALREADY had IOLS.

3) I do agree about the cost and it's a major thing to consider. Definitely throwing yourself out on a limb moneywise.

4) Believe it or not, there are people with floaters so bad they're willing to risk retinal detachment. It's not "annoyance", it's more like "can't see what the hell I'm doing because there are black swirly things in the middle my vision all day". Go read about the types of floaters people have on message boards...some people get pretty desperate. Luckily mine are nothing like that.
 
I think if anything, the incidence of adverse outcomes would be even worse in younger patients, who will be alive and using their eyes for decades longer.
 
airplanes said:
I think if anything, the incidence of adverse outcomes would be even worse in younger patients, who will be alive and using their eyes for decades longer.
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Oh definitely but I'm talking average length of time to complication not incidence. I mean incidence for cataracts for example approaches 60% by the time you're in your 60s anyway so it's more about when you get them rather than if you get them.
 
calvnandhobbs68 said:
Did you develop them recently or have you had them for a while? I remember thinking when they started that I would never ever get used to them but now I only notice a few main ones that pop up when I'm looking at the computer. They're still annoying but if they really annoy me I try to look away for a little bit. I know how you feel, I'd spend hours looking up treatments, papers, etc. on them and I thought I'd never be able to live with it.

I still see them swirling around in bright lights and outside but I just try to stay away from those and wear sunglasses as much as possible. If they started within the last year (this goes for anyone) I'd try to tough it out and see how you're doing after a year of noticing them.
Click to expand...

My floaters appeared on April 19, and they are still driving me crazy, maybe even more so, since that day. You said you try and stay away from bright lights and outside; and that's what I'm doing to. That's part of the problem though. If floaters are bothering us enough to alter our lifestyle and how much time we want to spend outside, it is obviously a problem. Airplane, I don't expect you to understand what it's like because you don't have them, but it really is a pain in the a**. Try looking at a white piece of paper in an exam and seeing crap flying everywhere. It's like trying to do an exam with a swarm of flies around you.

I am also skeptical as to the ability of the brain to ignore a large amount of floaters. If they were always in the same spot, I could see it happening, but not when they are constantly mobile.
 
People make it out to be like cataract surgeries are no big deal. I argue that cataracts and floaters are more similar than you think. If someone has mild cataracts, they can still see, but it is just more annoying to look through the haze. It's also "annoying" to look through floaters. In both cases, nothing is wrong neurologically, and there is no disease of the retina.
 
A vitrectomy involves removing the vitreous humor of your eye...which has a several direct connections to your retina - hence the subsequent risks of detachment and other badness. It's not like you stick a needle in there and drain everything out like an abscess. Cataract surgery is very safe but does have it's own risks, but takes part in the anterior portion of the eye, away from the vitreous. However, even cataract surgery is associated with increased retinal detachments down the line, simply because removing the cataract can indirectly tugs on the vitreous which can tug on the retina. Comparing these two operations is apples and oranges.

You're right, I don't have floaters. I am grateful for that. Having been with Ophthos discussing floaters/PVD's with patients many, many times, the advice is always the same. The brain truly does adapt (your clothes are constantly tugging on your body as you move around, but how often do you really think about it happening?) and minimize the disturbance, but they will always be there. Especially on white paper or a sunny day.
 
Yes tons of them. They came on me quickly during summer after MS1 probably from too much stress & dehydration. They have never settled down like the ophthalmologists think they will. I've just become accustomed to them and no longer panic about them. My solution? Went into rads so I can be in a dark room and not have to see them all day.

You should still go see an ophthalmologist and have a baseline retina exam. They will likely just tell you have a PVD and leave it at that but still useful to rule out any retina issues that you wouldn't want to ignore.
 
I'd never refer a patient to have a vitrectomy just because they have vitreous floaters. It is an extremely weak indication, out-of-pocket expenses, and dangerous to the retina just like everyone is saying. Its a lawsuit waiting to happen. The vitreous gel is adhered very strongly to the ora serrata, the macula and the optic nerve. If you take it out you risk losing your peripheral vision and more importantly your central vision. If a patient was really going crazy with them and really couldn't stand them and understood they would have to pay out of pocket I'd only refer to a laser specialist like this: [YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lq1rGrFNHs[/YOUTUBE]
 
Wow. The technology and surgical science of the eye is much more advanced than I could have fathomed.

Thanks for the video, Shnurek.
 
Poetic Silence said:
Wow. The technology and surgical science of the eye is much more advanced than I could have fathomed.

Thanks for the video, Shnurek.
Click to expand...

Welcome 🙂

The surgeon uses a YAG (Yttrium Aluminium Garnet) laser that usually functions at the 1064 nanometer wavelength placing it well into the infra-red spectrum. The red laser you see in the video is not the treatment laser itself but is a red aiming laser. They use red because it is the most benign wavelength to the eye while still being visible.

The above surgery works with this concept:

ConeProfile.jpg


That the laser energy is too dissipated by the time it reaches the retina to cause any real damage.

As a political sidenote: Optometrists have laser privileges currently in two states so we have to know this stuff 🙂
 
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