Eye floaters

[Helena4174]

Hi!
Since three weeks I've been experiencing eye floaters in both my eyes. The onset was very sudden and happened right after a meditation session using isochronic brainwave tones. The moment i opened my eyes they were there. Previously i never had any floaters in my eyes and wonder why this seems have set it off. The floatersare extremely annoying and i think of them all the time. The go forth and back in my vision field, horrible! I'm only 41 years old and this seem far to early to develop problems like these. I've been to two different eye doctors and both say that i have some floaters but not many. However to me it is a very big problem and i see them all the time, both indoor and outdoors. I've ever been to a laser doctor here in Sweden to see it this is treatable with laser, obviously my floaters are too small which makes this even more distressful. I just hope every morning i wake up that this will go away. I would like to know if there are more of you out there with these floaters and your experiences. What made your floaters appear, stress or something else? In my case the isochronic tones perhaps set it off, who knows?! Best wishes, Helena

[Heratnumber7]

All I can say is that you'll stop noticing them after a while. It may just be a coincidence that you first saw them after a medical treatment (what are isochronic brainwave tones btw?)

[Helena4174]

According to the description online it's: "Brainwave entertainment is the direct use of sound and light to cause the brains' electrochemical frequencies to align with or fall into step with a frequency that matches the disired brainwave state". So, basically if you want to be more alert you listen to certain tones and if you want to relax you listen to specific tones. It's just so weird that it happened right after i opened up my eyes.

[sadie9]

I have these and yes they can be alarming if you suddenly 'see' them or notice them. I only notice them in summer time, and if looking at a white wall etc.
Were you looking at a white wall the first time you did the brain waves treatment, maybe.
You just get used to them and stop seeing them.

[Fairylea]

I have loads of them, I am mid 30s and extremely short sighted with astigmatism (-10 both eyes). Sometimes they do really irritate me, and it makes me quite anxious about my eyes in general as I feel I can't see very well, but during the day when I am busy and distracted by other things I do tend to forget about them.

[BusStopBetty]

Have you had your eyes properly checked by an optician? (Or is the laser dr an optician?) Sudden onset of lots of floaters can be caused by other conditions including a torn retina so it should be investigated.

[bruffin]

I have loads and am seen regulary at hospital for high occular pressure and they are not worried about them
You do stop seeing them, your brain learns to ignore them. Its in only bright lights and sun that i can see them now.

[Helena4174]

Thank you for your replies.I've had my eyes examined by two eye doctors and both said my eyes are healthy besides the floaters. According to them the floaters are small. The laser doctor said the floaters have to be bigger to be treated. Both of them said I will get used to them just like you. I'm hoping I will. Since floaters can belinked to other health issues (lyme and diabetes) I have also been to the doctor to check up on my blood and booked a mri scan. Just to soothe my nerves. I just want to figure out why this came so all of a sudden. How was it for you, did you have a sudden onset and what do you think caused the floaters? I believe stress could be a contributing factor for me.

[bruffin]

They are only linked with diabetes if you have diabetic retinopathy , by which time you have a very serious diabetic problem. With lyme disease you would have lots of other symptoms, although unfortunately lymes is one of the latest fads being diagnosed by quacks.

[Nursed123]

I have them, I remember writing a similar post a few months back.
They really distressed me at first as I'm only in my 20s and I have a lot in both eyes.
I still see them pretty much all the time but I'm used to them now and I try not to let them bother me. I can ignore them a lot easier now so hoping this continues!

[Karoleann]

Sounds as though you have just become more aware of your existing floaters. I have many too and I only notice them if I look for them, or look at a particularly white background.

I'm an optometrist and can see other people's floaters when I look into their eyes. 90% of adults have floaters to some degree (they are just cell debris in the eye), most do not notice them under normal conditions.

Do you currently take any medications for anything? Some antidepressants can cause an increase in the numbers of floaters, as can medication that increase the diameter of the pupil.

There are a few things that I've tried with patients over the last few years that sometimes help.
Fully correcting any spectacle prescription you have is important too.

Sunglasses
Relaxation classes/yoga.
Contact lenses that reduce the aperture of the pupil, you will need to have these specially made.

Worrying about them will make things worse....so please don't!

[LastGirlOnTheLeft]

OP I have these as my eyesight is terrible and they are more common in people with myopia. I have never got used to them - because they move around the brain cannot adapt to them in the same way it can to eye vessels. However, if you try supplements such as Eyebright, dandelion, cod liver oil and some others I can't remember (I can look them up for you) you can notice a big difference. It was the only thing that worked for me.

[Helena4174]

Thanks for your advice! No I am currently not on any medication. I do take magnecium, vitamin d supplements but nothing else. Today hasn't been a good day with the floaters, yesterday i managed to not think of them as much but today it felt like i saw them everywhere. The problem is that all our rooms in our flat are painted white as well as most of our furniture is white.The weather today has been really bright and sunny which I normally love but since the floaters have arrived i can't wait til it gets darker outside. I now use sun glasses all the time outside. Regarding tips on supplement I haven't tried the ones you suggested although I've bought a supplement called eye total containing lutein and zeaxanthin. Also bought dried tumeric, bilberry and rose hip. I got curious about eyebright, is it good? Concerning yoga, I'm planning to join a mindfulness yoga class shortly. Most of you say I will get used to them.How long before you were used to yours?

[LastGirlOnTheLeft]

Helena, I've checked and the supplements you need are Milk Thistle, Dandelion, Eyebright, liquorice, burdock, ginkgo bilboa, blueberry and methylsulfonylmethane. Together they should reduce your floaters!!!

[charleydingle3005]

O I didn't realise that this was anything to worry about, I've had these'floaters' for about 18months I'm only 26 and just didn't think anything of them! Eek are they dangerous???

[LastGirlOnTheLeft]

They are mainly just hugely annoying. If you have them at 26 though that is very young...they usually come in the forties. If I were you I would see my optician as it can be a sign of a detached retina.

[BikeRunSki]

I have these, I first had them in my early 30s.
In my case I had "Posterior Vitreous Detachment", whereby the vitreous inside my eye had peeled off the back of my eye, this was leading to little flashes of white light. The floaters were fibres of muscle and eye that had worn off during this process. I had quite a lot of floaters over 12 months or so, and was monitored by the ophthalmic surgeon at the eye hospital. In time, your brain will filter them out, or they'll break down into nothing.I had laser surgery to re-attach my vitreous to the back of my eye.

[Helena4174]

Hello again, I went to have the mri scan and got back the result yesterday. I've got a pituitary tumour which is obviously quite big. Obviously the optic nerve is located right above it. It's strange that none of the eye doctors i visited said that i must get an mri. It was by doing my own research that i decided it was a good thing to do an mri. Now i am so happy that i decided to do the examination. Tomorrow im going to go to the hospital for the results of the blood tests i took today (hormone levels) and then i will meet a neuro surgeon to discuss a probable operation. I feel totally miserable but relieved that the tumour was discovered now and not later.

[danTDM]

My very best wishes Helena poor you, that is so shocking and you knew something wasn't right.

The good thing is it is now going to be treated.
You have been very brave.