eye floaters - positive stories please..

[MrsOs]

Hi according to my optician i have had eye floaters for years but I never really noticed them if I'm honest. in June this year I was going through a bad patch of health anxiety and one day I noticed a floater.. that day changed my life for the worse. suddenly they were everywhere and I found myself depressed and much more anxious. Dr wanted to put me on anti depressants but I said no and instead I went to see a counsellor for some cbt. she really helped me get a grip on my negative constant thoughts about these things. since then I have days where things aren't terrible but there are days like today where they are more troublesome. I work in a bright office with white walls and am constantly on the computer so I see them alot. some days I can cope other days my negative thoughts could run riot. I have noticed that they are more transparent than they were at the beginning. I'm looking for positive stories from others that they can get better. I have read posts on here saying after a while you can stop noticing them. I need those stories please. please no negative stories as I'm really struggling with these things and need some positivity right now x

Hi MrsOs, sorry for such a short response, in a rush but didn't want to read and run when you sound very anxious about this. Positive stories for you - I have one for sure. About a year ago I became very aware of several floaters, one eye worse than the other and they were exacerbated by bright lights and blank walls - we had just had our kitchen renovated and the walls were stark white so I think it was that that made them noticable. Just as the optician said, my brain really did begin to ignore them. Anxiety does make them worse and I worried a lot to begin with, but keeping busy and trying to not dwell on them (wear shades if need be, tilt blinds) helped, as before I knew it, I'd forgotten all about them. Genuinely forgotten. It's just not something I think about at all anymore, save for the odd really bright day or situation when one becomes apparent. Good luck, hope you can relax about this as they really will "settle down" or at least appear to, as far as your brain is concerned x

There was a really good thread on this that was revived recently. It helped me a lot.

Here:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/1769527-Eye-floaters-and-severe-anxiety

I never knew that floaters were associated with health anxiety. I became aware of a couple of floaters about 18 months ago. They really annoyed me and when I woke up in the night with flashing lights, I got an emergency appointment at the optician. She asked how many I had. I said two. She said ", two? I have hundreds!" . Anyway, all was fine with my eyes. I no longer notice the floaters. Maybe on a bright sunny day, but honestly, I haven't thought about them in months, if not years.

I've had them for years. I notice them most often when I'm looking at a blue sky or a blank piece of paper, more often in times of stress, but most of the time I don't even notice them as I'm so used to them. They're fun to 'chase around' my vision though.

There very annoying I got mine in may & since then there was a time when I cud ignore them but lately I can't either I also have health anxiety.

Oh I didn't realise this association either. I'm so sorry.

I'm like pot - I chase them around and can do a freaky party trick by doing so (eyes slowly rolling!).

I used to think of them as mine and mine only; no one else can see them. Like little funny clouds. One is shaped like an eye. If this helps at all?

I've got loads! One more than usual on the left as I bopped myself in the face whilst wearing my contact lens last week. D'oh.

When I was little I used to pretend they were aliens in my eyes.

OP. Try not to worry.

Im on the other thread. I have had to see opthalmist on hospital every 6/9 months for nearly 20 years as i have high occular pressure. They have never shown any concern about my floaters and i do tune them out except in bright lights. I have lots of different ones. My first one is like samoney spider and some are like railway tracks, others translucent circles.
I also chase my little spider around when im bored.

I have loads of floaters, and have had them since childhood. I saw a different optician who asked me if they had got worse, but I find they seem to go in cycles, getting worse then improving.

Once I said I'd had them for years she seemed less bothered. DD1 who is 8 also has them

I've had a couple of floaters in one eye for some years now, I tend to ignore them although they do make catching flies confusing! They are a bit like freckles I think (trying to spot one at the moment). Optician said they are quite common in adults in their 20s/30s.

You might have had posterior vitreous detachment. Don't worry - this is almost always not a dangerous thing. Get your eyes checked out. This happened to me, first in one eye, then the other some months later. The jelly in your eye shrinks as you age, 'comes unstuck' from the retina, and causes more floaters. These are bad at first but slowly subside. I no longer notice them 99.9% of the time.
PVD can occasionally cause some actual retinal detachment - this is why you should get it checked out before it gets worse.

How are your eyes now u learning to ignore them?

Yep, I dont notice them now 99.9% of the time. They've decreased a lot, plus I've learned to ignore those that remain, it's almost entirely subconscious now. Occasionally, when reading, I become aware of one, but otherwise, nothing. I drive for a living but it doesn't affect me doing that at all.

I had stopped noticing my floaters except on odd occasions but a consultant just told me they are "massive" in both eyes. There must be a lesson here.

What do you mean footle? Weirs thing is when they looked in my eyes at hospital they couldn't see any floaters!

The consultant was looking at my eyes for a different reason, and commented on how big the floaters are. Which surprised me because I'm barely aware of them any more. So I suppose this may be encouraging to the OP- that they can be almost unnoticeable to the person who's got them, although the ophthalmologist thinks they are large and intrusive.

Yes that is definitely encouraging, I sometimes talk to people at work who have them they say they don't notice them anymore but you never know how bad yours are compared to other people's do you? Mine are black some thread like and others just stuck together like a cobweb.

I have terrible floaters, that practically cover both eyes - though they do not affect my mental health.

Place marking for good solutions!

I have loads and have had them for about 20 years and I don't have any problems with my eyes that can't be corrected with a prescription. I think they're more common with those of us who are short-sighted

You say they don't affect your mental health but do they really annoy & irritate you??
Gandalf my eyesight seems fine other than them buggers

I have loads of them and while I notice them, I'm extremely short-sighted too. The optiocian says there's nothing to worry about unless they suddenly change (more frequent, larger, accompanied by flashing etc).

I quite like trying to focus on them and watch them drifting around, I find it quite relaxing. Makes me feel amazed how the eye can see such tiny things that are so close up.

Sorry missed a bit out there, should have said "while I notice them, I don't mind them being there"

I have them nearly everybody does. They are normal, what concerns you about them so much?

I've got loads of them. I think it's pretty normal. They annoy me a bit if I'm looking at a lovely view on a clear day, but other than that I don't notice them much tbh. I didn't know there was a link with anxiety either.