Eye floaters at 45 – feeling desperate and consumed by anxiety. Anyone else?

[Fez12]

Hi everyone. I’m hoping for some reassurance or to hear from others who have been through this.
I’m 45 and recently started seeing eye floaters. It began after I woke up with out-of-focus vision one day around 4 months ago. I went to the optician to get an eye test and whilst there I noticed a very long thread floating in my central vision. The optician told me that my astigmatism had fallen into the boderline moderate range and that I would need to start wearing glasses, especially for driving and seeing distant faces clearly and reading road signs from a distance. The optician said that the floaters were normal and they were probably already there but I had probably just never noticed them before. I don’t believe this as I see them in most lighting conditions and I have white walls and bright lights at home, so I’m sure I would have noticed them if there were already present. The vision change did make me feel very stressed and panicky so I’m wondering if the anxiety made me see floaters for the first time.
I also get flashes of lights on the edges of my eyes when I go into a dark room or sometimes when in look down.
I went to see an ophthalmologist who did a range of tests but everything came back clear. He said I have vitreous syneresis which commonly happens as we age. The strange thing is that no one I know personally not even my parents or older relatives says they have them. It makes me feel very isolated.
I know floaters are "normal" but I am struggling immensely. I have children and a loving husband but it feels like the floaters are taking over my life and making me feel very down. I’m waking up in the early hours every morning thinking about the floaters and feel panicked about them. I see the long thread floater in almost all lighting conditions apart from the dark, and I can’t seem to move on or accept the floaters.
I am currently having CBT to help with the anxiety, but so far, it’s not making a difference.
Has anyone else felt this level of despair over floaters? Does the brain ever truly learn to filter them out when they are right in the middle of your vision? I’d be so grateful for any success stories or advice on how to stop hyper-fixating.

Hello. I am also 45 and have got floaters on and off for 10 years. A great optician once explained to me that the more you worry about them the more you impact your brain’s natural ability to habituate to them and learn to ignore them. They are 100 percent normal. I never worry when I see one now. So keep as busy as you can, when you see them remind yourself out loud they are normal and go for a walk or something. Soon your beau will learn to ignore them.

You are fine, they are normal, all is well.

Brain not beau

I've also had them much more since early 40s. I agree with PP that the more worried we feel about them, the more we notice them.

You could try saying to yourself "oh yes, a floater, and but it doesn't stop me clearly seeing [describe everything else you can see]. This can really help ease the anxiety around them.

It's been 5+ years since mine suddenly increased. I don't notice them as much now, and my eyesight hasn't decorated, which reassures me.

I'm not at all qualified to know what might be going on in your case, but If I were you I'd try and get a second opinion.
I had a large floater appear in one eye -which was like a curtain opening and shutting - after I walked into a glass door, and the opticians and NHS opthalmologist that the damage wasn't serious said that I'd just have to live with it. But it affected me all the time - was especially distracting driving and I was only really able to fade it out by wearing sunglasses and a peaked hat in sunny conditions
I ended up going to a private opthalmologist who told me that I had a partially dislodged retina which could be fixed and that the floater could be removed via a vitrectomy. The NHS refused to consider that or even put me on a waiting list , ( in fact a year later I am still waiting for a letter with a follow-up appointment from them as the promised!). But after that dispiriting conversation , I went private ( sadly no insurance so I had to pay for it myself). But it was the best money I have ever spent and they removed the floater and fixed the retina ,and I now have completely clear sight again ..
Might be worth considering? The initial appointment cost me about 200 but that was with Spire hospital. I believe with NewMedica ( which is who I went with eventually, it was about half that )

I also have them I started getting them when I was about 35 ( 20 mumble years ago )
They are annoying especially when I am trying to read but they don't worry me or cause any stress.
I agree with pp the more you notice them and worry the more you will see them .
When I first noticed my I made it into I kind of game to see if I could figure out what they looked like , a bit like we do with clouds or splodges of paint.
So it made them interesting rather than worrying.

I've had an emergency vitrectomy and it, and the 6 weeks of blindness that results from it, is not something I'd do to resolve a floater.

It's pretty shocking if the NHS didn't recognise that you had retina detachment. I had a tiny hole but a fingerprint patch of missing vision. It sounds as though, if it hadn't been for wanting the floater gone, yours might have been able to be lasered without emptying the eyeball. Since I've been left with permanent glaucoma in that eye because my reaction to the operation closed the drainage channel, it's doubly not something I would contemplate to resolve a floater.

I don't mean to sound dismissive, sorry, I just don't want the OP to think it would be an easy way to get rid of the floaters that are worrying her unnecessarily.

@Laska2Meryls
Sorry to hear you had an awful experience with the NHS not picking up something as major as a dislodged retina. Do you know which specific test the private ophthalmologist did to identify the retina being dislodged?
I have private healthcare so I have had a range of tests done by a retina specialist and there was nothing of concern found.

That's fair enough @Imdunfer . My experience was completely different to yours and certainly not 6 weeks of blindness, I am sorry you experienced that and continue to have problems. Obviously my post was only based on my excellent result and easy recovery. Which fortunately has completely resolved the issue of both of my problems.
I had an air bubble in the eye after the operation which meant that I couldn't see out of it for about three of days and that completely disappeared after just a week , but I know that some more serious procedures require a gas or oil bubble and face down posture, but mine didn't at all. I was told that they don't offer laser treatment for floaters now, but it may be different in other areas .
Anyway , I agree, it's not an easy option, but it may not even be necessary in OPs case , but I still would recommend an second opinion.
I am so grateful that mine have gone as it was almost completely blocking out my sight on one eye ( which had been my ' good' eye for near focus also previously, ) when looking down and I couldn't see to read or use a keyboard.

@WackyRacers Thank you for the reassurance, the retina specialist also told me that keeping busy would help me adapt. I feel that keeping busy might take my mind of them for a bit but then I’ll see the floaters and feel immediate panic again.
I used to enjoy going for walks but find I notice them even more when I’m out especially in open areas like parks.
Did it take you a while to adapt to having the floaters?

I think we're just talking about different things. I've never heard vitrectomy used before except when they remove all the vitreous and refill the eye (with fridge gas in my case!). I'm glad it worked well for you. I've got a horrible tethered floater in my other eye but my eyes react so badly to being messed with that I wouldn't dare touch it.

You need to learn to look past them instead of at them or through them, and gradually your brain will start to ignore them.

Think of driving at night. If you look at the headlights you can't see. You keep driving by looking past the headlights and out to the other side.

I had the flashes about a year ago. Sometimes so severe they would make me jump as I thought something was coming at me from the side!

im happy to say they have gone now. The jelly in the eye must’ve settled down back to the correct place.

i also have eye floaters - once you notice them they seem to get worse. If possibly I’d suggest just forgetting about it. It’s a bit like Tinitus - if you tune into it it seems worse.

hopefully things will settle down soon OP

I'm not sure what it was called @Fez12 but the private opthalmologost did a retina imaging test of some sort, which showed that the lining although not completely broken, had lifted away from the back and had become distorted. I had something similar at the NHS eye department but they said that it wasn't significant. Obviously two different opinions and, of course the private surgeon is keen to make money ( if one looks at in a cynical light , and I did think about that tbh) . But the difference is amazing, tbh it's better than it was previously.
But @Imdunfer is correct, it was a major op and may not be appropriate for you. I'm just sharing my experience and to suggest that there's nothing wrong in getting another opinion

Also big plain white walls won’t be helping with the eye floaters - can you get some pattern up on your walls? I had to decorate my house for this reason!!

@HowDoYouSolveAProblemLikeMyRear Thank you for your reply. When you say you don’t see them as much now, do you think that’s because you are used to them and so you see them less or have some of the floaters reduced or faded away?

Ah bless you. I’ve actually had floaters since my mid twenties and I relate to the distress. I find them way more bothersome when I’m feeling anxious in general and went I’m mentally well, they I don’t think about them at all.
if a doctor and an optician have told you there’s nothing to worry about then please try and rule out anything dangerous that you’re dwelling upon.
the white walls definitely don’t help. Decorate if you can. Keep yourself busy, eat healthy and focus on hobbies and I think your mind will block them out more. And don’t rub your eyes!

I have floaters, more so with ageing. Just be wary if they’re inky dots and not floaters.

I've had floaters for decades. Reassuring to know the retina specialist said there's nothing wrong for you.

You do learn to not notice them. It will happen by itself over time. The brains adaptability to ignore them is amazing.

I do notice them under certain situations (lack of sleep, tiredness, a dramatic change in light) and my thoughts are usually 'oh you're still here, I'd forgotten you exist '.

It gets better!

I’ve always had floaters. It’s common in my family.
Once had a there’s one that looked like a tornado and had that one checked to make sure it wasn’t indicating retinal detachment. All good thankfully and at some point it disappeared or came loose.

Most of the time I’m totally unaware of them.
Because I’m reading this my brain has switched to making me aware “see the 100s of pretty floating blobs”

A few minutes later I’ll have forgotten them again and not be aware.

Obviously as well my retina damage and the black spot/ grey moving curtain issues was a sudden result after an accident, not due to aging , and which probably resulted from that incident . (Which is why they suggested a vitrectomy for me so they could fix both at once ..)

I'm sure that treatment recommendations are different if they are due to aging or other factors

@Imdunfer Sorry to hear of the eye issues you were left with following an emergency virectomy. Must be awful to have had the procedure to fix something thing but be left with another eye condition to deal with. After looking into treatments for floaters I did come across a virectomy as one of them, but it’s something that’s definitely not on the radar for me because of the potential risks.

I have them, and the arcs of light when it’s dark. Optician says it is all fine and just age related (I am 60)

I’ve had floaters for years, since I was a teenage (now early 50s). One time when I had an eye test the optician was worried about retinal thinning, and I had a follow up appointment with a consultant. The consultant said I should only worry about them if I suddenly get loads and loads. Just a few bobbing around are nothing to worry about.

So I think that means keeping going with the CBT is probably the best place to focus. Not sure they are worth this level of anxiety…

I've had them since I was a child. I remember watching them through the car windows on the way to school and trying to track some of the more unusually shaped ones, as they don't stay in one place. I was an adult before I realised not everyone has them!

It will get better. I was abroad and had a grey veil over my eye when I woke one morning. I went to an optician who then sent me on to another one who did emergency laser treatment as it had the danger of a detached retina.

I have lots of floaters, but really see them most in our conservatory when the sun is shining in there.

You have to allow your brain to process them. It takes time. Just keep busy, do your best to stop thinking about them.... and there's no point in asking if they recede or you just get used to them, it really doesn't matter does it...

Good luck with it.