Hi folks.
I suppose I should start with explaining the title of this thread.
(I apologize if there are any mistakes - English is not my native language)

For a while now I've had eye floaters (you can find more information on those here).

The kind I have are big, semi-transparant snakes & clouds (one of each in both eyes) and one "real" (meaning located in the vitreous humour and not transparent) floater in the periphery of my right eye.
I wouldn't go so far as to say they're a serious problem to my vision but the anxiety they bring on affects my ability to focus on work.


I'm quite young to be having these (turning 22 on wednesday) and even though most websites claim the big ones will go away with time I've yet to find anybody who can actually back this up with his/her own experience.
The fact that I see the same pieces of text re-occur in different places also does not inspire confidence in the validity of this claim. (since it means most websites just copy wikipedia).
Pretty much all the people who have floaters say they stay the same or get worse. It's this latter scenario which has been greatly bothering me.


The floaters are most visible against a light background (thank you every website or piece of software ever) so every time I get behind my computer I start feeling like I'm inside a snowglobe and start obsessing about my eyes. This is what brings on my anxiety and ultimate lack of motivation.

The actual anxiety I experience is difficult to put into words. I suppose it comes down to feeling like I'm working towards nothing. I start feeling like my chances of actually succeeding are so small there's no point in bothering at all. I completely lose whatever enthousiasm I had because I have a worst case scenario playing in my head constantly.

(interestingly I experience this anxiety mostly when working on things I like to do such as coding. When I'm doing something that I don't particularly care about it doesn't get to me as much)

Now I know that:
a)people who had their floaters go away probably wouldn't spend their time talking about it online so the floater forums are most likely skewed.

b) anxiety and myodesopsia (the perception of floaters) are linked so this worrying actually makes them more visible. In a way it's a self-fulfilling prophecy

c) there are people in the game industy with way bigger problems than mine who succeeded

d) if they ever become truly bothersome I have treatment options

e) obsessing about failure so much that you're not going to even try is kind of retarded

But I guess my brain has a mind of its own.


Anyways, I was wondering if you guys had similar experiences to share or wanted to tell me I'm crazy =)



(typing all this actually kind of helped)

[Edited by - picklejuice on September 13, 2010 5:37:35 PM]

Quote:

Original post by picklejuice ... I'm quite young to be having these (turning 22 on wednesday) and even though most websites claim the big ones will go away with time I've yet to find anybody who can actually back this up with his/her own experience. The fact that I see the same pieces of text re-occur in different places also does not inspire confidence in the validity of this claim. (since it means most websites just copy wikipedia). Pretty much all the people who have floaters say they stay the same or get worse. It's this latter scenario which has been greatly bothering me.

Personally, I've had (noticed) them since early teens and they have only gotten worse with time. I'm in my late 20's now.

Quote:

b) anxiety and myodesopsia (the perception of floaters) are linked so this worrying actually makes them more visible. In a way it's a self-fulfilling prophecy

I think you have it dead on. I have anxiety problems as well, and I notice them all the time. But I worry/focus on about anything that's out of order or repetitive, (Dead Pixels in Screens, earshot door open/close in a building, flickers etc). [Based on my experience] If you control the anxiety, you don't notice the floaters as much. And when you DO notice them, you'll not really care.

Last time I had an eye exam they had a number of posters and a video running in the waiting room explaining (amongst other eye abnormalities/concerns/diseases) about floaters. So I don't think its just a wikipedia copy 'n paste job.

That said, your best bet to ease your conscious is to see an eye doctor. I don't imagine too many MDs spend their time browsing this forum.

I used to get floaters and spots in my 20s, especially when I was stressed out. They were effectively self-feeding in that way, because I would worry that they were a sign of a stroke or something, and that would only make them worse. :)

I don't get them anymore. They just went away on their own. I saw an optometrist, and they told me that I didn't have anything wrong with my eyes per se (no obvious tumors or anything), so I just waited it out. Just a word of advice... if they dilate your pupils with drops so that they can get a good look inside your eyes, don't drive yourself home in a snowstorm!! It feels a bit like you're being stabbed in the eyes over and over with sewing needles (or so I imagine).

Perhaps check this out... It's a story about something similar:
http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2010/09/in-hospital.html

So what's your blood pressure like? Go see a doctor! :)

go to an optometrist and get a optomap then stop worrying

Quote:

Original post by necreia Personally, I've had (noticed) them since early teens and they have only gotten worse with time If you control the anxiety, you don't notice the floaters as much. And when you DO notice them, you'll not really care.

I'm sorry to hear they are getting worse necreia.
I was wondering if you could tell me a little about the progression of your condition & what mental tools/books/etc you use to deal with this anxiety?

Quote:

Original post by Ryan_001 [...] So I don't think its just a wikipedia copy 'n paste job. That said, your best bet to ease your conscious is to see an eye doctor. I don't imagine too many MDs spend their time browsing this forum.

I didn't mean to imply that the medical community doesn't know too much about this condition. In fact it's one of the most common complaints ophthalmologist have to deal with.
I was referring more to the claim that the type of floaters I have will go away.
They are not floaters in the true sense since they're located much closer to the retina (which makes them appear bigger to me and virtually impossible to detect by my doctor)
It's probably because so little is known about these that I come across the same lines every so often.


As for what you said about MD's browsing these forums: I wasn't actually looking for medical advice. I've had my eyes examined some number of months ago. I wanted to talk to people in the game development community who also have to deal with this because I thought it would help alleviate some of my worries knowing that other people have gone down this path before me.

Quote:

Original post by Taby I don't get them anymore. They just went away on their own. if they dilate your pupils with drops so that they can get a good look inside your eyes, don't drive yourself home in a snowstorm!! It feels a bit like you're being stabbed in the eyes over and over with sewing needles (or so I imagine). Perhaps check this out... It's a story about something similar: http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2010/09/in-hospital.html So what's your blood pressure like? Go see a doctor! :)

I was very surprised to read that yours went away. I guess it's true that the people who don't have them anymore don't talk about them in the places I went to read up. I can't recall having any problems with light sensitivity after my dilation exam, but the whole "let me put this lubed up lens thing on your eyeball" was difficult to get through. My blood pressure is fine by the way ^^

Quote:

Original post by picklejuice ...

Since you've already seen a doctor and an optometrist, maybe you should try to get a referral to a see neurologist. Even if you only get to see them for 5 minutes, they will probably have some very useful information/advice (e.g., stop worrying! LOL).

Dude, most people have them. If your doctor ruled out any other serious problem, there's absolutely nothing to worry about.

People with nearsightedness are almost guaranteed to get them at some point. I got some when I was very young, and as such, I almost perceive them as being normal. While a laser surgery corrected the myopia, it didn't take away the floaters. But in 99% of all times, I don't even perceive them consciously. The brain is pretty good at removing such patterns, if you don't specifically focus on them.

I'm not sure if they go away with time. That said, searching my visual field right now against a white screen background, I notice the usual amount of floaters on the left eye, but no floater on the right one. I know that I had some on the right eye in the past. Maybe they get absorbed by surrounding tissue after some time.

Either way, they are no problem. Just relax.

I started noticing them really bad when taking lots of exams (staring at white paper + stess/anxiety) at about 17/18. Now I'm in my late 20s and hardly ever notice them.

Just relax, it's normal (unless an optometrist says otherwise!)

Drink some chamomile, go for a walk in the sun, do some deep breathing exercises, recite a mantra, have sex, etc... ;)

I have had floaters since childhood, which I used to only be able to see when I looked for them. Sometimes if I let myself focus on them, then I can see them everywhere which is quite unnerving. I haven't even thought about them in a long while and I strictly forbid myself to look for them now- I really just don't need to see them.