Eye Floaters
How many eye floaters do you have? How much do they bother you?
None, but if I have ever had them I never noticed.
I can find floaters any time I try, and almost all of the time I can ignore them. Sometimes, I can't ignore them.
I know the thread is young, but at the risk of setting it adrift, a more pressing vision problem I have from time to time has been described to me as a
"visual migraine", or more precisely, acephalgic migraine, since I rarely experience the subsequent headache.
I have them and they usually don't bother me, but a couple months ago I bought some bananas at a farm stand and got infested with fruit flies. I spent a lot of times trying to kill floaters. :blush:
Have them. See them any time I decide to.
Once the doc looking in my eye asked if they bothered me. Well, they didn't until you mentioned it.
I was sitting by the water with my grandfather years ago. Just enjoying the day. Then he said that it would be perfect if it wasn't for that damn barking dog. The dog that I hadn't noticed but couldn't not hear after he mentioned it.
nor the humming of the fluorescent lights, too, right?
I have floaters and they're a wretched nuisance.
I had an eye test a couple of weeks ago and got the usual advice that they're only a real problem if there's a sudden increase in the damn things.
Anyway, needed new specs so opted for the 'two pairs offer' as I stand a reasonable chance of not losing both pairs at the same time.
It's funny that I am able to see the optometrist's bill in super high definition clarity.
Without the aid of specs.
apparently there are floaters and then there are floaters. A really big floater that significantly obstructs your vision can be zapped with a laser and vaporized.
Like this one.Just don't fart and set the place on fire. ;)
I get the occasional floater.
apparently there are floaters and then there are floaters. A really big floater that significantly obstructs your vision can be zapped with a laser and vaporized.
Yeah, I went to see a guy who could do that. He told me that he could zap a big ball but not a bunch of cobwebs, which is what I have. It's like egg drop soup in there, I can see dozens moving around 100% of the time. There's a surgery you can have where they suck out all the fluid in your eye and replace it with saline, but I'm not quite ready for that yet. I'll probably get there at some point, though. I have "naturally degenerative" eyes and they say it will only get worse.
do you ever watch two of them and bet on which one will win the race to the edge of your vision?
They don't make it to the edge. Most of them swirl because one end or the other is tied down somewhere. Like a baton twirler. The stick can spin in its little orbit but it can never really get farther away than her arm can reach.
I didn't really mean to launch into complaining though, I was just shocked to learn that Mr. Clod has no floaters, zero, and only has a loose idea of what they even are. I was trying to figure out which one of us is more of an anomaly.
He is an anomaly, but you, m'dear, are unique.
During chemo in 2012 I had sudden complete vitreous detachments in both eyes. Ever since, I've had constant heavy curtains of floaters that mean nothing is ever sharply in focus. I can make out the letters on a Snellen chart and achieve an officially acceptable visual acuity but it's in the context of permanent blur. I sympathize, Clod.
And they tell you, "Oh, just ignore them," right?!! How can you ignore something that makes it impossible to see? Have you ever considered getting the vitrectomy? Do you think it would be worth it?
I admit, I'm terrified of having anything done to my eyes at this point. I've been told the bilateral vitreous detachments with chemo were 'rotten luck', but that seems to be my level of luck with vision. I get recurrent scleritis and have been warned never to do anything that could set off new inflammation in either eye. So I don't wear contacts or go out on windy days without eye protection, and I go on steroids the moment my eyes get inflamed. I don't want to risk an elective procedure that could end with blindness.
That's me, though. If I had a different medical history I'd think about a vitrectomy, although tbh I think I'd decline regardless. Eyes are so essential and can do such awful things (like your second, perfectly good eye self-destructing in tandem with your diseased eye). I'll take blurry, smeary vision over the worst scenario - but it still sucks. And yeah, people who say "Just ignore them!" don't have a clue. :mad:
What are your thoughts on intraocular lens cataract surgery, ortho?
It's very commonly done in the older working population that I see. People come back to work a week post-op and they are typically very pleased. Their visual acuity is usually about 20/40 a week post-surgery and they improve over the next month to (usually) 20/20. It seems to be a low-risk, quite successful procedure.
(like your second, perfectly good eye self-destructing in tandem with your diseased eye).
Say what the fuck now? Because I always thought, if I ever did do it, I'd do just one eye, and let that one heal entirely before I attempted the other one. That way if it went horribly wrong, I'd still have the other eye. But the neurological connections of the good eye might just decide to shut down because its partner did? Ugh.
And they tell you, "Oh, just ignore them," right?!! How can you ignore something that makes it impossible to see? Have you ever considered getting the vitrectomy? Do you think it would be worth it?
My understanding is that you want to avoid doing that. There are risks and the reward is not great.
Say what the fuck now? Because I always thought, if I ever did do it, I'd do just one eye, and let that one heal entirely before I attempted the other one. That way if it went horribly wrong, I'd still have the other eye. But the neurological connections of the good eye might just decide to shut down because its partner did? Ugh.
I believe one eye at a time is standard of care.