Floaters, other disturbances and anxious about it

Posted , 2 users are following.

So here's my story.

At the age of 3 I had a retinal detachment in my left eye of undetermined cause. It was not traumatic and doctors could never tell what caused this extremely rare event. As a result I lost all sight in that eye.

I am now 39 and my right eye has always been fine. At the age of 12 I started wearing glasses for nearsightedness, although not too extreme. I am now -4 and have been for around 10 years, which is good. At the age of 23/24 I started seeing some floaters which freaked me out at first but learned to ignore them for the past 15 years. Life was normal, life was good.

In September I started noticing an increase in my floaters. They havent stopped increasing to this day. I became really aware of them - too many to ignore in all kinds of light, even in dark rooms, although less noticeably - and I also developed other symptoms. I dont know if I simply became too much aware of my vision as I became so worried, but other symptoms I started having: flickering vision in dim light or when waking up or going from light to dark; millions of dots flying everywhere (not floaters) in any bright surface; a gray "vortex" in the sky and plain surfaces when it's too sunny out; seeing dots on and off in my peripheral vision; a blur around bright lights and general light sensitivity.

This coincided with me being pregnant but noone seems to think there is a connection.

I became so scared and paranoid of going blind that I have seen lots of different retinal specialists since. They all say everything looks fine and cant find an explanation for my symptoms, yet I know I am not imagining them and they are very severe to the point I dont want to leave the house. Only the last doctor told me my vitreous is very liquified but no detachment yet - which eventually will happen. All eye exams and retinography show a normal eye and a normal, strong retina that doesnt show any special signs of being prone to tears etc (which of course can never be ruled out). Doctors dont seem worried and told me to get my regular checks once a year, but I have been going often because I'm dead scared my "good eye" will also have a retinal detachment and even though they cant see nothing alarming, my symptoms are HORRIBLE.

I have been staying in a lot, first because I was always sick with pregnancy and then because the floaters and symptoms became unbearable. I know I need to live my life and give my brain a chance to adaptate etc etc but I have so many floaters it just doesnt seem possible - they are really extreme along with the rest.

I just cant stop worrying every day of my life that I am inevitably going blind. I cant face the day, I cant face the light. It feels like my life is over. I keep thinking 39 is too young to go through this and that it cant be a good sign. I have nightmares about my vitreous detaching leaving me with these awful symptoms and even worse, retina detaching too.

Oh, neurology check up came clean too.

I dont know what I'm looking for here, maybe just venting...I know I need to treat this anxiety but I am finding it so hard to live like this. I wonder if all the symptoms are a result of a condition noone can diagnose, or hyperawareness, or being home with reduced lights for too long...

Everyone loves sunny days and I truly dread them. I just wish I had my normal life back. I know all this is useless and I need to move on and accept and find a purpose bla bla bla...but I just cant.

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • Edited

    Sophie.....I read you were pregnant in September. Has the baby been born yet? I wonder if this will gradually improve after the birth of your baby? A long shot I know and this condition must be awful for you. Big hugs for you.

    • Posted

      Hi! Thank you. Still pregnant. Due in April. No idea of pregnancy played a role in this (doctors dont seem to think so) or just a coincidence. Ugh.

    • Posted

      I assume that as you are pregnant your Blood pressure is checked regularly and also you have been checked for diabetes?

    • Posted

      Yes. Blood pressure has been on the low side and no diabetes. Today I found the courage to take a walk in the sun and it was awful. Blurry vision, everything seemed out of focus, not to mention the huge amount of floaters. When I'm inside things dont look blurry. But wherever there is light its just

  • Edited

    Sophie...has Uveitis been mentioned? Do you use any sort of drops in your eyes?

    • Posted

      No, I have been to lots of doctors and this has been going on for months...noone mentioned that.

    • Edited

      It sounds like uveitis to me. You may need steroid eye drops. Going on your past history I think you need a lot more investigation. This eye condition could be just a symptom of something else going on. Dont give up. Because you are pregnant,doctors may not want to give you much medication, but do mention Uveitis.

    • Posted

      Thank you. I have seen lots of eye doctors since September, probably between 8 and 10 (yup, that's how concerned I was). They all performed a dilated eye exam. Some of them also asked for some extra exams. All clear. I think ophtalmologists would be able to identify uveitis if that was the case. Or so I want to believe 😬😅

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