Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Other Health Discussion => Topic started by: Evelyn63 on March 14, 2017, 07:47:41 PM
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Have been having eye floaters for a couple of weeks now, sometimes ok, sometimes quite annoying . Got an appointment with my optician today and she was shocked that I hadn't come immediately and I was subjected to quite a lecture! The receptionist got an earful too as she made me wait a week for the appointment !!! To cut a long story short I have to attend the eye casualty tomorrow morning first thing as she thinks there may be a very small retinal tear. I genuinely did look it up on the NHS site and it said they were harmless as long as there were no other features such as white flashing lights or blurred vision, none of which I had and I just put it down to getting old :( Now Im a bit concerned and anxious.
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I had floaters following surgery years ago, never thought to mention it to anyone ::). A neighbour had floaters and was seen by her Optician within 24 hours ...... I think that it depends on the cause. Do let us know!
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Thanks , I will of course update you tomorrow.
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My optician said I have too many floaters for my age but I couldn't have the stuff put in my eye as I'd driven there . I've not mentioned it since but do you get flashes ? ive noticed them if for example there is a window at the side of my vision then I noticed very fast flashes which come and go x
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My optician said I have too many floaters for my age but I couldn't have the stuff put in my eye as I'd driven there . I've not mentioned it since but do you get flashes ? ive noticed them if for example there is a window at the side of my vision then I noticed very fast flashes which come and go x
That was what she was repeatedly asking me Annie, but I never had flashes, only once a few weeks ago I had an ocular migraine, when I felt my vision was over exaggerated if that makes sense, and everything was too bright. It happened in the supermarket of all places and I put it down to the lights being too bright and I also remember feeling really tired so could have been a combination . Since that just the floaters . I think if you have flashes you really should get another check up , she threatened to send me to A & E there and then if I had had them , but I think she was just being over cautious a bit .
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Ok let me try to explain these flashes
I could be in a lounge NOT looking at the window to my side but I see speckles of twinkling light, they come and go and are never constant
When I was at opticians for general check (they sent me to eye clinic because I developed double vision) he said you get more floaters the older you get because fragments leak which are the floaters and have I noticed them because I have lots more than he'd expect at my age. I said funny you should say that because I always think there's spiders crawling up the walls and that's when he wanted to do the drops and asked if I'd driven, because I had he couldn't do it but he said if things deteriorate I must get it seen to asap.
I hate bright lights lately x
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I get that if I stand up too quickly ::)
When I had them in the 1990s I kept trying to move the full stop off the page ::) 'cos it was not at the end of a sentence. Then I sneezed and I didn't notice them any more.
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Oh mine are moving ones hence why I think there's spiders running on the walls , optician said there's enough to kind of distort/affect my vision but I've got used to them now
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Anne, yours sound like silent migraine symptoms. The twinkling light patch and the light sensitivity are exactly what I use to get, and I was diagnosed by a doctor at an eye clinic. Do you get occasional fuzzy heads and slight nausea. Could be worth looking into common food triggers. Mine turned out to be caffeine.
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I work with loads of fluorescent lighting but I usually notice this twinkling in natural light . I get headaches but not with nausea unless I don't catch it with painkillers early enough x
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I've had floaters for years - sometimes more noticeable than others. When I have my eyes tested (frequently - they don't focus well at any distance!), the optician always asks about floaters when they look in my eyes with the focussed light - and always seem quite satisfied when I can describe the shape of them! I do always get told I must see them straight away if I get flashing lights and/or new floaters.
Evelyn, I hope your floaters turn out to be just an annoyance and nothing that needs treatment/worrying about further.
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Both my Mum and my daughter had a sudden onset of floaters.
My Mum said she woke up one morning and thought the room was full of flies and tried to bat them away. She went to A&E and it was treated very seriously, but all was ok and she got used to the floaters and doesn't notice them. They were concerned that she had a detached retina, which can result in blindness if not treated quickly.
My daughter experienced this too. We were on our way to her grandfathers funeral and she burst into tears, as she was scared. I took her to A&E, where she was not taken seriously probably as she was young. However, she had drawn what she could see the night before and what she was seeing at that time. She was suddenly taken seriously, but the eye consultant was not available for several hours. They were very reluctant to let her go to the funeral and we had to return immediately after, no wake. Again all was ok on examination and the floaters do not bother her once she got used to them. It was caused by some jelly substance, which I'm sure someone with more medical knowledge could explain.
If your condition hasn't deteriorated, then hopefully it is not serious, but do check it out.
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Anne, that's just like me. I could not go into stores like B&Q because the lighting was impossible to bear. Really does sound like silent migraine to me.
http://www.healthline.com/health/migraine/silent-migraine#3
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Well Im home again, via a lovely coffee shop !! I was there at 7 45, seen at 8:30 and en route home by 10. I had a retinal tear, so just as well I went yesterday, I have had laser and hopefully that should be the end of it all. To go back in three weeks for review and if the scab has healed over then I will be discharged, so fingers crossed. I had analgesic drops in but it was a bit uncomfortable even with those. Everyone was very nice and very efficient. No lifting or bending for a week, no idea how I got it , he kept asking if I had trauma to my head or eye but I couldnt think of anything. It wasn't a new tear which was a surprise, it apparently had been there a while and obviously getting worse hence my floaters !!! The place was rapidly filling up as we left but the few that were there when we arrived all had the same thing, floaters.
Thanks for all the support and reassurance , I cant believe what a wonderful group of friends I have made on here, you are all so lovely.
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I'll have to book to see optician then to get this diagnosed properly
Evelyn, thank god you've got this sorted in time and hope everything heals well x
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Thanks for posting this and raising awareness Evelyn as I wouldn't have thought to go and get checked out with floaters as I thought they were quite common. Glad you have been treated now.
I just looked up about Retinal Tears and it says 'Anyone can develop a retinal tear and detachment, but they are more likely to occur in persons who are nearsighted, older, have recently undergone cataract surgery, or have sustained a trauma to the eyes'.
Annie, the symptoms are: floaters, flashing lights, or a curtain or shade "coming down over one eye".
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Thank you so, so much for highlighting this. As a result I rang and spoke to my optician and I have an appointment this afternoon on the NHS 'see and treat' scheme. I have been bothered with flashing lights, floaters and 'spiders' on the wall for several weeks and thought nothing of it!
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Let us know how you get on babyjane. Good luck.
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Thanks for posting this and raising awareness Evelyn as I wouldn't have thought to go and get checked out with floaters as I thought they were quite common. Glad you have been treated now.
I just looked up about Retinal Tears and it says 'Anyone can develop a retinal tear and detachment, but they are more likely to occur in persons who are nearsighted, older, have recently undergone cataract surgery, or have sustained a trauma to the eyes'.
Annie, the symptoms are: floaters, flashing lights, or a curtain or shade "coming down over one eye".
Thanks Megamind. My optician did say any changes then get back there but me being me I've ignored these flashers that started since then x
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How did you get on at the Optician Babyjane?
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Would a session of sneezing be enough to cause them?
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Hello thank you for asking, the optician sent me straight to eye casualty and I was there today for 6 and a half hours!! I have a common age related condition called PVD (posterior vitreous detachment) in both eyes. So far the retina is not affected but I have been put on 6 monthly checks as this condition can, and probably will, eventually cause a tear as the vitreous continues to break up and detach and early recognition is vital.
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Glad all is well Babyjane and relieved you went and were able to be reassured, think Im still in shock at what might have been !!
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Thank you Sparkle and thank you, too, Evelyn63 for your original post highlighting the concerns :thankyou:
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Thanks for the updates. Without this thread I would have had no idea ::) so am now forewarned.
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Just to clarify now I am 'in the know', the 'spiders' are floaters and the flashing lights are arcs of light in the peripheral vision when you turn your head or move your eyes. This is indicative of the vitreous gel detaching and pulling on the retina but if you get a lot all the time then the retina is in trouble and you need to present at eye casualty where you will be seen immediately, not wait 6 and a half hours like I did yesterday as I did not have a retinal detachment at this point.
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Good that you went after reading this thread Babyjane. Thanks for the info.
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I had a large full stop as I moved my L eye when I first got out of bed. It's disappeared now. I've had floaters noticeably in the last 3 weeks - eyes feel alternatively gritty or wet so I need to wipe them. Often. No flashing lights or headaches. I need to find out when my optician re-opens.
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