floaters? why?

[Uhdenied]

Uh, they are unrelenting. I can't stand it. My back is feeling so much better and what comes along? Black floating spots throughout my entire damn day.

The last time I had these (4 years ago) I about had a heart attack thinking they were from a brain tumor. Now that I've been exposed to this board, I've settled with MS fears. I'm so sick of feeling this way. This happens every two years and it knocks me for a damn loop every time. I'm so not an anxious person. I do not stress easily. The minute I quit smoking and coughed up a little blood and WAM, I'm an entirely different person who thinks I'm dying of some terminal illness.

It's ridiculous. Who has these things? How often do you get them? Do they only come when you're anxious? Should I be concerned?

[29sillygirl]

Hey there,
I get them off and on.  Not sure what causes, but just had an eye exam by opthomologist and he says my eyes are fine.  Now to believe that...lol.

Hope someone will respond with a specific medical term for the dang lil things. 

Re: a physical problem and anxiety.  It happens.  The mind registers something amiss...like coughing and seeing blood...and it goes straight to omg...what is happening??  Instead of ...hey...no biggie...that is unless it continues for at least two weeks.

Back to floaters...cant say mine only come when anxious...as that might be 24/7..lol.

You will hear from other members on this.  I say..try not to worry, or call your doctor and ask him/her about them. 

Relax.....

[queenofquirky]

My neuro-ophthalmologist told me to make friends with my floaters because they only increase in number as you age. They are normal. She is well respected in her field. Her father (same profession) is world renowned.

[Eighty-1]

All day every day.  I just asked my doc about them and looked at the wall and said "I can see three right now"

Perfectly normal.  Good reminder to get eyes checked though.

[Uhdenied]

Any reason as to why mine are just randomly on-set now? I mean, I get it, my central nervous system was out of whack for a few weeks. but they just come out of the blue and are unrelenting all day?

It's annoying. I don't want to spend more money on a doctor's visit just to tell them "Oh, you have some anxiety issues." because I'm seeing black spots that annoy the hell out of me.

[nicknd]

Any reason as to why mine are just randomly on-set now? I mean, I get it, my central nervous system was out of whack for a few weeks. but they just come out of the blue and are unrelenting all day?

It's annoying. I don't want to spend more money on a doctor's visit just to tell them "Oh, you have some anxiety issues." because I'm seeing black spots that annoy the hell out of me.

I first noticed mine when my anxiety was really high. Maybe I had them for a while but really never paid attention to them. When I'm looking at snow or a bright white screen I can see a couple that just go back and forth constantly.

[Carryon]

They come and go for no particular reason, sometimes head position, maybe air pressure changes; who knows. Just one of many imperfections as you rack up miles on the odometer on the road of life.

[immolate]

dont worry about them. i have a ton. the only time you need to worry is if you get hundreds more over night or something. then that coulda be a retina detachment, which is actually a NORMAL thing. anyhow, yea i have sooooo many. its crazy to look at a piece of paper, or the sky, or a white wall. i also have one retina bigger than the other.

brain tumor scare was intense for that.

[Uhdenied]

Yeah, I just don't know what the hell to do about it. I'd like to get my eyes checked, but I don't want to pay 100 dollars to go to the doctor to check my eyes.

The last time I was there she felt my stomach and back. Then checked my reflexes and then checked my leg strength. As in, put her hand on my knee and told me to lift up my leg from the table. (No idea what the point of it was.) I wasn't having eye floaters at this point in time, so I didn't mention it obviously.

I went to my Calc class today and my friend was like "How's the back?" and I told him about these floaters and he goes "Oh man. not to scare you but that's a sign of lesions on the brain." Awesome, thanks!

Blah. 

[Carryon]

Sure hope your calc. friend's moronic advice is not representative of his ability to integrate-differentiate.

[Uhdenied]

Hahaha, thanks Carryon.

Do you think I should bother taking a trip to the doctor? I mean, it seems like if it were something fairly serious, I'd be experiencing balance issues, vertigo, and numbness of some sort.

[Carryon]

I did not understand you note about getting your eyes checked and the doctor feeling your stomach. Were you to get your eyes checked for floaters, you'd go to an optometrist (or opthalmologist). It's wise to have a periodic eye exam and vision check, when the optometrist can explain floaters to you. But if all you have are floaters, you can wait until you are ready for a vision checkup. 

[Uhdenied]

Oh, I was just indicating the last time I went to the doctor, I went for back tightness and cracking. I was prescribed muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatories. Which has been quite a bit better than it was. This was about 2 weeks ago or so.

I wasn't experiencing eye floaters at that time, so I didn't bother mentioning them. These eye floaters have only been present the last week. The last time I had floaters was when I was 18 years old. I went to my regular GP and he just looked at my eyes for pressure, that was about it.

I've never actually had an eye exam in my life nor ever been to an optometrist.

[Sh!tzrainbows]

floaters are always there.  Just you notice them more the more anxious you are.
It's all part of the anxiety.  The worse off my days is going, the more i see them, the more freaked out i get....

[Uhdenied]

hm, I could see that being the case. Due to the self awareness. I see tiny TINY dust filaments throughout the day too. Whereas I doubt anyone else does at all.