Eye floaters

[Cactusflower]

I have thyroid disease. Very early on, the doctor tried treating it similarly to TMS (I went to a wholistic Doctor) - it progressed ( and is not TMS, we figured out) and created visual disturbances because of pressure behind the eyes. Increased floaters are very common in people with certain thyroid problems and are almost always harmless. At first I saw them constantly, but similarly with a TMS approach, the more you feel ambivalent to their presence the less you see them, just like the lower pain you feel by not focusing on your TMS symptoms. It takes conscious practice at first, mental reminders to refocus your attention. Now I have to consciously focus on the floaters to see them! There are lots in one eye, but I have no fear. Lots of people develop floaters for no reason, they are normal.

 

[Mycatkaz]

I never counted my floaters but I got 'cobwebs', 'spiders', grey 'clouds', dots and 'worms' all over the place in both eyes @Mycatkaz. The majority of mine occurred after experiencing flashing lights in both eyes (due to gradual vitreous detachment) and some after what was probably an 'ocular migraine' (in combination with vitreous detachment) in my right eye.

It took many months for me to not notice my floaters and that was partly because I was at first worried about them (and got things checked out, just as you have done) and then upset and really angry about them. I gradually stopped feeling like that though and I also stopped 'assessing' them and then eventually I stopped noticing them. I can't tell you exactly how long that took, but I estimate that it was probably over a period of about a year to 18 months; the brain needs some time to adjust and tune them out.

With regard to the brain adjusting and tuning floaters out, an example of the brain being able to do such things is with strabismus. People with strabismus see double images, but the brain usually adapts by shutting down or ignoring the information from one eye. I have experience of this as I have 'monocular' double vision in my right eye due to a cataract but, although my left eye also has a cataract, it isn't as bad as the one in my right eye, and I don't see double when I use both eyes together. This is because my brain ignores the double vision in my right eye. Cataracts 'grow'/form gradually and so I didn't realise this adaption was happening until I had an eye test during which my left eye was covered and I was asked to read a back lit eye chart with my right eye -- and everything was doubled/blurred. (I also have fluctuating 'binocular' double vision but that's another story and quite a different kettle of fish.)

Anyway, back to floaters...Now, if I intentionally look for them, I can still see some of my floaters, e.g. one particularly dark one top right in my right eye and another grey cloud-like one that comes across the pupil of my left eye, but I don't generally notice any of my floaters to include those ones as I go about my daily business.

Floaters can also slowly sink within the vitreous and eventually settle at the bottom of the eye. When this happens, you don't see them anymore and you are likely to think they have gone away. I believe that some of my floaters have almost certainly sunk.

Thank you so much. Thats really helpful and given me a great deal of positivity.

 

[Kittyruns]

I am 56 and just got my first batch of floaters. Steve Ozancich says in his book that floaters are TMS so that immediately put my mind at rest! I tell myself they are ok, I am moving in a positive direction and all is well and they seem to diminish!

 

[Baseball65]

excessive heat, exercise, dehydration, bending over and low blood sugar.

That's when they happen. In fact, I have only just now started eating before baseball games (and haven't had them in my last couple).... The most common time for me to get them is right after I wake up from an afternoon nap, but once again, didn't eat enough (so far) during the day....and make up for that lack of food by drinking a couple of cups of coffee (LOL)

 

[BloodMoon]

That's when they happen. In fact, I have only just now started eating before baseball games (and haven't had them in my last couple).... The most common time for me to get them is right after I wake up from an afternoon nap, but once again, didn't eat enough (so far) during the day....and make up for that lack of food by drinking a couple of cups of coffee (LOL)

Apparently, the caffeine in the coffee, most likely in combination with the need to sleep (as I assume you're otherwise usually generally okay with caffeine) could also be a factor...as this webpage https://www.self.com/story/ocular-migraine-facts (Ocular Migraines Shouldn’t Exist, But They Do, So Here’s What to Know) about ocular migraines says:
"What experts do know is that the same triggers that cause regular migraines can prompt ocular migraines as well, Ahmara Ross, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania Scheie Eye Institute, tells SELF. That includes factors like stress, caffeine, sleep deprivation, hormonal changes, and certain foods such as aged cheeses, according to the Mayo Clinic."

I'm still working out what my triggers are as, other than my eyes being misaligned, I think there's more than just that that triggers them off. Thankfully, you've worked out your triggers and I guess it'll be generally healthier/better for you to keep your blood sugar levels as even as possible anyway. Hope you don't get any more of them.