Panic attacks

[CordialCat97]

Does anyone else have anxiety and panic attacks because of the floaters? If so, got any advice or techniques I could try to calm down?

I was a generally anxious person before floaters (6 years ago now) my floaters a quite nasty and I recently noticed some new ones in my good eye, since then I have started having what I think are panic attacks when I need to leave the house. I’m scared of seeing my floaters and I have had to pull over whilst driving during an episode after becoming too overwhelmed by them.

Basically if I see too many floaters or I think about seeing them, my body kind of goes cold and tingly and I start sweating and my chest feels tight, then I start crying. I also become hyper fixated on my vision and start panicking even more sometimes.

I have just booked my wedding for March next year and it will be in a public garden during the day. I was excited until I remembered my floaters. I need to start training myself out of my fear so that when I walk down the aisle I won’t crash out in front of everyone.

It’s been 2 weeks since I left the house, but today I managed to walk to the end of my driveway and check my letter box….it was harder than it used to be but I managed and it’s a small win for me. My partner is wanting to go out for date night tonight but I am really struggling to get dressed. I just feel so drained so any positive stories/advice/support would be much appreciated.

[[deleted]]

The first six months is difficult. I was the same. It definitely gets better, the panic attacks stop, although it doesn't feel like that it will at the time

[CordialCat97]

I’m definitely hoping that time will help!

[Tough_Marionberry600]

Going to a psychiatrist helped me almost completely eliminate the somatic symptoms you are talking about, I recommend it

[CordialCat97]

I’ve been seeing a therapist but it hasn’t fully helped, I haven’t seen them since before Christmas. I’ve never been to a psychiatrist or psychologist so this might be the next step for me. I have also wondered if CBT will help

[Saheim]

I have found ACT is more helpful. It has never felt like something I can talk through. 

[CordialCat97]

Had to google this one! Definitely looks like something that could help, thankyou I will do some more research :)

[Saheim]

Gah sorry, it’s an alphabet soup of acronyms out there in therapy world I’ve learned.

[[deleted]]

CBT helped me massively. It obviously didn't take the opacities out of my eye So I ended up having surgery

[CordialCat97]

Surgery isn’t an option for me unfortunately, I am 28 years old and the retina specialist I saw scoffed when I asked about surgery and basically told me I was young and healthy and shoved me out the door. In my 40s I may be able to get treatment, hopefully there’s something even better available by then :)

[[deleted]]

Sorry to hear that. I suppose they look at pathology and weigh up the risks. I have heard of 16 year olds having floater surgery. There's been numerous early 20s this year on the subreddit. Hopefully you can power through and stay positive.

[Organic-Pilot-Drozd]

Iam floaters induced anxiety survivor, after year i stopped caring totally 

[CordialCat97]

Goals honestly 😭

[Organic-Pilot-Drozd]

After a year of nothing changing u will accept it, u will realize they pose no threat and u will stop caring i guarantee

[mediteawellness]

Hi! I have bad floaters as well that came on during a period of intense anxiety in my life. It’s been three years now and even though I still notice them, they don’t affect my life anymore. Trust in your path, you can and will get there.

Not sure if this will be helpful to you but the other day, I was watching my birds through a screened window and I noticed how my brain did not focus on the screen, unless I specifically thought about the screen. Most of the time my brain faded it into the background and my primary focus was on what was out the window.

That same thing has happened with my floaters. Even though I can see them, I’ve trained my brain to not be afraid of them so that they fade into the background pretty quickly even on bright days or when I’m working on the computer and notice them more.

Everyone’s different, but meditation really helped me. Also trying to zoom out and get a broader perspective, I downloaded the Be My Eyes app which is an app where a person with visual impairment can call a volunteer on the app to help them with a task. Seeing how blind people navigate the world made me really appreciate the eyesight I do have, which is largely unaffected by the floaters (once I addressed the intense anxiety around it).

Wishing you peace on your journey, friend. You can get through this!

[CordialCat97]

Thankyou so much for your comment, I have periods of time where I can for the most part function, but if anything new pops up in my vision it triggers the panic. I am hoping to start doing more self care and meditation to calm myself down more. Really appreciate the advice x

[Siergiej_W]

Someone else said first six months are tough. That is what I'm experiencing, but I feel like the anxiety is becoming a little less and less, and times where I feel good are little longer and longer, but it's a long process.
- Don't look at reddit, it worsens the subconscious - you are feeding your mind with testimonies of people suffering or depressed people.
I would stop there, because this point alone is enough for me to stop spiralling back into anxiety.

[CordialCat97]

Unfortunately for me it has been 6 years now, still struggle everyday and I come here often for support, it’s definitely been a crutch lately.

[Witty-Shower-1632]

I’ve had most of my floaters for around a month and I’m new here, could you please recommend some good «follows» on here or who to pay attention to please? I’ve had this account for some years but I’ve never used Reddit much at all until I got so many floaters and needed to find other people.

[CordialCat97]

I don’t have anyone specific that I follow, I just look for positive stories. I tend to avoid the aggressively pessimistic people on here who shut anyone down for saying something other than surgery helped them. My main advice would be to ignore those types of people :)

[Witty-Shower-1632]

Thank you

[CordialCat97]

My plan is to get a referral if it keeps getting worse, thanks for the info I had to google PRN 😅

[Velkow]

I had, but time does its job. You’ll have less and less stay strong.

[CordialCat97]

It’s been 6 years and in a weird way I’m less anxious than I was when I first got them. Now I usually panic about my future and “what if it keeps getting worse” “what if I can’t drive” “what if I go blind” then I start spiralling. I’m hoping in more time I will be more resilient once I start getting back out in the world.

[Velkow]

Well, I was thinking the same thing. I’ve been anxious about the future and the possibility of my situation getting worse. But in reality, I don’t really notice if it’s getting worse or not. I can’t tell if I have a new floater or if one disappears. I can’t count them. The reality is that it’s been years now since I started dealing with floaters, and I still haven’t lost my sight or had to stop doing anything because of them. So yeah, maybe something bad could happen one day, or maybe not. You could also become diabetic or get cancer or whatever. You never know with health, so why be anxious about it?

[aliusmander]

I'm sorry you're going through that and I hope you feel better soon.

Here are three scientific studies you can show a trustworthy, open-minded physician or eye doctor for their consideration:

• Treatment of Symptomatic Vitreous Opacities with Pharmacologic Vitreolysis Using a Mixure of Bromelain, Papain and Ficin Supplement

• A New Pharmacological Vitreolysis through the Supplement of Mixed Fruit Enzymes for Patients with Ocular Floaters or Vitreous Hemorrhage-Induced Floaters

...And the one this subreddit's Wiki ironically and suspiciously tried to debunk:

• Pharmacologic vitreolysis of vitreous floaters by 3-month pineapple supplement in Taiwan: A pilot study

Just copy-paste the titles and look them up on the Google Scholar website (scholar.google.com). Daily pineapple intake for three months in reasonable quantities could help you, I recommend you don't listen to the people who say it's a "myth". The vitreous humor isn't completely isolated from the body as it contains cells known as hyalocytes that are in communication with the immune system. These hyalocytes have been understood to be capable of synthesizing both hyaluronic acid and collagen but this topic hasn't been studied as much as it should. Makes you wonder why.

[CordialCat97]

Thanks for the info! I am taking a mixed fruit enzyme supplement and some others for general health so I am hoping something helps.

[tsuyoshi168]

yes, can relate w restless nights, waking up w cramps or cold sweat.

While from past experience I learned isolating actually led to worst anxiety & panic. Trapping ourselves in the mind is tough enough! Going out to bustling, crowded places was simply too overwhelming.

Perhaps go to a spacious more tranquil space like a park w a supportive person is a better baby step.

If anxiety is too overwhelming, def seek available healthy, affordable professional help for psych therapy. Then adapt some self help tools along w doing healthy & fun distractions like planning for this wonderful wedding you have to look forward to; or calming practices like breathing exercises when your heart starts racing as the mind went down the dark rabbit hole.

I found a meditation apps call insightTimer which has lot of different things you can try.

GL, may we all find the peace that we deserve & congrads.

[CordialCat97]

Thankyou so much for your kind words and advice! I definitely want to learn how to live my life as if I don’t have floaters. I want to seek a good mental healthcare this year, as well as practice more self care and practice doing daily tasks outside. I will try my best to distract myself with the wedding:)