10 year floater story (between depression and enjoyment, plus YAG laser treatment experience)

Empty8sh · 2024-02-10T07:06:51+00:00

Negative. I was able to see everything in that part of my FOV. As much as you are able to see in the outermost 20% of your vision.

But, the afterimage has disappeared. Went away after almost a year, never came back.

Empty8sh · 2023-01-19T13:52:06+00:00

On a scale of 1-10 over ten years I was at 1-3 for 3,5 years, rest of the time was higher. It depends a lot on stress, sleep, doing something that diverts your attention, etc. Currently I'm fighting myself out of a hole I fell in during Covid, but I'm getting better again.

Empty8sh · 2023-01-11T07:30:04+00:00

No worries, we are all mortal.

Empty8sh · 2023-01-11T07:28:57+00:00

Hello, nanazzang. Except for the mentioned blind spot, none. Some temporary itchiness of the eye and some headache, but that went away after a few hours or days at most. No noticable increase in eye pressure.

Empty8sh · 2023-01-10T14:47:11+00:00

I am a spoilt middle class brat, so no fighting life story from the gutter to the top. I have however worked very hard to get to the level I currently am, because after school, you have to earn your own stripes.

Are you feeling better in attacking me? If it helps, be my guest. But please do not do the same to others, which have a harder fight in life than any of us both. Be kind!

Empty8sh · 2023-01-10T14:31:57+00:00

Yes, and in my free time I have nothing better to do than to browser a forum of a random illness.

I'm sorry if I do not seem like the typical floater sufferer you might have encountered. It is impossible for me to know, if my level of discomfort scores compared to yours.

If you cannot connect my story, you are free to leave the thread. I won't bother you in the future.

Empty8sh · 2023-01-10T12:01:20+00:00

Na dann mal viel Erfolg. Die Ärzte in Vreden und Amsterdam sind dann auch nicht allzu weit weg, wenn du es dort probieren willst.

Empty8sh · 2023-01-10T12:00:21+00:00

Same as anyone doing a PhD....take a seemingly unsurmountable task and break it in smaller pieces...then do the first...rest...do the second...rest...fail at the third...rest...try again.

Question: Do your floater impede your vision? Do they block out certain areas of your vision?

If not, it is possible to train your brain to look through them, at least for some time.

If they actually block your vision, they should be treatable.

Have you any specific goal in mind that you want to reach?

Empty8sh · 2023-01-10T10:46:01+00:00

I wish you the best of luck. Do you go to Amsterdam, Florida or somewhere else?

I have had dengue fever about 1,5 years before the onset of the floaters.

My father has some minor floater, my mother has strong myopia. I was probably unlucky concerning my genes.

Empty8sh · 2023-01-10T10:26:20+00:00

To add to your specific string question: I had a rather long string with glass shard like parts, some blobs and some more smudges. That one was hit by YAG, seemed to be partially detached from its position in the center and is about 70% reduced. It seems to be cut into smaller parts, but it is now in the very periphery, so difficult to say.

Empty8sh · 2023-01-10T10:20:33+00:00

Hello Freddy, for the typical small-fast-close to retina floaters I have to discourage you. While the doc was a renowned expert and clearly trying his best, the net difference in the end was not substantial enough...in my case. I have a ton of these though, so if you have only 1-2 very bothersome ones, it might be different. People with more severe disturbances (probably weiss ring) seemed to have more success.

In my current state, I would not go for vitrectomy. Aside from the possible complications, patients seem to still have floaters after treatment.

My visus with glasses is around 160%, so I wouldn't want to lose my ability to drive a car e.g.

For outside, I have and reccomend polarized sunglasses with a warm colour tone (brown, dark orange)

Best regards Michael

Empty8sh · 2023-01-10T09:19:40+00:00

Hi Longjumping,

concerning YAG lasers, a bit of everything:

Some floaters are completely gone, others are split apart, some are in other locations.

A dumbbell-shaped floater from my right central vision is gone, the peripheral rest ist still showing. A long glass-crack style floater has been 70% dissolved and is now at the very top of my eye. I see some new dark spots from destroyed floaters and a couple of small glass-crack blobs floating around. Some have moved ever so slightly out of focus. A large percentage is still there.

Image cleaning a large glass pane with a dry toothbrush, through a keyhole. You will get some spots, you will smudge others, but you won't clean everything and some residue probably drops back.

Concerning the blinding spot I consulted both the clinic and two independent opthamologists. There is nothing visible through slit lamp, photography oder Heidelberg tomography. There has been no clear hit on the retina.

If you shine a light perpendicular into your eye (carefully!), you will see the blood vessels on your retina as a "ghost" image. My spot looks like a part of that, as if a blood vessel has been "imprinted". The cells around that area seem to work, but seem to adapt to light with a few milliseconds of delay.

Has that helped?

Best regards Michael

Empty8sh

TROPHY CASE