Hi all,

I hope someone out there can help. About 4 months ago I returned from a travelling trip to Australia back to the UK. I found on returning that I was extremely light sensitive, car headlights seemed much brighter than before, so did sunlight. I had several complete eye check ups and they came up with 'Dry Eyes'. After a week or two tons of eye floaters appeared in both eyes - then they said it was a PVD. Since then I get afterimages and occasional trails. The afterimages, both positive and negative, appear when I look at high contrast objects, I also find sunspots of cars seem to ‘stay’ on my retina for much longer and then turn into negative afterimages.

I’ve had visual field, ERG, MRI scans and 5 eye exams allclear. I can’t work out whether the images are on my retina or in the brain. As the afterimage overlay changes size dependant on weather I look at a wall or a close small object. Also it only appears in one eye if I keep the other one closed.

Thanks for any help, James

Hi! I have a similar problem. I went on Holiday and when i returned was very light sensitive and spawned a whole bunch of floaters in both eyes. I don't have afterimages, but I do seem to have what I can only describe as a haze in my vision.

I had an eye test 6 months ago, and my vision is apparently just fine!

James:

I'm guessing PVD is partial(?) vitreous detachment? That would certainly account for the floaters.

Do a search of "palinopsia" online. That will give you more information. There are many medications that will cause trails and afterimages.

Torre

PVD means posterior vitreous detachment. It may or may not be serious. I know about it only because I had a major one last winter. I have after images, trails, and all the things you've described, including lightning flashes, and sharp points of light that look like tiny fireworks going off. If you do a goole search and type in posterior vitreous detachment you'll find many web sites that explain.

Did your eye doctor tell you that you need to watch for retinal tearing? The web sites mention it, and my doctor actually told me to not lift anything and to be extremely careful about what I do. This was early last winter, actually in the fall of 2002. I was "freaked out" about it, walked around on tiptoe and did next to nothing for quite some time. It's been many months now, and the doctor keeps tabs on my eyes, but nothing has gotten worse, so I've decided to get back to normal life again.

There are two things that bother me most. One is the swinging light in the side. It's like one of those guys that used to stand on the railroad tracks and swing his lantern back and forth, up and down, in an arc. That guy is swinging his lantern inside my head now! The other is what I call the spinach soup. It's like my eye is a pot of soup, and there's a giant blob of spinach swishing up and down on top of the soup. It drives me NUTS. The spinach is a blood clot, so says the doctor.

Hi I'm new to this board, but I frequently visit to read the posts. I have the same visual disturbances (tons of floaters,entopic phenomenon, afterimages, trails, halos and cloudiness around lights). It all suddenly appeared one morning a year and a half ago. I got these strange lights that appeared in my eyes for about 5 seconds (scared the crap out of me), then I walked outside and noticed all the floaters, and then everything else started to appear shortly after that time.
I see that you said that you had a PVD. I have seen 3 eye doctors and all said my eyes are healthy. I can't understand. Do you also notice sparklies in your vision, everywhere, not just looking at the sky or a white surface? This symptom disturbs me more than the floaters. Is it possible for an eye doctor not able to detect a PVD?
Thanks,
Jill

Jill, is this an optometrist or an opthalmologist? I'd be certain that you have a good opthalmologist. They should certainly be able to see whether or not you've had any kind of detachment. I don't know if an optometrist is able to detect things like that.

Yes, I know about the "sparklies". That's a much better description than I came up with. They ARE like sparklies! All of this stuff scared the beejeepers out of me, too. I'm sort of used to it now, and just put up with it all. I do watch like a hawk, though, for any more sudden changes.

There was a movie the other night on TV that I sat and watched. I'm not much of a TV watcher, but this one looked like one I should watch, and I'm sure glad I did. It was called "More Than Meets the Eye" and was the true story of Joan Brock (joanbrock.com I think). She was a sighted woman who worked in an institute for blind children. She had a very sudden onset of macular degeneration and went blind over a very short period of time. It was a truly inspiring story. If you see it listed, be sure to watch it. I hope I never, ever take my sight for granted.

Thank you so much for replying. Yes I've seen 2 opthamalogist, a retinal specialist, and also a neurologist all about a year a ago. All have said my eyes and brain are normal and healthy.
It's just so odd that I have the same symptoms as you and they say nothing is wrong with my eyes. I know something is wrong, my vitreous is a mess. And those darn sparklies drive me nuts. It cannot be a brain problem. I need some advice, what should I do? I think I would feel so much better if one doctor just gave me an answer. Like if they told me I had a PVD. Then I would have a reason for all of this.
Oh yeah I saw the preview for that movie. It was on Lifetime, right? I was afraid to watch it, I'd probably start obsessing that I was going blind. It looked really good though.
p.s. If you don't mind me asking, How old are you? I'm 23.
Thanks again,
Jill