Worrisome vision symptoms - Eye & Vision Message Board

Wmoon24 · 02-15-2005, 09:40 PM

undefined

Hi everyone. I came across this board looking for some insight into my visual problems.
I am a 25 year old female with several disturbing visual symptoms which have so far been unexplained.
It all started after the birth of my first child at 18, 7 years ago. I had severe postpartum anxiety/panic attacks, and the started noticing weird visual symtoms. I developed frequent floaters, and problems with my peripheral vision that involved seeing a strange dark spot in my PV when I move my eyes. It started in only one eye but I notice it in both now. I don't see the dark spots in the peripheral vision unless I move my eyes in that direction. I also get flashes of light in my vision when going from light to dark, and the tiny shimmering, darting specks when I look at the sky or a similar background. The floaters are always there, but I've gotten used to them. My vision also gets blurry when my eyes are tired, but I suppose this is somewhat normal too. All this prompted me to make an appointment with an opthamologist, and after describing the symptoms to him and a thorough check of my eyes, he said everything looked normal and diagnosed vitreous floaters.
I don't know if it has anything to do with it, but my dad and I both share some of the same disturbing visual symptoms and also both suffer from migraine headaches with the visual aura beforehand. I just wish I had an explanation for it all. I'm glad the opthamologist said things were normal, but I still live in fear that I am someday going to lose my vision. Besides my dad, I can find no one else that suffers from these kind of visual problems. I am otherwise healthy, with 3 kids..normal BP, no known health problems. This is freaking me out though. Subsequently, my vision seemed to worsen a little more after the birth of each child. It's been going on a little over 7 years and it hasn't gotten MUCH worse, so I'm not extremely worried. I just wish I had an explanation for it.

Sunlover · 02-16-2005, 08:31 AM

I am 46 and been having ALL kinds of floaters, flashers, etc since I was 19. My eyes according to the doctor are still healthy. I have a large stationery floater in my right eye which covers almost half the eye! I get purple floaters (the floaters will make a light at night look purple!) I had sparkles, I get quick flashes, I get huge balls of light that will "roll" around in my eye for about 5 seconds, the floaters I get look like threads, like tiny spots, like huge thunderclouds. Some are clear, some are gray, some are brown, some are black.... I get flickering blackness in the peripheral vison, I get flickering light if I close my eye... if I look at something from the side in the dusk it looks like a light is shining on it.. and my eyes are still going strong, as a matter of fact they have IMPROVED! (my prescription for my glasses), so you are not going to lose your sight - as long as you get checked out for any new flashers, etc.. they say it COULD be a torn retina, although 9,999 out of 10,000 it's not- and a torn retina if caught right away is just zapped closed with a lazer - thats' so it doesn't become a detached retina - that's the bad thing. But the odds are so big that it doesn't warrant becoming obessesed over it.