View Full Version : I'm still not convinced :(
Hi,
I'm still very worried I have a retinal hole or detachment :(
My optician didn't dilate my eyes the other week when I went to go and get it checked out but she said she didn't need to as my eyes were so big, she did take a retinal photograph but would that show up any holes or detachments? :(
Shes referred me to see an eye doctor soon as I went back on Tuesday as I was nervous still and she said she wasn't concerned at all and referred me to just put my mind at ease, but what if its too late by then! I'm so scared I literally cannot sleep at night sometimes as I'm scared I'll wake up blind. I did ring up NHS direct about my concerns and she said I'd have more symptoms than just floaters.
Can someone help me please? :( I'm very very very scared.
I had the same worry about 3 years ago, I suddenly had more floaters than usual and a dull pain behind my right eye and slightly blurred vision. I was terrified.... I had my eyes tested and all was normal. It was put down to stress / tiredness.
I still have floaters, but hardly notice them and I certainly don't freak out about them anymore. The optician is right, if there were a problem, you'd have more symptoms. :)
Thank you for responding, would a retina photograph have shown any problems?
My optician doesn't seem concerned which means I guess I shouldn't be either but I've got it into my head I'll be one of the rare people who gets a wrong diagnosis!
The floaters u speak of the little black moving objects... I used to get them more towards the begining of the way I feel, with me I had eye test an all was ok but still kept getting them... Altho thing is with me if I see one I keep seeing them until I take my focus off the floaters then they go, as I seem to dwell on a pain an it just keeps occuring
Yes, you have to believe the optician on this one... they would have seen anything strange on the retina. So try to take your mind off it. :) Easier said than done, i know.
So try to take your mind off it. :) Easier said than done, i know.
My fort exactly, but can be very challenging indeed
countrygirl
31-12-11, 17:03
I am someone who is partially sighted and was born with severe congeital short sightedness and I have had retinal problems as well due to above so due to experience know what I am talking about, hoping that does not sound too big headed:)
A retinal photograph will show up ANY problems with your retina end of story. You do not need to have your eyes dilated for this proceedure as the camera light is so powerful and fast it takes a photo before your eye has time to close up.
Any retinal problems give definite symptoms not floaters, I have had posterior vitrious detachment and two retinal holes/bleeds the first gave lightening flashes on edge of vision every time I moved my eye and the retinal bleeds gave me a constant hole in vision that changed colour as I blinked.
A sudden mass of floaters that prevent you seeing can be from a burst blood vessel in the eye but you would know it was something serious and likewise any true retinal problem makes itself very obvious and is there all the time.
Your optician has seen all there is too see - that photo even shows if there is any pressure in your brain as well! All is well. We all have floaters and odd things due to changes in pressure in eyeball they are normal and as long as an optician has seen you you can stop worrying.
Thank you for replying m4tt18 and countrygirl.
m4tt18 - my floaters are more of the transparent type and the occasional black dot and coloured dot, very annoying but luckily very easy to ignore when I'm in the right frame of mind lol.
countrygirl - Thanks :) I had mixed answers to whether or not I needed my eyes dilated or not, was just very scared as I had new floaters appearing in dim light was very scary as I was (still am a bit) 99% certain I was going blind, but learning to ignore them now, pretty sure is just my anxiety making me focus on them though, going to the eye doctor once I've recieved my letter in the post though with my appointment to put this behind me once and for all!
countrygirl
31-12-11, 18:15
Please do not take this the wrong way but from someone who has serious and potentially blinding eye problems your symptoms really really are not something you need to worry about, opticians are better than Drs at eye health as they are specialists and they pick up on alot of health problems unrelated to eyes as well.
sounds like you are going to see an opthalmic surgeon????
No offense taken at all :)
I just get very paranoid about my eyes as I know how precious they are especially when I had a scare with my eyes in January when I had loads of scratches on my cornea since then I got very paranoid about my eyes so I think I'm just hypersensitive to my eyes, but even so the symptoms with my scratched cornea were very obvious something was wrong and I didn't even post on here about it as I went straight to A&E as I knew for a fact it wasn't anxiety related no doubts about it.
But I think I am seeing a opthalmic surgeon not too sure but just hope a letter arrives in the post with my appointment some time soon
Hi, I have read this chain and it has been really helpful, but I am still going through a fit of anxiety about my eyes - has been going on now, up and down, for a few weeks.
I have a lot of floaters all through the range of vision in my left eye - squiggly lines and clouds, spots, etc. A few in my right eye but mainly in my left. They have been increasing over the last two or three years. Left eye also feels weaker but I know that it is because my prescription is stronger for that eye (although I rarely wear my glasses).
A few weeks ago I had a full ophthalmic exam - not because of my floaters or weak feeling - but because I have had trouble with headaches. This was to cross off my eyes on the list of potential causes. I was so stupid not to have told the ophthalmologist about my concerns with the floaters, clouds, squiggles, etc. Every once in awhile I think I see a pin-prick point of light on the right side of my vision. Just once in awhile. My exam went well - had my eyes dilated, and she checked the pressure by putting those anesthesising drops in my eyes.
She said all was well. Should I believe her since I didn't tell her about any symptoms? If there was something slowly developing in my retina, like a hole or detachment, would she have seen it even if I didn't tell her about the floaters and pin-prick of light? I guess I just need reassurance to make my anxiety go away.
Hi sorry to hear you're going through anxiety about your eyes too, its my main worry at the minute too.
But if there was something wrong with your retina she would have noticed it when she checked your eye after it was dilated :)
Its why I've been referred to an ophthalmologist also to put my mind at rest with those drops so they can check my retina properly, but they already took a photo of my retina so there's no real reason for me to worry but I'm not convinced lol. However, if you're still concerned about your floaters (I know how annoying and distressing they are) maybe you could ring your ophthalmologist or opticians to talk to them about it?
Okay, so even if you don't tell the dr. about floaters, etc., and she checks your eyes (drops to check pressure and drops to dilate), performs a normal ophthalmic exam, he/she would be able to tell if there is something wrong with the retina (beginning of a hole or detachment)? I'm sorry to ask this again, but I need to be reassured....
They would have been able to find anything wrong with your eye even if you didn't tell the doctor about the floaters. Unfortunately floaters are just a normal thing to do with aging and the majority of people notice them its nothing to worry about if you've been checked out properly
yes. retinal imaging shows the health of your eye. they would see a problem just by looking at it.
Thank you for your replies - I really appreciate them. I don't know why I keep doubting myself but that is the nature of H/A I guess. I just have so many more in one eye that lately I've been thinking there must be something that the dr. missed. I wish I had told her more about the floaters, clouds, squiggles, spots, etc. in my left eye, but somehow the week I got my eyes checked I wasn't having any anxiety about them so I didn't say anything during the exam. So stupid of me!
Not stupid at all, but I can assure you that your retina is fine :) They can see the whole of the back of your eye when they dilate but like I said if there was a big problem they would have spotted it straight away and they don't mess around.
I ended up snapping and going back to the opticians today and she dliated my eyes this time even though she didn't feel the need to, however my eyes are fine so I'm no longer worried about a detached retina which is good. I just still have this brain tumor worry lingering over me! D'oh! :(
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