Visual Snow Floaters and After Images. Anxiety? =/

[Worrier12]

Hi,

My health anxiety started 4 months ago after I had a panic attack (my breathing was feeling restricted) for the first time, thought I was dying of heart attack, ambulance came out etc. I even prayed to god to give me another chance whilst it was happening, despite being unsure of my beliefs.

I've had various symptoms come and go, and these are the only symptoms that have stayed :


Visual Snow - it looks like billions of coloured busy dots are moving around over everything constantly - more clear if I look at bright sky, or when it's dark at night.
Floaters - loads of big and small floaters developed over the past couple months. Never had them before. They are more clear in the bright light/sky.
When staring at sky I see loads of white comma shaped things moving around in circles - apparently this might be white blood cells?
AFter Images - just from staring at an object (e.g. outline of a mirror or picture frame) even in the dark, If I blink or movve away, it's like the outline is burnt into my eyes like a plasma TV for a few seconds.


I also get ringing in the ears which started before the panic attack, but I think may be noise induced (about 6 months ago after a club). I did have it before though, just not as bad and only in a quiet room.

Those are always there whether I think about them or not. My health anxiety calmed down a lot recently, however the visual problems and ringing keep me thinking I Have a brain tumour. does anyone get any of this?

I also get numb limbs and pins and needles a lot just from sitting with leg over leg, or with arm streteched out accoss back of sofa, so I worry I have poor ciculation for whatever reason. I also get heart palpitations (feels like my heart skips a beat then has a really hard beat and also random racing) and random throbbing pains in my head.

Sorry to write and write and write, it's just all of this is running my life, I'm almost certain I'm going to die, so decisions I make are based on that, I think why not spend all this money on my credit card I'm going to die anyway. It's horrible and makes me feel really alone =[ If I tlak to my friends about these visual things they just laugh and look at me like I'm joking or crazy

Would appreciate a response if anyone else has had any of these symptoms.

[OliviaD]

Hi! Please don't worry about these disturbances. I've had them (and some others) forever and only in the last 6 months they have become more intense. Two eye doctors saw me and said anxiety is the cause. As a matter of fact, it's been a very, very stressful period for me.

---------- Post added at 14:16 ---------- Previous post was at 13:39 ----------

If you read posts here and on other forums (like Thosewithvisualsnow) about visual snow and related disturbances, you'll see that they often come with tinnitus (I have it too) and anxiety.

Sure I can't tell you what's best for you personally, but people have had improvements from anxiety meds, stress supplements (magnesium and potassium - I'm taking it - fish oil...), better hydration and a healthier lifestyle in general, relaxation.

I can understand how horrible these things are. :( Your friends shouldn't laugh about them! I've always been paranoid about my eyes, and after these disturbances got worse my anxiety skyrocketed... It's a vicious circle. But slowly I realized what I see can't hurt me (and doesn't mean I'm ill or anything) and it will eventually go away. As a matter of fact I'm getting better and, though with ups and downs, I'm going on with my life.

[Em84]

Hi

I also have all of the above...obv at different times...

The ringing i have all day long everyday, different pitches volumes...Ringing in the ears can be caused by stress etc etc....or loud noises as you say.

When its bright, i look at my tv and look away quick i also see the outline for a few seconds but a light version on the wall for example....

As the the floaters...too i get them, sometimes gold, silver (could be my BP, blood pressure) and the white things in the sky...ive seen them all my life so i think its pretty normal....

Anxiety has many symptoms...i too suffer with numbness in my limbs and tingling...infact when i got a drink a min ago my left calf went numb, only in a small area....

Im having a pretty bad day today with the anxiety so it def is hard to tell yourself its this and this only...

dont worry all seems anxiety stress related symptoms...

xx

[Dizzydoll]

I have floaters alot n also see after images of like picture frames or if ive looked at a bright light or camera flash...does n e one know y this happens? xx

[OliviaD]

Well, opthalmologists say retinal persistence is highly subjective (in my experience it also varies in time).

Search "afterimage" > "medical conditions" on Wikipedia.

[Scrumptious]

I have floaters in my vision all the time, I've got so used to them I just had to check if they were still there. The worse time is if it's really bright for example when it's snowing, I get confused which is which, snow or my visual disturbance.
I have had the ear disturbance a few weeks ago when I was panicky but didn't realise it was connected to anxiety until reading this. As I got calmer the ringing subsided.
I'm sure knowledge that it's not just you, you're not going mad all help.

[Worrier12]

Thanks guys :)

I got rushed into A&E last night because the right side of my face went completely numb and they thought I was having a stroke. After hours of waiting they did a neurological exam on me, said it was fine. The doctor asked if my family had a history of Multiple Scelerosis which scared me a bit, but he said he thought I would have had pain also.

I think the numbness may have been caused by Betahistine Dehydrochloride which I was recently prescribed to relieve pressure in ears to calm the ringing.

[OliviaD]

Jeez, how scary :(
Thankfully you're fine. Are you feeling better now?

[Britlove]

I know this post is from a year ago but I am currently having the same exact to a T symptoms as you and I am terrified that its something wrong with my brain or im terribly sick and I cannot afford to go to a doctor because I have no insurance :/ but seeing that you have the same symptoms from your anxiety...which I have very bad health anxiety and GAD which has calmed but I still have all of the after images, floaters, ect this post kinda makes me feel better:blush:

[Lissa101]

God I'm so glad you posted this! I have all these symptoms, especially the after images. Feel much better about it now :) x

[TomR]

I have exactly the same and every single one of them since 4 month.
before i was the happiest guy ever and it completly make me brake down cause i changed my personality a 100%.
lost friends, lost a job.
Getting a bit better now but everything is still there...

[Alamers]

Hey don't know how much this may help but I have had all of these symptoms from the flashing lights to the visual snow and the ringing in the ears as well as I can see me white blood cells floating around when I look at the sky . I have had an MRI and have seen an eye specialist who checked me for every thing under the sun ,all of it turned out to be non conclusive . I spent 1year of my life obsessing about theses symptoms convincing my self that I was going blind it almost ruined my life . In the end it's stress the people who suffer from this stuff all have one thing in common ,we're high anxiety people our brains seem to not be able to let go of this stuff . Someone earlier posted that if you look for visual symptoms you'll find them I agree wholeheartedly when I get depressed/anxious my symptoms get a hundred times worse if I don't pay attention to them I can go weeks at a time without even noticing them. Hope this helps someone out there who is losing sleep over this .

[Dexterjames]

Thanks guys :)

I got rushed into A&E last night because the right side of my face went completely numb and they thought I was having a stroke. After hours of waiting they did a neurological exam on me, said it was fine. The doctor asked if my family had a history of Multiple Scelerosis which scared me a bit, but he said he thought I would have had pain also.

I think the numbness may have been caused by Betahistine Dehydrochloride which I was recently prescribed to relieve pressure in ears to calm the ringing.
Numbness is all so common with panic attacks I have all your symptoms as well :(

[fluff]

Same happened to me after major panic attacks i am still left with alot of the symptoms but alot less now. But am left with visual snow eye floaters and little light flashes and occational after images

[Dexterjames]

Same happened to me after major panic attacks i am still left with alot of the symptoms but alot less now. But am left with visual snow eye floaters and little light flashes and occational after images
I seemed to be left with a lot of ongoing cr*p after my panic attack all them months back i think they can make a huge disturbance to your nervous system ,recovery i have been told for the nervous system can take some time to heal.

[fluff]

my panic attacks were for about a whole month everyday back in 2011! i think i had a very bad breakdown, am alot better now and able to deal with the symptoms but still really anoying at times i think how did this all happen to me

[mporter012]

Hey don't know how much this may help but I have had all of these symptoms from the flashing lights to the visual snow and the ringing in the ears as well as I can see me white blood cells floating around when I look at the sky . I have had an MRI and have seen an eye specialist who checked me for every thing under the sun ,all of it turned out to be non conclusive . I spent 1year of my life obsessing about theses symptoms convincing my self that I was going blind it almost ruined my life . In the end it's stress the people who suffer from this stuff all have one thing in common ,we're high anxiety people our brains seem to not be able to let go of this stuff . Someone earlier posted that if you look for visual symptoms you'll find them I agree wholeheartedly when I get depressed/anxious my symptoms get a hundred times worse if I don't pay attention to them I can go weeks at a time without even noticing them. Hope this helps someone out there who is losing sleep over this .


For the last 5 years, I've managed my anxiety pretty well. Then I had this unusual circumstance, where I started seeing halo's in my vision. It last for about 20 minutes. Then throughout the next several weeks I started seeing really pronounced after images, visual snow when looking at white/black surfaces, more obvious floaters (at least I started paying attention to them!), and when I'm outside and look at the sky I can see a billion little moving specs in my field of vision (which is, i've learned, called the Blue Field Entoptic Phenomenon). So all these visual things are going on, then I start having ringing in my ear about a month later. And had 2 dizzy spells that last awhile. Also had some fullness in ear. Having some more testing done on my vestibular system due to the ringing and the dizzy spells. I've had dizziness issue on and off since I was 16 (31 now), but all the visual stuff and ear ringing just came out of nowhere. I'm fascinated as to their connection.

[nirvanainchains]

I really think that’s normal, I have that visual disturbance since I was a kid. Also the tinitus(ringing or high pitch noises). Chill out.

[Vigilante]

I'm in a similar situation right now, 1 month ago I started seeing halos and starbursts then flashes of light, I also am seeing after images that seem to take ages to go away, slight trails and grainy vision. I've been worried about having a tumor for 3 years. So far I've seen 4 Dr's at walk in eye a&e who can see nothing wrong, no retina issues, no optic disc swellings no nothing. Got told it's either migraine related or mass or bleed on the brain by one just yesterday which has made me even more panicked, yet I'm still not further forward...

[mporter012]

I really think that’s normal, I have that visual disturbance since I was a kid. Also the tinitus(ringing or high pitch noises). Chill out.

I have gotten more used to both the tinnitus and visual disturbances, but I'm still not entirely convinced these things are normal, and blaming every physical symptom yo have on anxiety is not helpful to the mind of an anxious person. Sometime the opposite is true: Health problems cause anxiety.

[Fishmanpa]

Interesting that this popped up on my FB feed. Nails it totally!

Every so often, a person may see floating things seemingly in the air in front of their eyes. They look a little like worms and move around with eye movement. I haven’t seen any recently, but I remember noticing them when I was a child. I always thought they were a little weird and wondered exactly what they are.

Apparently, floaters are not what they are officially called. The correct term is muscae volitantes, Latin for Flying Flies. But do not worry. They are not flies, bugs or any living thing at all.

Muscae volitantes are made up of tissue, red blood cells, or protein. These small chunks are seen when they move near the back of the eye where the retina is located. We are not seeing the floaters themselves, but the shadow they make on the retina.

Floaters pose no potential health risk at all. They can, however, make some people nervous if they do not know what they are seeing.

“Floaters in the eye never worsen the sight, they only make the patient more nervous and frighten him a bit at the beginning because he is afraid of some more serious illness.”

Because they pose no harm to the eye or to vision, there is also no treatment for the problem. Most people tend to ignore them as they only show up when one is looking at a bright or mostly white surface.

I have not noticed my floaters for a while. But, if I take some time to look at the wall, I can see a few of them swimming around. As my eye tries to follow them, they move away quite quickly and I cannot see them anymore. This is common as the floater is in the liquid of the eye and will move with it.

Positive thoughts

[nirvanainchains]

I have gotten more used to both the tinnitus and visual disturbances, but I'm still not entirely convinced these things are normal, and blaming every physical symptom yo have on anxiety is not helpful to the mind of an anxious person. Sometime the opposite is true: Health problems cause anxiety.

Read fishmanpa’s post.. I have noticed visual floaters or cell-like visions or worm-like visions since I was 6-7 years old. Also tinitus at 10 or 11 years old.

[turboswag]

i have had every single one of these tings before. the good news is, nothing has ever come of them. i have/had all the visual oddities, i've had my eyes checked multiple times by multiple doctors. all say my vision is healthy. once i stopped worrying, these things went away (except for my floaters, which i just ignore now).

my ears have been ringing as of late, however i spoke with a few friends and they all have had the same thing. i think everyone's ears ring, really. i hope you feel better soon, all this stuff sounds normal to me and i'm sure you're perfectly healthy :) if you need reassurance, visit your doctor. i know that can be stressful but your mind will be much more at ease once a professional has told you that you're alright.

[Dagmag]

Hello,
I have these things too...I'm so worried about this, i'm pretty sure something is wrong with my brain, im affraid to lost my vision, to become blind...I saw 2 ophtalmologist who saw nothing (but it was the 23 april for the last, so maybe i need to check again ?? im not sure if its worst or if i just focus on it)
I saw my GP too, who didnt know visual snow etc...she said all come from anxiety, she dosnt want to give me a MRI of my brain, i dont need it she said...but im so scarred !

This is what i experience :
- a lot of point static who "blink"...if i watch screen or sky, it look like its blinking, like pixel, i dont know how to explain that...
- i see flyers too...who move with my eyes...and something really strange, if i move quickly to light from dark, it look like a quick smoke passing...
- I have flash (0.5 second) in the external corner of my eyes when i turn my head quickly and when i'm in the dark.
- I can see light point for 0.5 second sometimes in my vision
- Afterimage too, it's scarry...
- Sometimes i see horizontal lines
- If i focus on the sky, after some seconds, i can see a vortex...:o
- i have headache : Behind and above the eyes, at the forehead, on the temple, behind the head. Not so painfull but stressfull.

I have this all the time and it's just make me sad every day...Sad, scarry, worry and not happy....

Thank's for reading me and sorry for my bad english.

[the nervous one]

Sorry new here but I completely understand and agree with you and hope everything is fine I talk about this to my therapist and side that I was in a ordinary place.....I don't think I am either way I just want to go home wherever that my be.

[maianixon]

I have literally every vision symptom mentioned (and more) together with constant blurry vision for the past month. I had an MRI and neuro exam which were both good, my neurologist is confused as to what could this be from but she also told me to just wait and see so I guess she wasn't too concerned. I had an ophthalmologist tho and they told me my eyes were completely healthy and that all this could be caused by anxiety. I'm still struggling with coming to terms that this is all anxiety and the fear of MS is still very much present but I'm just trying not to focus on my vision too much and just get on with my life

[Mainly Vans]

Wow! Crazy. I have had Visual Snow all my life; at least as long as I can remember. I didn't expect a post about it to be on here. I would tell everyone since I was young that I saw tv static. I believe I have had Visual snow and anxiety my whole life, but my anxiety manifested further March of last year due to paranoia and weed.

[Dagmag]

I have literally every vision symptom mentioned (and more) together with constant blurry vision for the past month. I had an MRI and neuro exam which were both good, my neurologist is confused as to what could this be from but she also told me to just wait and see so I guess she wasn't too concerned. I had an ophthalmologist tho and they told me my eyes were completely healthy and that all this could be caused by anxiety. I'm still struggling with coming to terms that this is all anxiety and the fear of MS is still very much present but I'm just trying not to focus on my vision too much and just get on with my life
Hello Maianixon.
You mean my symptoms ?
Like you, fear about MS or other neuro prob...

[maianixon]

Yeah I've had every single one of the symptoms that you mentioned. I think they can all be caused by anxiety and the more you focus on them the worse it will get. I've also spoken to other people with a lot of similar symptoms from anxiety. And the fact that you mentioned seeing the vortex thing when you look at the sky makes me feel better because it happened to me few times and I've never heard anyone else mention it, but the chances of both of us actually having something wronh are pretty slim to none. Literally the best thing you can do is to ignore all the weird visual tricks youre seeing and not check and obsess over them constantly thats the only way they will get better.

And I should probably mention that I went to neurologist privately, I've been to A&E more than once when I freaked out and two different GPs no one seemed concerned that it was anything other than anxiety, so as much as I am a hypocrite I would say trust your GP if they said its fine. Neurological diseases in most cases sooner or letter show themselves also in other ways that anxiety can't. And as much we we google & research different neurological diseases and talk to people about them on forums and think we know everything about them and their symptoms we don't know nearly as much as doctors who actually studied medicine for years and have seen multiple cases of the diseases we worry about in real life. Before I went to a neurologist I would always think oh but GP isnt a specialist can they really tell?? But realistically GPs are the ones who have the responsibility of referring their patients if necessary so you bet that they have to be very good at recognizing first symptoms of diseases.
I think the only reason why my neurologist tells me to wait and see is because I go privately so they will keep doing checks on me as long as I can pay lol. Realistically if I went on NHS I'm pretty sure I wouldn't even get to an MRI because it was so very clear to everyone it's anxiety.
So really trust your doctor if they tell you its anxiety, you can always go look for second opinion but after that stop and work on your anxiety, a million tests or MRIs won't give you enough reassurance (take it from me) if you don't work on your anxiety first

[karpii]

Same exact problems. Came for the visual snow floaters but you nailed it on the head with the ringing sound and pins and needles feelings. I've been going through a lot of blood work and discovered my VMA levels are high. They could be raised by severe anxiety/stress or neural crest tumors. I have an appointment in the near future with a neurologist, but have been very scared. Could any of you guys with these symptoms email me and let me know if it was in fact a brain tumor or just anxiety? @randumbrapss@gmail.com Thanks!

[Potter86]

hi just wondering if any of the posters who have posted on this thread still come on here?i to habe developed visual snow syndrome and buzzing and fullness in both ears, ive read everywhere that visual snow does not get better?mine funny enough all started from severe anxiety panic attacks and health anxiety,ive been suffering from tremors also which im putting down to the ears.has anyones visual snow got better and whats best to settle it.

[Garvick5]

Have any of you gotten better jus wondering

---------- Post added at 16:11 ---------- Previous post was at 16:08 ----------

Im wondering same so after images isnt because im going blind or frome to much phone screen time?

[TheWorld]

Can we get an update on your condition. I myself am experiencing these exact symptoms.

[JackReacher]

Bulgarian here. I had a major panic attack in June 2020, didn't know what it was, got rushed to the ER, doctors had suspicions about a heart attack because of back and shoulder pain, numb limbs, needles in the arms and legs, blurry vision, road was moving under my feet, lost perception of time, etc. I left with a diagnose "panic attack." Blood pressure was 160/120, second panic attack was 180/130. Crazy.

Got a few more strong episodes, went to other hospitals by myself, one time an ambulance came because my hands cramped, now it's officially a panic disorder.

I got it on the road, unlocked itself on the highway. I've always had a fear of driving on the highway because I was in a huge car crash, on a highway, June 2014, which is funny. June... Anyway.

I have Deanxit prescribed, but try not to use it. Only if I feel extremely anxious. I kinda learned to control it. When I start having it, I stop, I breathe, I start thinking about something else. I get it on big open roads.

One thing that almost never goes away is the visual snow, afterimages for 1 minute if it's a stronger source of light like someone flashing me with their high beams, and the tinnitus. I also feel my eyes heavy, oftentimes.

I don't get these symptoms if I'm extremely happy, resting, not working, you get the point. I also don't get them if I'm on the pill.

But I live with it. The afterimages I only get at night, visual snow sometimes during the day. Mind peace can make all of it go away, but I have a stressful job, and I rarely have peace with myself.

It is what it is. Writing this in case someone reads or googles and he thinks he's dying. Relax, it's just your brain playing tricks on you because of stress. Too much stress...

[skippy66]

Do yourself a favour and go and read my early posts on this forum. I have been completely recovered for years now. I was you, years ago.