Psycho-Babble Medication | about biological treatments | Framed
This thread | Show all | Post follow-up | Start new thread | List of forums | Search | FAQ

Re: Psychotropic Meds and #$!@! Vitreous Floaters » susan C

Posted by Rick on November 1, 2001, at 1:09:00

In reply to Re: Psychotropic Meds and #$!@! Vitreous Floaters, posted by susan C on October 31, 2001, at 14:07:19

Floaters do become more common with age, and also the more nearsighted one is. Interestingly, though, elderly people seem the least attuned to and least bothered by them, while the youngest folks tend to get the most disturbed. Even kids can get bothersome floaters, though that's not too common.

I believe what you described is vitreal detachment, a usually benign and common (especially with aging) occurence where the vitreous gel contracts (probably from the drying-out ou mentioned) and pulls away from the retina, sometimes leaving fragments that float around. But there are other ways they can form, including syneresis (liquification of part of the vitreous) or even from "excess" blood cells remaining in the eye at birth that later appear as floaters.

I'm not that much younger than you, and assumed I must have had an early vitreous detachment, but it turns out that like many young people, I have none of the usual causes. The strands just formed for some reason. ****That makes me all the more suspicious of medications.****

99% of opthamologists will tell you there is no treatment for floaters. That's not quite right, although the possible treatments are less than appealing. Floaters CAN be removed by vitrectomy surgery (removal of the entire vitreous, replaced by saline), but most opthamologists would be aghast at the thought of performing this admittedly risky surgery soley for floaters.

There are two opthomologists in the country who use a special kind of laser to treat floaters, but there is some question about how effective this is (and perhaps some long-term safety questions). My impression is that for certain kinds of floaters the laser treatment may work, but for others they'll just end up zapping bigger floaters into lots of smaller strands.

Thanks for pointing out the previous posts. Most people seemed to be referring to te squiggly, transparent, amoeba-like kinds of objects floating around. I've actually had those since I was a kid; they would just float by every once in awhile, a fun little curiosity. I used to think that this was something entirely different than the dark hairy monsters and spots I now contend with, but lately I've noticed that when I stare cross-eyed at the floaters, I can see that some of them are those same types of objects, just a lot darker.

Perhaps the ones that end up appearing as hairs or blobs are simply "transparent squiggles" that have formed (or moved) closer to the retina, thus casting a more intense shadow. Or maybe they have grown more dense as more protein cells have bound to them.

But the fact that even the transparent squiqqles looked more apparent to posters here when they were taking certain meds, or experiencing certain physical events, adds fodder to my suspicion that mine *might* just become less noticeable sans cerain meds.

If you're interested in reading more about bad floaters, and hearing personal woe stories and quests for solutions, check out the Floater Discussion Group:

http://pub44.ezboard.com/bfloatertalk

In any event, please let us know what you determine about the timing of your own floaters vs. your Serzone use!

Rick


> Hello,
>
> Warrry interestink, How old are you?
>
> I went to optomitrist and complained about floaters (in one eye only) I asked him to please look for and remove the bits of dust in my eye, as I couldn't seem to get them and he explained, and it was backed up by net searches, that floaters come as a result of the natural aging process and the drying of the gel between the cornea and retina...there was no way to remove them.
>
> I also got bifocals on my 40th birthday, so I am aging right on time...I am 50 now.
>
> now, you have got me thinking, and next time I see him, i will check my dates, and see if there is a correlation between this occurance and the time I took Serzone. I would be curious if this 'drying' hypothesis of your also would apply to Prozac. I had terrible 'dry eyes' while I took it, having to use water, or drops in the middle of the night, my eyes were so dry, as was my mouth and oh and then the constipation... I have not noticed this with AC depakote, other than some metalic dryish mouth tho...
>
> Mitch, I am curious about your description of the 'static' in your vision and the reports of a perception of increased clarity...when I tried to explain in to my very patient optometrist, he thought about it for some time, then called me and said he thought it might be that I am much more 'sensitive' visually than other people, and what i am seeing is a 'residual' of light impression on the retina. I describe it like the snow you see on a 'blank' tv screen, only reversed, with the back being black...he had never heard of anything like this before.
>
> When I was coming off of Keppra, I noticed one evening I felt like I was seeing much clearer. But I think that is was a very subjective observation.
>
> mouse with bifocals
> susan C
>
> p.s. there was another post about this earlier, you would probably get to it by 'floater' search...



Share
Tweet  

Thread

 

Post a new follow-up

Your message only Include above post


Notify the administrators

They will then review this post with the posting guidelines in mind.

To contact them about something other than this post, please use this form instead.

 

Start a new thread

 
Google
dr-bob.org www
Search options and examples
[amazon] for
in

This thread | Show all | Post follow-up | Start new thread | FAQ
Psycho-Babble Medication | Framed

poster:Rick thread:82732
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011025/msgs/82827.html