AlwaysFreakingOut

Hi, Normally I will post on the health anxiety section, but I have gotten much better overall with that. I had one scare this year based on a temporary medical condition and it got me down, but I coped better. My issue these days is related to work anxiety / work responsibility / overall responsibility / financial responsibility / delivery responsibility. I am blessed to have a very solid career in technology. I have reached a highly desired peak within my firm and while this is great, I feel a sense of weight almost 24/7, even when on vacation. It's like I can't fully relax or breath any more. I eat well and exercise hard and it helps a lot, but it doesn't remove the constant cloud. I think I am addicted to my work and always feel alarmingly busy, so much so that people I love and care about get pushed to one side. Anyone had this and overcome? AFO

Oh sorry I thought he said the other way around

If you read my recent posts I have had this while going through PVD - I had three lines and maybe even a fourth. Thankfully it’s faded and I can’t see it at all. I asked two doctors about fixed floaters and if they are even possible and the answer is yes they are as oxymoronic as that sounds. The main thing is once you have your retinas checked you have nothing to worry about. You just need to go in if there is an upshift in new symptoms - more flashes, floaters and a definitely if you see a curtain covering your vision. Catch any of that quickly and it will be corrected. The curtain is symtom is especially urgent. beyond this floaters are part of most humans experience. Fixed ones too.

Probably a sign of wisdom. Did they mean inside or the outside around the eye? i think you need a better eye doc. This one has no bedside manner. Seems like an unnecessary statement to make to a patient.

Yes I have gone through spells like this. Lets see, let’s try asking a few questions 1) On a scale of 1..10 how often you thinking about symptoms and illnesses? 2) Are you feeling quite unhappy and down due to this? 3) Have you a long history with HA?

I am hoping I am close to being done with it. My symptoms are still gone except for lots of floaters and I am so releved. I was so frustrated. I am looking forward to my eye doc visit in a week and a half. If I get through that I think my right eye is going to be okay. Once PVD has finished its much harder to get a tear. I am soo hoping that I could be considered for LASIK after the left eye is done. I have held off because I knew with my history LASIK would be a risk.

You more than likely have BFS - totally fine and caused by stress. b -means benign. Not any big deal. I get them in my right leg all the time but can be anywhere.

Yep agree I did same thing a long time ago. Your symptoms don’t match at all.

Update: as of tonight the lines are gone - just one big floater - it feels like a miracle This was the weirdest health anxiety I have had. Having first been far less worried about health than I had been in many years. It wasn’t like before, was more of a feeling of being invaded and hopeless. Now I have hope again that my vision has returned to mostly normal. Gonna get my eyes checked again in a week and a few days. I mention this also in case someone else goes through this same thing. It can get better or so it seems for now.

Excellent - another way to think of all this is like your arm. You get lots of brown spots on your arm as you age. Most the time it’s just that and very very occasionally it indicates something more serious. Get a yearly eye exam and get a yearly mole check. The likelihood of serious problems for any one individual is quite low even with symptoms. If you do an annual exam your chances of going blind drop to nearly zilch. If you see an usual increase in floaters go for an immediate exam just to be sure. Even then it’s unlikely that anything is actually wrong.

Tingling is a symptom of mature diabetes as far as I understand - not early

You will go to the eye doctor tomorrow and you will find that you have lovely beautiful retinas and there is nothing to worry about. The bowl of jelly that fills your eye has clumped in a few places, for the lack of a better analogy- in the same way that milk develops clumps over time. You are seeing those and you will faze them out over time - trust me. You will remember them occasionally but most the time they won’t be a problem for you. They will change as you get older, you may get more actually and ultimately they won’t be bothersome much at all. good luck tomorrow but I doubt you will need it.

How old are you and are you myopic i only ask to asses if you are going through normal PVD which is nothing to worry about but does need a visit to the eye doc on the off chance it needs careful examination

Update - I might be imagining it but it seems like the black lines I am seeing after blinking are getting less and less noticeable. Like they are there but fading away. This is good news in case anyone else experiences this.

I have dealt with floaters for years. About 12 years ago I got a massive influx of them and had retinal tears that got lasered up. I have been getting a host of new types of floaters as according to the opthamologist am going through post vitreous detachment (normal part of aging) at the moment in my right eye. Look it up. that said here are the main things I have learned about floaters... 1) even with many you do get used to them and your brain blocks them out after time. It’s hard to believe at first but it’s true. 2) they improve with age - the vitreous becomes watery and the floaters fall to the bottom, break apart and become less noticeable over a long period of time. It’s one of the few benefits of aging. 3) floaters are not harmful but many new ones may indicate a retinal tears if you are pre PVD (very unlikely but possible) so new floaters should always be followed up by a very prompt eye visit with dilation and a full retina exam. Get someone who has a good bedside manner and a full opthamologist or retinal specialist. 4) if you get a tear it can be fixed and you will be fine but it needs to happen fast. 5) most people get floaters and very few result in tears. 6) If your floaters get rediculos the they can remove the vitreous and replace with saline. It will likely lead to cataracts which will need correcting with time. Not worth it as you will get used to the floaters. 7) This is really not as big of a deal as you think it is right now. Trust me been there done it and going through a new phase of it. 8. You May get flashes with them and they are another symptom of the retina being tugged on by the viterous. Again rarely dangerous always need checking. 9) Naming your floaters is something you can do if you have absolutely nothing else to do. So new hobby! Very common as well AFO