r/Millennials • u/squabbleknob • 23h ago

Discussion Raise your hand if you've gotten your first eye floater

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I've got my first. Barely into my 40s, but there it is. šŸ˜®ā€šŸ’Ø Here's to many more to come, I imainge.

Edit: Honestly did not know how common these were for younger people. šŸ¤Æ

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u/bluefve 23h ago edited 18h ago

I'd had a few for years now. But how about I raise you a Posterior Vitreous Detachment (PVD). I had a pretty bad one at 36. Any others here?

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u/neonsummers Xennial 22h ago

Iā€™ll raise you PVD in both eyes and two vitrectomies. Very easy surgery and my floaters are now gone but eye surgery at 43 was a treat. Everyone in the retinal center I went to was 29 years older than me, which was fun. Two weeks out from the second surgery and dealing with a blood red eye thatā€™s scaring small children and animals

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u/Time-Leadership-7649 20h ago edited 5h ago

Iā€™ll meet you with a detached retina that led to an emergency Scleral buckle insert surgery and then a vitrectomy with gas bubble on the same eye (all before 40); with a cataract surgery on deck as a result of the previous surgeries.

Everyone in the Opthamologist waiting area is 30+ years older than me, and even the nurses for each of the surgeries commenting that I was one of the youngest people theyā€™d seen getting these done. My eye is constantly red and constantly ā€œcriesā€, especially when itā€™s hot outside. And I have to periodically move my eyelids (by hand) so the nerves donā€™t get stuck on the buckle.

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u/ManedCalico 16h ago

I know itā€™s not a competition butā€¦ retinal detachment 3 years ago at 39.

Multiple procedures, including gas bubble, silicone oil, weekly laser treatments for a few months, experimental chemotherapy, multiple months of face down recovery, 6 surgeries including 3 pars planer vitrectomies, cataract, and corneal debridement (which was the worst out of all of them). It was a year of hell.

My retina is swiss cheese now and they canā€™t remove the silicone oil which is causing calcium to build up on the cornea. Iā€™m pretty much blind in the eye permanently and Iā€™ll need the cornea surgery about once a year.

They think all this started because a floater stuck to my retina and pulled it away. Get your eyes checked if you start seeing more floaters!!!

Anyway, this thread makes me feel better that Iā€™m not alone at least. I actually have an appointment tomorrow to see when Iā€™ll need the next surgery. šŸ‘

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u/watchingwaiting88 11h ago

Not a competition either, but I had a spontaneous retinal detachment at 27. Also had multiple surgeries, gas bubble from the first caused a cataract. Took forever to get the cataract surgery, and had a full detachment during that time. Then had to go to the closest big city to get it redone with the oil, also needed the buckle. Can confirm, that retinal is also Swiss cheese and am basically blind in that eye. That was 10 years ago, they still have no idea what caused it, as I had no pre dispositions (diabetes, high blood pressure, old age, head trauma). Just unlucky I guess. Fingers crossed our other eye never betrays us.

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u/Maximum_Photograph_6 11h ago

You didnā€™t even have myopia? Iā€™ve been assuming everyone with horror stories on here was myopic.Ā 

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u/watchingwaiting88 10h ago

Only slightly. I didn't need glasses until I was about 24. When it happened my prescription was very light. I forgot that bad myopia can be a factor. My SIL has a very heavy prescription (since she was a kid), and her eye doctor has told her it isn't a matter of if she has a detachment, but when. But somehow I still beat her to it! Don't ignore flashes of light or dark spot or "curtains" in your vision, that's a retinal detachment baby.

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u/ManedCalico 9h ago

Iā€™ve scared so many of my friends and coworkers when Iā€™ve told them itā€™s just something that can happen! Everyone asks if I hit my head or something, but it happened while I was watching a movie.

Definitely hoping the other eye behaves. šŸ¤ž

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u/watchingwaiting88 2h ago

I don't know when mine happened exactly, I may have been sleeping. But I put off going to the doctor right away because I was young and had shitty insurance. Plus I didn't even know what a retina was at the time, and had no idea how big of a deal it was, and thought I was being a hypochindriac. It may not have been so bad if I had gone in right away.

They asked me at every appointment for years if my husband beat me (he would never raise a hand to me). But since they ruled out a car accident and I wasn't a boxer, then as a young woman apparently that would have been the most likely cause. But apparently it rarely can just happen. I was a good 30-40 years younger than everyone at my office as well. In the city, it was a teaching hospital, so they always asked if the students could examine me after the doctor. Sure, make me a case study. You're one if the first people I've come across in years in a similar situation. So I guess you probably have a better chance of being hit by lightning for anyone else reading.

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u/yukonwanderer 10h ago

I had a bunch of floaters a couple years ago and flashing at the sides so I went to the ER and was eventually diagnosed with like, signs of retinal detachment. Just monitoring it at this point. Like I'm self monitoring, I haven't had an exam since. Would you say this is a sub optimal strategy and I should push for action?

I guess at minimum I should get my eyes checked again right?

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u/ManedCalico 9h ago

Ya, thatā€™s very suboptimal. Flashing is a big concern in my experience.

An ophthalmologist can take photos of the retina to track things over time, and if there are any signs that youā€™re at risk for a detachment they can do a quick laser procedure to pin it down into place. Itā€™s in office and painless.

All of my complications had to do with the fact that the surgery to fix the detachment caused scar tissue. If Iā€™d caught it earlier and been able to fix it with laser or the gas bubble alone then Iā€™d still have my sight. If youā€™re young with a functioning immune system, you definitely want to prevent yourself from needing the surgery.

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u/Lingo2009 2h ago

Yep, I had the exact same thing as you but I was in my 20s when it happened. I agree with you about being so much younger than everyone else there. But I donā€™t have to move my eye around thankfully.

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u/takinglibertys 17h ago

Waheeeyyy!! Same happened to me. Detached retinas in both eyes :D double scleral buckle, and I was 20 lmao. It was the most embarrassing thing when the nurse insisted on helping me put on my compression socks before surgery. She was worried Iā€™d hurt my backā€¦

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u/thisdesignup 21h ago

What made you to decide to go through with PVD surgery? I was looking into it and it seems like the side effects can be quite bad.

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u/misterlister604 15h ago

Well alternative is possibly going blind in that eye so pick your poison I guess. I have a scleral buckle in each eye and luckily have no side effects other than my prescription got worse

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u/Lingo2009 2h ago

I also have a scleral buckle due to retinal detachment

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u/neonsummers Xennial 12h ago

For me it was the floaters were large enough to obscure my vision and dead center in my vision. Instead of just being dark specks, it was like I had gobs of Vaseline in my eyes making things blurry. Eye doctor initially said they were normal and should go away in six months but of not could be PVD. A year later, still there still obscuring my vision so off to the retinal specialist I went. They ran some tests, took some pics and told me I wasnā€™t crazy and showed me the PVD in both eyes. To prevent further sight deterioration, he recommended surgery, so I did both eyes in the course of two months.

Glad I did itā€”I thought my vision was going bad and I needed readers, turns out it was my vitreous. I see mostly fine now, def a lot better than I did. Compared to a lot of these stories, it was a super easy surgery and recovery with a great outcome.

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u/with_rabbit 16h ago

My floaters are bugging me, but they wont do vitrictomies except if it block part of my vision since there are risks... + It make cataracts and orher stiff more likely... Im on the fence. How was it?

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u/Good-Bandicoot-2152 Older Millennial 15h ago

Agreed with the age gap. Recently had two surgeries for retinopathy. 10/10, would be a burrito again.

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u/yukonwanderer 10h ago

Couple years ago I was told I have signs of detachment and that I'm supposed to monitor it. I haven't made another appointment, I've just been self monitoring. Is that a bad idea?

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u/neonsummers Xennial 9h ago

Iā€™m def not a doctor but if itā€™s not interfering with your vision to the point of making it difficult to see, I donā€™t think ophthalmologists would recommend surgery. After all, there are inherent risks, however small with any surgery. For me, it was affecting my vision to a point where I had trouble reading, screens were blurry, and I was getting headaches. My vision was deteriorating rapidly so that made it worthwhile.

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u/Foxhole564 22h ago

Raise you all ocular melanoma at 37. Radiation plaque and seclusion for 5 days. Still in recovery 3 months later. Will never gain sight out of eye but it is still intact. Idk. Worst surgeries Iā€™ve had and hopefully ever will have. Had 20/20 vision before onset.

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u/Comin_Up_Thrillho 17h ago

Damn, Im sorry you are going through that. What were the warning signs/symptoms you experienced? I didnt even realize ocular melanoma was a thing :(.

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u/Foxhole564 15h ago

One day I just couldnā€™t see out of my left eye much. I had just had my baby so I thought it was a complication from that or medication. Went to my eye doctor, you could tell it wasnā€™t good when he was looking at it. He had to pull out a book to read if what he was seeing was correct. He called a specialist at university. Youngest person there by far, surgeries were just ugh. Wouldnā€™t wish it on anyone. It didnā€™t spread to any organs though so that was great news. Still have to wait a few months to see if the radiation worked or not.

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u/xanthippe115 21h ago

PVD is the biggest cause of floaters. As with many body parts as we age, the vitreous, the clear gel that fills the interior of our eyes between the lens and retina, atrophies and shrinks. As it pulls away from the retina, some areas are stubbornly attached and the pulling results in flashes as the retina (our movie screen) is disturbed by the pulling. When the vitreous finally detaches tiny bits of the retina are pulled off with it. The bits become floaters. In some instances the pulling can result in retinal tears and retinal detachment.

People with myopia can experience floaters not related to PVD when they are young and are more at risk for PVD as they age. People with a thinning of the peripheral retina, known as lattice degeneration, also exacerbated by myopia, are more at risk of retinal tears and retinal detachment as the vitreous atrophies.

I hope your vision has stabilized, it's usually not a trivial event when the retinal specialists get involved.

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u/maaanda 20h ago

I had retina detachment in both eyes at 31 and 32 years old.

1

u/EvolvingEachDay 17h ago

Is that reversible?

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u/maaanda 13h ago

Yes, had surgeries in both eyes to reattach them and hold them in place. Doing good now!

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u/EvolvingEachDay 12h ago

Glad to hear that!

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u/thecatreboo-urns 22h ago

Yup. Now I can't go on rollercoasters or waterslides anymore :(Ā 

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u/Maximum_Photograph_6 21h ago

What does a bad one entail? From what I understand PVD is considered a normal part of aging (I also have it).Ā 

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u/bluefve 18h ago

It tugged at my macula as it detached, so I had a yellow circle in the center of my vision and lines/text were wavey. Never got flashes though. It resolved after several months.

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u/Obvious_Cranberry607 20h ago

Both eyes did it within the last couple of years, at 40. My right eye still has flashes.

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u/SidewalkRose 17h ago

Had one at 44 and it scared the hell out of me.

And I don't know if it's related or if I just got paranoid and started paying more attention to my vision but I swear my vision in that eye has gotten blurrier and I'm now starting to see the little starburst of light when I look at candles and flames and things that the internet tells me is astigmatism, but I've never noticed it before

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u/KhalesiDaenerys 14h ago

Oh I have that. I got it from having a baby.

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u/OSCgal Xennial 10h ago

Had one this past summer. Very annoying. It's also given me mild cataract.

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u/yukonwanderer 10h ago

New floaters is a symptom of retinal detachment in fact.