I am so sorry your having problems with your vision. I am not going to be much help as a nurse since I am an OB nurse, but I do have very bad vision including macular degeration, optic neuritis, etc. But here is my question for you. What on earth has coming to Mississippi have to do with anything???? I need to know seeing that I am a Mississippian!!!! By the way, the retina specialist specializes in eyeball torture!! Didn't know my eyes could be violated in so many different ways until I saw one!! Wasn't to bad though. They numb your eyes. Just a very thorough eye exam!!
In my opinion, I would not wait until I was seeing extreme floaters and flashes.
I would not "freak out" yet. Try to get in to see this specialist.