Long term PVD

[mindi23]

I was diagnosed with a PVD in right eye 8 months ago and I still have flashing and large cloudy floater on top of the multiple floaters I already had. I was told I would most likely develope PVD in the other eye. I thought this one would be done way before now. If i get one in the other eye I wont be able to drive or read or enjoy life in general. I also deal with dry eyes. I find doctor's lackluster response of "your brain will get used to it" appalling. Nobody gets used to clouds and garbage blocking their vision! I already feel like I don't see well because of all this debris even though my eyeglass prescription isn't very strong at all. I guess I'm just venting here and wondering how other people cope with this "harmless" yet quality of life depleting condition. I'm 64 year old female with cataract surgery in both eyes 6 years ago.

[JohnHaganMD]

Mindi at age 64 you should be a little more realistic and a little less appalled.  In the USA alone there are over 100 million people with floaters. It's the way the eye grows old. At your age 60% of people have floaters. Neuro-adaptation or the brain learning to ignore them is how 98% get by. I am not only sympathetic but empathetic. I have had floaters since age 9, have PVDs in both eyes and a huge Weiss Ring in my right eye.  At present 5/2016 there is no good treatment for floaters.  Lasers, vitrectomies, injections are too risky.

Some people are deeply bothered by floaters. I've noted this on my home page blog and posted information on same. This is the link:  http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/index/177275?page=6&personal_page_id=67912&sort_by=date

JCH MD

[mindi23]

Thanks for responding. I read the article and I am glad to see many people want the medical community to do more. My husband keeps suggesting hypnosis. Is that a real option? And what about the three doctors in the US who specialize in floaters?  Karickhoff, Geller and Johnson. Their success rates seem pretty high with low risk.

[mindi23]

Thanks for responding. I read the article and I am glad to see many people want the medical community to do more. My husband keeps suggesting hypnosis. Is that a real option? And what about the three doctors in the US who specialize in floaters?  Karickhoff, Geller and Johnson. Their success rates seem pretty high with low risk.

[JohnHaganMD]

Because there are so many people with floaters and because they bother a lot of people you can do an enormous amount of surgery if you start removing floaters. A vitrectomy is NEVER a low risk procedure and ALWAYS causes cataracts.  All retina doctors do vitrectomies but most do them for floaters only in the most severe of instances. Those "floater doctors" you mention have lowered the bar. Whether they do this for profit and to keep their schedules full or whether they do it because of a research interest in floaters is something that is open to speculation. I will say one of the most famous retina surgeons in the USA just wrote publically about his experience with a retina tear,  and PVD and huge floater. He was startled at how much the huge floater bothered him.  Still I have a huge floater in my right eye and I thought I would never get use to it now rarely notice it unless I think or talk/write about it.