Here is some info from the Mayo Clinic.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/eye-floaters/basics/definition/con-20033061

examination was told to ignore them. Have had them for at least 35 years. They get worse when I'm stressed.

but if they are starting to form threads and are dancing in front of your eye it could be a blood vessel bleeding in your eye. This happens to diabetics. No matter how bad it gets just remember they have a way to get rid of the blood if it is obscuring the vision. They can then stop the bleeding. Happened to be twice. Best to see a doctor.

That would be very serious and would need prompt treatment. I have had detachments in both eyes, one 15 years ago, the other just over 2 weeks ago. I am currently recovering from surgery to reattach the second. It appears to be successful, but won't be sure for some weeks more.

I recommend you find a retina specialist in your area. They should be set up to respond quickly because a detached retina is an emergency. In both my cases, I saw a doctor within hours and had surgery the next morning.

While there are other possible causes, the sudden appearance of dark floaters is most often the retina. Don't wait. Get someone to examine you today.

Mine popped up about 20 years ago. I thought my eye was exploding and made a frantic call to an eye doctor. My eye was not exploding. Basically, these things happen. It wasn't connected with my cataracts that eventually formed. And having the cataracts removed had no effect on the floaters.

So, 20 years later they're still there and annoying as ever.

Retinal detachment - Symptoms & causes

Symptoms

Retinal detachment itself is painless. But warning signs almost always appear before it occurs or has advanced, such as:



I helped save my sister-in-law eyesight in one eye when she came to visit my family and complained about the curtain effect. I knew the symptoms because of a condition I had that could lead to a detached retina. This was on a Friday evening and, because I live outside of Philadelphia, I knew that Wills Eye Hospital has a 24-hour emergency department for eye problems only. They told her that she did the right thing to come in immediately rather than wait several days to visit her own ophthalmologist after returning home.

I will repeat the warning above:

Retinal detachment is a medical emergency in which you can permanently lose your vision.

I would definitely try to get in to an ophthalmologist, not an optometrist, as soon as possible. There's a huge difference in their evaluation and what they can do. I'm surprised they are making you wait until Monday. We have several friends who have had the emergency surgery for detached retina and they were seen right away.

after the surgery that helped tremendously.

Optometrist and my medical Dr for tomorrow. If I need any type of treatment I will need the referral from my medical Dr and I figure that the Optometrist can give me good information to pass onto the medical Dr. I like my Optometrist and he has a cool machine that takes pictures of the inside of the eye. I hope he does this because it should be helpful in figuring out what is going on.

Thanks everyone for your information.

That was the scenario for me 15 years ago. I did a walk in at my optometrist who was around the corner from my office. It was at the end of the day. He called the surgeon and personally drove me to an appointment that night. He was also the referring doctor for the latest detachment and for my two cataracts earlier this year.

Good luck. So glad you are getting help.

about 15 years ago. They never went away. You get used to them after awhile.

Get used to them as they probably will not go away.

It went away because the surgery included a vitrectomy that removed the vitreous where the floaters were. That is a fairly extreme solution.

I am trying to find it now and can't. I'm glad you are getting checked, if it is none of the other more worrisome things mentioned in previous posts, you will get used to them.


Peace

Last edited Fri Sep 15, 2017, 07:24 AM - Edit history (1)

Posterior Vitreous Detachment (PVD) is a natural change that occurs during adulthood, when the vitreous gel that fills the eye separates from the retina, the light-sensing nerve layer at the back of the eye.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posterior_vitreous_detachment

Apparently everyone will experience this twice in their lifetime, once per eye. The retina did not tear and if I can make it 30 days with no retina tears the Doctor says the eye will be fine.

And an accurate diagnosis, most importantly.There is a lesson in this as you were given a lot of advice unthread that simply did not apply to your situation.

DU used to have a rule against seeking or giving medical advice. I always thought that was a good policy

Once they were called Weiss rings. It will never go away, you'll just get so used to it you'll stop seeing it, your brain will block it out. It's caused by age and gravity. Gravity = root of all evil.

I never appreciated gravity. It does seem to cause a lot of problems.

Glad you took fast action and got it checked out, though. You never know with stuff like this.