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pianoshrnk
USA
14 Posts |
 Posted - 06/13/2010 : 16:47:40
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Hey everyone- I have a question- I have had a variety of TMS symptoms for about 17 years- back pain, foot and hand pain, tingling and numbness, anxiety, dry eyes, funny head symptoms. I've had a lot of success "working the program", and have been symptom free off and on for long periods of time. This forum has helped me tremendously!
About 8 months ago, I got my first eye floater- went to the opthamologist and found out it was the beginning of a PVD (which is normal and common) The doctor told me to expect a 90 day adventure and then things would settle down- AND- to expect the other eye to be affected in a year or so. Well- it has been 8 months and I'm still having episodes of floaters and flashes consistently. I've managed to stay calm until this week when I started getting SCARED- "what if they never go away"? "How can I stand it if BOTH eyes are like this?" I'm obsessing about them because they are affecting my daily life.
I do not have a retinal tear- everything looks good inside- I am just hoping some of you have had success in calming floaters down? Once again I am going through a very stressful time- lots of anxiety- could this be another TMS thing going on?
I appreciate all of you on this forum and wish everyone the very best. The mind is indeed powerful. |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2010 : 18:39:23
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Hi Pianoshrnk,
I recently had a routine eye exam, and had some floaters I asked the doctor about. He said I had a PVD and that it was nothing serious. I had some concern about them prior to the exam but since I was reassured that nothing was amiss, they went away and I have not thought of them since.
The possible difference between your outcome and mine, was that your doctor set you up with a nocebo effect, by telling you "to expect a 90 day adventure", while mine didn't. Since you are experiencing stress and lots of anxiety, maybe your TMS gremlin has aptly chosen to "focus" your attention on the floaters.
Good Luck
Some of my favorite excerpts from _THE DIVIDED MIND_ :
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605
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Susie
USA
319 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2010 : 20:51:57
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| hello pianoshrnk, I'm with Tom. Floaters will drive you nuts if you keep watching them. If your docor says you haven't a tear, don't worry about them. I had a retinal detachment and I know the flashes are very disconcerting. My eye doctor explained that the flashes are caused by the vitrious pulling at the retina when you move your eye. I had surgery to fix the detachment but I still have the flashers.He also said not to keep moving my eyes to check on them. I know when it gets dark and your eye moves and you see flashes it stops you cold. As long as you got it checked out, don't worry about it. It's not tms and this is from someone that thinks everything is tms. By the way, my floaters have never gone away. They are fainter but if I pay attention to them they are very much in the way and , belive me, I have some major floaters. Susie |
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walnut864
94 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2010 : 21:12:48
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Ive had floaters since I was a child. I would only notice them when I was laying on my back staring at the clouds.
When my anxiety and stress levels were up and I was in so much fear about what was wrong with my body. I noticed the floaters and became obsessed with them. I also starting having visual snow. Visual snow looks like a tv with no channel just the static.
I have a hard time seeing at night bc of the "visual snow."
Please do not google visual snow or floaters bc it will only lead to more stressful diagnoses.
I found myself fixated on the floaters and snow. I could ot see past them. Kinda like not seeing the forrest for the trees.
You said and I qoute, "I've managed to stay calm until this week when I started getting SCARED- "what if they never go away"? "How can I stand it if BOTH eyes are like this?" I'm obsessing about them because they are affecting my daily life."
The theme I see here is fear and uncertainty. Ive lived with floaters for 20 years or more. I rarely even notice them. Once you begin to obsess over them then it becomes an issue. It becomes a stressor. Give it time like the doctor said. Mine arent as bad to live with as I orinally thought. I rarely notice them now, and when I do notice them it doesnt really bother me and I began to see pat them.
I hope this somehow helps and hope your symptoms clear up soon! |
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pianoshrnk
USA
14 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2010 : 11:32:05
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Thank you Tennis Tom, Susie, and Walnut864! I'm from California, but I'm in Colorado 9000 feet high in the mountains for 6 weeksW- it's supposed to be relaxing- right? haha It IS beautiful.
I called my doc in San Diego- I talked with his assistant who gave me good news and bad news- first she assured me that everything sounded normal- secondly she told me that the older we get - stuff gets more liquidy in our eyes and it is easier for the floaters to settle- I'm in my late fifties so I guess that isn't considered really old yet- Who would have thought I might have something like the disappearance of my floaters to look forward to as I age. That's a good one!
She also told me she is 53 and has had floaters for years- so that is sort of the bad news. The good news is that she says she goes for long periods not even noticing them, and then they might come back with a vengeance for awhile. She says I can expect them to come and go for periods of time and yes, there IS a possibility they will settle sooner rather than later.
Bottom line- I've never been a patient person, and I guess this will teach me a lesson I need to learn. I do agree with everyone that even though floaters are not TMS, it makes sense that anxiety, stress, and obsessing about them can make them worse and more noticeable to us.
Tennis Tom- you are a lucky (and probably pretty smart) guy your floaters went away. And Susie and Walnut- I admire your ability to handle the detached retina and the major floaters. Health and serenity to us all - Thank you again - Pianoshrnk (Karen)
"In order to change things - change your perspective." |
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Susie
USA
319 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2010 : 13:32:57
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| Karen, By the way, cloudy days are always the worst. If your doctor is able to show you a scan of your eye, the vitrious that has detatched causing the floaters, looks kinda like an egg white foating around in boiling water like a poached egg without a poacher. As you move your eye, the vitrious flails around. I have black specks that look like blow flies whizzing past and then quite a few clouds that pass back and forth across each other. I have them in both eyes as one eye detached about 8 months after the first one. They really don't inpare your vision when you get used to them, you just learn to look thru them. Sometimes, though, I swat at things that aren't really there. You gotta laugh. |
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walnut864
94 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2010 : 21:46:18
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Oh I forgot to mention. I seen a neuro opthamologist twice and he said there was nothing wrong with my eyes. I dont have a detatched retina or anything. He said my eyes were in perfect health except for astigmatism. I have worn eyegalsses since I was in the 3rd grade, but I found over the years that I can pull my eyes lids in certain positions and see perfect without glasses and my visions sucks without glasses.
There are some eye exercises that people swear by that have helped people strengthen their eye and see better and reduce the prescription in their eye glasses. I forgot the name of the opthamologist that came up with the techniques.
I asked my optometrist if this was even possible and he said yes, he had worked with a woman optometrist that would giive the exercises ti kids and most of the kids vision would improve. |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2010 : 23:39:01
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Dr. Robert-Michael Kaplan and Dr. William Bates are noted Behavioral Optometrists. If anyone is interested in the topic of VISION/vision, search on this site for numerous posts that deal with the fascinating topic of eyesight. They are compatible with TMS theory and are non-invasive. I'm sure floaters are dealt with for those that have them as a TMS issue.
Eye doctors who practice this special form of vision therapy are few and far between as are TMS doctors. People want a quick fix and just slap on some eye-glasses or contacts. These eye-therapy specialists are out there for those who wish to explore a natural form of VISION/vision improvement. I saw one in Novato, CA. There are many videos and books on the topic.
TAKE THE HOLMES-RAHE STRESS TEST:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale
Some of my favorite excerpts from _THE DIVIDED MIND_ :
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605
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Edited by - tennis tom on 07/04/2010 08:14:40 |
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winnieboo
USA
269 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2010 : 22:42:03
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Your brain will eventually ignore the floaters. When I first noticed mine four years ago, I was very distressed, even more so when the doctor told me they would never go away. I soon forgot about them however. They're still there, I can see them occasionally if I think about them and look at a white ceiling, but day to day--it's like they don't exist.
I also have some nerve damage, I get headaches and have neck pain from degenerated discs, etc. I just saw a neurologist for a "check-in" appointment and while discussing how confused I was by the nerve pain coming and going, he explained that the brain eventually learns to ignore the painful sensations. He offered that when the pain "goes" it's probably still there, the brain just isn't registering it. I think this is at the center of Sarno's theory, but Sarno says that one must "think psychological" to get rid of the pain. I would have to say that simply getting your mind off the pain, ceasing to obsess about it, is the key. I don't think you have to necessarily focus on psychological issues, or any specific internal issue such as anger. I took that route and for me it backfired. I became very depressed and I think it delayed my recovery. But, you do have to take your focus off the floaters or the pain, and whether that's a conscious act of "forgetting" or not, I guess that is an individual thing.
I've had a long journey with pain and I would say this: the more you obsess about it, the worse it is. It's the obsession that will take you down a miserable path. It's destructive. I have OCD and am sensitive to most drugs, so I don't take anything (sometimes I wish I could), so I completely understand that often, one might not have control over how much obsessing goes on (but that's another topic!)...
I've recently felt the best I have in three years, not necesarily because I have soooo much less pain (I don't always), but because I'm not fearful of it and I don't obsess as much, and it's all because I am completely engaged in work and my life for the first time in three years. Some of the "taking my life back" action was conscious, but most of it wasn't. I spent a good amount of time in psychotherapy after a disc/neck diagnosis in '07 and it wasn't until after I got out of my shrink's chair and pretty much forced myself back into facing my job and life that I started to feel better.
So, long answer, but as you say, the mind is indeed powerful. Let it engage in productive endeavors and it can take you through life despite aches, pains and floaters. |
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saralou
39 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2010 : 08:24:54
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i too think that the doctor put it in your head about the 90 days so as time is going on your are like they are not going they are not going..whereas if he'd not said anything u might not have noticed them by now. I only notice i have small floaters if i look at a bright sky they don't seem to show up other times. Also someone i knew before had quite big floaters but they never bothered her never got worse and she said she just looked past them. anyway i hope u start feeling better soon..know how bad it is to obcess about eyes..i have gone throu it as i'm diabetic and obcess every year before my eye exam.
saralou |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2010 : 08:39:31
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Now that I think about it, as soon as my eye doc said it was nothing to worry about, I quit thinking about it and the floaters totally disappeared. I used to get them every evening on my commute home.
The main reason I made the eye-exam appointment was to get a dx on the floaters and because they were having an eye-exam special for $100. $600 hundred later, I now have contacts-that I don't wear-but No floaters!
TAKE THE HOLMES-RAHE STRESS TEST
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale
Some of my favorite excerpts from _THE DIVIDED MIND_ :
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605
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Can eye floaters be exacerbated by TMS?
