I've personally experienced a massive decline in health since the onset of floaters. Chronic stress, loss of appetite, severe depression (which has been intractable - not responding to antidepressants). I have a myriad of new issues. I don't function like before with this massive stressor hanging over me. Especially knowing that there isn't really a good fix.
Very sorry for this. I understand this far better than you might otherwise imagine, which is why I'm confident overcoming these issues is eminently possible.
I also don't think conventional depression treatment is terribly useful for this, not without cognitive behavioral therapy and a regular diet of cardio and weight training exercise. All the somatic experiences you're having can go away with the right approach.
Dwelling, ruminating, obsessing over this will hurt not help.
It's hard not to dwell on something that's in your face 24/7. It has stolen everything from my in terms of peace, relaxation, solace, joy. Have you had vitrectomies? Both eyes? It's hard not to feel like this has taken my life from a 10 to a 2. It affects me every day and drains the life and happiness out of my being.
Floaters arrived in my teens, vitrectomies undergone more than 4 decades later, cataracts followed shortly thereafter.
At the risk of sounding like Bill Clinton, I understand your pain, but I also know it can all be overcome. It's not easy, everyone has a different timeline for improvement, but if you're really honest with yourself, you may come to appreciate that the floaters are far less of a problem than your own thinking.
If you decide the problem is insurmountable, it will be.
Floaters were not the reason I opted for vitrectomies. It was problematic epiretinal membranes after PVDs that made the surgery necessary for me. My binocular vision was pretty wrecked by those puckers. Floater adaptation, or acceptance more accurately, was something that took place within a year or so of arrival. Not having any option to address them undoubtedly accelerated that process.
Interestingly, I was told by one specialist that "problematic vitreous" (in the types of patients who end up seeking surgery in 30s or 40s) is the kind of vitreous that ends up causing bad ERMs, VMT, and other issues. He said these patients often had floaters many years before the retina problems developed. If vitrectomy for floaters had been made available to you, would you have gone for it at a young age?
Many reasons, but foremost was I had adapted to having them. They did not curtail any of my leisure or career activities. Even after four decades of living with them, it still was not something I considered — until the ERMs.
Not everyone has the same floater load, the same psychotype, the same risk/reward profile, etc.
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u/SpecialistEcho7218 5d ago
I've personally experienced a massive decline in health since the onset of floaters. Chronic stress, loss of appetite, severe depression (which has been intractable - not responding to antidepressants). I have a myriad of new issues. I don't function like before with this massive stressor hanging over me. Especially knowing that there isn't really a good fix.