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Wondering if anyone has had an FOV, Floaters Only Vitrectomy
I am wondering if anyone has had an FOV, Floaters Only Vitrectomy, and would be willing to share their experiences. For at least two years I was plagued with the constant irritating presence of gauzy, wispy, moving clumps that would obscure my vision and make reading and driving a tiring challenge. Prior to this I had had cataract surgery and a lens exchange surgery. Many, many follow up appointments and a second opinion did not pinpoint a reason for my continuing complaints. Although I did not complain of dry eyes, I was led to believe that was my issue and was treated with Xiidra and then Restasis and then even both at the same time, with no improvement in my symptoms. Finally a follow up appointment with a new ophthalmologist in the practice and my description of what I was seeing led to a diagnosis of a degenerating vitreous and a referral to a vitreal surgeon. Last week I had a vitrectomy to remove the vitreous. Despite the after effects of the surgery, the next day when the eye patch and bandages came off, I could immediately tell that my vision in that eye had cleared. It has been such a relief! I am hoping my recovery is uneventful and am now anticipating following up with the surgeon to schedule the procedure on my other eye. Has anyone experienced a situation similar to mine? Why would my problem not be recognized and diagnosed sooner? I have wondered if I simply was not able to describe my symptoms well enough or if ophthalmologists tend not to recognize or acknowledge how debilitating the condition can be. I understand that over time and with age the vitreous does degenerate for all people. Do only a few people experience what I did during that process or are there many people experiencing it’s deleterious effects on their vision and are just living with it, or as in my case, are not able to get a diagnosis from their eye care providers? I should add that I am in my early 70s and was extremely nearsighted my entire life. Anyone out there experience what I did?
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@markymark215 Good luck! Please keep me posted as I too suffer from floaters that at times prohibits me from driving.
Small update —
Meet with the retinal specialist Tuesday up by Chicago. He wants me to wait at least 3 months before committing to do the surgery. Even then, he said he would have to think about if he was willing to do the surgery. Seemed very knowledgeable and overall got a very good vibe from him.
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1 ReactionHello, I would like to hear from people who have a Vitreous detachment, more specifically the Weiss ring floater. I was diagnosed very recently with vitreous detachment and has been distressing knowing I am going to live with this large floater in my field of vision. I am 55.
Hi @quincy9, I have had floaters for years and I can definitely attest about their annoyance. You will notice that I moved your inquiry to a very lengthy, ongoing discussion about vitreous detachment. I did this so you can connect with the members who have experienced this and perhaps share with you their story. I encourage you to go through the 8 pages worth of content in order to see what they went through.
@quincy9 are you also experiencing photopsia, the random flashes of light across your vision?
Thank you. Yes I am experiencing random flashes. Most irritating and scary is the pain I have in my left eye (the affected eye) too. I wonder if this is common. I’m scared, but I do have an appointment again with my ophthalmologist.
Hello, do you have eye pain with this? I do and the eyeball itself hurts. It’s more of a deep dull ache.
Do you have eye pain too?
@lacy2 Happy to help! I am glad the response could provide you with information too!
@quincy9 I do not have eye pain associated with my floaters, but each case is different. I am glad you have a follow up so you can address this with your physician. When were you diagnosed?
I was diagnosed a week ago. I’m wondering if it could be eye strain.