Hi,

Please be patient with me because I'm very new to this disease (Confirmed SFN). I developed eye floaters several months ago (looked at by the eye doc) and told to come back for a check up. In the last several days my eyes are watery and vision close up has degraded, can this possibly be linked to the SFN? I ask because I have noticed other issues such as shortness of breath at times, heart palitations that come and go, fatigue, lack of appetite, etc.

Thanks,

Cliffman

I have dry eyes and have SFN. The heart and fatigue could be related to autonomic involvement. They can test your blood pressure at rest, lying, sitting, and standing to see if there is a difference.
The gabapentin can cause fatigue.
Not sure if any of that helps.
Hope you get some relief soon.

Are you on Gabapentin or any other meds? Many of the meds used to treat SFN cause blurred vision/loss of focus, tired eyes, etc. The other things you mention sound autonomic but they can also be from the medicines. People often think they have POTS and it turns out that it's the meds.

Floaters are usually normal with aging. Even something like too much Zinc consumption can cause them. You get used to them. Its very common for people over 40 to begin to get them.

Transient fogginess is not always floaters. This came up on another forum here:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...light=floaters

Thickened tears may give an impression of floaters.
But real floaters, come from tissue holding the retina in place.
They are mostly transparent, and may have black dots in them (which are blood specks).

Real floaters can precede a retinal detachment. Typically a flurry of them usually affect each eye at different times. People who are very nearsighted have a higher risk of retina detachments than others because their eyeball is not round, but oval. So the tissue is stressed, and may detach if you get a head bump from a fall or a car accident.

For floaters inside the eye (the real ones) you can close your eyes and roll them around a bit, and the floater will spin beyond your pupil along the sides, and you will not see it as much.

For momentary blurriness from thickened tear substance, getting some artificial tears usually clears that up...choose a brand that says "preservative free" on it.

Many drugs can cause thickened tears, and so can dehydration.
Getting older will do it too. Sometimes it is an autoimmune problem (Sjorgren's) as well. If you have allergies, you may get some blurriness too. Choose an allergy med like Claritin or Allegra, as these don't blur vision like other drying antihistamines can.

Floaters came on with me probably 20 yrs ago and they are no worse. Some times I hardly see them. Grape Seed Ex addresses so many issues including eyes and mouth and even the Nerve Damage issues. I also use Simalsian homeopathic eye drops and bilberry and lutein eye supports.

I played it on the safe side by going to see the retinal specialist. She said everything is OK and mentioned the Gabapentin can cause this (thanks Ken for mentioning the same) and to get a pair of inexpensive over the counter reading glasses. She also gave me eye drops. I'm glad I had it checked out.

Thanks for everyone's input.

All the best,

Cliffman

Great news (well in the grand scheme). Gabapentin has done it to me I have found as well. When I have gone off it I noticed visual clarity return. Its like #2 on their list of side effects after somnolence.

Caroline I have read many of your posts and you always recommend the Grape Seed Ex...can you be so kind as to telling me in what to try including amounts?

Thank you,
Cliffman

Sure Cliffman, I'm always ready to talk about grape seed ex. Ask my friends, family, people I know and those I don't know....ha ha..

I've never had side effects in the 20 years on these OPC's...the whole class of these antioxidants are OPC's...they include grape seed extract, pine bark extract (pycnogenol), resveratrol and I think that's it these 3.

I don't take pharma blood thinner and if one does then can't take both. Grape seed ex thins our blood, keeps it thinned and clean. That's how I understand it all.

You can read about these all over the net.

For most 200mg is a good dose unless one is overly weight heavy. For chronic isses to address, it's recommended to take a loading dose for while, like double the maintenance dose.

For some I've heard loose bowels, not for me. Some have said nausea, not me.

I've used many brands over the years and think I like best Vitacost brand grape seed ex 200mg capsules. I also like their Muscadine grape seed and buy both these. I use both.

Puritan Pride sells a much cheaper grape seed ex and I buy it sometimes, but this product has more fillers and the color of a pale red/purple. The vitacost product is a nice dark grape color.

Otherwise there are MANY many brands out there.

If more knew about these OPC's I believe we would have far less health issues. I have other posts around here and one on the allergy/sinus area.

I like this site as it explains so much about OPC's and lists many conditions they address.

http://grapeseedextract.com/

I LOVE to see people improve their health...Every one.. Our bodies are so contaminated with so much negative stuff.

I'm on a blood thinner due to a recent heart attack so I take it I won't be able to partake in using any of them....to bad because it sounds very healthy. Thank you for the informative and thoughtful response.

All the best,
Cliffman