vision loss/eye floaters linked to SFN?
 

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 :)

That's too bad, grape seed ex maybe could have saved you from the heart attack. As I said it's sad so few know about the virtues of this supplement. Life can be all timing, being at the right place at the right time. I'm so happy I was where I was back in Aug 1995. C

The main reason I started on it back in 1995, we were told it MAY prevent cancers. So far so good for me. And over the years found so many positive effects.

Ahhhh..if we could only go back in time and do it all differently...perhaps I could have avoided not only the heart attack but more importantly the SFN! :)

Cliffman

I went to the local pharmacy and tried the cheap reading glasses on in a variety of strength's only to find out they made my vision even more blurry. I guess I will just need to adjust to the fact that the gabapentin has changed my vision for now. The eye doctor thought the over the counter glasses would work but they didn't in my case.

Cliffman :)

What dosage of gabapentin are you on?

100 mg 3X daily.

Cliffman

That's a nothing dose really. If you're having significant pain you need more than that. Did you just start it? Not liking the side effects?

Yes, just started taking it. The Pain is very significant. The side effect I dislike is the drowsiness, which happened after the 3rd pill at dinner. Prior to the Gaba I existed only on Tylenol for the last 4 month's. Once you reach a higher level does it get rid of majority of the pain for long periods of time?

Cliffman :)

True SFN pain is not usually relieved by Tylenol so i am surprised that worked four you. Even for people who find relief in gabapentin it doesn't act as a magic pill. It gives 30-60% relief. I'd say its probably around 40% for me.SO it cuts my pain from a 10 to a 6, and with SFN, thats significant for me. it also allows me to sleep. It takes a while to adjust to it. They usually will try building you up to 1800mg max over time to see if u get relief. If there is not relief at that level they will go to one of the other options, most likely lyrica. This is my experience.


If the suicidal thoughts you mention become a regular thing though call the doc. Feeling despondent with SFN is common but if it is every day and overtaking your thoughts you need some other help of some kind.

My onset came with sudden eye floaters and every single thing you mention here with the addition of muscle spasms and the inability to move my neck. I could barely use my arms for months. I am thankful that I can function now. It isn't easy. I have rough spots throughout the day that I have to lie on the floor or stay still to give my muscles and nerves time to recoup to be able to get up again and resume what I was doing.

Also about the floaters and vision. It is hard to read sometimes because of this. Sometimes I just can't see straight. It's like looking out of two blurry telescopes. My eyes sometimes have a hard time focusing and i have to read with one eye. All kinds of visual disturbances, missing spots in vision sometimes. Dryness, tearing, sticky feeling eyes. Some days are worse than others. I do not take any daily meds.

I also developed floater and also symptoms of visual migraines at the very beginning of my neuro problems. Was referred to an eye doc who said it wasn't my eyes and my neuro just kinda shrugged his shoulders and I let it go. I also have heart involvement - palpitations and tacchycardia since the onset of the first symptoms which I was sent to a cardiologist for. If you are concerned about heart symptoms a cardio is the way to go because they have the tools to test more in depth for heart issues (this is what my neur told me when I first had problems) but I would say that palpitations can be (not sure what your situation is) signs of a lot of normal things depending on how constant they are if that makes sense

Hi Boiler,

I had a heart attack 5 months ago and was treated with Stents. The SFN started several days after I was released from the Hospital after a 2nd set of stents. The floaters started about a month of so after the Neuopathy symptoms.

Hope you are doing OK. Did they look further at your heart?

Cliffman

Someone posted this short video about floaters in the TBI/PCS forum this week. It's really well done.

Ted Ed - What are those floaty things in your eye? - Michael Mauser
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6e_m9iq-4Q

Excellent video Laura...thanks for posting it.

Cliffman

Cliffman - well then ignore everything I said! My heart symptoms started almost a year after my first sensory symptoms and the floaters started at the beginning (along with the visual migraines).

Thank you - They did - I was sent to a cardiologist who did a 24 hour monitor to find that I was having multiple runs of tacchycardia per day and was referred to a electrophysiologist (I believe is the title). Beta blockers have helped with that but for whatever reason I will have very occasional runs of extreme tacchycardia which they still have not been able to categorize and also seem to have problems if I am standing upright but still for a while but these are both much more minor than the constant tacchy I was having (keeping in mind I am 22 years old).

I hope you are feeling better (I see from earlier posts you have been struggling recently) - your situation is certainly different than mine but hang in there :)

Same here. It's all in one eye for me but it makes reading a chore. I haven't found anything that really helps with the floaters so far.