Ride shotgun?
When Farmerman drives, it's the Suicide Seat.
Thank you all for your concern! I have no trouble seeing individual stars, the rest of the night sky nor anything else for that matter. I just recently had an examination by an opthamologist (3 months ago) as I was inquiring about lasic surgery and he gave my eyes the thumbs up! I am certain that I am viewing some sort of odd visual phenomenon.
Ok, I just checked out the page on retinal detachment and I don't have any of the syptoms desribed. (i.e Light flashes ,"Wavy," or "watery" vision, Veil or curtain obstructing vision, Shower of floaters that resemble spots, bugs, or spider webs , Sudden decrease of vision) The only thing is that cluster of stars that disappears when I look at it directly!
Nick, good, but please still check with that ophtho. It would be hard to emphasize this more, not to scare you, but to get you to check in with him or her.
Floaters aren't nothing (speaking from floaters R us) - although I hear of floaters as a big warning, I've also had them for years in a kind of continuing gnaw. They may not be retinal tear indicators, see Swimpy's post, but following your eyes closely is only smart.. Some of the best money you could spend.
And you have the lights and the floaters.
Re - what a page on retinal detachment says. Listen to some of us - farmer recognizes the start of his symptoms.
I'd like to be reassured that my concern is wrong, but your checking a website doesn't do it.
If you are in LA, consider checking in with Jules Stein Institute at UCLA if only for a review.
backing up, I don't see Nick mentioning floaters, though I thought I did.
bright lights still matter, and I still think ophtho review is a good idea.
Back upon review.
Back from the quick review - I don't see now that Nick had floaters.
I apologize if I've sent you to freaking, Nick, but am also still concerned with peripheral bright lights. Still could be part of farmer's description earlier - going for bright as a descriptor..
I still think a check is a good idea.
Nick--
Your symptoms sound very like my son's symptoms. He has detachable retinas and in consequence, greatly reduced vision.
Nick, go ahead and diss, but please check. All of us worrywarts would like to be wrong.
I don't actually see bright lights per se. There is a single galaxy of stars that appears over the horizon that disappears when I view it directly. I will check with my opto and make sure there's nothing serious going wrong with me. And I shall ask a younger person to view the same phenomenon and see if she has the same experience. If so, then I know it's not me.
ossobuco wrote:I suppose it could be normal and I hope so, but floaters on top of bright lights is a serious indicator.
None of us are opththamolgists either, so far posting at least, but we've had floaters and retinal damage. It's not a thing to delay checking out.
I don't recall him saying that he has floaters, and I'm certainly not trying to discourage him from seeing a doctor. However, an increase in floaters at his age is also normal, since the ball of the eye begins to partially liquify at that age.
I can see some of our a2k experience can be strongly posted. I hope our difficult situation posts don't apply.
Geez, Nick, won't you see an Ophtho instead of an Opto?
It remains my pov that odd stuff should be checked out, and fairly fast.
If all your younger friends see bright lights on periphery and then disappearing and so on, , well, then this has been an exercise in perception.
I'd like to know about that...
I have had a single tiny floater in my right eye for over 20 years and it hasn't changed. I have no other visual impairments that I know of.
Then I don't know what to say about the sky for you.
Which I suppose I should have said in the first place.
I always try to be an optometrist. Negative people are a bummer, man.
Nick- The point is, there may be NOTHING wrong. If so, all you have done is wasted some time in an ophthalmologist's office, and it has possibly cost you some money. But, if you don't go, and it IS SOMETHING, you are buying yourself a lot of grief!
Nick, optometrists are not trained to diagnose diseases of the eye. Please see an opthamologist.
I have slight retinal degeneration and my ophthamologist told me should I see floaters or flashes of light or color to get thee to her asap because it's a sign of a detached retina. Which I did not know I had until I saw an ophthamologist.
I'd get it checked out. By an ophthamologist. Optomotrists are not trained to deal with anything other than whether you see well or not. And often, because they are an MD, your ophthamologist visit will be covered by your medical coverage rather than your vision coverage.
I suffered a LONG time with eye disease until I finally broke down and went to see an ophthamologist, who fixed my problem the second time I visited. And who now regularly monitors my eye problems to make sure they don't get worse.
Definitely get it checked out.
My thought was the same as Brandon's. Things always seem brighter in peripheral vision in the dark. That is, there could be actual light that you're just able to perceive better with peripheral vision, so it "disappears" when you look at it directly.
BUT!
Get it checked out.
Too many possible baaaad causes and ultimately we can't make a diagnosis. Opthamologist can. Go.
