Hello all,
I want to start off by saying thank you to everyone involved in this subreddit. I had a rough year of a seemingly endless increase in floaters. Dots, specks, transparent, dark strands... it's all here. I've been quite debilitated and this group has helped me feel better and to look for solutions.
I've recently started using 0.01% atropine for floaters and it works well! I can see this working for the interim of getting a fix. However, I've struggled to use them consistently as I find I have very blurred vision. This makes my computer work a struggle. I am confused since a lot of information online states that 0.01% should not cause blurred vision. Can anyone share a similar experience and a reason why? I trust that the compound has been done properly but this seems so wrong.
Just wanted to recommend the .01% atropine drops to everyone here. After years of this shit I started using it very recently. Truth be told I didn’t start jumping with joy or anything… I simply forgot how many floaters I usually had, and the intensity. It’s now a lot less distracting when outside or working on a screen. They are still there, but it’s so reduced that you’ll probably function better with it even if you cannot entirely notice the effects right away, it can be very subtle until you have that “Oh” moment and realize how many floaters you aren’t seeing as much anymore. Very strongly recommend this to people with intense floaters, as I can only imagine the relief and productivity increase y’all would see from this. The one trade off can be light sensitivity but lots of people say they get used to it, and it’s not a bad deal for reduced floaters, of course.
Tldr; try to get atropine drops
Just got prescribed atropine drops, excited about them getting here in a few days but cautiously optimistic.
Anyways I was wondering if this is effective in bright settings, like rooms with white lights (office, hospital, etc) and also being outside on a sunny day. Those are kinda what I’d want relief for the most.
It’s probably too much to ask but I also wonder if this works with reducing floater visibility on monitors or phone screens? Like especially if you’re on anything with a white background? This I could work around with dark mode anyways but that’d still be hella nice anyways. Any anecdotes from those who use the drops are highly appreciated.
So I’ve been dealing with horrible floaters since January of this year. Two trips to the mental hospital, 1 suicide attempt and I still don’t really care if I live or die. My doctor is open to vitrectomy and we have talked about it on several occasions, I guess we are just trying to give it as much time as possible. I have a very supportive and empathetic ophthalmologist so I got lucky from that standpoint but we both understand the risks of vitrectomy but I have so many opacities that it makes every day a battle. I have zero joy, I’ve lost 20 pounds, I hate being outside (something I used to love). Just trying to give you all a backstory, I’ve been coming to this sub all year just trying to find hope and comfort in the fact that I’m not alone suffering with this. When it all started I went to the eye doctor who then referred me to an ophthalmologist who then discovered that I have lattice degeneration and about 7 holes in each of my retinas, which were all treated with laser to try to prevent retinal detachment. Floaters were there before that treatment and have steadily gotten worse ever since, I can’t find any hope, I am so depressed idk what to do anymore . I’m Coming up on my year mark of living with this horrible condition and I have been miserable the entire time so vitrectomy is still on my mind daily and the thought of the surgery keeps me going in a way. Anyways I got 1% atropine today and will be taking it to a compounding pharmacy here in my city next week to dilute it down to 0.01% , this atropine is my last ditch effort to find some relief before I either get a vitrectomy or jump off a building . I welcome any questions and/or input . I know a lot of people talk down on vitrectomy but would it not be better than suicide? I can’t eat , can’t sleep, have been in therapy all year and nothing helps.
Because I’m this ‘ ‘ close to finding the right dosage / time schedule, and I could see myself live like this for the next 5-10 years, barring any long term side effects? Do we know anything other than the children’s study?
Am I being too careful? I just wanna make sure so I can use it with confidence.
Please help, God bless.
I am in the process of doing the best to pick myself up after what's been a brutal past few years(many of us have suffered) and get my health together and try to improve life.
Most importantly I am trying to get to a point where I can fight to get back the daughter that was wrongly taken from me two years ago, just cause her mom has more money etc, even though she's a danger and wasn't around the first five years etc.
Point is, one of the main issues which have held me back are absolutely awful floaters that have taken over almost all of my vision and made my anxiety and depression unlivable at times. It makes going outside frightening and this began in my early 20s and I'm 37 now.
I'm starting to get blurry vision now also I have to shake myself out of when looking at close things so I don't know if I'm getting other issues also.
My main question is how hard is it to get these drops, I'm literally crying my eyes out writing this with hope something might be able to help my quality of life and possibly get me a step closer to being able to afford to get down to Florida(I'm in Ohio now) and fight to see and protect my angel again..I miss her so much.
I would do anything to find a way to get a hold of a sample of this, or if someone knows a doctor in Ohio(I'm in Sandusky) or any advice. Doctors and people in general honestly scare me after the past few years and rarely do you come across genuine caring people who want to help you.
If anyone has information on how to help me figure this out and see if it would be something that could allow me to even have a slight improvement in everyday life, it would mean the world. My eyesight and my hormone optimization (I'm told I have very low testosterone that contributes to my anxiety and depression, energy, sleep issues etc.) are two of the main things I'm trying to find the courage and kind people/doctors to work with.
I have heard of there being free trials of this medication, but it has to be .01% and some special tactics are needed. I'm just trying to learn because I've been so discouraged and scared, convinced I was going to be blind before long.
Anyone who deals with this I'm sorry, people don't realize how debilitating it can be. It's nighttime and just looking at my phone it's covered in black dots and lines. Gives me heart palpitations and anxiety.
Love you all, God bless you.
atropine for adults
im 21 yo M and my myopia just progressed to -7.75 from -7.50. can atropine 0.1% be effective in stopping the progression? or is it just for kids
My worry is that I get used to it and being able to function, for then suddenly having some problem in the future with a doctor refusing to prescribe it.
Is there a possibility Atropine will suddenly become unavailable? It’s hard to trust to get used to, because it works so well I often forget I have those disturbances in my vision, but then when the eye drops wear off, it’s a stark wake up call that they are still there.
It just makes me worried being on a drug to be able to function, and what would happen if one day I couldn’t get it.
Can anyone help deal with this uncertainty that’s keeping me from going all in on atropine?
Learned about Atropine last week as I've been suffering terribly for nearly half my life now and have a telemedicine appointment tomorrow at 2:30pm with the floater doctor, praying for even a little help.
Also, being I suffer from terrible anxiety and also don't have vision insurance etc, anyone who's gotten the surgery be it laser or the removal of the fluid, did either of those heal or help and how much did it cost if you don't have eye insurance?
I'm tired of suffering and health slowly getting worse all the while the world is going downhill and everyone is away from each other with Covid etc. Just hoping to make some positive steps forward for quality of life this year.
If this atropine even helps 30-50% I'll have a large jump in quality of life. Hate relying on staying indoors, anxiety medications etc. Always prefer to find natural ways to heal. At 37 I'm starting to get slightly blurry vision many times a day as well.
I pray for you all.
I’m wondering if anyone out there has used them for over a year, two years, etc. already and if they’ve been fine.
I’m in the middle of my college coursework and at the very least, I’d like to graduate with a degree without the nuisance of floaters. If atropine drops can tide me over until then, I’d be happy.
Of course, I hopefully I can adapt to them, but in the chance that I can’t, they would be a good help. Like most students, I’m gonna have to be reading and on my computer a lot.
I’m looking to start a fresh post in the hope someone has had recent success of gaining atropine in the UK on prescription? Specifically at Manchester Eye Hospital?
Any tips? I can take 0,01% and it will take about 6 hrs before it's tolerable (not too blurry, but still masking the floaters), and I can use reading glasses for things up close.
The issue is when it starts to wear off in the evening, and I then yet again start getting distracted, and having to re-read the same word over and over. But by then I can't put a new drop in and wait for 6 hrs for it to get to the appropriate level.
It seems as if 0,005% would work, but that still takes about 3 hrs to hit that sweet spot, and then it only lasts for another 3.
Has anyone cracked the equation?
So I got hit in the eye with a ball, eye was open when ball made contact and after seeing optometrist I had some inflammation and damage (not to retina or optic nerve, but I don’t remember what exactly). I was prescribed 1% atropine and prednisolone. Atropine once a day and prednisolone every 2 hours but then over the days less and less. After a second checkup the next day the optometrist says no atropine since there was no eye pressure so it wasn’t needed. I have another appointment scheduled in a few days but worried because my distance vision is still somewhat blurry as well as my up close vision. Eye is still dilated quite a bit. Is this normal? I know blurry vision UO lose from atropine can take a week to go away, but distance? It’s been 4 days since taking the atropine drop.
Suffered from floaters for years, went for an eye exam in Toronto, general check up. Asked about my eye floaters, got the 'just live with them' type response. I asked about low dose atropine and was almost laughed out of the room. The Dr seems to have never heard of it being even tested in this way.
The thing is they gave me atropine for the exam (obviously a high dose).I walked out of the eye exam into into street and floaters were gone. Admittedly everything was pretty blurry due to high dose but after a couple hours my eyesight was back to normal and no floaters for the rest of the day. So lovely!
Has anyone in Canada had better luck than me in getting low dose atropine prescribed?
My eyes dilate slightly when I’m stoned, I don’t put atropine in my eyes if I know I’m gonna be smoking weed all day because my floaters are reduced any way.
Anyone else noticed their floaters are reduced after smoking weed?
Yeah, I keep making this post, and I have to continue until I find somebody willing to help. I'm in DESPERATE need of this, and no doctor will give it to me in my country and I cant travel due to other health concerns.
Please please please help me! My life depends upon it. I'll pay extra.
Has anyone tried Atropine Eye Drops ? I saw a Dr. in Texas who prescribed the low dose drops to me and they seem to alleviate some of the symptoms. It doesn't cure anything, just makes the symptoms more manageable.
Anybody think I will be able to get Kaymak to prescribe me atropine for floaters, if I contact him about my situation (dont know his contact info though) and maybe even get my own ophthalmologist to write him? I cant travel due to other health issues, but I am so pained from the intense anxiety. I came very close to killing myself today. I need this and FAST!
Hello guys,
I thought it would be impossible in Canada to find a doctor willing to prescribe atropine but I finally found one in my city. He’s a Montreal ophtalmologist and retina specialist and his name is Dr William J. Foster. He’s very sympathetic to us floater sufferers, and although he’s iffy about FOVs given the risks he won’t hesitate to prescribe atropine! I still see my floaters and they still bother me but it’s still a huge improvement! Just thought I’d let you know if you live in Montreal as I know it can be hard to find understanding doctors.
Hi guys, recently I made a trip to Düsseldorf, Germany (I'm from another part of Germany) to Dr. Kaymak and got prescribed some 0.005% Atropine to test things out, and if it goes well they can send me more of it at any time.
Basically I'm having a hard time finding a good dosage and timing for the drops.
They gave me 10 tiny bottles of drops and each bottle contains about 6-8 drops, it says 0.005% Atropine on the bottle.
So, even if I put 2 drops in right before I go to sleep, the next day I'll still have floaters.
This morning I put one drop in each eye and although right now as I'm typing this, I can't see even ONE floater (only when I move my eyes down and up quickly and then squint, but even then they're very faint) but I do experience quite a lot of light sensitivity and my vision is somewhat blurred.
It pretty much seems to decrease visual acuity for me, I'm not even sure I'd be allowed to drive a car in the state I'm in right now.
Do I maybe need to dilate the drops even further than that? Or put more than 2 drops in each eye before I go to sleep?
The doctor in Düsseldorf (it wasn't Dr. Kaymak himself, but one of his assistants) told me I should start with putting one drop in each eye before I go to sleep, but this doesn't really do a lot for me during the next day.
Hey fellow floaters peeps!
So i have gone to see several doctors here in the U.K and all of them say there is nothing they can do or prescribe for eye floaters.
This is very upsetting for someone that has extreme anxiety, i have had my eye floaters for about 5 years now and my brain is not getting used to them.
I just need advice, should i go private and see what they say? i have had my eye dilated before with atropine & tropicamide and they both do wonders for my floaters, literally the whole say i don't see the floaters.
I am willing to ask one of you kind people to send me some atropine and i will legit pay anything and more for the kindness!
If you guys can atropine in your country and can send me some i would appreciate it, the docs here in the UK don't think it is serious enough to prescribe it, i will willing to pay anything to get some sort of relief!
This is having a massive toll on my mental health big time :(
Much love
Fellow eye floater sufferer.
From the only doctor in my country who has license to prescribe it.
Feel pretty defeated :( I will probably kill myself in a few years, if nobody is willing to help ease my suffering. Ive had the floaters over 2 years and I am not adapting to this new reality. F*** doctors!!
I'm considering getting on the atropine train, but I worry about accumulative effects that could cause eye problems down the line. Have any of you been on it for a while, with daily use?
What has your experiences been?
UPDATE: My psychiatrist agreed to start ECT again. Inpatient. So I am being readmitted to the hospital tomorrow morning. Living inpatient is demanding for me. But I am betting big on the fact that ECT will help.
Original post:
My heart stopped for 15 seconds during my last ECT. They were about to start a heart massage. They tell me this as I wake up on the gurney. The psychiatrist looked completely distraught and that’s how I figured it had been scary for her. I didn’t feel anything different from any other treatment. And even felt better since that ECT because they had switched to bilateral.
The psychiatrist told me right there I could not continue the ECT. But my psychiatrist disagrees and sent me to see a cardiologist. I had the full cardiac workup and my heart is just fine. The cardiologist says they gave me something to lower my blood pressure during the anesthesia and they just gave too much. It made my heart slow down to a stop. He said the psychiatrist may have been scared because it rarely happens but that the anesthesiologists know perfectly well how to deal with these things.
So I want to start the treatments again. I was on treatment 12 and the effect was just so good I don’t want to stop. The plan was to get to 20 acute treatments then start maintenance. If I stop, it’s back to square 0. Would you start again after something like this?
Hi all,
First ever Reddit post so I apologise if I am duplicating...
I am in desperate need of something to help with a PVD floater and have been reading posts on Atropine Eye Drops. I am curious to see if anybody has contact details for a private Dr who will prescribe this and, if anybody has been using the drops long term without side effects?
I've been trying for 4 years to get used to it, but the one that bothers me the most rest right under my line of sight and moves along when I read, so naturally my eye notices the 'movement', and when I look down, it move down further... and so on. until I'm completely lost in what I was reading.
Any tips to convincing the eye doc that he should let me try it?
I have been taking Atropine drops daily for about 2 weeks now, I was getting some blurring when looking at close up objects but after yesterday and today the blurring has somehow stopped but my pupils still dilate and I still get a ton of relief from floaters.
Anyone else get this?
I'm on Atropine, and I think it may just be the life saver I've been needing. Maybe it's due to my autism or my ADHD, but I function at least 50% less when my floaters are present. I can't really look at anything for any duration of time, I tend to kind of glance at things to quickly look away to not get overwhelmed.
On atropine I can finally read clearly, watch movies without only paying attention to the peripherals of my eye sight, and it's incredible.
But I have some issues with dosing. I feel like my eye dropper just drops out a drop per second as you turn it upside down, often given me more than the one drop I need.
Is anyone dealing with this? Is there a way to dispense the drops in a more accurate, controlled manner? Are there eye droppers out there where I just press a button and literally ONLY 1 drop will come out?
I've been thinking about toying with making an alternative dropper that instead of an eye drop, would vaporize it and shoot the vapor into your eye using some sort of 'eye-cup', but I'm sure there are better solutions?
