I have had problems with floaters my whole life. Several years ago I had a partial detachment of the retina and the floaters took over my vision. Then the same thing happened in my other eye. My ophthalmologist told me that nothing could be done, yet referred me to a retinal specialist who took one look, said "those are the worst floaters I have ever seen" and scheduled me for surgery the following month. I've had two surgeries to remove the vitreous fluid from my eyes and the floaters with them. For a couple of months, I had beautiful, perfect (with glasses) vision. Then the cataracts started advancing. At first I was OK ... I had been told that my cataracts would get worse. My eyes are "interesting" said one surgeon who passed on doing my cataract surgeries and referred me to another specialist. I cannot have my astigmatism repaired due to the lack of vitreous fluid. I am 51 years old, and there is a strong possibility that I may never see well again. A good, solid refractive surgery would probably cure me of all my eye problems, but my insurance considers refractive surgery to be cosmetic. It would cost me $5,000 per eye to pay for it myself. If I had the money, (or even the credit), I would definitely have refractive surgery and stop worrying about detaching my retinas.

I have had myopia and floaters most of my life �“ they weren't big and just a minor bother. But then one day about six months ago, my vision changed and the eye doctor said I had a posterior vitreous detachment. Then the huge floater appeared right in my line of vision. It has been constant, like a furry ball blocking things I am looking at, and really affecting my quality of life. Things I always enjoyed and need to be doing are now strained, like reading, driving, having-face-to-face conversations, enjoying events with my son, working, movies, etc. When I look at anything, there is this big wiggly obstruction. I begged the eye doctor to give me advice as to what can be done, surely there must be help. She said, "Live with it, this is your new normal." That seemed so cold and I just can't accept that nothing can be done to help this. Well, I did some research and found out about the YAG laser treatment being very successful. So I have an appointment next month with a Florida eye specialist who is a pioneer in the treatment for floaters, and I am looking forward to getting help and seeing better.

I am severely myopic and have noticed floaters over the last six months. I am 30 years old and wonder if this age is abnormally young for floaters. I've been trying to wear my coke bottle glasses more often, and this seems to relieve some eye irritation, but not the floaters.

I've had floaters for as long as I can remember ... a lot of them. I don't fit any of the usual profiles. I'm extremely far-sighted. I don't have diabetes. I've never had surgery on my eyes. I don't and have never had any of the other diseases mentioned in the article. They are annoying. I was told an acupuncturist can help.

I'm a 32-year-old man, who has eye floaters mostly in my right eye. Sometimes they are annoying, especially when looking at plain and light surfaces (like the sky or bright walls). Some days they are more annoying than others. If I could, I would get rid of them. I think I have had them since I can remember. They initially seemed like small dots of hot air (almost transparent). I used to turn my head around chasing these "dots of air." Now my vision looks like some dark lines and spots. It's worse than it used to be.

Floaters began appearing in my field of vision about a year ago. An ophthalmologist said, “Nothing to be done; just don't worry.” One thing I wonder about and I hope someone out there can offer some help, is why the intensity of the disturbance in the field of vision varies from day to day. I think there must be some connection to lifestyle and diet. In my case, drinking alcohol almost certainly makes the activity of the floaters more intense. I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed effects of diet on their vision.