Eye Floaters - Anyone Else On Here Have Them?

[DaveFoster]

I used to have eye floaters, but they only appear after a period of stress and subsequent low oxygenation (after exercise for instance.)

 

[lindsay]

Hi Lindsay, have you tried a less pungent liver like chicken? I make a pate out of 250-300g chicken liver, an onion and 5 pinches salt that my 3 year old devours out of the jar. So simple to make.

Also, you could try smoked oysters. I know they're pretty much universally preserved in sunflower oil, but you can drain it and wash them - I guess it's better than not eating them at all. Again, my son loves them - they can't be that bad!

I have tried chicken liver pate - I didn't like it any better than beef liver I even bought the expensive duck and pork liver pate at Wholefoods and ended up feeding it all to my dog because I couldn't choke it down. I really wish my mom had fed it to me as a child - I know that liver is an acquired taste, which most children usually love! That being said, I remember my first attempt at pate I used Rosemary and Bacon and I managed to eat some of that, but it was loaded with butter.

I think I am going to try something like sautéing it and then putting a sauce on it to help mask the flavor - maybe tomato sauce and parmesan cheese with onion and garlic :) I'm sure the more I eat it, the more I will grow accustomed to it.

Regarding oysters, well, there is no excuse for me there. I live in an area rich with oysters and can get them everywhere and I actually like them! But the local oyster bar has $1 oyster Mondays and sadly, no one ever wants to come with me, so I just need to go by myself and eat them :) I love seafood, so oysters should not be a problem in any form.

Thank you!

 

[whit]

I've done quite a bit of photography as a hobby in the past. I know what you mean about the floaters.
It seems they are much more obvious when looking through a viewfinder.
As for liver however there are a lot of variations to ingest it because of its taste.
My first experience was pate. I was hooked.
The younger the animal is the milder the flavor is.
Lamb liver is preffered if one can find it.

 

[lindsay]

I finally emailed RP today about a few questions I had - one was Eye Floaters. His response to the eye floaters:

"Pregnenolone and progesterone might help with floaters."

I had already mentioned nutrient dense foods I should probably eat (like liver) - he mentioned eggs being good sources of nutrients. And then followed up the foods with Pregnenolone & Progesterone.

Regarding my issue with liver and the iron content, he said, "Liver pate’ and liverwurst, because of the large amount of fat, are a lot easier on the stomach; chopping a little liver with a lot of cooked mushrooms, with butter, is another more digestible way."

So assuming I start eating liver, or continue eating lots of eggs, if they still don't go away, more pregnenolone MAY help - for anyone interested. I can't afford any more progesterone than I already take. That being said, I really wish they still sold the Wellshire Farms brand liverwurst at Wholefoods - that was the tastiest of the liver products I have bought and it was cheap. I guess I will go to a local butcher and see what I can find.

 

[Blossom]

Regarding my issue with liver and the iron content, he said, "Liver pate’ and liverwurst, because of the large amount of fat, are a lot easier on the stomach; chopping a little liver with a lot of cooked mushrooms, with butter, is another more digestible way."

That sounds really good! I can't wait to try it.

My favorite way I've found to eat liver so far is in a pate made with Greek yogurt and salt blended in a food processor. Something about the yogurt cut the distinctive liver flavor down and gave it a nice creamy texture. I like it best with chicken liver though.

 

[Kray]

I had this question some time ago (2014), and this was Dr Peat's response:

Me: Have you ever had eye floaters? I have had minimal spots in the past but developed quite a few suddenly. My optometrist says there's nothing that he knows of that can help nutritionally or supplementally to prevent the vitreous from degrading, that eventually most everyone will have some degree of vitreous liquefying or detachment.

Is there a way to reverse or improve the weakening of the vitreous once symptoms such as floaters appear, either nutritionally or hormonally? Or would anything now be only to maintain what the present state of the vitreous is?
____________________________
Peat: Good nutrition and hormone balance regulates the consistency of the vitreous. Some optometrists are taught that the lens and vitreous are analogous to toenails and hair, i.e., inert, non-metabolizing, but they are active substances.

Optimal levels of thyroid and vitamin A are very helpful.

 

[lindsay]

Peat: Good nutrition and hormone balance regulates the consistency of the vitreous. Some optometrists are taught that the lens and vitreous are analogous to toenails and hair, i.e., inert, non-metabolizing, but they are active substances.

Optimal levels of thyroid and vitamin A are very helpful.

Well, I was a bit be-fuddled by the nutrition and hormone balance thing, because I have been taking thyroid for at least two years now. And it wasn't until I stopped my Cynoplus (because I could no longer order it) that they appeared. My vitamin A is lacking, I know. Aside from high fat dairy and fresh eggs. I just get so confused why these things happen - my hair and nails grow strong and quickly, but then all of a sudden, I get eye-floaters. It could be due to my photography and focusing through a lens and looking at the phone. I take pregnenolone and progesterone regularly, but my eyes are very sensitive to bright light and that's when I see the eye floaters.

Hmmm. Maybe they will go and maybe not, but in the meantime, I will try to eat some liver!

 

[Kray]

Well, I was a bit be-fuddled by the nutrition and hormone balance thing, because I have been taking thyroid for at least two years now. And it wasn't until I stopped my Cynoplus (because I could no longer order it) that they appeared. My vitamin A is lacking, I know. Aside from high fat dairy and fresh eggs. I just get so confused why these things happen - my hair and nails grow strong and quickly, but then all of a sudden, I get eye-floaters. It could be due to my photography and focusing through a lens and looking at the phone. I take pregnenolone and progesterone regularly, but my eyes are very sensitive to bright light and that's when I see the eye floaters.

Hmmm. Maybe they will go and maybe not, but in the meantime, I will try to eat some liver!

Lindsay,

They are annoying when you first realize them. Eventually you'll probably not perceive their presence, or they may move out of the field of vision. I'm not sure there is a magic bullet to get rid of them. I hope yours dissipate soon!

 

[heartnhands]

I'm interested in this too.

Peat has mentioned the idea that T3 eyedrops might be beneficial for eye health, though I've not heard of anyone trying that.

jag2594 mentioned very-high-dose niacinamide (4g) helped with his floaters. I tried 2g a day for a few weeks and didn't notice any improvement.


I suspect something like that is true. Switching from a monitor 20" away to a TV-used-as-a-monitor 40" away seemed to help my vision in general situations, and may have decreased the number of floaters I get.


That's really interesting, I'll see if I notice a correlation.

Dear Dan can you explain how you go from mg to grams of Niacinamide? My memory of biochem class might tell me to divide mg into G but considering that I've only seen a max of 550mg of Niacinamide that might mean taking 4of the 500mg, is that correct?

 

[heartnhands]

I'm interested in this too.

Peat has mentioned the idea that T3 eyedrops might be beneficial for eye health, though I've not heard of anyone trying that.

jag2594 mentioned very-high-dose niacinamide (4g) helped with his floaters. I tried 2g a day for a few weeks and didn't notice any improvement.


I suspect something like that is true. Switching from a monitor 20" away to a TV-used-as-a-monitor 40" away seemed to help my vision in general situations, and may have decreased the number of floaters I get.


That's really interesting, I'll see if I notice a correlation.

Never needed glasses since applying the Bates exercises occasionally and taking 100mg of Lutien 1/wk.
After a severe head injury an eye doctor recamended it for repair of 3D sight and after a few months my sight repaired better than ever.

 

[Kray]

Heartnhands: Can you comment on the eye floater issue with regard to exercise and supplemental Lutein? Do you know if either of your practices can be beneficial for floaters? Have you ever had floaters?

Have not read up on lutein and its benefits in general, nor how it is regarded in the Peat world. I will check for another thread about lutein....

 

[heartnhands]

Heartnhands: Can you comment on the eye floater issue with regard to exercise and supplemental Lutein? Do you know if either of your practices can be beneficial for floaters? Have you ever had floaters?

Have not read up on lutein and its benefits in general, nor how it is regarded in the Peat world. I will check for another thread about lutein....

Yes I've had floaters and when my vision list 3D they were sometimes little rain storms on my windsheild, if you will. As for Lutien it's long been considered a strong eye anti oxidant by eye surgeons. The Bates exercises are similar to changing focus. When I am around a computer I'll post a link about the particulars.

 

[Kray]

Great, thanks. And if you find anything specific to eye floaters, please share.

 

[Canadada]

For me, eye-floaters turned out to be an ominous sign of trouble. I read a posting above about the sudden onset of floaters. I had that happen to me a few years back. My eye doctor was unconcerned when I made a couple of appointments for him to have a look-see. No treatment was offered.
A couple of weeks later I experienced a spontaneous detached retina. Pretty scary.
After an eye operation (knives and laser) and many months of healing and general eyeball weirdness I was relieved to have my sight mostly restored.
There was a teeny hassle though with a rapidly forming cataract.
Yes, the original operation to reattach my retina had complications. In the weeks that followed, I clearly saw blood flowing about inside my eyeball (I had a front row seat after all). Unfortunately, during follow-up, the surgeon could not see it looking through from the outside.
Well, the lens died and had to retrofitted with a nice plastic one. I'm happy to have it.
Later, I had a sudden cascade of floaters in the other eye. This time, my optomitrist took me more seriously and scheduled an "emergency" operation. The retina was just showing the first signs of letting go so just a welding laser was required. Way less drama.
My advice: get it checked-out thoroughly. Sudden increase of floaters can be a very good sign that there may be some destabilizing things going on.
c

 

[Kray]

For me, eye-floaters turned out to be an ominous sign of trouble. I read a posting above about the sudden onset of floaters. I had that happen to me a few years back. My eye doctor was unconcerned when I made a couple of appointments for him to have a look-see. No treatment was offered.
A couple of weeks later I experienced a spontaneous detached retina. Pretty scary.
After an eye operation (knives and laser) and many months of healing and general eyeball weirdness I was relieved to have my sight mostly restored.
There was a teeny hassle though with a rapidly forming cataract.
Yes, the original operation to reattach my retina had complications. In the weeks that followed, I clearly saw blood flowing about inside my eyeball (I had a front row seat after all). Unfortunately, during follow-up, the surgeon could not see it looking through from the outside.
Well, the lens died and had to retrofitted with a nice plastic one. I'm happy to have it.
Later, I had a sudden cascade of floaters in the other eye. This time, my optomitrist took me more seriously and scheduled an "emergency" operation. The retina was just showing the first signs of letting go so just a welding laser was required. Way less drama.
My advice: get it checked-out thoroughly. Sudden increase of floaters can be a very good sign that there may be some destabilizing things going on.
c

Wow, what a story, thank you for sharing. Since you're here on the forum, I assume your diet is sound today; was your diet Peaty back then? Did your doc happen to offer a cause for the floaters, or preventive measures for future eyesight health? (Sadly, "unexplained" things in medicine, science is not looking for real answers, nor getting funding for same as there would be no profit in it. Just my cents-sense!)

I assume your vision is restored today? Your thoughts on what "destabilizing things" may have precipitated your floaters?

 

[Kray]

I finally emailed RP today about a few questions I had - one was Eye Floaters. His response to the eye floaters:

"Pregnenolone and progesterone might help with floaters."

I had already mentioned nutrient dense foods I should probably eat (like liver) - he mentioned eggs being good sources of nutrients. And then followed up the foods with Pregnenolone & Progesterone.

Regarding my issue with liver and the iron content, he said, "Liver pate’ and liverwurst, because of the large amount of fat, are a lot easier on the stomach; chopping a little liver with a lot of cooked mushrooms, with butter, is another more digestible way."

So assuming I start eating liver, or continue eating lots of eggs, if they still don't go away, more pregnenolone MAY help - for anyone interested. I can't afford any more progesterone than I already take. That being said, I really wish they still sold the Wellshire Farms brand liverwurst at Wholefoods - that was the tastiest of the liver products I have bought and it was cheap. I guess I will go to a local butcher and see what I can find.

Thanks for sharing Peat's comments to you. The hormones make sense as they are generally anti-aging, and I think floaters signal a breakdown with age, of sorts. And who knows if they're one of those phenomena we're seeing more of now than before because of our over-saturation with damaging blue lights from every possible source.

I recently restarted progesterone and I sometimes take a low-dose sublingual pregnenolone. In light of this conversation, I may keep it going this time.

Hope you can learn to love your liver! We have pate every week, with some gluten-free matzo style crackers, some orange marmalade, zesty mustard, and a little red wine. It is an acquired taste; I wouldn't be able to count on one hand the number of times I ate liver as a kid, but today I prefer that "medicine" to what the doctor might offer! And the recipe Peat shared w/mushrooms sounds rather nice. Have fun experimenting!

 

[Dan W]

Dear Dan can you explain how you go from mg to grams of Niacinamide? My memory of biochem class might tell me to divide mg into G but considering that I've only seen a max of 550mg of Niacinamide that might mean taking 4of the 500mg, is that correct?

Yes, that's correct, I tried the equivalent of four 500mg doses (but just measured in powder form). I don't suggest it or anything, it's a pretty high dose.

My advice: get it checked-out thoroughly. Sudden increase of floaters can be a very good sign that there may be some destabilizing things going on.

I'll second this, a similar thing happened to my mom. I've been much more serious about checkups and watching for changes in floaters since then.

 

[lindsay]

We have pate every week, with some gluten-free matzo style crackers, some orange marmalade, zesty mustard, and a little red wine It is an acquired taste

Oooh! Pate with orange marmalade sounds delicious actually! As does zesty mustard & wine :) I can imagine the marmalade and mustard mask some of the "offal" metallic flavor from the liver. I will have to give that a try!

I have been feeding my dog liver pate made with cooked apples and he adores it. But then he breathes on me after eating it, and, well - it doesn't make me want to eat the stuff. But I will. I went through phase of forcing myself to eat liver and I will do it again if I notice benefits from it. Goodness knows, it's such a cheap nutrient dense food. I really ought to give it a better try!

 

[lindsay]

For me, eye-floaters turned out to be an ominous sign of trouble. I read a posting above about the sudden onset of floaters. I had that happen to me a few years back. My eye doctor was unconcerned when I made a couple of appointments for him to have a look-see. No treatment was offered.
A couple of weeks later I experienced a spontaneous detached retina. Pretty scary.
After an eye operation (knives and laser) and many months of healing and general eyeball weirdness I was relieved to have my sight mostly restored.
There was a teeny hassle though with a rapidly forming cataract.
Yes, the original operation to reattach my retina had complications. In the weeks that followed, I clearly saw blood flowing about inside my eyeball (I had a front row seat after all). Unfortunately, during follow-up, the surgeon could not see it looking through from the outside.
Well, the lens died and had to retrofitted with a nice plastic one. I'm happy to have it.
Later, I had a sudden cascade of floaters in the other eye. This time, my optomitrist took me more seriously and scheduled an "emergency" operation. The retina was just showing the first signs of letting go so just a welding laser was required. Way less drama.
My advice: get it checked-out thoroughly. Sudden increase of floaters can be a very good sign that there may be some destabilizing things going on.
c

I'm very sorry to hear about all this. I hope that you are doing better now and able to see well, or as good as possible considering the circumstances?

I looked up detached retina, and while I will certainly take note of the progression (or hopeful regression) of eye floaters, I do not think I am a likely candidate for that. My vision is pretty close to perfect and has always been good (much to my chagrin as a young person who wanted "cute" looking glasses). I am not near-sighted, nor far-sighted and I don't see blurry at all. Though, my eyes are sensitive to bright light, but I think most people are sensitive to bright light - like sunshine. Still, it's good to keep these things in mind and I thank you for your input! I really do hope your eyes are doing much better these days!

 

[Kray]

I'll second this, a similar thing happened to my mom. I've been much more serious about checkups and watching for changes in floaters since then.

Found this on floaters. Didn't know some can develop prenatally, others (likely) age-related. Again, hormone maintenance and balance? Peat.

Spots and Floaters