Floaters And Antibiotics And Celiac

[Byte Me]

Hi,

I did a quick search on "floaters" and didn't see any results quite like what I'm looking for; I apologize if I overlooked something.

A few weeks before I diagnosed myself and went gluten free, my doctor had me on 2000mg/day for 10 days of Cipro and Flagyl. These didn't do squat for my celiac symptoms, but I noticed a very dramatic decrease in the floaters in my eyes. I've been gluten-free for about 2 months now with terriffic results, but the last couple of weeks or so I'm having some similar symptoms to the ones before I went gluten-free (NO clue why, I'm being super-careful! ), and I have noticed that the floaters are increasing in numbers.

I was just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.

[tiffjake]

Hi,

I did a quick search on "floaters" and didn't see any results quite like what I'm looking for; I apologize if I overlooked something.

A few weeks before I diagnosed myself and went gluten free, my doctor had me on 2000mg/day for 10 days of Cipro and Flagyl. These didn't do squat for my celiac symptoms, but I noticed a very dramatic decrease in the floaters in my eyes. I've been gluten-free for about 2 months now with terriffic results, but the last couple of weeks or so I'm having some similar symptoms to the ones before I went gluten-free (NO clue why, I'm being super-careful! ), and I have noticed that the floaters are increasing in numbers.

I was just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.

I don't know why antibiotics would help with floaters, unless the "floaters" were bacteria floating on top of your eyes?!?! Floaters are bits of junk trapped between the outer layer of the eye and the retna. In that area is a goo that is like jello. Once you have a floater in there, it is always there. It may travel out of your field of vision, but it will always be in your "jello". I have had SEVERAL and asked 4 different eye docs about getting rid of them, but they all say the same. The last one told me all of this.

So, in my opinion, the floaters are not related to going gluten-free, or being gluten-free. But you should talk to an Eye doc about the antibiotics making a difference, because that is not normal (atleast it doesn't make sense).

I hope you feel better soon though!!!!!!! Tiffany

[trents]

I developed my first floater about 2 years ago. It seems to move around and sometimes cloud the vision in my right eye. It is caused by the vitreous homor (the thick liquid that inflates the eye and keeps it round) detaching from the inner surface of the eyeball. At present, there isn't any effective treatment. Eye Dr. said they are pretty common as you age. I'm 55. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?

Steve

[Byte Me]

Hi Tiffany,

I knew it was pretty weird about the antibiotics clearing up the floaters, just didn't know what to make of it really. My dad had some of his clear up also a few years back when he was on cipro, but you are right, it doesn't make much sense!

Steve,

I'm 33. I've had floaters since I was in my late teens, with a significant increase in number over the last 3-4 years. Right now I'd say I have about 7-10 small ones, before the antibiotics, I couldn't even count the number of small ones, and had about 5 really annoying larger ones. I couldn't stand to look at the sky or sit in a bright room because that's all I could focus on.

I do wear contact lenses, not sure if that has anything to do with it. I haven't mentioned it to my eye doc in years, just assumed it was normal until the antibiotic thing happened, then it got me wondering.

Thanks for your replies!

[nettiebeads]

I've had floaters since I was a kid and way before celiac. Nothing has ever made mine reduce in number. But I've always been severely myopic. Don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Annette

[tiffjake]

I developed my first floater about 2 years ago. It seems to move around and sometimes cloud the vision in my right eye. It is caused by the vitreous homor (the thick liquid that inflates the eye and keeps it round) detaching from the inner surface of the eyeball. At present, there isn't any effective treatment. Eye Dr. said they are pretty common as you age. I'm 55. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?

Steve

I am 23......and I am interested to see what causes them, but no eye doc has been able to tell me....And I wear contacts too.....

[chrissy]

i've had a ton of floaters since i was in my 20's----a friend of mine with them compared them to "looking through chicken noodle soup". my understanding was that they are just cells that have sloughed off---just like they do everywhere else in our body, and that they will eventually break down---of course if you continually get new ones, you would never notice the old ones breaking down and disappearing. a sudden increase in floaters can signal an eye problem such as retina detatchment. i see the floaters more when my eyes are tires.

[LKelly8]

Here's a good reference page on retinal disorders. . .

Open Original Shared Link

I've had floaters for as long as I can remember. They've become more numerous and annoying as I've gotten older, once I joined the 35+ crowd.

I can't imagine that cipro or flagyl would have any effect unless you have an underlying eye infection that's somehow causing more "debris" to float around. The floaters you're seeing are certainly not the bacteria themselves, they're microscopic and impossible to see without a microscope.

Maybe check the PI sheets for cipro and flagyl for eye side effects - like an increase or decrease in eye pressure - that might effect floaters.

(PI sheet - Patient Information)

If you've thrown away the packaging already you can find them online (Rxlist.com) or ask your pharmacy for a copy.

[ravenwoodglass]

Something you may want to check for is diabetes, just to be on the safe side. They can be associated with complications (retinal problems) from uncontrolled sugar. I used to get these all the time, another thing that has gone away gluten free. I hadn't even realized I hadn't had one in years until I saw this post.

[Lymetoo]

Floaters are also associated with Lyme disease, so if they got better on antibiotics, you might want to check any other symptoms that might be associated with Lyme disease.

If you don't have any other symptoms, then chalk it up to age or whatever....don't panic!!

[Anise]

If your pupils are more dilated, the floaters are MUCH less noticeable, and I mean a HUGE difference. That's why they all seem to vanish for a few hours if you have a dilated eye exam with atropine drops. If that is a possible side effect of either of those antibiotics, it could help explain what you noticed.

[Nancym]

Floaters can be associated with some autoimmune diseases. I think there's a treatment if they're severe enough.

[Anise]

Floaters can be associated with some autoimmune diseases. I think there's a treatment if they're severe enough.

I went to see my retinal specialist yesterday, so I can speak to this one!

It's called... (warning, this is NOT very pleasant...) a vitrectomy. Basically, they suck out the vitreous humor that's in your eye, and it replenishes itself. So the floaters are gone. HOWEVER, there's a small risk of retinal detachment-- EEK! And there's a *side effect* of early cataract development, which everyone gets who's had this done. My doctor said that given enough time, everyone develops cataracts (although nobody on either side of my family has ever noticed them or needed surgery, so obviously this varies.) A vitrectomy speeds the process up. How much? Well, it varies. It could mean twenty years earlier than you would otherwise have them, or it could even mean earlier than that. I'm not exactly sure why. So it's a SERIOUS procedure. It's most appropriate for people who are older, and whose floaters are so severe that it's worth the risks. My doctor said he wouldn't recommend it for me, and he also said that in time the vitreous humor often liquefies, and the floaters fall to the bottom. If you already have posterior vitreous detachments (which I do) getting older can actually help floaters because of this. So I'm HOPING this happens eventually!!!

But I will say this. Floaters do NOT always look the same-- they can appear dramatically different without the actual floaters themselves changing, and nobody really knows why. I have a lot of floaters, and was able to tune them out for several years. This summer, that changed although the floaters *themselves* were the same (they just became impossible to ignore again.) I wonder if it had something to do with the gluten intolerance getting worse this year, which is what seemed to happen (and what caused me to finally get tested.)

Anyway, I'm starting acupuncture next week. I'll let y'all know how it turns out!

[rinne]

A few weeks before I diagnosed myself and went gluten free, my doctor had me on 2000mg/day for 10 days of Cipro and Flagyl. These didn't do squat for my celiac symptoms, but I noticed a very dramatic decrease in the floaters in my eyes.

Flagyl is used to treat Lyme Disease.

Hi.