Dirty, Gritty Eyes w/ Floaters & Cloudy Vision

I'm a 46 yr old perimenopausal female that had zero eye floaters or vision issues prior to the end of Aug 2025. I did have Lasix on both eyes back in 2008 for nearsightedness & dry eyes after my first child was born 2011. After my 2nd child was born in 2017, dry eyes were no longer a concern. As I said, I had no other eye issues until this past August.

I began to have very dry, itchy eyes that felt gritty & dirty. I also had 1 black string-like floater now constantly in my right eye that I had never seen or noticed before. I assumed dry eye with seasonal allergy symptoms were returning & began using lubrication eye drops. Within 2 weeks I then had 2 clear blob-like floaters in my right eye in addition to the 1 black string-like floater. My left eye nothing. By the end of Sept both my eyes felt dirty & gross. I noticed that when I wore my sunglasses while driving, I was constantly taking my sunglasses off and cleaning them because my vision was so dirty (like someone had sneezed & put chunks/smudges on my glasses). However, my glasses were never dirty - it was my eyeballs/vision that we junked up. By Oct I noticed 1 grey blob-like floater in my left eye. I also stopped wearing sunglasses all together. Partially because I know knew the dirty vision was not the glasses but also, I was finding that the shade of the sunglasses was making it more difficult to see. I was noticing that the dimmer the light, the harder it was to see (i.e..: cloudy/rainy days, low lit rooms, etc.). At dusk was the worst. My eyes couldn't seem to focus & depth perception was very off whenever I was not in a bright lit environment. The more sunshine, the better. However, driving at night was not a problem at all - my brain seemed to be able to ignore the floaters & I could see clearly. Up to this point, my vision was dirty but clear focus. On Nov 17 I had dramatic (out of nowhere) vision loss. Driving home I could no longer read the giant green highway signs on the interstate. When I got home, I was sitting on my normal spot on the couch & I could no longer read the clock on the wall or see the typed words along the bottom of the TV news cast. I immediately called my PCP doctor & requested an appointment with an ophthalmologist. PCP doctor declined the referral & told me to see an optometrist.

I was able to get an immediate visit Nov 20 to an optometrist & had multiple tests completed on both eyes & vision. Optometrist reviewed my last vision test with current vision & said nearsightedness in right eye was -1.00 sphere, -0.25 cylinder & 045 axis so I needed prescription to +1.25. My left eye was -.1.5 sphere, SPH. cylinder & zero axis so I needed +1.25 prescription. I now needed glasses for driving & watching TV (to be ordered & picked up in 10 days). Optometrist also confirmed that I had string-like posterior vitreous detachment in right eye & 3 large floaters combined into 1 vitreous syneresis in my left eye. Due to instant onset of vision loss, he recommended I have blood sugar tested for diabetes & blood pressure drawn to rule out quick drop/rise of blood pressure - both could cause vision loss. Next day, Nov 21, I went to my medical practice's Urgent Care. They ran blood work, neuro exam to rule out stroke & CT brain scan. All came back normal.

I contacted PCP doctor to follow-up with CT brain scan. On Nov 26, he ordered more blood work. All came back normal. the following few days I noticed that my vision was switching from blurry to clear. Some days worse than others. Ten days from optometrist appointment, Dec 1, I went to pick up my new glasses. I told optometrist about more vision changes. They re-ran all vision tests but said there was no change from the previous visit.

Five days after picking up new glasses, on Dec 6, I was driving with my younger son at 1pm in afternoon. The day was just overcast, no precipitation. All of a sudden, I had grey cloudy vision. Like immediate onset of fog or smoke took over the road. I mentioned to my son, "wow, where the heck did this fog come from" but by the time I said it, the grey cloudiness was gone. My son looked at my weird and said, "mom, there is no fog or smoke anywhere. All the clouds are way up in the sky." GREAT - I thought I was now going crazy! When I got home, I immediately emailed my PCP doctor. He ordered an MRI for brain to rule out MS, auto-immune disease, blood clot & stroke.

Within a few days, Dec 15, I was eating dinner & I tried to read the ingredients list on the back of a dressing bottle - I could not read it. I started freaking out because I have NEVER had issues with my close-up, reading vision. Even when I went to the optometrist on the first visit in Nov, he said my farsighted vision was fine. I know it was because for Halloween I sewed my son's Halloween costume and I had to thread a needle several times - absolutely no issues.

Called optometrist to tell them about grey cloud episode & trouble reading label. They scheduled me for another visit on Dec 16. Re-ran all vision test. This time, I had difficulty during several of the vision tests. Even telling the nurse that I could no longer see the white flashing dot. Turns out that my peripheral vision has shown major loss in both eyes. They also referred me to have MRI of brain.

Dec 22, had MRI.

Dec 30, had follow-up with neurologist to read MRI. Everything seemed normal but wanted to check a small area around the ocular nerve in my right eye because it looked a "tiny bit" swollen. He wanted additional blood work to me mailed out & to perform a spinal tap to make sure that protein levels in spinal fluid were adequate & that there was no blockage around ocular nerve.

Jan 1, ended up going to ER for a blood patch due to the spinal tap not sealing/healing. While in the ER the vision in my left eye dramatically changed & noticed more floaters.

From Jan 2 - Feb 1, my vision remained inconsistent & all blood work returned normal. More floaters in both eyes and the grey cloud were happening more often & for longer amounts of time. PCP finally agreed to refer me to an ophthalmologist. However, when ophthalmologist looked at all scans, blood workups, vision test, etc. he couldn't come up with anything that could explain my problem - he referred me out of state to Mass Eye & Ear where they had "better technology that was not available in my state".

Mass Eye & Ear neuro-ophthalmology dept declined my referral 3 times.

My PCP doctor & the ophthalmologist "highly suggested" I just drive all the way to Boston & go to the Mass Eye & Ear 24-hour Emergency Dept.

Feb 19 (with my 2 children in tow because they had no school) we spent 8 hours in the Mass Eye & Ear Emergency Dept. Only to have the EXACT same tests run that the optometrist did...told the same exact response as I had heard before. I have posterior vitreous detachment in right eye, vitreous syneresis in my left eye, now officially diagnosed with presbyopia of both eyes (even though I never had a farsighted test or read a single item, other than the color-blind test) and the emergency dept doctor said I was "just getting OLD & this is what happens to people when they get old". No once did anyone have "any indication or evidence" as to why I was having cloudy grey vision problems. They referred me to the Mass Eye & Ear Neuro-Ophthalmology dept upstairs for a follow-up visit.

TO DATE: Absolutely NO ONE from Mass Eye & Ear Neuro-Ophthalmology dept ever called to follow up with me, even after I repeatedly left voicemails. My PCP doctor never follow-up with me, even after leaving him portal messages. The only person that did follow-up with me was the ophthalmologist in my state, but he said unfortunately there was nothing further he could do because Mass Eye & Ear was the "Wheelhouse" for all eye diagnosis in New England. Nearsighted blurry vision has not changed any but my grey, cloudy vision is now constant throughout the day. It is like looking through steamed glass, regardless of bright sun or dim light. My farsighted vision is interesting - if I pull the item closer to my face I can read it. Sometimes I get a "blur" when I'm trying to read but if I blink several times or give my eye a little rub the blur moves and I can read just fine. My new glasses are not bi-focals so anything armlength away (like my speedometer, radio, my cell phone, my dinner plate) I need to take my glasses off the read/see.

At this point I am also DONE with the medical professionals! I've started researching symptoms & homeopathic remedies.

Are my eye issues due to perimenopause changes in my body (getting OLD)?

Are my eye issues due to dry eye?

Are my issues caused by parasites? The immediate onset if the pushing factor.