I see trails (or to call it a tiney light) following any moving object

Oh god, my sleeping pattern was (and still is) horrible. I was and am still a night owl. Doesn't help that I spent those waking time either on my computer or my mobile phone.

Speaking of mobile phone, I found my 'trail' is vivid when I just finished looking at my phone for a long time. For example, I just finished reading and immediately look up without giving my eyes time to adjust and wave my hand, the shadow is very apparent over a dark background. I like to read on my phone, so I do spend a LOT of time looking into the screen, often hours at a time. Maybe it's the glare or something. I try to keep the brightness minimum though, not sure if it's helping or not. Sounds a bit like a refractive error.

I didn't read the replies of all the participants in this thread, but the symptom the OP describes is one that I had when I stopped taking Tegretol cold turkey. I almost had a nervous breakdown because of that and this vision disturbance was one of the symptoms I had (the other ones being depersonalisation and derelisation, intense shaking and anxiety, intense fatigue and complete insomnia). Searching online I found out that it is called palinopsia (being Greek I can easily understand what the word means. It can be translated as "seeing again" or "repeated vision") and of course, like almost everything else, it can be caused by anxiety.

My advice to you is to not focus on it. When I had it, I remember that light exacerbates it and that darkness makes it go away. Also, if your eyes feel dry and tired try applying eye drops regularly during the day. They really did help, in my case at least, with the photo-sensitivity and palinopsia symptom.

I hope you get better soon! Take care!

Alex

Pietras said...
hello hypochondriacs have the same :D If i wave my hand in front of my face with light hiting my hand in dim room its much more visible :D Try it like take your phone (white scrn) go to dark room like !DARK! hold your phone above another hand and move your hand down. U can see this ghosty. Every one can see it i tried it on my friends and family.. i dont know why Ophthalmologists do not know about this phenomenon... But remember most of freind/family they did not notice it right away.. (okay my friend did) IT is best seen on the phone!! Again... go to DARK!! room, take ur phone put it on the highest brightness and turn on the camera. All u want to see on your phone is black and and white icons. Then start doing circular movements, u ll see a dots folowing ur phone ;) (Dont follow phone with eyes, look ahead!!) Okay.. But why can u see it with your hand in dim room? Coz of anxiety. When u exp anxiety your sensors are more sensitive to everything. Like movement sounds and so on.. Also ur pupils become larger so more light falls into the eye. Sory for my english :D I hope i helped. I Hope i helped ;)

Hei Pietras
Thanks for writing this . Yes I agree with you! After almost two years of having this I guess it is not a dangerous eye problem and it might be something very normal which becomes more visible for some people due to anxiety, stress and so on... so we just need to work on ourselves for becoming more relax in this life ;)
I am getting used to this trail (or whatever you call it) and I am trying to ignore it as much as I can. By the way your English is much better than mine )))
Thank you and take care!

Nana

Nana, hope you're doing well. Hello to you as well lizzy. Sorry I've been MIA here, things haven't been the greatest. I moved, been dealing with family loss and a host of other problems. Such is life I guess?

Since my last post here, I must say that I saw some improvement. It didn't go away per say, but I was not as aware of it, and didn't focus on it even during brief encounters of seeing it.

Unfortunately, and for what ever reason I can't say, it has gotten worse the last few days. Objectively worse, the trails seem to be longer and lag behind more noticeably. I was even seeing it during the day. Why the change? Who knows, but there's only a few things I can think of:

1) I've been stressed out about my tinnitus getting worse. So more anxiety and depression than usual.
2) I've been taking N-Acetyl Cysteine for my ears, which I've read some mixed stuff on and wonder if taking large dosages of this has made the issue worse (which would mean it's more of a brain issue perhaps).
3) My eyes have felt a bit more strained and dry the last few days. Almost a slight heavyness too, which makes me wonder if it's computer vision syndrome, tired eyes (as Nana said) or something similar that is exacerbating it.


I must say it does suck as it certainly feels much worse and more apparently than before, where it was limited to dim lighting and a brief trail. Hopefully this will subside and is just stress/anxiety induced (or tired eye induced).

Wishing the best for you both.

P.S - Oddly enough, through a power slide about Visual Snow (and subset of other issues people experience) they mentioned trailing with a picture that I thought really summed up what I see.

VIEW IMAGE

And here's where it came from if you're curious:

https://www.slideshare.net/TamaraBystrak/visual-snow

Post Edited (clemxiii) : 9/8/2018 1:38:42 AM (GMT-6)

Nana1988 said...

clemxiii said...
Nana, hope you're doing well. Hello to you as well lizzy. Sorry I've been MIA here, things haven't been the greatest. I moved, been dealing with family loss and a host of other problems. Such is life I guess?

Since my last post here, I must say that I saw some improvement. It didn't go away per say, but I was not as aware of it, and didn't focus on it even during brief encounters of seeing it.

Unfortunately, and for what ever reason I can't say, it has gotten worse the last few days. Objectively worse, the trails seem to be longer and lag behind more noticeably. I was even seeing it during the day. Why the change? Who knows, but there's only a few things I can think of:

1) I've been stressed out about my tinnitus getting worse. So more anxiety and depression than usual.
2) I've been taking N-Acetyl Cysteine for my ears, which I've read some mixed stuff on and wonder if taking large dosages of this has made the issue worse (which would mean it's more of a brain issue perhaps).
3) My eyes have felt a bit more strained and dry the last few days. Almost a slight heavyness too, which makes me wonder if it's computer vision syndrome, tired eyes (as Nana said) or something similar that is exacerbating it.


I must say it does suck as it certainly feels much worse and more apparently than before, where it was limited to dim lighting and a brief trail. Hopefully this will subside and is just stress/anxiety induced (or tired eye induced).

Wishing the best for you both.

P.S - Oddly enough, through a power slide about Visual Snow (and subset of other issues people experience) they mentioned trailing with a picture that I thought really summed up what I see.

VIEW IMAGE

And here's where it came from if you're curious:

https://www.slideshare.net/TamaraBystrak/visual-snow

Hei Clemxiii

Sorry for your loss, yes life is very unpredictable... :/ But I hope you can manage it well. Nice to hear that you also got a bit used to the trails in time. For me it is now almost 2.5 years that I am dealing with it and it has never been gone since then... but I am used to it much better that the first months, now I am not scared of it at all. Ofcourse I need to squeeze my eyelids more often during night and I need to ignore my side visions when for example I am passing/walking from some specific areas at home (some tricks to not see the trails), and these things have helped me to notice the trails less (however they exist).
Yes, stress and anxiety is the trigger based on my experience. And definitely dry and tired eyes, however using a lot of eye drops did not help me to get rid of the trails but it helped with feeling better in eyes. working a lot on computer/mobile phone can be another trigger, however it is too difficult to ignore computer/mobile phones in today life :/ .
yes, I exactly see the trails as you have shown in the attached photo. I do not have the visual snow, but I see after images, which are basically a quick screen of every bright object when I look at somewhere else with darker background, specially in dim or dark rooms.
So, try to give your eyes rest, and relax your body and mind, don't stress, sleep enough, and keep your eyes not dry. these are the only things I can recommend to do. another thing that I found to help get rid of stress in life and also be able to sleep better and ignore the trails was the CBD oil without HTC. I tried it once after someone recommended me in another forum. It really helped to notice the trails less during the days I was using the oil drops. you can search for it on internet and see if you can find it in your country. It is a very useful oil that everybody requires and it helps with reducing stress, anxiety, and insomnia but unfortunately it is illegal in some countries (but it is not dangerous for body at all, and it does not have ant bad side effect). I was satisfied of it, however I was too lazy to order more of it after the first one was finsihed. Maybe I start to buy more since it really helped me to sleep better and feel more energized during the day. Hope you will find a way to relieve.

Regards
Nana

Hi Nana, happy to hear you're doing well. It is truly an odd mystery why you, me and many others I've read online experience this. We never took drugs, no major head injuries, very odd. All tests come back clean for us. Most doctors think we're nuts I bet, lol.

My biggest gripe is not so much having it, it was not having it get worse! Of course I couldn't get lucky and have it stay the same. I'm curious, since you've have it longer than me, do you notice over the years times where you can objectively notice it's worse and then goes back to a sort of normal baseline. Does it fluctuate sometimes and get worse depending on anxiety, tired (body, mind and eyes) ect., or does it always remain the same?

I will definitely look up CBD oil without HTC since you're saying it brought you some relief. I was once told perhaps marijuana might help me relax and not focus on these issues, but I've read too many cases of it having a bad effect with people with tinnitus, which I have. But perhaps the oil without HTC will be a workaround to this.


I'd love to keep in touch to see how things continue to evolve for you. Do you have Skype or any type of messaging program?

[

clemxiii said...


Hi Nana, happy to hear you're doing well. It is truly an odd mystery why you, me and many others I've read online experience this. We never took drugs, no major head injuries, very odd. All tests come back clean for us. Most doctors think we're nuts I bet, lol.

My biggest gripe is not so much having it, it was not having it get worse! Of course I couldn't get lucky and have it stay the same. I'm curious, since you've have it longer than me, do you notice over the years times where you can objectively notice it's worse and then goes back to a sort of normal baseline. Does it fluctuate sometimes and get worse depending on anxiety, tired (body, mind and eyes) ect., or does it always remain the same?

I will definitely look up CBD oil without HTC since you're saying it brought you some relief. I was once told perhaps marijuana might help me relax and not focus on these issues, but I've read too many cases of it having a bad effect with people with tinnitus, which I have. But perhaps the oil without HTC will be a workaround to this.


I'd love to keep in touch to see how things continue to evolve for you. Do you have Skype or any type of messaging program?

Hi Clemxiii

Yes, it is strange that it came first from nowhere, and stayed there ever since, however it did not get much worse in time.

Yes, it is not getting worse for me but I noticed that whenever I am anxiouse (for example when I have an argument with my husband..., Or when I am stressed for something, when I cannot have a good night sleep, having a tired mind) then I notice it a bit more, but it does not mean that other days it does not exist. It always exists but in some stressful days I notice it more.

Yes, please try CBD Oil since it is not having any negative side effect. It will give you some relieves, after like 3-4 days of using it you will notice the difference yourself. But I do not recommend Marijuana at all, since I have heard that one of the causes for trails in vision is use of Marijuana, however for people like me and you who have never used any drug or weed the cause is unclear. I would say that I have a healthy life style, but I am worried/anxiouse/stressed peron who works a lot with computer and has a bit of dry/sore eyes.

Clemxiii, since I do not want my husband to get worried for this eye issue and since I do not want to talk about this in front of him, I can give you an email address for future follow up on this if you want. However I will always reply here as long as the forum exists. Let me know if you still want an email address.

Regards
Nana

Post Edited (Nana1988) : 9/10/2018 2:44:01 AM (GMT-6)

clemxiii said...


Hi Nana,

Yes I'll be sure to check back here. I found something else out recently as I've sort of been obsessed over this issue again.

While I thought it was simply motion of things out of focus on our part, I've discovered something new. I did a little test. I was in a dim area, and I put a yellow small flash light on my black desk. I then took a pen I had and I held it sideways just above/top of the small flash light. I wen't left and right slowly focusing in on the pen with my eyes (not moving head) while still seeing the stationary yellow flashlight on my lower peripheral.

Shockingly, I saw the trail extend from the stationary flashlight. So oddly while the object wasn't in motion, it was the eyes in motion (fixed on the pen) that created it just the same as we normally see it during something in motion in our perhipial.

Very odd findings. Also, I'm not sure if I asked before but were you taking anything before it started? Vitamins, antioxidants ect.? Anything like NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine) or similar that would influence glutamate or GABA?

Hi Clemxiii

The thing that you just mentioned as your new finding is exactly what I also experience. I will see the trail no matter if the object is in move or the eye is in move. As long as one of the object or eye is moving and the other one is not moving, I will see a trail of the object coming out of it. Its odd I know and I completely understand you.
Well, I have been using vitamin supplements regulary like vitamin D3, and maybe B12 since 1-2 years before that. I had been using Chia Seeds every morning and Ginger as the new habits before the trails came up. I havent had any other new habits as I remeber except these. What about you? anything you think you started using before the trails appeared?
Do you work on computer a lot as well? like 7-8 hours per day?
And do you have anyother health issues? I have tingling heel which gets worse when I am stressed or anxious. Do you have this problem as well? and It usually appears when I want to sleep.
How old are you Clemxiii? and are you a girl or boy?


Regards
Nana

clemxiii said...

Hi Nana,

I'm male, 29. I started NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine) before it happened, and also had been taking it in higher dosages recently before I noticed two weeks ago it got worse. I can't say for sure if that is or isn't a factor.

I do use the computer a lot, 7-8 hours most definitely. Other health issues I guess would be floaters, occasional headaches that get pretty bad at times, some GI issues such as acid reflux and anxiety/depression from tinnitus. I don't take anything for it, I just sort of deal with it and try to move on.

Since this has become either more noticeable/worse I have been doing more self tests to see if I could alter this thing we see at all.

I'm curious if you could tell me if you see a difference with one eye close? Or putting the palm of your hand over one eye. Does the trailing reduce or disappear? What I do is I create the conditions and see the trail first, then once that's established I put my hand over one eye and see what changes.

I noticed when I do this, the trialing subsidies almost 100%. Which I find intriguing because I've had my eyes tested and outside astigmatism and nearsightedness (are you also nearsighted?) my eyes were supposed to be fine. But if one eye closed possibly resolves this (I will continue to test to see if this truly is reducing it) it makes me feel like it could be corrected then with a certain type of corrective lens? I already have glasses for long distance (since I'm nearsighted, I blame from computer use) but they don't stop the trailing up close. I don't know, but maybe there is something for up close wearing that would alleviate it. Just seems strange that somehow one eye closed seems to alter it.

Going to test this some more to make sure I'm not just tricking myself, and that it truly is reducing it in all conditions.

Hi Clemxiii
for me, I have tested my eyes many times to make sure if the trails are different in one eye from the other one, but each time I noticed that they are almost the same.
I have also a bit of irregular astigmatism which is not fixable with any glass/contact lens. This is what my doctors have told me so far. So if the trail can be linked to astigmatism then it is so strange because according to those eye doctors my astigmatism is very minor ... (I mean how a very minor astigmatism can cause this ugly trails?!, god knows)
I used to get a lot of headaches as well, but the past few months I havent had any. Yes a few days after the trails I started to notice floaters in my vision as well, however now I do not notice the floaters anymore, perhaps I got use to them after 2 years.
Yes, lets keep in touch and see how things go.
If you decided to try CBD Oil, please let me know the result after some days of taking it.
Wish you all the best and keep in touch.

Regards
Nana

clemxiii said...


Hi Nana,

So with more testing, it does seem present still with only one eye open. Oddly, it seems somewhat reduced though. A lesser version of it. It oddly seems a bit better if I look at of one eye with my eye covered, so seeing darkness, and the other eye open. I noticed after 15-20 seconds of this, once I look normally, the trailing is somewhat less visible. It's very strange.

I started CBD oil yesterday, I haven't noticed anything yet. I don't even feel relaxed yet so I think the dosage might be too low? What dosage do you take? I bought this 250mg CBD oil that says to take Place 0.5 ML – 1 ML of it. Here:

https://www.greenroadsworld.com/products/cbd-hemp-oil-250mg/

Do you think the dosage is too low? Are you using a higher dose?


I also noticed in another thread on another website where others were talking about this, someone mentioned he got a prescription of glasses that seem to reduce it noticeably, so it makes me wonder if there is some type of prescription out there that could fix it? But it would require trial and error and someone to take the time and have the conditions in the room to see the trails and test out glasses to see if they noticeably reduce it.

Edit - Another question, do you notice squinting changing or reducing the trailing? Like if you're normally seeing it and then squint your eyes, does it seem to sort of reflect the light differently on what ever you're looking at and the trails seem less?

Hi Clemxiii

no, I didn't feel it improving by covering one eye for a few seconds and then seeing normally :/
Yes, I was also using the same dosage. It is recommended to start will small dosages and then slowly increase the dosage if required. I think you need to use it for at least one week to start feeling the difference. Don't you think you can sleep a bit better now after a few days of using CBD oil?

I guess if the trail is correctable with some kind of glasses then perhaps the person has regular astigmatism which is always fixable with glasses. my trail's reason is unknown since the doctors couldn't link it to astigmatism and they couldn't find any glass prescription which can fix it. But if it was regular astigmatism it could be fixable.
regarding your last question, let me try it a bit more and get back to you.


Regards
Nana

clemxiii said...


Hi Nana,

I noticed the CBD oil did make me sleep a bit better, but outside that it did make me feel a bit agitated and didn't seem to help with the trails. Probably because it seems to be worse than before, so I can't really ignore it anymore and it's just constantly stressing me out and I doubt really anything will help with that.

Since I've been doing a lot of testing on this to see if anything makes it worse, better, ect., I've found something very ODD. I'm curious Nana if you can reproduce this as well. This may provide further clues as to what mechanism is at play here.

Do you remember that website with the UFO's on a black background that moved from left to right:

https://www.testufo.com/framerates#count=3&background=none&pps=120

Make sure the background is black and not stars. Set the speed to 480 pixels, and keep 3 UFO's.

Now, place your mouse cursor somewhere in the middle so it's inbetween two of the UFO's passing. Now instead of looking at the mouse cursor and watching the ufo's pass in your peripheral (where you'd see a trail coming off the UFO's) focus on the UFO's that start on the left and follow it. When you follow it, and the ufo's start to pass the mouse cursor that you left stationary, do you see the trail coming off of your mouse cursor!?

I've tried this many times with different tests upclose and and can reproduce it. That means for me at least, this is not simply external motion moving in the peripheral being the cause. The trail can come off of something stationary if my eye's are following something that would pass the stationary object.

Hopefully I described this good enough, I'm very curious if you can reproduce these findings.

Hi Clemxiiii

Yes, focusing on the UFO's movement would leave a mild trail off the cursor on the right side of the cursor. So I guess me and you experience the same thing.
Regrding the CBD Oil, I also felt a bit better sleeping and better day to day tasks functioning when I used it. But I also didnt feel any change in the trails while used it. That is why I was not encouraged to continue taking it :/ ....


Mvh
Nana


Mvh
Nana

Hi BA409,

Welcome! We are indeed a supportive group...and we are glad that you've joined us!

I am sorry to hear of the vision issues you've been experiencing currently. Problems with vision/perception are not unusual with anxiety...

...so after doing the due diligence in getting all possible health causes ruled out....if you are still challenged with the symptoms, I would recommend a strong focus on your anxiety management plan to get the relief you need.

For now, do see our Resources at the top of the main forum page here for great material to get started with anytime.

Keep posting is you find it helpful. We understand, care and support is key!

Scaredy Cat

Last update:
I visited the cornea specialist at the hospital after these years to make sure if my cornea has been changed since last year when they did the same checkup. they did a lot of check-ups on my eyes and then they informed me that these eye problems (trails in vision) are not something that can get worse or better in time. they said it can be because of the Lasik eye surgery that I have done 4 years ago and I just need to get used to it. and the reason for that is that in LASIK surgery they shape the cornea and this trails can be a result of it for a few numbers of people and unfortunately I am one of those :/ . To summarize, these trails are not something dangerous, try to get used to it after all of the checkups came to be normal.


Regards
Nana