answered elsewhere on other post JCH MD
Dear Dr. Hagan,Thank you for your response. I am well aware of the responsibilities of MD's. My father was chairman of pediatric surgery at a teaching institution; that is the world in which I grew up, so I am very aware of what you write. We never saw him as much as I would have liked. Called down in the middle of the night so often, often never getting home, always working on articles to publish, always inspiring his students and house staff, always operating. Always driven to be the best and to set the standard, and providing pro bono care for so many. I remember making rounds with him, and now wish I could have become a surgeon so that I could have spent more time with him, but that was not to be. I remember him paying the application fee for a bright candidate to apply to medical school because she could not afford it. He gave so much to so many. I did click on a page within this site and found out about the doctors' specialties and certification. I am glad to know now, because my initial reaction to some of the replies I saw was one of surprise at their seemingly flippant and cryptic nature. I was alarmed when I saw comments about floaters that suggested that they are very common (yes), and usually you don't need to do anything about them. I would tell everyone to go see a doctor. Because I expect myself to live through pain and not to complain, I "knew" that I should not go to the doctor - because there was no pain. What I did not know and what everyone must be told: there is no pain associated with floaters. They can be a sign of danger. I went for almost two weeks with multiple floaters, and then the flashing light. A dear friend who is a nurse said: YOU MUST GO TO THE EYE DOCTOR. Eye saved. Life a nightmare. My dear father is in heaven. I like to think he is playing cards at the beach with my uncles, also doctors. Or from a description of him in articles, maybe "holding court" with med students, giving them from afar the benefit of his knowledge and work ethic. He was driven to excel and was incredibly charismatic. Thank you, Dr. Hagan, for being on this forum and trying to help people from afar. Perhaps a sentence about every doctor's specialty could be included at the top of every page. It would have saved you the annoyance and aggravation of seeing a comment that questions the doctors' credentials. Everyone needs to see the eye doctor and be told what floaters are and what can happen, not just asked do you see dots or squiggly lines, and once you say, No," the response is "Good" - because people remain ignorant as to what those dots and lines can mean, and that it is imperative to get to an eye doctor so that there is a possibility of saving one's eye, that time is critical. People do not know this. I just looked at YOUR CV. YOU ARE an ophthalmologist. I did not know that from my quick look at this site originally because of the unpleasant sensations I feel and the distortion of what I see when I read and look at anything. It is good of you to have taken the time to respond. Your background and experience are very interesting. I think many people writing and asking questions on this and other medical sites are desperate, despairing, and depressed. They have been to the doctors, and don't know what else to do. When one has been to the specialists, and one still writes to a website, even taking into account your and other doctors' expertise, one is desperate. One is hoping and praying there is something else to know or do. People also hope doctors will have all the answers, and they are disappointed and become bitter when they learn otherwise. A friend of mine, an ophthalmologist, specializes in cataracts and would never have become a retina specialist: the former is immediate, mostly positive gratification; the latter, long-term, with so many grim results.
These Forums are staffed by Board Certified Fellows in the American Academy of ophthalmology. They answer all the questions posted on the expert forum. In the 300 plus community health forums people post and other people respond. The disclaimers of MedHelp.org as well as common sense tells you that any any discussion you will get good advice, bad advice and irrelevant advice. It is your responsibililty to interpret it.
The Eye community Forum is the only community forum in the 300+ where physicians answer almost every question and in many cases give a second or third response. All the board certified ophthalmologists have large busy practices as well as many orther time consuming responsibilities including to their families. More than 4 million individuals visit these two eye forums each year.
Each of these physicians donates hundreds of hours free each year to the citizens of the world to try and dessiminate eye health information.
The Board Certified Ophthalmologists of the American Academy of Ophthalmology