Hmm, have you tried adjusting this:

Main Menu > System Configuration > Other Settings ( . . . ) > In this Tab, check "Display Limits" and change the option here for "Character and Object Quantity" to Low and test.
Note it is Quantity here, this limits the amount of Characters displayed and also the Objects around the environment that you are in.

You may have already done this but I didn't see you mention it, I'd give it a try and see if it helps.