my vision has been pretty bad for years - 20/300 to 20/400 in 2014 , then 20/800 last december - but the vision in my left eye took a drastic turn for the worse 3 months ago... finally got to go see an ophthalmologist today and my worst fears are a definite possibility...among the laundry list of problems he cited , i am dealing with wet macular degeneration (rupturing of blood vessels that affect the central field of vision) in my left eye , edema in both eyes due those rupturing blood vessels , retinopathy in both eyes , the onset of cataracts in both eyes ...officially there is no cure known for wet macular degeneration and it GENERALLY goes from diagnosis to blindness over roughly 10 years...in some severe cases the onset-to-blindness can be literally a matter of weeks...over the past 3 months i have had 4 or 5 significant increases in vision loss in the left eye from one day to the next...he referred to mine as severe in both eyes (though oddly in my right eye it was not affecting my center of vision , but the peripheral areas...
his recommended course of treatment is a series of injections in both eyes...when i asked if this treatment could cure or reverse the wmd or if it was merely to slow the progression , he said "yes"...despite this disease being classified as incurable , he said that some patients respond well and only need the injections for a sort period (6-24 months) while many will need them for the rest of their lives...the third group he cited were those for whom the treatment does not have an effect and that usually results in blindness...
i am already hypersensitive regarding my eyes...i have difficulty in opening them wide (as i was being chided by all the nurses today just reinforced) and many eye doctors have failed miserably at even getting drops into my eyes due to my massive involuntary blink reflex when anything is near them...one of my biggest fears has been the need for eye surgery or shots in or around the eyes and now im being told that is basically what my future holds unless i would prefer to be blind...
sooooo...the purpose of this post is to ask if anyone else is dealing with (or has dealt with) a similar issue and had to go through the monthly injections...if so , what was your experience ? did it help restore vision or merely slow the worsening ? or did it fail completely ? any side effects ? pain levels during or after the sessions ?
would greatly appreciate any info , especially success stories or reassurances which i could REALLY use n ow as i await word tomorrow on whether i get to keep my foot or have an amputation at the knee (yes , i'm serious...got my fingers crossed on that one but i have a bad feeling there too) ...
his recommended course of treatment is a series of injections in both eyes...when i asked if this treatment could cure or reverse the wmd or if it was merely to slow the progression , he said "yes"...despite this disease being classified as incurable , he said that some patients respond well and only need the injections for a sort period (6-24 months) while many will need them for the rest of their lives...the third group he cited were those for whom the treatment does not have an effect and that usually results in blindness...
i am already hypersensitive regarding my eyes...i have difficulty in opening them wide (as i was being chided by all the nurses today just reinforced) and many eye doctors have failed miserably at even getting drops into my eyes due to my massive involuntary blink reflex when anything is near them...one of my biggest fears has been the need for eye surgery or shots in or around the eyes and now im being told that is basically what my future holds unless i would prefer to be blind...
sooooo...the purpose of this post is to ask if anyone else is dealing with (or has dealt with) a similar issue and had to go through the monthly injections...if so , what was your experience ? did it help restore vision or merely slow the worsening ? or did it fail completely ? any side effects ? pain levels during or after the sessions ?
would greatly appreciate any info , especially success stories or reassurances which i could REALLY use n ow as i await word tomorrow on whether i get to keep my foot or have an amputation at the knee (yes , i'm serious...got my fingers crossed on that one but i have a bad feeling there too) ...