In early June, I blogged about my rapidly deteriorating vision. Instead of only bothering me when I try to read, since February or March, I’ve had trouble seeing anything much smaller than a school bus. The sudden change has been both frightening and frustrating.
Since 2010, I’ve been getting injections of various drugs (Avastin, Eylea and Lucentis) in my left eye every month or two to treat my advanced (wet) macular degeneration. Recent retina scans of my left eye show a marked improvement, but even the top row on the eye chart has been impossible for me to see. Fortunately, until February or March, my right eye had been fine.
At my June appointment, the retina specialist checked my right eye as well as my left. With my right eye, I couldn’t see a thing, but with my left, I was able to read all the letters on the top four rows of the eye chart. This great news means the injections help.
The retina scan for my right eye — the first in a year or more — revealed the reason for the sudden decline in my vision. I now have advanced (wet) macular degeneration in both eyes. In time, given the improvement in what I can see with my left eye, I’m hopeful the same will happen with my right.
Getting injections in both eyes in the same appointment is no fun. The biggest difference is the extra time I have to wait for the soothing, post-injection rinse to clear out the betadine ointment. No matter how well they rinse, they never get it all. After the numbing drops wear off, my eyes burn and tears stream down my cheeks until the last of the offending substance is gone a few hours later.
My monthly eye appointments aren’t optional. Without treatment, I’d already be legally blind. A few hours of discomfort every four weeks is a small price to pay for my vision. I’ll keep you posted.
5 responses to “My Feeble Eyes: Good News!”
I, too, have macular degeration, the dry kind, in both eyes with the left being by far the worst. I cannot read a thing with either eye covered, but can read fairly well with both uncovered and with the use of a huge madnifying glasz. It stuns me that yours is so far advanced at such a young age. I expect it at my ripe old age of 76.
I use 5X reading glasses (leaning in and tilting my head a lot) and also have a big magnifying glass. Not sure how i got to be so lucky. Limitations of any kind are so frustrating!
Must be very handicapping with your job and writing. Feel really bad for you.
I have the same problem. 5x reading glasses work for me with one good eye. Thankful for that as I love to read. But then I’m 90
90? Wow! Thanks for stopping by. I’m honored! My 77 year-old mother has never seen my web site. At least for me, things are A LOT easier to read on the computer because I can blow the screen up.