I was diagnosed with Advanced Macular Degeneration (AMD) more than fifteen years ago. Since then, my vision has slowly deteriorated. I’m not complaining. Without regular eye injections, I’d probably be blind.

The injections aren’t as bad as they sound. It’s over in seconds. Numbing drops keep me from feeling anything. The speculum to keep my eye open and the Betadine drops to prevent infection are the worst parts. No matter how well they rinse my eye afterward, the Betadine stings for several hours.

I’ve received around 200 injections of five different drugs by six doctors. Most have been in my left eye. In 2015, my right eye suddenly became too far gone to treat. Each new drug was advertised as better than the one before, but none have worked any better for me.

Until now. The doctor switched me to Vabysmo shortly after it came out. Earlier this year, he moved the injections to every six weeks. Though not as long as the four months advertised for Vabysmo, the change means four fewer injections per year.

After reviewing my retina scan this week, the doctor said we’d try going eight weeks between injections. It’s still not four months, but I’ll take it. That’s two more injections a year I won’t have to have.

This week, the doctor didn’t use the speculum to keep my eye open. It freaked me out–thought I’d jump or something, but it was over too fast to react. Without the speculum, the Betadine didn’t penetrate as much either. For the first time ever, I had no burning afterward.

I’m grateful for the vision I still have, less-frequent injections, and friends who are willing and able to take me to appointments. All in all, life is pretty good. As always, thanks for stopping by.