Macular

[alexsgran1]

Just had my first eye injection for wet macular. Can anyone give me advice about the outcome?

[spanishtigress]

the results vary for each person. mine was too big for the injections to help. they tried 4 and i still have no central vision. however you still need the injections to stop it getting worse.

[gilpet]

I have wet AMD in both eyes, my first eye was very badly affected before I had my first injection but even so I did notice a difference. Because I knew what the signs were I noticed as soon as my second eye started to show symptoms and the injections were started straight away, this means that my second eye is not too badly affected. Good luck

[cormorin]

I had 6 injections for wet amd & i think i have been very lucky. After the second i could see almost as well as before the wet started. Took a while to stop the bleed but i have not had an injection since January last year. I now have check ups every 2months & the Doctor this time was very pleased.

Some people are unlucky or have not caught it in time so do not have such good results but i hope that you do have good results.

I do have the grey blur unless in a good light & in the dark it is a black spot but small price to pay to keep my sight as is. Good luck.

[Hollyg]

First understand that as with ANY medical procedure, your results will likely vary from the experiences of others. This is my experience: The first 5 or 6 injections did a *little* for me along the way- being the first through third injection results were not any noticable improvement--the fourth yes and the 6th a HUGE improvement; in fact my corrected with glasses vision went from 20/40-50 to 20/25! nearly normal!

I was on cloud nine, wanted to stop treatment, my Doc said no lets not stop this lets get more time between treatments (it was every 5 weeks) and see what happens; we went for 8 weeks between injections.

He and I and my wife were expectant..happy and looking for more long term improvement.

That didn't happen..the improvement I had waned and my vision loss came back- now I am back at 5 weeks between injections.

I am one of those people who has side effects from the drug the Doc injects..Avastin; extreme muscular skeletal pain, dizziness etc. So wanting to stop injections would mean I could get out of BED after treatment.

This doesn't happen for the majority of patients so don't worry about it..I have LOTS of allergies so it is quite natural that I would have an adverse reaction to Avastin. My health care provider won't pay for Lucentis so I am stuck with Avastin.

Not that this is a bad drug but its one I have trouble with after injection.

It takes me a week to recover from the side effects -- then I am MUCH better!

[Raemar]

Hi there, you don't say which injection you are receiving as there are 3 commonly in use - Lucentis, Avastin and Eylea. However they all do the same thing. It's good that you ask the question now at the start of your treatment regimen. As you can see from the replies so far, treatment outcomes vary greatly between individuals. What should be of interest and I urge you to take note of Hollyg's experience and that of mine , which I am about to explain.

I have dry AMD in left and wet in the right. I received 6 Lucentis injections as 2 lots of 3 each 4 weeks apart. I had the follow up review 6 weeks later and was pleased to be told that the fluid had dried up. I asked the Doctor if my right eye was now "dry" and she replied "no, wet AMD does not become "dry" again, saying it could come back anytime.

She then offered me the option of continuing with injections "OR" to "consider the risks of the injections, against the fact that my eyesight is very good at the moment and stop the injections and review in 8 weeks". I decided to stop the injections. Yes you guessed it the fluid returned! I am now back on treatment. I'm lucky in the fact that my AMD does not hinder me in any way at the moment and can do what I did before diagnosis. All I am saying is if you are ever in this situation then consider the options carefully and don't rush your decision. Good luck with your treatment.

PS. As a point of interest for this forum could you tell us which drug you are being treated with?

[alexsgran1 in reply to Raemar]

I am having lutein injections. Very stressed out.many thanks for you advise.also could you tell me if it ok for me to go to optician for new glasses and would I need a letter from the hospital to take with me.

[Raemar in reply to alexsgran1]

Hi there, when I replied to your post I assumed that you were receiving treatment for a macular condition such as wet AMD. Lutein is nutrient (a carotenoid) totally different from the anti-VEGF drugs I mentioned.

I'm not an expert or in any way qualified to advise unfortunately. However what I can tell you is that I asked my eye specialist the same question after 3 injections of Lucentis. He strongly advised against it stating that it would be a waste of money as my prescription could change after treatment. He was right, I changed my glasses after my sixth injection and it had changed. In your case you would have to discuss it with your eye clinic. Best of luck.

[alexsgran1]

Many thanks.had my2nd injection on Thursday.told not to get new glasses yet..found the after pain of injection was worse this time.did you have this experience?

[Hidden]

Hi, just a comment re changing specs. I was told yes and no by different drs. Only having inj in left eye but normal prescription for right eye needs changing anyway. Cant afford to waste money changing specs again when hopefully the inj will have improved left eye. Luckily dr says I am seeing ok to drive, it is work thats difficult as use software that cant enlarge text fields. Got some great yellow and black stickers to put on the keyboard from the RNIB website which have really helped. They have a good range of kit, also sell clip on magnifiers go over your specs but pricey if going to be temporary so Ive just ordered some from Coopers of Stortford £6.99 plus p&p - dont know if they will be any good but not too much to waste and will probably work for sewing etc anyway.

re the pain post inj. Some people are sensitive to the iodine used to clean the eye, they can use chlorhexidine instead which Ive read people have said its been better for them. Some say they wash their eye out after at home but thats not really a good idea due to risk of infection which we need to avoid.

ive had 2 inj also, try to distract myself at home give my brain something else to think about - i put on a film ( cant really watch it but it filters into your mind), eat my favourite food and savour it, also use those wheat bags heat up in microwave and warm my hands and sometimes my face but not near the eye. Relaxation techniques work a bit, im not that good at it yet ! I just think to myself it will be over soon and worth it to keep ones sight, we girls have usually had other regular pains to cope with and we got through those ha ha. X best of luck to you x

[Hidden]

Hi, alexgran1, just to update you on the magnifier over specs which finally arrived the other day. They dont work for me, too strong over my specs (for either eye) and not strong enough on their own. As I didnt pay much for them Im going to keep them til my specs are changed and try again then before donating to the local charity shop!

Had my 3rd inj recently and it was the best for no pain after.

Hope things are going well for you.

[SHEDGUM]

Hello Alexsgran,

Please refer to my post

"Forget The Needles"

"Regards"

Shedgum