Macular

[Suejoyce]

Hi my name is Sue age 64 opticians see something in back of eyes said macular referring he to eye hospital also feel like I have something in my eye all time really frightened I am losing my sight

[Rosalyn-helpline Partner]

Hello Suejoyce,

Please give us a call on the Macular Society helpline.

If the optometrist identifies possible wet AMD, then the Royal College of Ophthalmology guidelines indicate that they must do a fast track referral on the day of the appointment, via fax or email, straight through to the eye clinic, so that the individual can be seen and treated by 2 weeks.

The Macular Society helpline is open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday on 0300 3030 111.

Alternately, you can contact us via:

[e-mail]

Kind regards,

[Suejoyce in reply to Rosalyn-helpline]

The opticians did not say if it was wet or dry he just gave me a letter to pass on to my gp

[Rosalyn-helpline Partner in reply to Suejoyce]

Dear Suejoyce,

It may be wise to ring your opticians and establish if they identified any signs of possible wet AMD. If so, they should have by-passed the GP and followed the fast track referral process as described above. Referrals via the GP can cause unnecessary delays. Individuals are not generally referred to the eye clinic at the hospital for dry AMD.

I am copying a couple of links for your reference:

macularsociety.org/sites/de...

macularsociety.org/sites/de...

macularsociety.org/sites/de...

macularsociety.org/sites/de...

Kind regards,

Macular Society helpline

0300 3030 111.

[Suejoyce in reply to Rosalyn-helpline]

ty I will ring

[Rosalyn-helpline Partner]

Dear Suejoyce,

Please let us know how you get on.

Kind regards,

Macular Society helpline

0300 3030 111.

[Hidden]

Hi suejoyce, hope you got an answer from the opticians. If they say wet then you must push them to make you the urgent referral to hospital eye clinic same day. Don't be fobbed off with gp referral, show them what the Mac Society has told you .

Having said that, try not to worry yourself to death! If you have wetmd or other condition with oedema there is treatment that's generally very effective.

There's a chart you can download called an Amsler grid - you look at the dot in the middle and if any of the lines are wavy that indicates a problem and you need to be seen by the specialist.

Best of luck, come back here and let us know how you get on . This is a great site to get support. X

[Suejoyce in reply to Hidden]

Hi the opticians said dry md have to wait for referral to the eye hospital I am worrying that it will turn to wet does that happen quickly and ty for answering x

[Hidden in reply to Suejoyce]

Hi, I don't have the condition but have seen others post about it. They say dry does not always turn to wet and if it does usually over years. The op Lana speaks about is for a separate condition I think as everyone else has said there's no treatment for dry except certain vitamin supplements, they say it advances very slowly. The Mac Soc can give you all the info you need if you ring or email them . Use the amsler grid while you wait for appt it will give you peace of mind but as Lana says any change in your vision go straight to a&e don't wait for appts. Take care, try to relax xxx

[lana59]

Hi Suejoyce. The Macular Society are the best people to help with the answers you need now. I would call and ask to become a member, whereupon they will send you what they call their "brick" in the post. It is very informative. I have dry AMD and because my gp didn't refer me after I went to him with problems in my left eye, saying it was nothing to worry about and not giving a credible diagnosis. Six months or so later I was getting peculiar "flash" photography type images of my iris in my right eye. I saw a different gp who referred me to the hospital and they scanned both eyes, saying I had dry AMD and that I needed an op asap to close the macular hole in my right eye. I had to wait nearly 3 months for this and due to the delay, the op was not a complete success. I still cannot see things in the very middle of my eye and there are still distortions. An Amsler Grid is very good for checking for distortions.

The key to saving as much sight as possible is immediate action.

With wet AMD you will be given regular injections which help. With dry you will have an op, but you must get this done asap. It's not too bad, it's just the posturing afterwards that is the difficult bit. I am not sure whether dry can turn to wet, I don't think it does but please call the Macular Society and they will be able to help you and guide you. With all good wishes, Lana.

[Suejoyce in reply to lana59]

Ty