My mother has WMD and we were attending Hospital approximately every six weeks. The gaps between are growing longer and the recent pending appointment has been cancelled twice and now arranged for 15th September. (last one was 12th June) She has had a number of lucentis jabs. When we attend there is often three to four hours wait. She is almost 92 with a serious back problem and sitting for lengthy period on uncomfortable chairs exacerbates her condition and causes considerable pain for several days after. I am wondering if it is possible for the check ups to be undertaken at Opticians given they currently undertake diabetic checks and send the digital screening results for consideration by the Hospital. If treatment is then necessary you attend a Consultant/Hospital.
Query re possible WMD check ups at local O... - Macular Society
Query re possible WMD check ups at local Opticians
Dear piglets,
Is your mother currently having injections for active wet AMD or are you referring to the monitoring appointments?
Unfortunately we often hear about injection delays at this time of year. It is important that your mother has her injections on time. The function of the injections for wet AMD is to suppress the abnormal blood vessels, stabilise the eye, maintain vision and prevent further damage. It would be worth ringing the ophthalmologist's secretary and trying to secure an earlier appointment. If you are unable to do us, please contact us for further discussion.
Monitoring is always conducted at the eye clinic.
If your mother currently has stable wet AMD, it would be worth her monitoring her own vision with an Amsler grid. If there are any noticeable changes then it is important to contact the eye clinic as soon as possible as this may be indicative that the eye is no longer stable and that further injections are needed.
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Kind regards,
Thanks for that. Mum is not currently having injections but was told she should have six weekly checks. We have now had several appointments cancelled, the first being 4th September (a twelve week gap between consultations) altered to 1st, then 15th and now 21st September ! I have been told to keep ringing on the off chance there's a cancellation. It often seems like they don't care with the view she is old and sight doesn't matter - one Consultant when I raised question concerning Mum's current sight level responded that she should be grateful she can see at all as there are others in a more serious state...
Dear piglets,
It would be worth checking via the ophthalmologist's secretary if they have identified signs of possible wet AMD, but whether they are currently monitoring as opposed to treating as your mother is outside of NICE guidelines for treatment i.e. too good to treat. if this turns out to be the case, please contact us on the Macular Society helpline for further discussion.
Or is it the case that your mother's wet AMD was previously active, but is now stable, so that they are monitoring it as opposed to treating at present?
Kind regards,
Thanks for your response. Mum is currently being monitored having had many injections in both eyes. However, she keeps indicating vision in her left eye (which was the better of the two) is not as good as it was. Doctors keep saying its OK but I am concerned as she lives alone and her sight is clearly deteriorating. I shall see what happens at the next check up on 21st Sept.
Dear piglets,
As mentioned, it may be wise to encourage your mother to regularly check the Amsler grid. If she sees any changes on there from one week to the next, then it is very important that she contacts the eye clinic to see if they can fit her in for a rapid appointment.
Kind regards,
Macular Society helpline
0300 3030 111
Hi piglets.
I don't think opticians are qualified enough in this area. There needs to be a full history comparison so that any changes in the eye are correctly identified and I doubt there is time nor records access for that.
As the Mac Soc say, it depends if your mum is in active or stable state as to whether the lengthening delays are a problem or not. If you don't know check with her consultant and you can then take appropriate action.
If stable then don't worry. Just use the amsler weekly.
If still active then i think you need to push. Ask to speak to the clinic manager. I find the consultant often isn't aware of individual scheduling problems until someone complains!
At the very least, given your mum's physical issues I would ask for the first appt slot every time . They can put a flag on her notes to ensure this happens.
If you aren't satisfied with the clinics response you can take it to PALS - unfortunately we often have to advocate for ourselves. I have found PALS to be v useful .
Best wishes going forward x
Confused
OCTA
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