Second injection and after effects!

[MacularAnn]

Hi my friend, I have just had my second Avaston injection, I went along with all the valuable advicevgratefully received to make the injection hopefully more comfortable.

I asked about Iodine asked for it to me then washed out more throughly than last time which was so painful, then asked for more anathestic drops and so forth.

I was then given an alternative to Iodine then more anaesthetic drops.

The injection itself was far more tolerable than last time but the aftermath for the next 7 hours was not so tolerable, I am wondering if this normal.

I took the paracetables every 4 hours, stayed in the darkened room tried to to keep preoccupied by listening to the tv. I could hardly bear the journey home because of the light.tried to close my eyes but too uncomfortable.

Please tell me this gets easier?

[Hidden]

Hi. We are all different but I had more ok inj than bad ones out of 26 . You don't mention using the soothing drops before and after?

They do make a big difference for me. Worth you trying next time. I know how awful it is after a bad one to think about how the next one might be!

Best of luck going forward. X

[ironbrain]

Maybe the problem was with the insertion of the plastic clip, the speculum. The last injection I had, I think the speculum caught the top of the white of the eye and it was here that I felt the soreness rather than the lower quadrant where the needle went in. I think maybe somehow it's necessary "to get it together with the surgeon" to get the speculum in "cleanly", almost as necessary as not moving for the injection.

Do get going with the drops as soon after the injection as you could and keep using them frequently (besides putting a few in in the waiting room before the dilation drops)?

You can take ibuprofen at the same time as paracetemol, each with codeine.

It's probably the dilation drops causing the problem with the light. I bought a cheap paur of sunglasses – £1 in one of the pound shops. (Cheap sunglasses that don't block UV may not be so very good for your eyes though – they allow the eye to dilate more than when not wearing them and thus actually let in more UV light.)

The soreness after the first injection I had wouldn't allow me the slightest distraction. I just had to sit for a couple of hours sitting with my eye held gently closed with a soft clean hanky.

[RosMacularSociety Partner]

Dear MacularAnn,

Have you also fed back the post injection aftermath to your eye clinic or ophthalmologist via their secretary, to see if there is anything else that they can suggest?

Do you have any anti-glare spectacles? If not, it would be worth trying these and certainly these may have helped on the journey home.

Individuals with a macular related condition tend to develop a heightened sensitivity to glare. The glare is produced by the blue light in the spectrum. Ordinary sunglasses protect against the UV but not the blue light. Therefore, individuals can find that they can end up trying to eradicate the discomfort from the glare by wearing ordinary sunglasses which are too dark for the lighting conditions, thereby obscuring their vision. The way to potentially address this is to choose spectacles from the anti-glare protection range, as they both protect against the blue light in the spectrum and the UV, and come in a range of shades. Therefore, an individual can either choose to purchase one shade or various for different lighting conditions.

Anti-glare protection comes in a variety of styles of frames; however, fit-overs are handy when an individual already wears spectacles.

In terms of colour choice, as an indication, e.g. yellow anti-glare fit-overs are generally good for indoor use as they do not reduce the amount of light coming in; reduce glare, increase contrast and definition. They are also suitable for outdoor use on a dull day when glare may still be an issue, but there is not adequate natural light to wear a darker shade. On a brighter day out an orange pair of fit-overs may be advisable, followed by an amber pair on a very bright day out.

I am copying a link to our booklet below:

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Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any further help.

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

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Kind regards,

Rosalyn

[fed12]

MacularAnn, I'm so sorry to hear this. I too have had exactly similar experiences. The last injections I told them I was still suffering post injection; I was given a small vial of anaesthetic drops to take home. They did the trick. At your next injection tell them of your post injection pain and ask for anaesthetic drops to take home. If they seem surprised or reluctant tell them I was allowed them, (Macclesfield), and they worked!!

Good luck!

[MacularAnn in reply to fed12]

Thanks Fed12; good advice on the anaesthetic drops. Have you had problems using antibiotic drops as I have just had a severe reaction with chloramphenicol, managed to eventually wash it out by using a nasal wash then took codeine for the pain.

It’s not an easy journey this wet macular. So hopefully all this great advice will help for next dreaded injection.

[fed12 in reply to MacularAnn]

I can't help you here. Try asking about this as a separate posting. Good luck¬ Also ask your ophthalmologist about this.

[MacularAnn in reply to fed12]

Thanks again all the best to you