My wonderful opthamologist, who has been injecting Avastin for about 18 months in my wet MD eye, told me during a recent visit that "You've really beaten the odds, Mary. Most people fail within the first 4-8 months."
When I got home, I thought about the word "fail," which has an ominous sound. I googled around but couldn't find much. I asked her at the last appointment about what to expect. She told me there could be eye changes, maybe blurriness, etc. She was pretty vague, maybe not to scare me.
She also said that my other eye (which has lots of drusen but no bleeding) will eventually become a "wet" eye also. I probably replied, "Oh dear...." to which she said, "It's a progressive disease, Mary."
So if and when anyone's wet eye has "failed," what happened? What happened with the other "dry" eye?
Just fumbling along here trying to get reassurance, if there is any... I always like to know the truth, even if it's terrifying! Thanks for reading.
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whiskbroom
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Actually, she did at my first appointment. I've been taking Areds2 twice a day for about 18 months. I also follow a good diet, exercise, no smoking, healthy weight, do meditation and yoga, Mozart.... everything to make me feel better, besides probably helping both my eyes.
Are you going to respond to my question (above)? That might be helpful.
She certainly is a "wonderful opthamologist," a well-known and well-respected retinal specialist. I'm very grateful that I'm able to see her regularly.
I did ask her last visit, and she said I'd notice changes in my vision, which is pretty vague, so I was hoping that I'd hear from some who had gone through a "failing" eye!
No macular society worth much in the US. that is I have contacted what I can find once or twice in 6 years of treatment...I have yet to get anything much from them. I say this having has and started a couple of medical support groups over the years. I do wish they had a better grasp on what we (in the US) need, in the USA we don't have free medical like AT ALL especially since the last three years. Thusly many elder Americans who are not yet on our old people medical ( only available once you reach 65+) and it isn't free by any means mine costs me 155.00 us a month...they never get a diagnoses nor treatment of ANY kind..esp our American Indians.
Hi there not had your condition I have had a failing eye. I am in the UK so it might be different here.
I used to have injections in both eyes for DMO but because my left eye did not respond ( mainly my sight deteriorated and I lost my central vision) I no longer qualified for injections so the treatment had failed. I no longer ( it’s been 3 years ) have injections in my left eye just my right. Very fortunate to have a great team too in the UK under the NHS.
It might be a good idea to talk with your ophthalmologist about what they meant by your eye "failing" just to clarify exactly what they meant.
If a person has wet AMD in one eye, there is an increased chance of their other eye with dry AMD turns to wet, but it is not definitive. It is therefore important for you to monitor vision in the dry eye using the Amsler Grid and any changes should be noted to your eye clinic asap. (There is an Amsler Grid in our guide which I have linked below)
I am linking our booklet about AMD to give you more insight into the condition:
My own experience when my good eye became wet was seeing wavy lines eg the sea horizon appeared wavy instead of flat, also lamp posts may become wiggly instead of straight lines. The good news is I still have good vision and I have eyelea injections. As the helpline state the Amsler Grid is also a very good indicator of any problems, I use this regularly to check progress. Hope this helps you and wishing you lots of luck for future with your eyes.
"Failed" is a very vague term when not explained. I was on Avastin for about 10 to 12 months and then the Avastin "FAILED" to control the bleed. I was immediately switched to Eylea & the eye recovered to a point where it was at when the Avastin was working & the WMD in the eye is stable & not getting worse with Eylea shots every 8 weeks for the past 3 years.
So, maybe when they used the word "failed", they might have meant that the Avastin would fail & you would need to be switched to something else.
I was diagnosed with wet AMD when I went for a cataract pre-op assessment in my right eye. Operation was therefore cancelled and I then started Lucentis injections (eventually changed to Eyelea injections) in my right eye. My left eye was diagnosed as dry AMD initially but, 6 months later, it changed to wet AMD, and I then had injections in both eyes.
To cut long story short, injections in right eye seemed to be working, to the point where, after 7 years and 40 injections, they were starting to increase times between injections. Then, for some unknown reason, right eye started to misbehave and injections no longer helped, so treatment has now been stopped as of a few months ago. I now have little sight in right eye, just blurry vision.
On the other hand, left eye seemed to have been caught early (as I was then being treated for my right eye and left eye was therefore being closely monitored) and has needed fewer injections over the years. Best of all, it has been stable for over 4 years now (and therefore not needing any injections). Eyesight is not perfect as some damage has occurred due to wet AMD but I am learning to live with a sort of one-eyed vision. My left eye is my saviour as it enables me to still see a lot (though far from perfect) and to lead an independent life.
What I am trying to get across is that there is no one scenario that maps out how AMD will affect one or both eyes. The doctor at my Eye Clinic was fantastic, telling me the good bits after my many scans but, at the same time, pointing out there was no guarantee regarding the future. I found that approach very helpful as it was honest and, while giving me hope, also did not me a false sense of optimisn. I remained hopeful but realistic and, given the final outcome, it has helped me to come to terms with that possibility at an early stage.
I believe using words like "fail" are not helpful as there are no guarantees re the outcome of a treatment : the patients don't all respond the same way, for one thing. Also, I don't believe your ophthamologist should have told you that you have "really beaten the odds". I find that statement totally irresponsible. It might make her feel better but please don't take her comment at face value. You might be lucky and find the treatment has worked for you - good for you if it does BUT be realistic, please.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and informative reply. It really puts things in perspective for me, especially about my doctor's comment about "failing." That word has stayed with me, and now I understand that there are so many possibilities living with this wet MD. No guarantees for either eye, no timeline to count on, just forging ahead with the treatments that we get, and being hopeful but realistic. I am sorry to hear of your one eye losing some vision, but you're coping well with the other one, still living independently, and that's so nice to hear.
I really appreciate your honesty. I know no one else who has wet MD, so I was very happy to find this website. I try to be a very realistic person; I am never in denial about my health. Tell me what needs to be done, and I'll deal with it. Thanks again, very much.
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