Questions

[Anna17a]

Thanks very much for all of your contributions so far.

I would really appreciate knowing the wording that an optician used to diagnose (dry) AMD and whether any further leaflets or advice were given.

Type of decrease in visual acuity re reading Snellen chart and close up text, e.g. number of lines, font size. Maybe if you noticed problems which then caused you to make an optician's appointment.

At the beginning of dry AMD, were you able to go around your life with people not really noticing that you had a sight problem? Were you still able to drive?

Thanks.

Anna

[oldoakowl]

I'm sorry nobody replied.

I had dry MD for several years before I realized what it was and even thought to mention it to my doctor. And then I was told I didn't have MD because he could see no drusen. Here's the story.

I spend a lot of time on the computer and at night I saw a central area of lesser vision. I thought it was an after-image of the computer screen. One weekend I was on a trip and away from the computer and realized it couldn't possibly be an after-image. Having a friend with MD, I self-diagnosed. There was no change in my visual acuity.

Still no diagnosis, so I self-prescribed sunglasses, AREDS2 vitamins, and a forum such as this one. It progressed slowly until I did start worrying about my driving. I had my driving evaluated and found I had impaired depth perception and had trouble seeing objections that were the same hue as the background. So I quit before I hurt somebody.

I was finally diagnosed and given an Amsler grid. (You can find them online.)

Sometimes Google is your best friend!

[Anna17a in reply to oldoakowl]

Thank you very much for your reply.

Anna