Wet AMD treatment

[surj]

I have been getting Eleyea and now Lucentis injections for the last 8 years and this is keeping my vision stable in my right eye.

My left eye is fine.

I was recently told to go on 'Vabysmo' treatment that is injected into the corner of the eye and is a slow release drug and that the interval of injections are up to 16 weeks.

Could you please let me know if anyone have had this done and what was the result and is it better.

Much appreciated

Surjeet

[Koalajane]

I don’t know about Vabysmo but I am having an Ozurdex implant next week. I hadn’t heard of it before

[2see in reply to Koalajane]

I have been getting injections for almost 5 years in both eyes. Started with Avastin for several years at 4 week intervals. The left eye responded fairly well and extended to 12 weeks over 3 years. Changed to eylea in Right but max was 6 with a bit of setback to 4. Have now had 3 injections with vabysmo in Right eye and went to 9 then 11 weeks which I will stay at until next look. So seems that it works well for my stubborn eye. It is said to be a good alternative when other meds not working though I never was on Lucentis. You need to have insurance as it is quite expensive compared to the others.

[Koalajane in reply to 2see]

I am having ozurdex

[tallyho in reply to Koalajane]

hi there so Ozurdex also known as dexamethasone is a steroid implant the appointment for this is a bit longer than anti vegf ( just so you know) but the procedure is basically the same. With Dexamethasone it is a very small capsule which releases the drug slowly into the eye. It is high effective. I wish you well for your appointment. I can’t have it as I am a steroid responder but I have heard good things about it

Some people can see the implant in their but that is only at the beginning as the brain soon learns to ignore it so don’t worry it that happens to you.

[Koalajane in reply to tallyho]

thank you that is reassuring.

What is a steroid responder,

I know a lot about steroids as I am on long term steroids for polymyalgia rheumatica and have steroud induced type 2 diabetes which is in remission and I hope this won’t affect it

My usual appointments for Eylea injections usually take 2 hours so how much longer is this likely to take

[tallyho in reply to Koalajane]

hi there so a steroid responder is in ophthalmology terms someone who responds negatively to steroids usually it means that yoir eye pressure goes up with steroid use to a level higher than it should be

Maybe give an extra half an hour it probably won’t be that may just be 10 minutes but better safe then sorry.

[tallyho]

hi there this is also known as Faricimab. I know a bit about it as I was in the NICE technology appraisal for this, so as a committee we had to see if it was a drug that could be used in the NHS in the UK. We deemed it was. I had to read quite a bit about it even though I am a lay member and I myself am waiting my turn. It’s a bit different from other ant vegfs as is it is bispecific this means it contains not only an anti Vegf but also another antigen so that will hopefully be an advantage going forward.

The 16 weeks would be an advantage but as I jnderstand (it being an anti vegf) MAY last up to 16 weeks for some but maybe not so long for others, it’s not like the Dexamethasone implant that is released slowly.

All being said it looks like a very promising drug and I am eager to try it but although it was dual approved for both DMO and AMD, we with DMO are very much at the bottom of the list of receiving it which is what has happened for all the others. I hope that helps

It’s interesting that Faricimab has had so little interest in the media.

I was interviewed and quoted in the Mail on Sunday and I was on radio 4 talking about another new drug that should also be available but nothing on Faricimab.

[Magsofkent]

yes had two now was having Lucentis for two years stubborn fluid wouldn’t go after the first jab the fluid disappeared I’ve now had two got a course of four to start with.

[Seamus1]

I am now on my third dose of Vabysmo, fourth jab in a couple of weeks, was previously on Eylea. To be honest, procedure exactly the same, too early to say if there is an improvement. You may find a small black dot post injection as Vabysmo is more viscous. Good luck

[springcross]

Hi surj. I was on Eylea for 4½ years until a few months ago. I've just had my third Vabysmo but I don't know how it's going as I have not been having optometrist/ophthalmologist consults after the OCT scans prior to each injection as I did with Eylea so I won't know anything until after my fourth Vabysmo!!!! I found the injection itself is exactly the same procedure as Eylea so no change there.