Hello. I was diagnosed with wet AMD in my left eye and possible dry AMD in my right eye. Possible because my specialist saw drusen in my right eye but my eye doctor before him saw drusen also for the past 25 years. As long as nothing changes it should be good he said. I am just curious has anyone been diagnosed with wet AMD in one eye and the other eye was never affected? I was just diagnosed 3 weeks ago and got my first shot of Avastin. Seems to have helped a little bit. Second shot coming up in 10 days.
Second question. I have had dry eyes for the past couple of years but ever since I got the shot my eyes are even more dry than usual. I put gel drops in at night and regular drops in during the day. Some mornings it hurts to even open my eyes they are so dry. They get better after a few minutes but has anyone experienced this and what do you do?
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wanttosee
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To be honest, I think drusen are just an indication that the retina is aging and/or detonating a little, at least if they are spotted you know someone is looking carefully!
I've been having bleeds off and on since 1989 with myopic degeneration, my understanding is that each bleed is a separate event, so it is quite possibly for one eye to have active wet AMD and not the other, the retinas are not directly linked. My first bleed was in my R eye and I didn't have one (or other signs of wet AMD) in my left eye for over 15 years.
I've not had a problem with dry eye so can't help, I don't think it correlates with the shots
I too have wet AMD in my left eye (diagnosed about 3 years ago) and dry in my right. Here's what I know:
The injections won't "cure" the wet AMD, but will most likely slow or even halt this progressive disease. I've been getting injections (I'm in the USA) for 3 years, and my vision has not noticeably decreased. I take supplements for the dry. We are fortunate to live at a time when great improvements have been made in the treatment of wet AMD. I would bet that you will not lose your eyesight if you continue your injections on a regular basis. (I also have glaucoma in both eyes, and a thing called Fuch's Dystrophy.) It was scary when I first learned that I had wet AMD, since my Mom went legally blind from it. But these injections had not been used back then, so the treatments that she received didn't help much at all, if any.
Keep the faith, you will do fine. It's not the end of the world. It's a bump in the road on our journey. Adapt and stay positive. I'll pray for you.🙏
You sound just like me. My mom went blind from Dry AMD over 30 years ago and even now they don't have much to treat it so we are fortunate for sure. I just know when I was diagnosed the first thing I thought about was my mom losing her vision and how devastated she was. She was 48. I am 56 so just keep praying they continue with the research. Good luck to you also and thanks for the prayers. I will pray for you also.
I have wet AMD in my right eye and started injections last June. I was told at my first injection that the gel they use to clean the eye prior to injection caused dry eyes. As I already had dry eyes I was advised to use even more drops for a few days. I have also been told separately that you cannot overdose on drops and to use as much as I feel necessary - I am prescribed hyabac.
Also, I lost the central vision in my left eye 30 years ago from a bleed. My right eye was fine until last year and has responded well to the injections. 🙂
I've been getting injections for the past 5 or 6 years, and my right eye (the wet one) is stable. I get injections every three months now. My left eye (the dry one) has not yet needed them and of course I hope I never have to deal with two eyes getting injections!
About the dry eyes, I was using Systane (I'm in the US), which I found very helpful but not for long periods. At one point, my doctor suggested my eyes were reacting to the preservatives in the drops (itching etc). Most have preservatives, although they don't advertise this. If the drops have no preservatives, it says so on the box. Once I changed, I had no more reactions. Why put any preservatives in my eyes if not necessary?
I've also been taking Preservision Ared2 pills twice a day since I was diagnosed. Do they help? It's hard to say, as I've never stopped taking them. I don't want to do an experiment! They are expensive, but Costco has the best price, I find.
Wow....thanks for the information. I am also in the US and used to take Systane. I am now using Refresh Optive Gel Drops and will have to see if they have preservatives because I get the dry eyes and itch also. I will have to look into the Preservision Ared also. I have read a few times now how people are using these. I am using Ocuvite as my doctor suggested but I will inquire about the Areds. I am with you...not going to experiment with things when it comes to my vision. Thank you and take care.
I hope you are seeing a Retinal Specialist, even if you have to drive a ways to do so. Mine is 42 miles away, but well worth it. They have specific training in retinal issues, more than a regular opthlmalogist does. Also, I am happy to take the Areds2, even though they can be costly. My doctor recommended I take two pills a day, basically forever, and I've done so. Perhaps this has helped to keep my eye stable and not getting worse. I hope so.
Hi wanttosee. I have injections in my left eye. The right eye, though showing signs of mmd, doesn't need them yet.
After my second Eylea injection, in 2020, both eyes, oddly the right one especially, became so dry and blood red, that I started going to bed around 7pm to try to escape the irritation. It went on like this for a few months until it somehow settled. I haven't experienced this since. I do, however, use castor oil eye drops now (despite warnings from Big Pharma recipients) and they have brought me so much relief that I only require them once or twice a week before bed.
I suggest doing your own research, and if you do go down this route, be sure to seek out hexane-free, organic castor oil eye drops. (I have used them for over 3 years with no issues.)
After having dry MD both eyes for seven years, no sight loss, my left eye went wet. Right eye went wet two years later. Deterioration doesn’t usually develop at same pace in individual eyes. Eylea jags over four years has slowed deterioration. I have found The eye gel better than eye drops for eye dryness which is usually related to getting older. All the best to you.
hi I had dry eye and went to a Chinese clinic. My dry eye was cured. If you look on the dry eye website it says acupuncture can help. I would recommend to anyone.
I was diagnosed with dry AMD about 6-7 years ago. Late 2023, I was initially diagnosed with just wet AMD in my right eye, and my left remained dry. However on my second visit, the retinal scan showed a small amount of fluid in my left eye, unfortunately. I am on my third round of Avastin for my right eye and 2nd for my left. . My doctor is most concerned about getting an eye infection so even if my eyes feel uncomfortable after the shots, I only use Refresh eyedrops as much as needed. Seems like after 24 hours my eyes start feeling a bit better and after 3 days I resume normal hygiene. Because of the eyedrops and gel used with the injections, my eyes lashes tend to get stuck so I have to peel my eyes open in the morning. Once I actually wash my face, that goes away. The shots seem to be helping and hoping I can eventually space the injections further apart. I've come to accept that is my new normal but glad I can still have my vision.
I was never diagnosed with dry AMD per se but my eye doctor had been watching what he called "drusen" for about 20 years and as long as they didn't change things were fine. I was diagnosed with wet AMD about 6 weeks ago as when I got out of bed straight lines were now blurry and distorted in my left eye. I had just seen my eye doctor about 8 months earlier and he found something we needed to keep an eye on....didn't expect it to go so quick. Got to eye doctor same day who sent me to a specialist. I got a shot of avastin and 5 weeks later things were improved about 70% to where my vision was before wet AMD affected it. I just got my second shot of Avastin last Monday and honestly my vision is pretty clear except for a little bit of distortion. He is optimistic for clear vision by this spring but he doesn't know if it will ever be to 100%. My right eye so far is unaffected. I have the same thing in the morning, have to peel my eyes open sometimes and sometimes it is a bit painful. I actually cut back on gel drops to only once or twice a day and that has helped. I have also accepted this is probably my new normal for life but if I have to get shots every 6 weeks or so to keep my vision it is worth it. My mom got macular degeneration in the late 1990's at 48 years old and was legally blind within 6 months. There was nothing they could do back then so thank goodness for research and help now.
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