I’m 44 years old and developed eye pain a couple of weeks ago, it was pretty intense and mostly in the outer corner of my left eye though a little in my right eye too. I thought I had an eye infection so booked an eye test with an OCT scan, my eye test was fine, OCT scan was fine too and my prescription for reading glasses has only changed slightly. The optician said my eye pain was due to dry eyes but I have had dry eyes for 4 years without this pain so I wasn’t convinced. Unrelated to the eye pain or the dry eyes and almost as an afterthought the optician gave me a grid to look at and asked me to cover one eye at a time. I have distortion in my right eye, maybe a little on my left but I find it hard to focus on the dot with that eye so the distortion comes and goes. The optician was almost apologetic and referred me to the hospital to see an optometrist. I have an appointment in 4 weeks but I’m worried about what this means. I was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism in January and feel like I’m falling apart.
Is this likely to be AMD? And if so dry or wet and why didn’t they see anything in the OCT scan?
if not AMD then what else could it be and could it be related to my thyroid condition? Sorry for all the questions and thank you in advance for any advice.
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Phoenix_24
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it’s hard not to panic when referred to the hospital especially when it’s your eyes the good thing is thevOCT looked fine and your sight is fine too. It’s unsure as to what it is. Wait till you see the consultant and have the tests done.. you are in a good place because if it is anything that needs sorted it has not had any effect on your sight and it can be stopped in its tracks. Wishing you the best. Keep us informed it would be good to know.
I don't about you other possibilities but I don't think it's AMD. I've had AMD for many years in cluding injections, never any pain. For me it was strictly loss of vision.
Thanks, the pain is unrelated to the distortion on the Amsler test. The pain was due to my dry eyes and went away after a few days. I mentioned it because it’s what led me to get this eye test.
Hi Phoenix_24. I was the similar to middlejoel - mine was loss of vision too so try not to worry and wait and see what the consultant has to say as we aren't qualified to tell you what it is. Good luck and let us know how the appointment goes.
Eye pain is not generally linked to a macular condition.
Do you know if the optometrist at the opticians, referred you to an ophthalmologist at the hospital eye clinic, as they suspected a macular related condition? If you are unsure, please check with the optometrist. If they have, please contact us direct, explaining which suspected macular condition you have referred for.
The Macular Society helpline is open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday on 0300 3030 111.
Hi Rosalyn, the optician said that the eye pain was due to my dry eyes, I was just surprised because I’d had dry eyes for at least 4 years and had not experienced pain before. I have been using the eye drops regularly and the pain seems to have gone.
The optician did refer me to the eye hospital and I have an appointment on the 20th April. When I asked why she just said I was probably too young for what she thought it was but it needed to be checked.
She included my Amsler chart results and an age related macular degeneration leaflet or form where she wrote somethings in the paperwork she was preparing.
I’ve been worrying about it but hoping it’s maybe the dry eyes causing the distortion on the Amsler chart. Having said that I’ve been repeating it every few days and tge distortion is still there.
Hi Phoenix_24. I noticed issues with my eyes when I looked at the framing around a window or door. The lines that are to be straight were wavy and it came upon overnight. I would not wait four weeks to see a doctor....rather I would schedule an appointment right away with a retina specialist...the hospital will just tell you to do the same and trust me....the longer you wait the worse it will get. I have been seeing a specialist for years now and when I told him my symptoms he had me scheduled with a retina specialist within four days. Turns out I have wet AMD in my left eye and got a injection into my eye that same day. That was 9 weeks ago now and my vision is better but still not back to where it was. Can take a few shots and I get my third one next Monday. Good luck.
If the optician has referred you to the eye clinic with suspected wet age related macular degeneration (wet AMD), then the NICE guidelines are that from initial identification to treatment should be no more than 2 weeks. Therefore, it is very important that you ring the macular clinic at the hospital that you have been referred to and try and secure an earlier appointment. 20 th April is too long. It is worth asking if they have a cancellation list.
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