In October (23) I noticed a kink in my vision, when I looked at a door frame etc there would be a really really small kink in the line and then it would go back to normal.
So I went to opticians in the UK (Specsavers) and did the OCT Scan etc. They identified a really small abnormality on the scan but said they has the scan from the year before and it was the same, and to not worry and sent me away.
Now for some reason I cant explain I stopped noticing the kink for over 7 months (maybe it was always there but I didn’t notice it) Anyways last week (June (24) I noticed it again and on the Amsler chart it was in the same position as before so I thought things were getting worse so I made yet another appointment with specsavers. They again did the OCT scan and said everything is the same and again to try not to worry. When I presses as to why im seeing this kink he said “ you must just be more susceptible” than most and that’s why im seeing it.
So I went away again and now I cant stop focussing on this Kink, its really getting me down and I am grabbing the amsler chart about 50 times a day…im exhausted with worry.
I am now taking Areds2 and have been for a week, and protecting my eyes from the sun etc.
So my question is should I go see my GP and get referred to a ophthalmologist? As its my understanding that in the very early stages you shouldn’t really expect any kinks in vision, and everything online suggests that only happens in the more advance stages?
I just don’t know what to do?
I have an eye appointment in under 6 months time with specsavers, should I just wait till then and have faith in what ive been told?
Any advice would be welcome.!
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chrisnewton35
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You should phone Specsavers to clarify if you have been diagnosed with a macular condition.
If you have dry AMD you will not usually be referred to the hospital but will be monitored by your optometrist. You should look at an amsler grid once a week to identify any sudden changes. You will find it difficult to spot a change if you look too often.
AREDS2 supplements are usually advised for those at the intermediate stages of AMD as opposed to pre-diagnosis, early AMD or late stage AMD.
Good morning Chris, if it was me I would ask for a referral to an eye clinic as it sounds as though you could have Wet Macular Degeneration. This can be treated with injections. Best wishes to you.xx
Good morning...I was specifically told I didn't have wet AMD .. he even showed me what wet looks like on a scan and that my scan looks nothing like it... but I am going to Push for a specialist
I would not want to worry you further but based on my own experience with macular degeneration (wet in one eye and dry in the other) I would definitely get an appointment with a consultant ophthalmologist. This might reassure you that there is no concern or if there is to begin treatment. Again based on my own experience, if there is an issue then the sooner the treatment starts the greater the likelihood of your sight being improved or at least stabilized.
This is what confuses me though. I was told specifically last week that I don't have wet AMD they even showed me the scans of what wet AMD looks like And then he showed me mine and they were nothing like each other.
I am talking areds2 now so if it is dry amd then there is pretty much nothing else anyone can do at this stage. Am I right in thinking that?
i know this sounds crazy but isnt it better to have wet AMD? as from everything i have read that can be treated with injections, where as there is no current treatment for dry?
I understand you. Yes at the moment there is no treatment for Dry AMD but there are trials/research going on all the time so hopefully one day there will be treatment. Hopefully one day they can improve treatment for Wet and we don’t have to have injections in the eye so often.
Hi, to the best of my knowledge there is nothing available for dry AMD but there is research on-going. It would be worth contacting the Macular Society as they are very helpful and have a number of leaflets which might also be of help. I hope everything turns out alright.
Hallo. I've had bad experiences with Specsavers over the last few years. I will not use them again.I have a BRVO for some 8 years now, they are not in my opinion very knowledgeable about this in fact at my last eye test last year the optician wanted to not test my eyes as I have regular injections and my vision will change (his words) also told me I needed blood tests with my Gp but wouldn't tell me what for when I asked why. Rang my gp only to be told they wouldn't do tests unless the optician contacted them! All very muddled and I'm not happy so I will go to a local optician in future. This wasn't a one off I had similar problems two years ago. Anyway that's just my experience.
If you were me I would ask for an ophthalmic appointment asap. Please go and see the opthamology dept in your local hospital if only for a second opinion.
Hi I have just read your post and can understand the worry, I don't know where you live, or how near you are to an Eye hospital, or a hospital that has an eye department. If it was me I would either ring or go back to Specsavers, and ask to be refered to that hospital, they would have all the experts there, anything to do with eyes should never be put off. It's like most things, if caught early is the best way. Good luck. and keep us in the know.
Thanks everyone...so I have a drs appointment on Thursday to try and get referred to a specialist... in the meantime time I've phoned Specsavers and I have appointment tomorrow with their head specialist to go through my results...
Do you have a main eye hospital in your area? If so, I would be tempted to go to the A&E department of that hospital and ask to be seen by someone as you're not happy with what's happening with your eyes.
Yesterday I seen the head optometrist at Specsavers as I had complained that I didn’t really get any answers last week. I was given another OCT Scan (week after my last one) and she went through in detail in what she saw.
On one of the scans (the one where you see the big orange ball) sorry im not an expert lol, she showed me my 2020 can, and compared it to this one and she said its almost identical, she said that because that’s the first scan I had, its impossible to tell but I might have had what was showing since birth, she said she has seen 3 year old babies with scans that are worse than what she was seeing.
She then went to the black and white scan and again went back to 2020, this time there was a very slight difference, but she said its not AMD, its just wear and tear and its really nothing to worry about.
I pushed her on this, and she said its not AMD.
So I asked why I had this kink in my vision and she agreed that looking at the results there should be nothing that’s making that happen, I was of course told to monitor it with Amsler chart and report back if anything changes.
I have DR’s appointment tomorrow so I will be pushing to see a retina specialist, but I do feel a little more relaxed as this woman did know her stuff, and she said its not AMD. I have to take some comfort from that right?
So glad you are going to an opthalmologist....you have received great advice. Immediately when I read the word 'kink' I thought of macular degeneration....my husband sees 'kinks' in posts, fences, light poles etc. and has macular degeneration in one eye.....has had for 4 years now and takes drops. He sees an opthalmologist regularly. Wet or dry, I cannot recall, but know he cannot have the injecitons.💞
Sorry for the delay...been off the grid. His vision is very good, he is 81 and though I wish he wore glasses regularly, like he used to, he only wears readers for reading small print of if he picks up a book. His other eye is fine. When he was in his sixties, he wore progressive lenses. Cataract surgery in his 70s gave him enough correction. My best to you💞
Hi Chris, I don’t know if this will help put your mind at rest but about 12 or more years ago I noticed a kink in my vision with anything that had horizontal lines in it. It was after I’d had a really bad migraine and I thought maybe it was due to that. I saw my own doctor who immediately referred me to the hospital optometry dept. The result was that I did have the start of macular degeneration. However, as the years have gone by it has not progressed much and on some days I still notice it, for example against a bright sky or when looking at things in lines eg, venetian blinds or pylons, but mostly I no longer ‘see’ it. I have never had any treatment for it although I have since had cataract surgery in both eyes and been screened for glaucoma too - (not present fortunately.) I have many floaters in my eyes too, some in my direct line of vision, and sometimes I ‘see ‘ these and other times I just seem to ignore them. The original optometrist I saw told me that your brain learns to ignore these anomalies as time goes by and you get used to not ‘seeing ‘ them, although they are always present. The last huge floater that appeared took about 9 months for my brain to learn to ignore it! What I’m trying to say is, try not to panic and hopefully all things will be right for you too. But definitely do get seen at an eye clinic to put your mind at rest, (if you haven’t already.) Best of luck!
Hi Chris - this is exactly how my AMD started, with an odd kink in the vision in my right eye. The optician at Vision Express said he was concerned about some deposits on my retinas and referred me to Moorfields where an incredibly perceptive consultant said there was nothing obvious but he had a feeling something might be happening - sent me for a very deep scan and then recommended me for monthly injections. There certainly had been something brewing and if he and the optician hadn't been so pro-active it all might have been a lot worse. Later (when I moved to Edinburgh), the right eye was relatively stable but the left eye developed some fluid - it wasn't treated so assiduously (the eye service in Edinburgh is desperately under-resourced) but they have managed to dry it out. My eyesight remains a bit compromised but I can still see well enough to read, write, drive, and paint, so I'm holding in there. My advice is to be a polite nuisance, always polite, but never give up until you've got an answer that explains it all properly to you. Good luck,
Yes it was. First the right eye then the left. It was always just fluid under the retina, though, and not a bleed, so the injections dried it up and my eyesight is still relatively clear. The kink is actually still there (it's the deposits on the surface of the retina that have hardened, I understand) but my brain compensates for that normally. Looking at a flat horizon (I live by the sea) is weird and a bit bumpy but you get used to it.
My optician had been monitoring the dry drusen (which are the beginnings of dry AMD) for a couple of years before I was referred to Moorfields in 2018 but there was nothing serious there. I first saw the kink in 2019 and went back to Moorfields and that was when the clever consultant guessed there was something going wrong that was not immediately visible. My first injection was in December 2019 and injections have continued in the right eye since at varying intervals. I saw distortion in my left eye in spring 2022 and have had injections in that one too since then. Injections are now at four monthly intervals and I cross my fingers a lot that they stay stable!
Thank you....fingers crossed too for you....i fear mine is Dry AMD, and it will only get worse....thats when i can actually get someone to admit its AMD to begin with
So another update, went to see my DR, and he was very dismissive, he said that spesavers would not miss AMD, and that he would be able to see it with a torch if i had it! ( i know this to be false), i was pritty gobsmaked actually.
Anyways he said he could do with seeing my OCT scans, so i have got in touch with specsavers and they are sending him the scans this week and i have a follow up appointment on Thursday. I am going to push him to at least refer me to a specailist and get them to at least look at them.
Is this your GP? Your optician can refer you to an eye clinic without a GP being involved. As I explained, sometimes things are going wrong under the visible retinal layers and a deep OCT scan will show this.
The optician are telling me its not AMD, they are adamant it isnt. So i went to see my GP and he is basically saying that specsavers wont be wrong. I have now got access to my OCT scan and its been sent to my GP. I have appointment Thursday to try and get a referral to a specialist.
Another follow up....so I have now been referred to a specialist from my DR, but as im on the NHS in the UK, the appointment is not until March 2025 !!! great!!
However the wavy line has started to go a little, its still there but its not as bad as it was, so i have no idea what this means in relation to AMD
My mother was diagnosed with dry macular degeneration generation 30 years ago and lost her vision within 6 months. Nothing they could do at that time. They told her it could be hereditary so I started seeiing a specialist yearly. It was always the same thing as you mentioned earlier, Druzen he called it and said I probably had it since birth. Anyway I had an appointment last September and everything was fine. January of this year I woke up and had what seems to be what you experience, lines became blurry "kink" and even telephone poles were blurry and kinked. I was able to be seen within four days by a retinal specialist who dialated my eyes and used scanning machines and found I had wet AMD in my left eye. I started injections that day. They have corrected the problem and I am now on a 10 week regiment of a shot to my left eye which will most likely continue for the rest of my life. My right eye so far is unaffected and in fact the vision is better in that eye since I started Areds2. I was however told that if I didn't start the shot my vision could be gone within a month in my left eye so if your eye is stable and the wavy line is getting better I am not sure if that would be wet or dry. I know many people on here say there is no treatment for dry but my retinal specialist mentioned last week that they do have treatments available for dry also. My best advise would be to quit smoking if you smoke, eat more leafy green vegetables and start taking the AREDS2 pill. They are not expensive. I pay $40 for a six month supply taking one pill in the morning and one at night. I wish you the best.
My mother was diagnosed with dry macular degeneration generation 30 years ago and lost her vision within 6 months. Nothing they could do at that time. They told her it could be hereditary so I started seeiing a specialist yearly. It was always the same thing as you mentioned earlier, Druzen he called it and said I probably had it since birth. Anyway I had an appointment last September and everything was fine. January of this year I woke up and had what seems to be what you experience, lines became blurry "kink" and even telephone poles were blurry and kinked. I was able to be seen within four days by a retinal specialist who dialated my eyes and used scanning machines and found I had wet AMD in my left eye. I started injections that day. They have corrected the problem and I am now on a 10 week regiment of a shot to my left eye which will most likely continue for the rest of my life. My right eye so far is unaffected and in fact the vision is better in that eye since I started Areds2. I was however told that if I didn't start the shot my vision could be gone within a month in my left eye so if your eye is stable and the wavy line is getting better I am not sure if that would be wet or dry. I know many people on here say there is no treatment for dry but my retinal specialist mentioned last week that they do have treatments available for dry also. My best advise would be to quit smoking if you smoke, eat more leafy green vegetables and start taking the AREDS2 pill. They are not expensive. I pay $40 for a six month supply taking one pill in the morning and one at night. I wish you the best.
Hi i have been on Areds 2 for 2 weeks now, and i now have some form of spinach daily. I have never smoked. The kink has virtually gone. It did the same in october, it came on for a bout 5 weeks and then went away, it appears it is doing the same thing again and its driving me mas because i have no idea what it is
I can understand your frustration. So if the doctors say its not AMD what do they say it is? I would think they would have some sort of idea. Also....I know that my doctor had to dilate my eyes and use scanning machines to see the AMD. Not sure what your doctor can see with a torch?
I just saw your posting of the image for your OCT scan. It looks good. I wish I had a picture of my scan but in mine the right side after the gap was quite a bit higher than the left side. After 5 injections my scan now looks like your does and I have no wavy lines or blurriness anymore. Weird. I hope they are able to tell you what the kink is. Have you tried rewetting drops? I have read that dry eyes can cause blurriness and eye issues. My doctor recommended Refresh Optive Gel Drops as that is one of the first things I noticed about a year ago....dry eyes and then I was diagnosed. I am no expert and can't say it will help but maybe something to try.
Chris, I live in Perth, Western Australia, and have been cared for by a wonderful Ophthalmologist for over a decade now for glaucoma, and for the last 2 years for diabetic retinopathy which requires injections. Several years ago, I had a relatively common event in the elderly (I am 75), when I experienced Posterior Vitreous Detachment. Some of the vitreous gel caught on my retina and its pull as given me wavy lines in that eye. It may or may not resolve by itself, but I live with it, though an operation can be done if necessary. I am glad you are seeing an Ophthalmologist to get a specialist opinion. There is so much that can be done these days with eye conditions. Not always pleasant, but can save sight and can prevent or slow its progress, or even improve it. I wish you all the best as I understand the anxiety that comes with the uncertainty of not knowing a clear diagnosis.
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