This forum is so helpful, supportive and encouraging. I have meant so much from everyone’s contribution.
I’m about to have my 5th injection R eye for AMD. 8 week gap since 4th loading dose. I realised when my dry AMD turned wet that I was unable to read a car number plate at 20 metres so stopped driving although no one has asked me about driving!
I don’t feel I’m any better at reading the eye chart letters at the eye clinic ( since March) wearing my old driving glasses to do so, but wondered if I could benefit from a new prescription for driving and thus recognise more letters at the clinic.
. I have my R eye, my driving eye with wet AMD and the other L eye ( short sighted) with dry AMD
I saw a new optician recently who suggested photobiomodulation on my good dry eye and cataract surgery for cortical cataracts with a lens helping my long distance ( but as a PP). I’m concerned about going to and fro in the UK from NHS to Private Sector which I certainly could not afford to do regularly.
I just want to know if a new glasses prescription would enable me to drive again as I’m finding not driving very harsh tbh.
Has anyone advice for me? Thank you
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Birchermu
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Hi Birchermu. If you're considering having cataract surgery, I certainly wouldn't be spending money on getting new prescription glasses until afterwards. Can't help about photobiomodulation I'm afraid, but I'm sure others on here will know. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Thank you spriingcross, for a speedy response and sensible helpful advice which I will ponder upon. I’d like to achieve the 12 weeks then 16weeks space between injections first - fingers crossed I do 🤞
I have just had one cataract replaced by NHS and cannot praise them enough. Going for second next week. Told not to get new glasses until at least 4 weeks after op. I had previously had three new prescriptions in just over 12 months in hope of better vision, thank goodness a good opthamologist gave me a letter of referral for my GP and now looking forward to the ‘proper’ lenses in a few weeks time. Take heart, do not despair! I was terrified but it wasn’t too bad at all.
I would seriously ask advice from the clinic where you have injections. Mine does cataract surgery etc. as well and are, I feel best placed to give advice. I’d be wary of someone offering costly procedures which your clinic will know about so please ask them first before making decisions.
A couple of points on prescription changes with AMD and cataracts.
When you read the eye chart at the AMD clinic, do they first ask you to read it with your glasses and then with a pinhole? If you achieve an improvement with the pinhole it is an indication that you could benefit from a different prescription.
What is you current prescription for the right eye?
Wet AMD can cause the retina to be pushed slightly forward and this will result in the need for a stronger prescription.
However, cataracts can also result in prescription changes. Since you have had cataracts for 12 years this could well be your major problem.
Please read my four part series of posts on Cataracts, as it may help you to decide whether cataract surgery is appropriate for you. This is the first part:
Thank you for your speedy and helpful response. I replied yesterday but forgot to post (!) as distracted by grandchildren.
The first time 21/3/24 at clinic I underwent a similar eye test as at an optician and did the pinhole test. My R long sighted eye (+2.5 in 2015) scored 6/29 whereas when diagnosed with wet AMD 2 weeks before on 6/3/24, it was 6/18. My left eye (-1.5), scored 6/13 at first clinic but 6/12 on 6/3/24. Sorry a bit longwinded.
The other 3 appointments I’ve attended at hospital test the eye chart differently, by counting letters correctly recognised, where the most I achieve is 59. I’ve no idea how that compares to the scores recorded on 21/3/24, but I certainly found letters far clearer with the pinhole on that first visit. I will ask about the pinhole at my next injection.
Knowing I have cataracts I downloaded your test a few weeks ago ( brilliant) and tested myself with my granddaughter. I could read I think from number 4 onwards which fitted with my thoughts that my cataracts are cortical, slow growing and at the moment not obscuring my central vision that much. Removing them of course would let more light in to both my eyes.
I guess my concern is that my better eye, the left short sighted one, with dry AMD was at 6/12 within the driving limits on 6/3/24, but now is 6/13, I wonder if a new prescription might in fact permit me to drive safely again. And maybe now my right eye has gone dry, tweaking the prescription may also be of benefit, as you say maybe the macula has been pushed forward a bit. . I would prefer to try new glasses rather than risk cataract surgery at this stage as apart from not driving I’m getting along OK.
So my response would be it really depends on how much your cataract is causing your vision loss. For example are you not able to read the number plate because of the cataract or it or the AMD that is causing that. If it’s the cataract then once that is operated on then new glasses would be beneficial BUT new glasses are not going to help if it’s mostly AMD ther is causing the vision loss. For example I had my left cataract done in June due to phacomorphic glaucoma I also have DMO not AMDbut it’s similar. I went to my optician and my prescripuotk. Is still the same but my sight is a lot worse left eye 6/120 and right eye 6/48. She can’t correct my vision in my left eye as it’s the DMO that has made my sight so poor. I would def be asking about the driving and WELL DONE for recognising your not safe to drive. I had to give up at the age of 42 but I knew it was the right thing to do. So you could ask about the cataract how much would that affect your vision now if they grade it quite low then your sight loss would be down to the AMD more than the cataract. Hope that makes sense. Cataracts are an anterior issue and AMD a posterior issue and glasses can’t help a posterior issue.
You have a lot on your vison plate! I cannot add to those helpful replies except for your mention of photobiomodulation.
My previous optometrist/optician's buyer came from London and brought the Valeda machine and programme with him. If you google Valeda you will find it is mostly in and around London, though its use is spreading. As older indrpendent optometrists retire (like mine did), practices are being sold. Often to up and coming people with the support of private equity firms who want to see a return on their investment from the start. I am afraid a business model like that doe not often make for good relations with the clients or long serving employees.
I have dry AMD and the new owner signed me up for a year. Two lots of 3 treatments a week for 3 weeks. Very expensive it is! I gave it up after 6 months before I had my second round on the advice of my ophthal consultant. He and his colleagues did not believe the reseaech for LiteSideII had used large enough patient sampling and that LumiThera (Valeda) authors made some errors.
Until LiteSideIII with its larger sampling had been concludrd, presented and peer reviewed, along with other future papers, they would not recommend Valeda to their patients. The hope is that future, safe technology will help dry AMD sufferers.
LiteSideIi paper. Note at beginning of paper that 5 authors work for LumiThera (click on nzmes to see affiliations.) Only Burton & Munk are ophthmalogists.
Letter to Editor: Springer Pub - challenging results. Note these authors are hoping for positive outcomes from future research. Authors are all university hospital affiliated ophthmalogists.
Thank you so much for your informative response regarding photobiomodulation. The links to the latest research makes good reading as well as the responses /critique / response to the research project LightsiteIII. I was surprised to read thet all the authors had affiliation: honorarium to Valeda.
After digesting the above I listened to two fascinating webinars on this subject. One was delivered by Prof Glen Jeffrey from UCL and the other by Prof Tim Jackson from Kings.
I had asked (at my recent injection), the surgical reg I saw during the clinic about this treatment , which he dismissed my question saying he’d never heard of the treatment ( which I found odd ).
Thank you for pointing me towards the latest research , relating your own experience, and giving me the views of your ophthalmologist all of which is much appreciated,
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