Thursday, July 18, 2019

Macular Degeneration Update

For several years now, I have had the wet form of macular degeneration in my right eye. The current treatment for this condition is an injection of medication directly into the eye. This procedure has allowed me to have 20/25 vision and continue to do pretty much everything I did before the disease.

That all changed this past Tuesday when my vision went from 20/25 to 20/80 due to a leaking blood vessel that distorts my vision. When I focus on an object with just my right eye, I cannot see it or it is so dark I cannot recognize it. It had been less than four weeks since the last injection so the doctor was at a loss as to what may have caused it.

Today, I had another injection with a different type of medication (Eylea) that they hope will stop the bleeding. When I asked about the long term prognosis, he could not give me a definitive answer. He did say that if scarring developed as a result of the leak, I would most likely never return to 20/25 vision again. Only time will tell.

Fortunately, as long as I continue to have good vision in my left eye, I should be able to continue my present lifestyle. Getting old is not for sissies.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Best of luck Jim..You will be in our thoughts.

Steve & Jayne

Jim Brown said...

Thanks! The eye appears to be improving, albeit, much slower than I would like. There are some new medications in the pipeline that are awaiting FDA approval which hopefully, will help.