Age Related Macular Degeneration--Dry to Wet in 18 Months

by Bert's Daughter
(Wisconsin)

It was Sept. of '07 when my dry macular was diagnosed. I had just turned 67 and it was not the news I wanted to hear.

I took all the preventive measures--avoiding sun exposure,new prescription sunglasses, AREDS Preservision and more focus on eating healthy.My father had age related macular degeneration (AMD) so this was the luck of the draw.

Eighteen months later when we were looking for new shingles for our house it was apparent there was a problem as all the colors looked green and I noted some distortion in the left eye using the Amsler Grid.

My ophthalmologist immediately diagnosed wet ARMD and referred me to a retina doctor.

In April of '09 injections of Avastin, a series of 3, 6 weeks apart were started. The vision held in that eye at 20/40 until October when new bleeding occurred. Another series of injections were started and after the 2nd a minor inflammatory reaction occurred in the eye.

This was thought to not be related to the injections however after #3 injection a massive reaction occurred requiring an emergency vitrectomy.

Lab reports did not show any bacteria so the reaction was believed to be to Avastin. Vision following the surgery was 20/70 but the eye was still bleeding. In Feb. and June, cold laser with Visudyne was used with not the desired result.

In October, the option was purposed to try Lucentis as a last effort after more research had indicated this formulation was hopefully enough different from the Avastin (both similar products of the same drug company but Lucentis, specifically developed for the eye.)

Lucentis was used for a series of 3, a month apart and the eye stabilized sufficiently to have a needed cataract removed on that eye in May.

Post-cataract there was still a bubble of fluid that needed to be resolved and another series of Lucentis were completed. Vision on that eye is now 20/200 and the retina appears to be scarred over with no more bleeding.

Meantime, in December of 2010, I noted some white spots in the vision of the right eye. OCT and radiography of that eye revealed the beginning of wet ARMD and a series of 3 Lucentis injections has that eye in a "dry" state since Feb. of 2011 with 20/20 vision.

The good news is that I'm still able to read and drive. Other than adaptations to bring more light into my life I'm not impaired with any daily living. Watching daily for any vision changes is part of my daily routine and I'm thankful for each day I can enjoy our world.

WebRn Macular Degeneration has provided good resources on reading about the condition and how to live with it. I have recommended the Website to everyone else I know who is facing the challenges of ARMD. Educate yourself sooner rather than later!