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What to Expect; How Fast Will I Lose My Vision?
January 15, 2014
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What to Expect; How Fast Will I Lose My Vision?

Perhaps you have been given a diagnosis of macular degeneration and maybe your experience may have been like that of Dr. Yale Solomon, the author of Overcoming Macular Degeneration: A Guide to Seeing Beyond the Clouds who describes one of his eye visits as "a brusque, three-minute confirmation of the diagnosis."

What to Expect

An ophthalmologist himself, he describes his feelings as "lost" and "abandoned" upon learning of his AMD. Others have written about feelings of panic and despair. He writes, "Yes, your vision will deteriorate. In most cases - but not all - the impairment worsens over time, sometimes slowly and sometimes not. If you want to move forward with your life, you must understand that your vision will probably become diminished or distorted ... but your are not going to go blind."

When people hear the word "legally blind" what comes to mind is a totally dark world with no perception of light. Dr. Solomon goes on to explain, that "Regrettably, many eye doctors use the term legally blind without realizing the full impact that this has on people." Some people experience only minimal changes to their vision. For those who have AMD in only one eye, the good eye takes over and the patient can hardly notice any vision changes.

What makes this retinal condition difficult emotionally is that it acts unpredictably. Dr. Solomon describes the progress of age related macular degeneration this way:

"With macular degeneration there is no set pattern of vision loss. In many people, vision may remain stable for years, while in others, a significant decrease in vision may occur overnight."

Find out what other patients have said about how they found out they had AMD, how it changed their vision and how they are coping with this eye condition.

What To Expect and Stories by Those with Macular Degeneration

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Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

Better Health for Better Vision

www.WebRN-MacularDegeneration.com

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