Wet Macular Degeneration: What treatment helps you?

Retinal specialists are seeing serious cases of eye inflammation with Beovu. If possible, the other injected medications could be chosen and the patient should be informed of the risks.

I have wet mac diagnosed a few years ago after damage had begun. The retina specialist I was referred to left town. My next retina specialist seemed very good, but he retired. The other specialist in his office continued to give me shots but was stopped dilating the eye, seemed just interested in giving me a shot, not watching my eye health. Then a shot gave me an infection in the eyeball and along with pain, I lost all sight in that eye. Once the infection was stopped there has been a lot of debris in the eyeball that clouded my bad vision. Now much of the infection debris has stuck to the underside of the lens to make a super opaque cataract so no one can see with a scan to the retina. I now need cataract surgery just to treat the wet Mac. Has anyone had successful cataract surgery on an eye with wet macular degeneration? One cataract surgeon refused. I see another before the end of this month.

So sorry to hear of all your bad luck with retinal specialists (and I thought I was disappointed with mine!). I winced when I read your saga of misfortune. As if it weren't bad enough to get this sad diagnosis! (I have wet macular degeneration too as did my mother, who just died at 100 having been blind* for most of the last decades).

Sometimes I wonder what kind of person chooses to specialize in retinas. I have the feeling that a sizable percent are not the most compassionate people.

Wishing you all the best with retaining what sight you have, and also for you to be blessed by finding both a competent and caring retinal doctor and cataract specialist (who CAN take care of your doubly damaged afflicted eye.)

You didn't say but I'm hoping you have one remaining good eye.

XO

My last comment reminded me of a question I'd like to ask you all.
How many of you only have wet macular degeneration in one eye, having had the "fellow* eye* spared.

*Fellow eye" is a professional term for the "other eye". I've been reading as much as I can find on line about prognoses for salvaging one eye (when one has already been irreparably damaged).

A bit of a digression, I recently read about a John Hopkins study (on-going) suggesting up to 33% of nAMD patients can discontinue injections while retaining passable vision within the first years after diagnosis.

Seems to be related to some little known protein molecules distinguishing the lucky patients. The researchers are trying to pinpoint just what they are.

When I start it seems I keep going! Blabbermouth, I'm afraid.

I'm also wishing for feedback in two other areas.
1) I have AFIB (heart rhythm disorder). It occurred to me almost immediately after diagnosis that taking blood thinners couldn't be very good for my already leaky retinal capillaries. (Blood thinners are required for AFIB, to ward off strokes ).

I'm looking into substituting a Watchman Procedure (relatively safe cardiac operation which replaces blood thinners for AFIB patients). It's been really hard to get informed opinions. I thought it would be a snap to get together a retinal specialist and arrhythmia specialist to help me arrive at a cost/benefit decision.
Not so! After numerous consults I've only gotten two retinal specialists who were willing to admit about the added danger of blood thinners (in hastening the progression to blindness). And they weren't willing to consider the benefits of alternate treatments for AFIB - guess they don't want to be held responsible for someone having a stroke.

Anyhow, I finally found an experienced cardiac surgeon willing to go ahead with it but living alone - two sons on opposite coasts while I'm in PA - I don't have help. (And that's not the only surgery I need requiring considerable travel and help! 🙁 )

2) Also wondering about retinal thinning. How are you nAMD patients progressing in that regard? My bad eye's retina is worsening primarily owing to that on-going thinning. (Not sure about the other one - my doctor is always in such a rush, I can scarcely get any info from him apart from whether or not there's new fluid under my retina.)

FWIW I've only had three injections of Lucentis right after my diagnosis two years ago, followed by check-ups at best every six months! Anybody else been treated this way?