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Wet Macular Degeneration: What treatment helps you?
Eye Conditions | Last Active: Aug 16, 2023 | Replies (55)Comment receiving replies
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.
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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?