My Road to Macular Degeneration and Beyond

I guess you could say that my road to macular degeneration really began with my father.  You see, my father developed macular degeneration in his late years.  At that time the only treatment was  laser which basically burned the AMD (Age related macular degeneration) with a laser beam.  The doctor would set an IV with a red dye and follow exactly where the spots in his eye were to burn them and try to stop the progression.  Trouble was by the time they treated it the major damage was done and my father was basically blind in both eyes.

What is AMD?  There are two types.  Dry and wet.  Most people who have the desease are diagnosed as dry AMD.  Dry AMD affects the surface of the retina by causing atrophy of the surface.  That is a deep dip so the focus center becomes dark.  The center of the vision, where all of the focus is,, becomes blind.  But, the good news, if there is any, is that the progression is very slow.  However, dry AMD can become wet, as in my case and probably that of my father.

Wet AMD progression is very fast, happening in a mater of weeks.  Wet AMD affects the macula layer of the retina.  Quoting the Cleveland Clinic article on the macula, it says, in part, "The macula is the part of your eye that processes what you see directly in front of you (your central vision). It’s part of your retina and is key to your vision."

My Dad was not able to see central vision in either eye.  To read a newspaper he relied on a machine that zoomed in the article so the letters were about 1/2" or larger.  Even then he had to use his peripheral vision to see, which is very difficult to do.

Back to me.  One of the conditions that determines ones propensity to the desease is, of course heredity.  The genes.  So I was pre-programmed to get AMD.  The only problem was that nobody warned me of the possibility.

My condition started a few years, probably two or three years, with dry AMD.  Trouble isI didn't recognize the symptoms to be the desease.  I always thought it was curios that straight lines, line verticle blinds in a window, were wavy.  In fact, anything that had several straight lines at equal distance were wavy.  I had no clue. 

I also noticed that I was night blind, so to speak.  I had great difficulty in seeing in low light.  I remember going to Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland and feeling my way throght the entrance because it was so dark.  Pitch black to me.

The way my wet AMD, which dry can and did turn into, was detected was by a very good Ophthalmologist that was checking my eyes for another problem I had a few years back. [Ischemic Optical Neuropathy]

The eye doctors have a myriad of instruments to detect anything and everything in your eyes.  One of the machines she used was the one that detected my AMD and wet AMD at that.  I still wasn't visually aware of any problem,  but, she suggested I go to a retina specialist a sent the request to my insurance program.  They sent me to the Win retina office to a Dr. Chang.  They did a red dye test on my right snd left eye and determined I had wet AMD in the right eye and dry in the left and recommended immediate treatment.

Well, here's the catch on treatment.  It is an injection of Avastin directly in the eye, every three weeks at first, then every four weeks.  The concerned me a LOT.  An injection, directly into the eye?  I don't like needles to begin with, much less in the eye, and every three weeks.

It's runs out that the procedure is not that bad.  If fact it is bearable, although not totally pleasant.  The process is, first, numbing of the eye.  Several eye drops to numb the eye.  Antibiotics for obvious reasons.  More numbing and finally an injection that lasts no more than 1 or two seconds.  Yes, you can feel the pressure and sometimes, not always, you can feel a slight, very slight pain.  Following the injection you eye feels a little swollen, probably because of the liquid injected.

The hardest part is the rest of the day.  For about an hour my eye is still numb.  No feeling.  Then it begins to burn little because of all the eye drops for numbing and antibiotics.  My eyes will get real dry and sometimes sting a little until the next day.

Eventually, after a year or so, my other eye began to show wet AMD and I had to start the injection treatments intuit eye as well.  This eye has been a little more difficult in the sense that the anesthesia doesn't seem to work as well, although it's still better than nothing.

The title of this article is, My Road to Macular Degeneration and Beyond.  So, what is the beyond, or the future for me.  Basically I have to do this procedure for the rest of my life if I want to maintain the vision I have. 

 Because of AMD I don't drive and it's very difficult to read anything that is printed.  The computer screen and the tablet screens are much easier because they are brighter and I can enlarge the text to my needs.  In order to read important printed matter, like directions for using something or the bottles of medicine, I have to take a photo with my phone and enlarge enough to be able to read.  Similar to what my Dad had to do for his AMD.  But all of this doesn't mean that I don't enjoy life because I certainly do.  It just limits me to a degree.

So, what's the take for you?  It is estimated that 170,000,000 people worldwide suffer from this desease.  That means that you too may be susceptible to AMD.  What can you do? Check out web sites that discuss preventing and treatment, such as, Vision Protection.  Also, there is a visual chart that helps you determine if you have AMD, either dry or wet.  It's called the Ansler Grid.  There are vitamins that are recommended for vision protection called AREDS and AREDS2.  

So, keep your eyes healthy and don't ignore vision changes like I did.  The wavy lines and the night vision.  Jehovah made us a miracle in our ability to see.  Colors, shapes, the creation in general.  What a wonderful blessing.