Any other members have retinopathy?

[ZEROPILOT]

I've been getting eye injections over the last few months to slow down or stop retinopathy in my eyes.
About 3 weeks ago I woke up about 90% blind in my left eye.
I've been waiting for it to clear. But it isn't and I may receive surgery to remove the blood.
This is all new to me.
And it sucks.
Is anyone else on this forum having issues similar to mine?

 

[jsheffield]

Not the same but a bit similar... I have Sjogren's Syndrome, an auto-immune disorder that attacks and destroys the function of the salivary glands and tear ducts.

I've had dental issues my whole life as a result of the salivary glands, and am now beginning to have/notice issues with the lenses of my eyes as the long-term dryness from compromised tear ducts brings increasing scratches and scratching.

#notfun

Jamie

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Geez.
I'm told that this blindness is not permanent.
But it sure is difficult to drive a car or type this post with one blurry eye and one that doesn't even work.
My eyes always worked pretty well until recently.
Your issue actually sounds worse.

 

[jsheffield]

The progressive, inevitable, nature of Sjogren's sometimes gets me down, but mine has manifested, to date, less actively in my eyes, which I take as a gift.

Jamie

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

I've been getting eye injections over the last few months to slow down or stop retinopathy in my eyes.
About 3 weeks ago I woke up about 90% blind in my left eye.
I've been waiting for it to clear. But it isn't and I may receive surgery to remove the blood.
This is all new to me.
And it sucks.
Is anyone else on this forum having issues similar to mine?

That sucks man.. good luck

 

[mark1]

I've had 5 eye surgeries , I have two lens implants and have had detached retinas in both eyes ……… it's scary stuff , but for all the bad stuff you hear of modern medicine , they do a lot more truly amazing stuff , my eyes being the most dramatic I ever experienced …….. I have 20/20 vision , I need reading glasses , my first surgery was about 30yrs ago , I was impressed then ...........I too was blind in one eye for a period of time , not blurry blind , black blind , my good eye being 20/200 , it was a scary situation , gave me the utmost respect for modern medicine ……... my mom had macular degeneration ……. she was diabetic and didn't always do things the way she should , she had those bleeds , they take quite awhile to completely clear out , i'm thinking a month or two …….. she was late to get treatment , buy they did slow it down to a crawl , she was self reliant till she died at 87 ………..good luck , i'm betting they'll get you to fine ……..

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I've had 5 eye surgeries , I have two lens implants and have had detached retinas in both eyes ……… it's scary stuff , but for all the bad stuff you hear of modern medicine , they do a lot more truly amazing stuff , my eyes being the most dramatic I ever experienced …….. I have 20/20 vision , I need reading glasses , my first surgery was about 30yrs ago , I was impressed then ...........I too was blind in one eye for a period of time , not blurry blind , black blind , my good eye being 20/200 , it was a scary situation , gave me the utmost respect for modern medicine ……... my mom had macular degeneration ……. she was diabetic and didn't always do things the way she should , she had those bleeds , they take quite awhile to completely clear out , i'm thinking a month or two …….. she was late to get treatment , buy they did slow it down to a crawl , she was self reliant till she died at 87 ………..good luck , i'm betting they'll get you to fine ……..

Thanks.
The left eye is still just as "bad" and the right is also a lot less clear now.
I've been super sizing the text so that I can post. But I'm not sure how long I can continue.
I sure hope it starts to clear up soon.
My next injection are on the 3rd and the 5th I think.
Dunno if I'll be able to drive by then.
Or see at all.

 

[Lyn W]

Ed, I am truly sorry to hear this!
If it's getting worse and affecting your other eye I wouldn't wait until the 3rd but try to see your doc sooner.
They can do incredible things with eyes these days so try to stay positive, but as it's affecting or stopping you driving, it must be very frustrating for you.
I'll be thinking of you and wishing you a speedy recovery from this.

 

[KarenSoCal]

Ed, I'm so sorry you are having to experience this.

Early spring of 2018 I was diagnosed with macular degeneration. Fortunately, so far it is the "dry" form, with little vision loss. I don't notice it at all, but my ophthalmologist says it does interfere with my vision.

Sometimes, the dry form changes to "wet". This must be what happened to @mark1 mother. There is rapid loss, and the bleeding occurs.

Fortunately, recent research has shown ways to slow the progression of the disease, even though it remains incurable.

For me, I take "eye vitamins" which have been proven by clinical trial to slow it down. You can't walk into Walmart and buy these. They are not prescription, but must be ordered from the company that formulated them. They have other "recipes"...check out www.prnomegahealth.com

I also wear sunglasses that filter blue light. Turns out blue light is really bad for eyes. The blue light filter is always on on my phone and tablet. I doubt that it would be of any help in your situation, but www.eagleeyes.com is where I get mine.

Happily, I did have cataracts removed from both eyes in May. These new intraocular lenses they put in are fantastic...I only wear reading glasses now. Distance vision is great!

I will be praying that your eyes clear up quickly, and no more injections are necessary.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Ed, I am truly sorry to hear this!
If it's getting worse and affecting your other eye I wouldn't wait until the 3rd but try to see your doc sooner.
They can do incredible things with eyes these days so try to stay positive, but as it's affecting or stopping you driving, it must be very frustrating for you.
I'll be thinking of you and wishing you a speedy recovery from this.

This IS as prescribed by my eye surgeon.
He says what happened to me is rare, but he's seen it before and to try to wait it out.
That's fine. But it also makes regular daily life pretty difficult.
The shots I've been getting are still scheduled as planned. And I've been told that I should get my full vision back.
But it may take weeks or months.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Ed, I'm so sorry you are having to experience this.

Early spring of 2018 I was diagnosed with macular degeneration. Fortunately, so far it is the "dry" form, with little vision loss. I don't notice it at all, but my ophthalmologist says it does interfere with my vision.

Sometimes, the dry form changes to "wet". This must be what happened to @mark1 mother. There is rapid loss, and the bleeding occurs.

Fortunately, recent research has shown ways to slow the progression of the disease, even though it remains incurable.

For me, I take "eye vitamins" which have been proven by clinical trial to slow it down. You can't walk into Walmart and buy these. They are not prescription, but must be ordered from the company that formulated them. They have other "recipes"...check out www.prnomegahealth.com

I also wear sunglasses that filter blue light. Turns out blue light is really bad for eyes. The blue light filter is always on on my phone and tablet. I doubt that it would be of any help in your situation, but www.eagleeyes.com is where I get mine.

Happily, I did have cataracts removed from both eyes in May. These new intraocular lenses they put in are fantastic...I only wear reading glasses now. Distance vision is great!

I will be praying that your eyes clear up quickly, and no more injections are necessary.

The eye injections WILL BE required for the rest of my life. Just less and less frequently.
I made an eye patch. Since only closing my left eye still let's light through my eyelids and a can see the bleeding in the shape of spiders. Something like a kaleidoscope.
If I open both eyes, I see things that aren't there.
If I only use my right eye, I can do basic things. .
Hopefully the left will clear up before the right gets worse.
The right eye is supposed to stabilize and the left recover
I'm looking for anyone else that went through this to ask how long it takes for the eye to clear.
It seems to me that it is still actively hemorrhaging. But it looks black looking out.
Black spiders and lines with black specks. Millions of black specks in a dark gray thick soup.
This is apparently not permanent. So that's good.
But I just don't know how long this will be.

 

[Yvonne G]

Aw geeze, Ed. I don't know what to say.