Awareness Month 2024 - Introduce Yourself
February is Low Vision/Macular Degeneration Awareness Month!
This is the month that we focus on how we can amplify our voices and share with the world what it's really like to live with macular degeneration.
What do you want the world to know about what it's like to live with macular degeneration?
New to the community? Introduce yourself.
A veteran of the community? Feel free to reshare your story.
We want to hear from you!
I was diagnosed 10 years ago with dry macular degeneration. My mother and sister both had wet macular degeneration. In July of 2023 I was diagnosed with advanced dry or geographic atrophy. I began Izervay injections December 26, 2023. Sharon Moore patient leader
Diagnosed with Drusen in lazy right eye ? years ago. Age related retina detachment possible with functional left eye. Then posterior cataract diagnosed in left eye. Had cataract surgery with Toric lens implant to correct Astigmatism in August. Last check up after eyes got wierd showed that the vitreous fluid in the left eye had detached. Follow up in 4 weeks.
keep us posted! 
- Thanks for introducing yourself, Alia & welcome to our site. It’s a great community where you can get answers to many questions. Linda Hoopes, Team Member
Eyed Girl I think the 4 weeks check is to keep an eye on the retina for detaching. I thought I saw like hanging spider skeins. Then on Sat both eyes suddenly had black squiggly lines in front of them that moved. I left a voice message to ask my doctors. When they called that Mon just the left eye had gone squiggly. I was supposed to see the apartment I moved into last Friday and all I could think of was if this eye doesn't clear how am I going to be able to look at an apartment? It finally cleared but I was afraid I was going to have to go in covering my normally good eye. They fit me in as an emergency and the opto? map photo of my left eye literally showed black squiggle lines.
I have my regular eye doctor, my low vision doctor and the eye surgeon who is ready to do my right eye if it becomes necessary. I am a member of a Perkins Book Club so I have support from a crew with varied eye issues.
it sounds as though you have a good team looking after you, thankfully. I hope your retina doesn't detach, but my friend had that happen to them recently, and it was repaired without too much drama. I'm glad you got to see the new apartment. Have you moved in yet? Best of luck for your next appointment. Please let us know how you go. Wendy, Patient Leader.
I had been told I had MD for years but that it would most likely not be a problem in my lifetime. I started having a lot of blurriness and after hearing it enough from me cataracts were removed. Still blurry. Getting worse. Finally, I could hardly read newsprint or a book at night with my glasses....they did further testing and immediately sent me to a Retinal Specialist thinking I had Macular holes....actually I was diagnoised withAdult-Onset Foveal Pigment Epitelial Dystrophy OU. I was told very little except a small paragraph and that there is not cure or help for it. I also could find very little little online. I asked for 2.75 reading strength plus the prescription strenth in the top....20/20. This has helped but please tell me someone else has this and can chat with me. I need a friend.
having such a rare disease makes it difficult to find the information and support you need. I searched without success for articles and found little other than scholarly articles hard to read. I wish I could offer you more than my empathy. Hopefully someone with the condition will see your post and respond. Warmly, Sharon Moore patient leader
