Driving with MD
This post is directed at Wendy regarding her 90 year old father. Wendy, you state that your father had injections for many years - until 90 and he was able to drive in spite of diagnosis. While I dislike assuming anything, I am going to assume since he was able to drive, he was also able to read. Is that the case? Thanks...
yes, he could read as well as drive. The doctor had to pass his eyesight for him to renew his licence. This had to be done every year, as far as I know. He may have had trouble with very small print such as a newspaper, but otherwise his reading was OK. Wendy, Patient Leader. You may have stated that already but I couldn't find it. So sorry to be bugging you. This is so good to hear.
Another assumption: He had both eyes and it was wet amd? I guess I'm chasing this hard - my right eye will never be fixed or fixable so my healthy eye has gotta stay healthy!! If not, I see that injections do work for many - as in your dear dad. Thank you again, Wendy.... LeelarsI don't mind you asking anything at all, but we must remember that everyone is different, and my father is only one example of how things may go. Yes, my father had the wet form in both eyes. It started in one eye (I can't remember his age, I'm going to check) and he had injections of Lucentis for many years in that eye. Then, after his fall, he moved to assisted living many miles from me, with my mother who had dry amd. He continued injections with a new RS, but I didn't get to ask many questions of the new RS and at that time, I really didn't know what to ask, unlike now. Eventually the injections were switched to the other eye. I don't know if the RS gave up on the first eye, or whether it stopped leaking. Or perhaps the doctor just sensed that having injections in both eyes would just be too much for him to cope with. As people reach their mid-nineties I think the doctors tailor their treatment a bit towards the patient's age. It became very difficult for my father to get to the surgery, in a wheelchair (towards the end), a wheelchair taxi, up a lift, accompanied by a nurse from the aged home. And I orchestrated it from 1000 km away by phone and email. His vision was workable until he passed away at 97. He would often say to me, "Wendy, I don't know why I need these injections. I can see perfectly well. I can see that painting on the wall, and that pen on the table." It was hard for me to explain everything to him, especially when he was in his mid nineties. I didn't want him to lose his sight for his sake, and also because he was pushing my mother around in her wheelchair for the last few years, too. The nursing home weren't to keen on that little adventure, but nothing much could stop them! Thanks for listening, it helps me too. Warmly, Wendy, Patient Leader.
Wendy - you are so welcome and so appreciated -- Indeed, the possibilites are endless with we humans. What "was the was" for your father may not be the same for many people. You certainly did yeoman's work for your family - I do hope your eye treatments follow the luck of your father through his treatments.
I will hold out hope that what was reported after my first two injections - "responding well to Eyelea" will continue, if -- god forbid - I suffer wet in the other eye.
I cannot imagine a life without reading and visualizing -- cannot. I must, as you must, and all who suffer this terrible disease -- get "fixed" --
Thank you again. You are most generous in your posts regarding your father's history and time. I'm glad you had him in your life for such a long time.
Leelars...😀thank you. I only lost my father a couple of years ago, and my mother just 6 months prior to him, so it's all quite fresh in my mind. My mother had Charles Bonnet Syndrome with her dry amd, so life was a challenge for them in the very later years. They soldiered on with grace and they are my inspiration. Best wishes with your treatment moving forward. Wendy, Patient Leader.
I am so sorry for such losses - so recent. Parents are such special people - I lost my mom about 20 years ago and still miss her.
You have been on this forum for a while as a patient leader. This is only a request for an opinion - in the many posts you have seen, do you think most people benefit from the injections? From what I have read online, the consensus from the drug companies (naturally) is that they do work --
Thanks for good wishes and I wish the same back to you and all who are dealing with this terrible disease.
Leelars
my personal opinion from what I have read here, and my family experience is that the injections for wet macular degeneration do work (with a few provisos).
Whilst the injections may hold back the wet form, many people have the dry form at the same time, and that may continue to progress (without treatment). This can make it difficult to tell if the injections are "working", at least for the patient.
Some people seem to see an improvement almost immediately, and others wait a long time. For some people, just keeping the vision they have is the aim.
Sometimes it is necessary to change the medication in the injection if the current one isn't working, or stops working. And, unfortunately, sometimes scar tissue develops which complicates the matter.
I think these are the main points I have learned from this group.
Warmly, Wendy, Patient Leader.
