My Macular Degeneration Journey

By janelemerise

1 min read

When I was in my sixties, I was diagnosed with AMD in both eyes. I lived in West Palm Beach, Florida, and my retina specialist, Dr. Lowe, in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, diagnosed me with wet AMD.

I have had four laser treatments in my eye right, and one laser treatment in my left eye. I then moved to Philadelphia, PA, and am being treated by Dr. Siivulungam at Wills Eye.

I now have distorted vision in my eye right I believe. It is a result of my four laser treatments in my right eye in Florida.

My right eye is now dry, and my left eye is wet. I am currently getting shots periodically.

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Brown Eyed Girl Moderator
<inline-mention username="janelemerise" user-id="3121360"/> thank you for sharing your story with the community. It seems as though you have had an up and down journey with your eyes. I'm sorry to hear of the difficulties you have had. Does your new doctor think it was the laser treatments that were detrimental to your sight? I hope the injections are managing to keep your sight stable now. Best wishes to you, Wendy, Advocate.
janelemerise Member
The Doctor didn't confirm or deny that the lazer caused distorted vision in right eye. I feel it did. More problematic is that Doctor said wet doesn't connvert to dry so if I have Dry in right eye why did I need lazer in the first place? A Retina Specialist did 4 Lazer treatments in my right DRY EYE then.. He was a different Doctor who is in Florida.
1. Brown Eyed Girl Moderator
 @janelemerise I see your quandary. Professionals are often reluctant to discuss the work of other professionals, especially when they don't have all the facts and the patient's history. This is understandable, but it does leave us uncertain about what has happened. Could you contact the previous doctor, and ask him about your treatment? I understand, from my doctor, that almost all age-related wet macular degeneration starts as dry, whether the person realises at first that they have the dry type, or not. My doctor has also told me that even if injections stop blood vessels leaking in wet AMD, the patient still has underlying dry AMD. I came across one 2015 study that was looking at the use of laser treatment for early AMD, so perhaps some doctors did use laser for this purpose. I'm not a medical professional, so I can't comment on this, but here is the link to that study. I wish you well in your ongoing journey with your eyes. Please stay in touch. Wendy, Advocate. <a href='https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150202105602.htm' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150202105602.htm</a>
janelemerise Member
Thank you. I will check it out.. i am not blaming the Doctor because I was told that was how AMD was treated at the time. Thanks fir replying and for sharing the link. JANE LEMERISE
1. Brown Eyed Girl Moderator
 <inline-mention username="janelemerise" user-id="3121360"/> yes, I know someone who was offered this treatment for AMD years ago. We all hope that a cure is found very soon. Best wishes. Wendy, Advocate.