Wellness

[sfnative]

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@sophiamarie wrote:

@sfnative  I don't understand why you didn't get to see a Retina Specialist immediately.  They have the equipment and experience that no other specialist would have and can, hopefully, give you a diagnosis on the spot and start treatment.

Please come back here and let us know how your appt. turned out.  Good luck.....

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@sophiamarie

I don't understand it either and am quite put out at this point.  Part of the blame I take on myself, as my career was spent nearly entirely in healthcare.  Fortunately, I've taken a good look at the education and background of this new doc.  He "reads" like a winner and is a 5 star doc.  Since my last 14 years prior to retirement were spent working directly with physicians in surgical training, I'm a stickler for where docs received every phase of their education.

Will get back after my appointment to let you know his dx and tx.  Thanks for caring enough to ask.

XXX

[sophiamarie]

@sfnative  It is absolutely incredible what they can do nowadays.  I had an aunt who went blind from this (but it was over 30 years ago and she probably had no options).... Anyway, with the shots, my vision is still the same as it was before.  I can't imagine letting something like this go, out of sheer stubborness.  The shots sound horrible, but they are really "nothing" and I mean it.  They numb your eye so much, that I didn't even know he put a clamp there to hold my eye open.  My husband had to tell me what he was doing.  The only inconvenience is the appointment itself.  Such a waste of an hour or so.  LOL

[sfnative]

@sophiamarie

So sad about yout Aunt.  Around 1973, I met a women in her mid-30s who would become a good friend.  At the time, she  had already been diagnosed with with macular degeneration.  Her glasses had lenses that were extremely thick and she said there was no effective treatment and that she was on her way to going blind.  That was 44 years ago.  We made a major move away from that area and lost touch, but know that at some point she went blind.  So sad that a treatment did not exist at the time.

Edited to add that at the time we met, she was already taking a brail course.

[sophiamarie]

@sfnative  When I first started getting the injections, I was getting a drug called "Avastin", which is a chemotherapy drug that was dicovered to aid in the "wet" form of MD.  It was not approved for the eye by the FDA but was being used anyway because of the "discovery".  Exactly one year later, (Aug/2015) he told me a new drug, just for the eye was just approved and instead of going every 4-6 wks., I could probably go 8 wks.  It's called "Eylea".  After the first pictures, he said I could come back in 8 wks. and it's been every 8 wks. since then.

Medicine has come a long way and like you, I investigate doctors, medicines, etc.

I hope you have a good Dx and it's nothing serious.  Every time I go, I ask him "could I wait another week" and he says "well, probably but you can't get back what you lost, so let's stick with the 8 wks....."

Eagerly awaiting your next missive..... and I hope it's a positive one.  

[Carmie]

I see a retinal specialist.  A few years ago, my eye doctor discovered something about my right eye that she wasn't happy about and sent me to a specialist.

i had a horseshoe tear on my retina.  The retinal specialist fixed it ASAP before it got worse.  I go every year for a check up to make sure everything is ok.  I was also told that my left retina could and probably would tear someday.

The doctor said to call right away if I had any symptoms of a retina tear.  I had no symptoms the first time with my right eye.  

Your eyes are nothing to fool around with.  If you have a retinal tear it can be repaired if treated right away.

when I go for the appointment, my eyes are dilated.  I get a regular eyes exam ( reading the chart). Then I look into an eye machine that takes pictures.  The pics are on the monitor when the doctor comes in to actually examine me.  He looks through a series of scopes and pushes a metal bar with a ball on the end to kinda pop my eye out of the socket a tiny bit.  No pain.

He tells  me his findings.  I takes about two hours in total... a lot of sitting around  and waiting too,

[Dinaki]

I stated having the injections just after two days.

The eye specialist doctor has plainly told me that my left eye is almost gone and I should not wait to see good with that eye.

[RedTop]

My mother has been seeing a retina specialist for about 4 years.   When she started complaining about worsening vision in one eye, I scheduled a routine exam with our local guy.   He found a small hemorrhage in blood vessels in the back of her eye, and referred her to the specialist.   She too was advised that her appointment could be 3-4 hours, and was instructed to have someone drive her.   

Even tho the local guy forwarded information from Moms chart, she had many forms to fill out for that office.   When she was called back, her eyes were dilated, and several images were taken---very similar to part of her local exam, but more involved.   She then waited her turn to see one of the specialists in the practice, and he explained her situation by showing her enlarged visuals of the pictures taken of her eye.  He explained her options clearly, which started with a suggested wait and see approach, as to how much healing the eye could do on its own.  That first appointment lasted a good 3 hours.  

Her second appointment about 30 days later, involved dilation and more pictures, which did show healing.  Since that was the positive sign the specialist wanted to see, he then suggested a laser treatment at that time, which Mom agreed to.  She walked out of there with clip on sunglasses over her glasses, due to extreme light sensitivity after the laser procedure.   The laser procedure worked and Moms condition was much improved at the next followup visit.  She went back every 6 months for 2 years, and now only goes once a year.    

[haddon9]

I had my own scare last winter.  Thank goodness everything turned out alright and I never did see a retina specialist but plan on doing so at some point.

What happened to me is that around dinner time on the Friday we were supposed to get a huge blizzard for the weekend I suddenly had flashing in my left eye.  I didn't know what to do so I called my eye doctor who spoke with me and said that he would see me if he could but he was down in Florida and was planning on returning on Monday.  He thought I should go to Wills Eye hospital which is 45 minutes away in Philadelphia via 95.

Well under normal circumstances I wouldn't be pleased but I wasn't going to drive down 95 in a blizzard!  DH can't drive in the dark due to his own health problems.  He has balance and double vision at night.

So I called two local hospitals and the second said to come on over and they would see me.  Of course when I got there their ophthalmologist on call didn't want to come in due to the weather.  I was asked some questions over the phone by him as well as by the PA that attended to me.  It was determined that I probably had vitreous fluid detachment but it scared the hell out of me! To know for sure I needed to go to Wills Eye Hosp but how was I going to get there?

After a few hours I told my DH that if we didn't want to get stuck at the hospital for the weekend we would have to leave immediately just to get back home.  I drove (thank goodness for my 4 wheel drive!) very slowly & carefully but it was a very scary experience! Fortunately we got the driveway plowed by later the next day and if it had been a detached retina I probably would have lost vision in that eye.

 I did get to see my eye doctor Monday who amazingly didn't have his flight canceled.  I think we had a foot and a half of snow.

I learned that certain health emergencies can't easily be attended to under particular circumstances....it wasn't something I had ever thought about before.

[sfnative]

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@Carmie wrote:

I see a retinal specialist.  A few years ago, my eye doctor discovered something about my right eye that she wasn't happy about and sent me to a specialist.

i had a horseshoe tear on my retina.  The retinal specialist fixed it ASAP before it got worse.  I go every year for a check up to make sure everything is ok.  I was also told that my left retina could and probably would tear someday.

The doctor said to call right away if I had any symptoms of a retina tear.  I had no symptoms the first time with my right eye.  

Your eyes are nothing to fool around with.  If you have a retinal tear it can be repaired if treated right away.

when I go for the appointment, my eyes are dilated.  I get a regular eyes exam ( reading the chart). Then I look into an eye machine that takes pictures.  The pics are on the monitor when the doctor comes in to actually examine me.  He looks through a series of scopes and pushes a metal bar with a ball on the end to kinda pop my eye out of the socket a tiny bit.  No pain.

He tells  me his findings.  I takes about two hours in total... a lot of sitting around  and waiting too,

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@Carmie

Thank you for sharing your experience.  I'm concerned about imaging the retinal tear in my right eye, because it's waaaaay over as far right as you can get.  Really hoping he can get a photo of it, not just view it through a magnifier like my ophthalmologist.  And, really don't know if he can repair it, as this occurred 6 months ago.  I did see my eye doc at the time, but the referral was just made.  Will have to wait and see.

[sfnative]

@RedTop

Thanks so very much for sharing your Mother's experience.  Sounds somewhat similar to mine, except I'm 6 months out and just seeing the specialist in ten days.  Appreciate the inclusion of how the appointment flowed and what was included.