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By Alma Juliber
New Jersey |
About 4 years ago, I was sitting in a movie theater when I suddenly started seeing these bright, flashing lights and feeling pain in my right eye. Although it was the weekend, I was so worried about it that I called my [eye] doctor as soon as I got home. My doctor told me to come see him right away. After examining me, he told me I had the wet kind of macular degeneration in my right eye.
The bleeding was very close to the center of my eye, which meant I wasn't a good candidate for laser therapy. Timing is everything, I guess, as I was diagnosed right around the time this therapy [Visudyne] came out. My doctor told me I should start this new treatment; that I was a good candidate for it and that it was my only hope for saving the sight in my right eye.
I'm 75 years old and I work part-time as a marketing manager. I'm a person on the go, and my greatest fear was not being able to drive my own car. I started treatments, and I can tell you, Visudyne has prevented me from losing more of my sight.
I just saw my [eye] doctor, and he tells me I'm doing very well and don't have to come back for another 6 months. I have dry macular degeneration in my left eye, and I'm following my doctor's advice for that eye: eating green vegetables and fish and staying away from fat, which I do anyway for my cholesterol. I also take special vitamins twice a day. And—because I've been nearsighted my whole life—I never miss my yearly [eye] checkup.
My advice to other people with wet macular degeneration would be to get a checkup regularly and follow your doctor's advice. I'm very grateful that there was a treatment available for me.
*Visudyne has only been approved for its effect on vision acuity outcomes; its approval was not based on its effects on contrast sensitivity, visual field, or color perception.
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