Just realized I have macular degeneration...and am feeling distressed. (health issues, depressed)
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Just today I realized for the first time that I almost certainly have macular degeneration in my right eye (a yellowish “floater” that doesn’t float down & a nearby blurry area — both smack dab in the center of my field of view. When I look only out of my right eye, straight lines appear bent, then broken at the blurry area, so, for example, street light poles look like two poles stacked vertically with the top “pole” floating above the bottom “pole.” I could go on, but long story short, I have 5 of the 6 symptoms of macular degeneration and no symptoms of other eye disorders (except my severe myopia).
I made an appointment with my eye doctor right away — first thing Tuesday morning. I spoke with her on the phone and she agreed that it sounded like macular degeneration and not, say, a retinal detachment. (She had me do some eye tests on myself over the phone).
So .. here I am feeling really kind of depressed about this. From what I have read there is no real treatment or cure. There is a recommended supplement (based on actual research which I read), so I ordered that. But it only seems to have any effect at all in just 20% of people who try it.
I am only 56. I feel so young to be losing my vision, well, at least the part of it I care about — being able to read, drive, recognize faces.
I am also so frustrated as to why I have had so many health problems over the past 10 years in spite of being proactive about having a healthy life style, having a relatively low-stress life, and supposedly having good genes (no one else in my family has so many problems so young).
In the past 10 years, I have had:
Recurrent diverticulitis (had surgery for this)
Recurrent UTIs (am very careful now/take supplements)
Onset of Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease (went legally deaf in one ear in 3 months and am now hearing impaired in my other ear)
Onset of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (although I don’t drink).
Increasingly frequent episodes of cardiac arrhythmia (although it seems like I have found a fix for this)
Stage IIIb squamous cell lung cancer (although I have never smoked or lived with a smoker).
And now I am starting to lose my sight too.
Sigh, just sigh. So depressed ... Well, at least, if I die of lung cancer, I won’t have to worry about going both blind and deaf (or deafer than I am now).
Anyone else suffer from macular degeneration? I am guessing not, since anyone who has it bad probably wouldn’t be able to post to this forum ...
Really sorry to hear your diagnosis but try not to think too much until your actual appt. Coincidentally, here's another thread just starting that sounds like it has a lot of good ideas:
Really sorry to hear your diagnosis but try not to think too much until your actual appt. Coincidentally, here's another thread just starting that sounds like it has a lot of good ideas:
My eye doctor recommended Systane lubricating eye drops and Preservision tablets twice daily. My MD doesn't seem to have worsened since first diagnosed. My best.
My 91 year old mom gets injections into her eyeball every other month. That is why I religiously follow my doctor’s advice.
My elderly neighbor takes a supplement specifically for this, I *think* it's called AREDS-2, which is a little pricey but you can buy it otc @ pharmacies, walmart, etc.
(I'll be seeing her this week, I can ask to be sure.)
Really sorry to hear your diagnosis but try not to think too much until your actual appt. Coincidentally, here's another thread just starting that sounds like it has a lot of good ideas:
Thanks. I actually saw that thread before ... and it made me feel more depressed. First, the woman in question is 78 and I am only 56. I had always assumed I’d eventually have eye problems. I had just assumed they would be when I was much older like 78. Also, a lot of the work-around s proposed there are hearing-related and I already have major hearing issues (even with hearing aids).
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