Eyes--Ya Gotta Love 'Em

Dear old eyes!  They serve us well for many decades and, we hope, for several more.  But that's where we first begin to notice those extra lines--WRINKLES!  Oh no!  They show that I am getting to be an old person!  They no longer look like this:

(They never did, actually--but you get the idea.)

Well, let me tell you (says I to myself)--Just be happy that they are working.  I've had occasion to face the alternative lately. 



Because of extreme nearsightedness I have worn contact lenses for most of my life.  They have served me very well, with a minimum of inconvenience, giving me very satisfactory visual acuity.


Several years ago, though, I began to notice that my right eye just wasn't giving me the same clear distance vision as before.  Even though the eye exam in the optometrist's office showed that I was seeing 20/20, that just wasn't the case in real-life situations. When a cataract was diagnosed in that eye, I readily agreed to have that corrected with the now-common, painless, relatively simple type of surgery available . (Yes, it's covered by Medicare).


It helped, but it obviously wasn't the whole solution.  No amount of prescription change would give me good acuity in that eye (outside of the doctor's office with black letters on the white chart).  During one exam I did tell him that, although I could identify the letters, they were "dancing," the best term I could find to explain the fact that they did not follow one after the other in a straight line.  He was amused, saying that he had never heard anyone say that before, but he didn't know what to think of it.


My husband was going to a different optometrist, who diagnosed in him a few mild symptoms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), so Ed had a small Amsler Grid hanging on the fridge to monitor his eyes for any changes.  Looking at it with one eye at a time, my left eye saw a regular pattern of straight perpendicular lines.  With my right eye (the one in question) it looked like a chain link fence! (see Amsler Grid)

So I went to see Ed's optometrist who, when I described my symptoms, immediately gave me a 3D retinal scan (OCT - Optical Coherence Tomography).  This new technique, which visualizes the retina in depth on a computer screen, showed that I had some significantly large drusen (fatty deposits) behind my retina.  The retina, where light is focused for vision, is supposed to be completely smooth.  The drusen, however, make it bumpy--like something wadded up under a tight sheet, he explained.  Since my retina doesn't have a completely smooth surface, the light can't focus as perfectly as it should.  (I like to think of it as trying to focus the light rays on a head of cauliflower).  So that's why I was seeing dancing letters and chain-link fences!


With age, almost everybody develops some drusen.  But they can become symptomatic if they get large enough.  There is, as yet, no direct treatment to eliminate them, but nutritional supplements have been found to help the body reabsorb them.  The doctor suggested that I take AREDS2 (which contains a high dose of Omega-3 fatty acids) and additional Lutein/Zeaxanthin.  Yes, a diet high in these nutrients is great, and is certainly recommended as a preventive measure.  But a person already finding symptoms of macular degeneration would have to eat enormous quantities of them in order to equal what is in the supplements.

I started the supplements almost a year ago and have had several followup retinal scans.
There has been a significant improvement (shrinkage) in the size of drusen!

Some of the cones on my retina have already been damaged (they enable us to see in color) and will probably not recover, so I will always have some difficulty in distinguishing slight color differences (contrast sensitivity, he calls it).

But there is definite hope that my macular degeneration has been halted.  I certainly look forward to having adequate, clear vision for many, many years--thanks to a timely diagnosis.

Whether our eyes still look comparatively young and unwrinkled

or show the years of life that we have been fortunate enough to enjoy,

we can just be thankful that they enable us to see the beauty all around.
                        It's what's inside that counts!

If you are young and unconcerned, you've probably had enough of all this!
But I just wanted to share my experience.  I am so grateful that I found a doctor with the equipment to diagnose this and with the information on how to slow or arrest the AMD before it progressed to serious vision loss.  

If you can relate to any of these symptoms, please do yourself a favor and follow up on them.  
Here are sites for more information, if you wish:
Facts about Age-Related Macular Degeneration
and a newsletter written in layperson's terms, WebRN Macular Degeneration News