Optician

[Flute56]

In 2009 I was diagnosed with dry macular. It was ok but now I have noticed it is slightly worse. When I was first diagnosed I was referred to the eye hospital for a consultant to look. He said there is nothing they can do and discharged me. He said come back if it gets much worse. The optician I was under gave me eye vitamins and I have dry eyes and she gave me eye drops to use about 4 times a day. She retired so I went somewhere else and was not happy so tried a new one today and it was awful. She scanned my eyes and said she did not like what she saw. She said I have bleeding or whatever at the back of the eye and the whole of the back was covered in macular and she wanted me to go back to the eye hospital. She was surprised I had not been back to the hospital in 10 years and I said because my other optician said it was not required. Apparently I have different eyes and have a stigmatism and had a squint as a child. I apparently have the right eye worse than the left and when I see I focus more on the left eye so my vision is through the left eye which compensates for the right eye. This optician said only use the dry eye drops when you feel your eyes are dry but the other opticians said 4 times a day or the eyes will get more and more dry. I left the appointment today very upset because the woman told me that I may need eye injections. I am NEVER going to see her again and before I go to the eye hospital I am getting a second opinion. I do not feel the optician was very good and she did not even do the eye field test and when I asked whether it would be done she said no

You could do with a simple explanation of what's going on in your eyes. 'Covered in macular' doesn't mean anything. Don't blame the optician for what she found. Why not go to the GP and ask for a referral to the hospital, on the basis of what the consultant says last time and what the optician has just told you? Can your partner or a friend go with you to make sure you get a good understanding of what's up?

I can go on my own and once things are explained properly by the right person I will be fine

OP you already sound hostile. The PP simply offered a solution, but obviously you're more than entitled to a second opinion

The second optician could be completely correct and you may need injections. Unless you're qualified in this field, you can't disagree. Maybe the second persons attitude (as opposed to WHAT she said) is what's upset you?

yes maybe it was her attitude. I hope I do not need injections. I could not cope with that.

Dry AMD can turn into Wet and if it has, injections of a substance to reduce the growth of blood vessels in the eye is advised, to prevent you losing any more vision.

Please do go to the appointment at the hospital, eyes can sometimes deteriorate quite quickly and if you delay the consultation, it may mean that the injections are less effective or you maybe too late for treatment to work at all.

I would simply go for the appointment at the hospital, you can always decline consent for the injections once you’ve heard the pros and cons.

Most dry eye drops can be safely used 4 x a day, but depends if the type. You can also ask the doctor/optometrist at the hospital for their view on your dry eye treatment.

Thanks a lot. You have now just made me very very scared and frightened. I do not want to have eye injections and I would rather go blind.

THANKS FOR NOTHING

Hi Flute

Im sorry youre feeling so distressed about this, i get it as ive had some serius eye conditions myself which have required some really horrible SOUNDING treatments.

The reality of the treatments was nowhere near as bad as my imagination, or going blind.

Get yourself to the eye hospital and get it checked out, then make an informed decision on your treatment plan.

I have seriously reduced visual acuity in my right eye, so even with glasses on all i see through my right eye is blur, and thats with treatment. Going blind isnt something you want to risk, it just isnt.

My 'worst' treatment, the one that gave me cold sweats and terror feelings beforehand was actually fine. I didnt feel it, didnt see it and they gave me a delightful shot of something that made me feel calmer than i have ever felt in my whole life, it was blissful.

wnommy what is wrong with your eyes? Thankfully I can see quite clearly at the moment except that lines look slightly wavy but the overall vision is ok

Please take up the referral to the hospital eye department. There are two different parts to this -'part of it is your vision and the other is the health of your eyes.

Eyes change over time and it may be that your latest optician has seen something that is worth getting checked out. Once you have a diagnosis and a recommendation for treatment you can make an informed decision around what you want to go ahead with.

Please don't ignore it though.

I have colabomas in both eyes, left is on my retina and no bother at all, right is on my optic disc and has caused loss of peripheral vision.

Unfortunately where it is it has caused an optic disc pit which lets vitreous fluid in under my retina which caused something called Serous Macular Detachment basically my retina was being pushed up out of place. Then the fluid would recede, then build... over and over

A couple of years ago a yearly check showed a massive vision loss and the only option was surgery.

While awake, I had keyhole surgery in my eye, all the vitreous fluid removed, retina stitched back into place, then laser to seal the edges down, my lens was removed and replaced with a plastic one then a gas bubble was inserted to hold the Retina flat while the vitreous fluid regrew.

I had to lay face down for 3 days, if moving around I had to stay bent at the waist 90 degrees with nose parallel to the floor. A maximum of 10 mins in every hour was allowed out of a completely face down position.

Took about 2 weeks for the stitches on the surface of my eye to dissolve and for the fluid to rest build, over that 2 weeks I could feel the stitches when I blinked and I couldn't see through the gas at all.

Sounds horrible but honestly my eye did not hurt, neck/back/shoulders were sore from the position but that's it, I was completely calm for the surgery, drops meant I couldn't see a thing that happened and my good eye was covered.

I was completely lucid and on my way home half an hour after the surgery, then had a few visits for check ups over the next few weeks

It didn't improve my eyesight but it stopped it getting any worse and I thank everything for that, 2 weeks of complete blackness in that eye was enough for me to know I never want to be blind!!!!!

you for sure need to see an eye specialist to at least explain it all.
you are confused with a lot of the terms and it's made you stressed.
fingers crossed for a good explanation

Sorry forgot to add the symptoms leading up to the check where surgery was decided on

General blurry vision on that side, unable to read to the end of the line without moving my head, so when doing an eye check where they cover one eye and ask you to read the letters, I could get the middle letter on the line but had to move my head to left and right to get the end letters.

Also grids were broken so if I was looking at a page of squared paper, the lines were wavy and I couldn't see the bits where they crossed it looks more like lots of wavy dashes

@flute56

Hope you're doing ok and feeling less distressed by your experience at the optician. Have you given any more thought to making an appointment with another optician or the eye clinic?

You'd rather (potentially) lose your eyesight completely than have some tests and possibly some treatment??

There are millions of people around the world who are unable to access medical care, let alone FREE medical care we revive on the NHS.

Yes, it might be scary, but by fuck, if it saved my eyesight, I'd walk over hot coals

I was feeling less stressed but work is very stressful at the moment and the stress of my eyes does not help and I had a migraine on the way home. Its gone now but even so migraines are not pleasant

That sucks Flute, sorry you 're having it tough, my DH gets migraines so i know how unpleasant they are.

Can you get into.an opticians first thing or last thing tomorrow (book online) and arrange it with work. Once its done at least you'll know what your next step.is and won't have that uncertainty hanging over you.

Thanks but I will be fine. I think the worse of the stress is over now. No need for any urgent appointment. My vision is pretty good and my eyes do not hurt so I feel blessed

Blessed?

Flute - I know you don’t want to hear this again but PLEASE go for the appointment.
If you decide afterwards that you don’t want any treatment that is completely your right and you can refuse to consent to any medical treatment.

But if you don’t go then the treatment may not work as well or may not be available to you.

i took the refeal letter to the GP so i will get an appointment

Glad to hear it, and good luck Flute.

It really does sound like the second optician was thorough, and assuming she saw something on the scans her advice sounds very sensible. The scan can see so much more detail than simply looking in the eye so please do not ignore what she has said. Time can be of the essence in cases like this so do not delay the hospital appointment. Seeking a second opinion in a case like this will only delay things, and there is no indication of her advice being incorrect.
Opticians are not doctors so sometimes do need to delegate certain tests to eye specialists. Wavy lines are a concerning symptom, and a lack of pain doesn’t mean anything here. I hope you get on OK.

That is good news. Let us know how you get on.

yeah

Still waiting for appointment at eye hospital. The wavy lines seem a bit less wavy today. I have no idea what that means. Of course I have been seeing straight lines wavy since I was diagnosed 10 years ago but three weeks ago they started to look more wavy so I assumed the macular was getting worse. Now the wavy lines have gone back to how they were before they got worse. I am thinking that was just due to tiredness but it lasted for about a week. Either that or the wavy lines 'appear' less wavy because I have got used to it. I would like to think it is because my eyes were tired and I know tired eyes or dry eyes can play havoc with vision. My mum had sudden blurred vision and was told it was just tiredness and then they got better. I am not digging my head in the sand and deluding myself because I do have this eye condition but I wonder why it has affected me now. My dad had it and I have inherited it. Two of my aunts on my dads side have it. One aunt has the wet and she is almost blind with it and my other aunt has the dry and is fine. Both aunts did not develop this until they were in their 80s and neither did my dad but I developed symptoms of it when I was 45. My new optomertrist seems to think I had it long before it manifested itself. None of my cousins have inherited it yet and who knows if and when they will. I will still go to the hospital and explain this to them and maybe the consultant can advise further