Can anyone who knows about macular degeneration chat to me?

[KitKat1985]

Hi. I'm at a bit worried abut DH who is 41. We both had routine eye tests yesterday. They found 'yellow spots' at the back of his eyes consistent with macular degeneration. They said they normally don't see this much in people under the age of 70. They said they need to see him again in 1 year to monitor but have given him an amsler grid and told him to look at it every couple of weeks and if it ever looks odd to go back sooner. I've made the mistake of googling and I'm a bit worried. Is this likely to deteriorate? Is he likely to end up partially sighted?

I'm not an expert but my DM was diagnosed with this 10 years ago when she was 60. She expected to lose her sight but 10 years later it hasn't progressed at all. Hopefully someone else will be along to give more information but just wanted to say that it's not necessarily all doom and gloom.

Thank you @Moppincraxy that's reassuring.

Dh got told that at a similar age. We have the grid up in the kitchen and have had since then, he's had no changes. He had another eye test at a different optician a couple of months ago and and was told he had nothing to worry about.

Thank you @PortalooSunset hopefully I'm just panicking then!

It really depends on the person and it definitely is worse in some people. There is lots hubby can do to stop it getting worse tho. Look up diets, good eye protection (high quality lenses and wrap around) and quit smoking if he does. You can also take tablets for it like a daily vitamin. Think they are called macusheild.

Make sure you keep a close 'eye' on it. In my limited medical understanding (a couple of episodes of closely related conditions) the risk is in the random nature of the spots. If they occur close to the optic nerve they can have a major effect on your vision. There is a reasonably effective treatment (a series of injections of a drug like Lucentis into the eye) but you want to catch it quickly. If your DH gets black, shadowy areas in his vision, go to an optician as quickly as you can and get referred to a consultant.

Thank you for your responses. They have been very helpful.