Myopic Degeneration/Choroidal Neovascularization

[Mik3mc]

So im 32 and my eyes have always been pretty bad.  I am -20 in both eyes with a strong astigmatism.  Just two days ago i was looking at the computer when all of a sudden i saw bending and distortion from my right eye.  I went to my Dr yesterday and he said i had a tear in my eye and that it was bleeding.  He had given me a prognoses of Myopic degeneration a year or two ago but didn't bother to really go into any detail about the severity of it that i have now just realized.  He gave me a shot of Anastin and my vision has not deteriorated since than but i don't know if its just me adapting to the new loss of clarity and new distortion in my right eye..  The area i live in is pretty under served and the DR only is here one day a week so he very much rushed me out the door after dropping this diagnoses on me basically giving me and my wife no time to absorb it.  I'm wondering how long will it be till my central vision is completely distorted?  Is their anything i can do? or any one that is an expert on this?  It seems from my searching online that their is very little data and the DR told his assistant that i am the first one he has seen with Myopic Degeneration and he serves Honolulu and the Island i live on but never once mentioned this to me.  Are their activity that i should be avoiding?  I surf and swim on a regular basis.  Is their any thing i can take to help strengthen my eyes further.  How fast can the loss of central vision progress?  Or is it just a toss up?  Should i be resting my eyes more?  Is the stress of looking at a computer screen going to make it worse?  

To say the least i always worried and knew i might go blind or have a huge loss of vision i just didn't think it would be so soon.  

[JohnHaganMD]

There is no way to predict whether the 'bad' eye will stay the same, get better or get worse and no way to predict if your other eye will have the same problem.  Controlled studies on cannabis are very difficult but there are literally hundreds of chemicals in most MJ including formaldehyde. Vaping is also bad since its pure nicotine. Good luck

[Mik3mc]

Good to know about mj.  I have been a cannabis user since I was 21 but have recently cut back and now I'll just stop.  Could my use of cannabis have made this worse?  I will be seeing the dr in two weeks for an infection check up and than 2 weeks after that to keep track of the blood vessels.   I will also look into seeing another dr also.  Thanks for the help you told me more than my dr did after he told me my eye was bleeding.  Is their any time frame on how long itll take my vision to deteriorate?  Thanks

[JohnHaganMD]

test

[JohnHaganMD]

You are not describing a tear in your eye you are describing exudative "wet" myopic macular degeneration MMD and you got a shot of Avastin ( a VEGF inhibitor).  MMD will never make you blind but it is a severe treat to you central vision. It does not affect the peripheral vision but you are at increased risk of retinal detachment which can affect peripheral vision. you will need to do internet search on MMD and read all about it there are two forms wet which you have also called exudative and dry called non-exudative. wet is the worst form and is treated with VEFG injections (lucentia, avastin, eylea)  It is almost certain that you will need a series of injections usually 4-8 as the problem often reoccurs.  There are studies on things you can do for age related macular degeneration but none have been tested on MMD because it is much rarer. It will not hurt to use your eyes to read or use a computer. Critically important you return to this retina doctor as directed and when directed. At some point you may want to go to Honolulu for a second opinion. You will have frequent visits so getting a retina eye MD near you is important. DON"T SMOKE OR USE MARIJUANA or use any nicotine. It dramatically increases the chances of both eyes going bad. Live healthy, eat healthy, watch your blood pressure, cholesterol, don't get fat all of these can aggravate. In 75% of the cases you can keep if from getting worse once injections are started. You will never go completely blind from this but you could lose your ability to read, drive and see straight ahead with fine vision.  Read sections on WebMD, emedicine and other reliable sources. Good luck.