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la_rainette... I am, today, a Very Happy Frog, and March 2005 is officially reinstated as a Very Good Month (in my books, at least, even if it's snowy and cold and Froglet bit the dentist - but that is a story for another day.)
So I have this eye thing, on the right eye. I've had surgery on my retina, 3 times. I have some vision remaining on the right eye, but not very very much, and I tend to be very protective of it. When I was diagnosed with a recurrence, 2 years ago, I started getting visudyne laser treatments. They are the only retinal laser treatment that do not actually damage the retina. The treatment is very expensive and not covered, but it works fine: in most cases, it stabilizes vision. In 3% of the cases, it even improves it a little.
Now, I have been very lucky. Not only have the treatments stabilized my retina, but because I am young to get that sort of treatment (yes I am, shut up), I have also been in the 3% who notice a slight improvement. I still see my doctor regularly, though, for check-ups. It is always nerve-wracking, and I spend the last few days before the appointment with a nagging fear at the back of my brain. Treatment? No treatment? What comes next?
So I went to see Sexy Italian Eye-Dottore today, and he had nothing but good news for me. My vision is stable, and the scar on my right retina is dry, and I am now down to one appointment a year. Sexy Italian Eye-Dottore is very nice, and I am sure we would have become good friends if our kids had been the same age and had gone to the same school, cos we love exchanging anecdotes, and we have the same parenting style and the same sense of humour, so we get along great. But frankly? Seeing him only once a year suits me just fine.
Am I cured for good? I do not know. But today I am fine, and boy, does it ever feel good.
So I have this eye thing, on the right eye. I've had surgery on my retina, 3 times. I have some vision remaining on the right eye, but not very very much, and I tend to be very protective of it. When I was diagnosed with a recurrence, 2 years ago, I started getting visudyne laser treatments. They are the only retinal laser treatment that do not actually damage the retina. The treatment is very expensive and not covered, but it works fine: in most cases, it stabilizes vision. In 3% of the cases, it even improves it a little.
Now, I have been very lucky. Not only have the treatments stabilized my retina, but because I am young to get that sort of treatment (yes I am, shut up), I have also been in the 3% who notice a slight improvement. I still see my doctor regularly, though, for check-ups. It is always nerve-wracking, and I spend the last few days before the appointment with a nagging fear at the back of my brain. Treatment? No treatment? What comes next?
So I went to see Sexy Italian Eye-Dottore today, and he had nothing but good news for me. My vision is stable, and the scar on my right retina is dry, and I am now down to one appointment a year. Sexy Italian Eye-Dottore is very nice, and I am sure we would have become good friends if our kids had been the same age and had gone to the same school, cos we love exchanging anecdotes, and we have the same parenting style and the same sense of humour, so we get along great. But frankly? Seeing him only once a year suits me just fine.
Am I cured for good? I do not know. But today I am fine, and boy, does it ever feel good.
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Date: 2005-03-03 02:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-03 02:45 pm (UTC)Also, hot doctor? That's not fair! *secretly trades yours with mine*
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Date: 2005-03-03 03:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-03 04:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-03 05:43 pm (UTC)Either way, YAY!!
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Date: 2005-03-17 08:14 am (UTC)I was diagnosed with a retinal membrane while I was pregnant with Tadpole -- a retinal membrane is a vascular membrane with unhealthy blood vessels that tend to leak all over the place, and they grow and grow until they massively hemorrhage behind the retina and you lose your eye, so it's not like you can ignore the thing altogether. The lovely eye treatment with "soft laser" supposes that you get a special dye injected in your system, but said dye was not safe for Tadpole so I had to get surgery, twice, to remove the blasted thing, and then I did have a retinal detachment right after Tadpole was born - my retina was too fragile for natural birth, I guess - so that was surgery number three.
Which is why I am of course THRILLED that I am now apparently cured for the time being. There is a fair chance that it was all linked with the hormonal imbalances of pregnancy, so as long as I don't get pregnant again, I should be fine for the next few years.
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Date: 2005-03-03 06:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-03 07:10 pm (UTC)Hooray!! That is such great news!!
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Date: 2005-03-04 06:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-04 06:46 am (UTC)