Few things more boring than somebody talking about their medical issues, save maybe somebody talking about their dreams, but for those following the Amazing Adventures of Stevieman, the follow-up visit to the eye guy more or less confirms what we already knew: The OD–that's the medical term for "right eye," with OS being the left (for "oculus dexter," and "oculus sinister," respectively, in case you really want to to know)–is almost certainly afflicted with another abbreviation, AMD, i.e., age-related macular degeneration.
Doctors are loath to ever commit 100% to anything, as you may have noticed, in this age of reflex litigation. You hear the qualifiers, "probably," "most likely," "pretty sure," or "95% certain," kind of like the weather forecast. Leave yourself an out, just in case it rains anyhow ...
In the opinion of the guy shining blinding lights into the orb and viewing the scans through dilated pupils the size of dinner plates, is probably stable. Some chance it will get worse, can't say for sure, but maybe more chance it won't, so there you go ...
Go see your regular eye guy in a year or so, or if it gets worse. And unspoken: If it gets worse, we can't do anything about it yet. (Though Dan Moran posted a link to a new experimental surgery that implants stem cells in the eye and has shown promise in restoring vision. One hopes it doesn't get to the point where it becomes necessary.)
So, there you go ...
4 comments:
I remember a story I read half a dozen years ago that claimed Stephen King was going blind, and if memory serves it was macular degeneration. I haven't heard anything since, and in fact have seen some recent pictures of him without his trademark "Coke-bottle"'s on. I wonder how he handeled it and if that's something that you can do?
Scott.
Well, having yellow and green vegetables in your juices seems to work about as well as anything else you can take. Kale strikes again.
nd we have a winner on the quote, a certain M_____, who prefers to remain anonymous. From the movie Bladerunner, when the Chinese tech is being questioned by the replicants ...
Yeah, carrots and kale and blueberries and all like that, all of which I'm doing. I don't smoke, no family history, I am reasonably fit, my cholesterol isn't in the critical range, those are the biggest risk factors, but sometimes shit happens ...
I read about King's eyes years back, he announced he had macular degeneration and, if I recall correctly, said he was gonna quit writing.
He obviously hasn't quit writing, nor is he walking with a white cane.
Since then, questions about his eyes have been carefully deflected or slipped; he allows he has a "genetic tendency," and that there was a possibility he could lose central vision, but no, he isn't going blind.
Thing is, "genetic tendency" is not something that shows up on the exam, so if I had to guess, I'd say there was some kind of manifestation. Dunno how much, but something.
People with MD usually don't go blind, they keep some peripheral vision. In the two main versions, wet or dry, the wet is more aggressive but treatable. Since he allowed there wasn't anything that could be done for what he had, that probably means it is the dry version, which is what I have. If you have it in one eye and not the other and it's not too bad, you might not notice it. Several of the medical folk at the clinic told me they had patients who had almost no vision in one eye and weren't aware of it until tested, the good eye compensates.
So many similarities, King and I have; both named "Steve," both writers, about the same age, both like playing music, both have macular degeneration, both have children who are writers, both multimillionaire best-sellers ...
Oops. Wait. Scratch that last one ...
BLADE RUNNER!
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