• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Eyeball injection redux

Eddy Edson

Eddy Edson

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
In remission from Type 2
So about 2 years after a course of 6 Eylea injections resolved (for the time) my diabetic macular oedema, I was back in the chair getting another spike today.

Another old microaneurysm near the centre of my left retina had started leaking gunk, causing the swelling which is DME. Thickness back up to 380, from 290 a few months ago. The ophthalmologist advised me to have a shot & nip things in the bud, rather than waiting to see how it develops.

A bit depressing but apparently it's common to need this kind of intervention from time to time, once you're on the DME train. Even with all the risk factors (BG, BP, cholesterol) under excellent control, those legacy microaneurysms left over from the days of poor control are like unexploded bombs which can trigger pretty much at random.

Anyway, probably just a single shot, not another multi-injection course.

I guess the lesson is: avoid getting to the stage of moderate non-proliferative background retinopathy! The risk of DME goes up a lot once you move beyond "mild" NPBR.

Eddy Edson

Post in thread 'Eyeball injections. What a lark.'

So down to 302 microns two months after fifth shot versus 317 microns before, and versus 260 microns before the edema developed.

300 microns is roughly diagnostic for DME but the usual protocol would be just observation at my current levels, unless there were complicating factors like exudates close to fovea etc.

On the other hand, if you're already on a Eylea etc program, the usual protocol would be to keep going while improvements continue.

On the other other hand, with diminishing returns like I'm experiencing, it becomes a jugement/preference call, balancing modest improvement...
  • Like
 
Last edited:
Fingers crossed it's just a single shot Eddy, and hope you're feeling ok :care:
 
Vonny said:
Fingers crossed it's just a single shot Eddy, and hope you're feeling ok :care:
Click to expand...
Thanks! I'm fine - the injections are really nothing much, surprisingly.
 
Three years ago I had 16 Eylea injections with no improvement, the consultant decided it wasn’t diabetes related and ceased the treatment, my left eye is compromised and my sight is poor, luckily the right is still good, Eddy is correct about the legacy problem but I wouldn’t say the injections are really nothing much!
 
agentmole said:
Three years ago I had 16 Eylea injections with no improvement, the consultant decided it wasn’t diabetes related and ceased the treatment, my left eye is compromised and my sight is poor, luckily the right is still good, Eddy is correct about the legacy problem but I wouldn’t say the injections are really nothing much!
Click to expand...
I'd probably also be less inclined to say "nothing much" if I'd had 16 shots with no improvement :(
 
Last edited:
I sometimes wonder how many eye infections I’ve had, I must ask @the DMO clinic after all they should know, I started on Eylea then they tried Lucentis then Vabysmo currently have a Ozurdex in my right eye :thankyou: it does it’s magic in there.
currently I just have a problem which in the last letter the consultant sent my GP described as, nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) as you can see over the years have had multiple treatments in both eyes.
 
goodybags said:
I sometimes wonder how many eye infections I’ve had, I must ask @the DMO clinic after all they should know, I started on Eylea then they tried Lucentis then Vabysmo currently have a Ozurdex in my right eye :thankyou: it does it’s magic in there.
currently I just have a problem which in the last letter the consultant sent my GP described as, nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) as you can see over the years have had multiple treatments in both eyes.
Click to expand...
Sounds like Ozurdex is working for you? Hope so!
 
So with lots of postponed appointments due to work etc had the follow up review for the "top up" Eylea shot from a couple of months ago yesterday & everything once again resolved - thickness back down to 280 microns & the eye looks just fine under OCT.

Apparently this (like most of my experience with this condition and this drug) is pretty common - need for an occasional "top up" from time to time, probably no need for a whole new course of treatments if risk factors kept under control.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top