Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick?

Friday, March 19, 2010

Visudyne (verteporfin for injection) Therapy:
15 minutes to inject the light activated drug Visudyne in my arm. ( I have small veins and the doctor didn't want to rush the infusion). Antibiotic drops in the eye. Then numbing drops in the eye. A lens coated with some sticky gooey stuff is placed in my eye while the doctor shines the brightest light ever recorded on earth in it. The light is applied for 83 seconds (an odd number you might think, I did). Oh, and don't go into the sun until Tuesday. Apparently the drug injected into my arm us UV activated and will give me the most horrible and quick sunburn I could ever have, and I've had some pretty horrible sunburns. That was fun... But wait! There's a second treatment!

"Avastin was not initially developed for treatment of the eye. Based upon the results of clinical trials that demonstrated it's safety and effectiveness, Avastin was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer." Now isn't that just too hysterical!
Apparently it blocks or inhibits a substance know as "vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF". This helps prevent further growth of the offending blood vessels in my retina. After the pupil is dilated and the eye numbed, the medication is injected into the vitreous, or jelly-like substance in the back chamber of the eye (yep, you heard me injected, like with a big needle into my eye!) as needed at regular intervals (every 4 to 6 weeks).

OUCH! So yep, I just got through with all of this and it feels like I got poked in the eye with a sharp stick! Hope your day is going well!

k