Thus, I was cured of my serious eye problems
By JIRARA
© JIRARA, September 2022, Published by JIRARA on matrubharti.com
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Disclaimer: It is the same as in my previous articles published in matrubharti.com.
Preamble: Here (and may be in some future closely related articles) is my personal account of the health care that I and my BA (mother) have/had received from our family (and other doctors) over a period of more than last three to four decades. Here, I am going to mention the names of the drugs/medicines/tubes/drops (where applicable and based on my memory) used for our treatment/s, because it is very important to mention these for the sake of clarity and completion (and usefulness in the future); rather than hiding these names for the fear of adverse or over-publicity or being ‘dubbed’ as an advocate of the medicines and/or their manufacturers; and I want to ascertain here, that I am not the brand ambassador of any of these (allopathy or ayurvedic/herbal) medicines, and this story-article is not sponsored or suggested by any of the doctors involved in the treatment. I am writing a true story related to the health of some individual/s, and hence, it is important that I clearly and openly mention the true names of the doctors and the medicines without any hesitation; and I am not interested in any kind of my personal publicity.
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Dedicated To: My wife Smt. Virmati, and our son Mayur who had taken immense of care of me during this phase (2013-2016); and to Dr. Mrs. Sati Devi, Glaucoma specialist, and Dr. Mrs. Chaitra J., Retinal specialist (of Narayan Netralaya, Bangalore; NN1 and NN3). Also, to Dr. D. Amaranarayan (CMO), and Dr. N. Ramakrishna (CMO) for their tremendous support and treatment during this very difficult phase of mine.
Acknowledgements: This story, and subsequent medical treatment related stories are profusely dedicated to our family doctors: NAL-CSIR doctors (in Bengaluru): Dr. D. Amaranarayan (CMO), Dr. N. Ramakrishna (CMO), Dr. Mrs. Swetha Desai, Dr. L. Prakash, Dr. Ms. Malvika; and the physiotherapist Y. Nagaraj; who from time to time had provided correct diagnoses, complete prescriptions of medicines, and proper referrals (including health care aspects/suggestions/treatments) to other doctors and/or Hospitals in respect of me, my BA as well as all the members of my family for several decades. In fact, due the treatment that I had received, my health-index had been very high, and my life has definitely prolonged by some years. I am also grateful to some doctors of Netradham (Bangalore) for correct initial diagnoses of my eye problems.
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Note: As I have said earlier, we all are mortals, and we basically need oxygen, water, and food (hence lot of energy) to sustain our lives on this planet. Most of our food is plant based, and these plants ‘prepare’ food by absorbing energy from the Sun. Even though, the most non-veg food comes from animals, these animals also eat mostly plant-based foods, and hence their stored energy in some form comes to us. Now, if there is any contamination in any or more of these ingredients, in most cases we fall sick: breathing problems, food-poisoning, vomiting, acidity etc. Also, if there is deficiency in any or more of these, we become malnutrition-ed; the balance of food is always necessary for usual and normal life sustenance. We also fall sick due to: i) over work (get exhausted, and weak and our immune system becomes weak, and might lead to other complications), ii) some genetic problems inherited from our parent/s, and iii) in many cases due to bacterial and/or viral infections. There are other diseases/ailments: a) blood pressure (BP), b) diabetes, c) vertigo (Chakkar), d) cancer, and others. Also some problems are related to i) liver, ii) pancreas (diabetes Type I and II), iii) kidneys (stones, failures), iv) intestines, v) eyes, vi) heart/lungs, and vii) brain. There are many more minor or major issues (urinary track infection/UTI, allergies, eye-infections, and so on…), since the human body is a vast system in the number of components it has, and the continuous functioning of these sub-systems and their interactions are so involved that a common lay person cannot understand, except only superficially.
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The medical doctors, in my opinion, are like our own ‘relatives’, and true friends; and the correctly prescribed medicines are our routine companions.
Thus, I was cured of my serious eye problems
It was in November-December 2013, that on one Saturday, when I had gotten up from the bed, I felt that I was not able to see properly the dial of the wall clock hanging in front of me on the wall. I really got perturbed and panicky, and I washed the eyes and again I found that I had similar un-clarity in viewing the objects, so the same day I went to a nearby hospital and I got my eyes checked by an eye-specialist, who had said that something serious had been happening, and suggested that if that continues I must see him again soon.
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So, then after a few days I went to NAL-health center and got the prescription for getting my eyes checked further in another hospital (Netradham, Bangalore), and since the appointment was in the evening at 5:00 p.m., I went to the doctor, after my duty at the private college was over, and then got the full check-up done, for which my both the eyes were dilated. The diagnosis was that there was a condition of Glaucoma, and I was prescribed the tablets to reduce the IOP (intraocular pressure), which was quite high, more than 20 units.
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I was given a report that had also mentioned that I had onslaught of the macular edema in my right eye, and it was in an advanced stage, and some drops were prescribed, and some actions to be taken by me for further treatment which was outlined very clearly; and all that should be carried out as soon as possible.
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From the net: i) Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that cause progressive damage of the optic nerve at the point where it leaves the eye to carry visual information to the brain. If left untreated, most types of glaucoma progress, without warning or obvious symptoms to the patient, towards gradually worsening visual damage and could eventually lead to blindness. In effect, the peripheral vision is diminished.
ii) Macular edema happens when blood vessels leak into a part of the retina called the macula. This makes the macula swell, causing blurry vision. There are many different conditions that can cause macular edema. The most common one is diabetic retinopathy-an eye condition that causes vision loss in people with diabetes. In my case it was not due to diabetes, but it was related to my old age, and may be due to high BP, which I had been having since 2002.
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Since, I had gone to this hospital by my car straight from the college, and that my eyes were dilated, I was advised by the receptionist lady (at the Netradham hospital) that I should not drive back home immediately, but I should wait for several minutes before that; so, I crossed the road and walked to a restaurant opposite the hospital and had some tiffin, and spent some time there; then I drove to my residence that was nearly 7 kms. away, and by that time it was already night, and I had lot of difficulty in managing driving because every source of the light I had seen had wider area, and was too bright; somehow I reached home, and only next morning I was comfortable, since the dilation had reversed.
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Further course of action for Glaucoma:
Since, I had started the medication, I had thought that I would be alright in a few days, and although my vision was not clear, I kept going to the college, but I used to have difficulties in reading; of course I had to go only twice a weak hence I continued, and the situation seemed worsening. My wife told my son, and he said this can become a serious matter, so, he proposed to take me to NN1 to consult Dr. Sati Devi; it seems he had earlier already met her in connection with the similar problem of his close friend, whose first two attempts of the operation for the Glaucoma condition had failed at some other private hospital in Bangalore. In NN1 his friend’s treatment was very successful; so we went there, and the doctor suggested that the YAG laser therapy be done for my eyes to control the IPO (intraocular pressure); which was successfully carried out within a week’s time; and since then I have been putting the medicinal drops (Dorzox T, Bimatoprost) twice/thrice a day in my both the eyes.
From the net: A laser beam (the YAG laser) is used to make a microscopic hole in the iris (the coloured part of the eye.); the hole (iridotomy) creates a ‘release valve’ and creates an alternate channel for fluid to flow through the eye. The iridotomy decreases the risk of having angle closure and vision loss from glaucoma, by now regulating the IOP, which should be less than 20 units in both the eyes.
Further course of action for Macular edema: Due to this condition, the central vision of my right eye was drastically reduced. For which we had consulted Dr. Chaitra J. (NN3) and it was suggested that I take some injections in my right eye; at that time only two medicines were approved in India: i) Avastin, and ii) Lucentis; and there was no oral treatment available.
First the approval from CMO of the NAL’s health center was taken who in turn had taken the approval of the NAL’s Health committee, and so on; since the Lucentis was very costly medicine, and if NAL bought it in bulk, it would be cheaper (the original price was nearly 50,000 INR). In the process of nearly two years’ time, I was administered 15 injections (one Avastin, 13 Lucentis, and one eylea, this latter medicine was available later on, and costed a huge amount) in my right eye; and with this treatment, my condition came under control, and afterwards it has not deteriorated.
For this treatment we had to make several visits to NN1/NN3, and NAL health center (HC): i) first to go to NAL HC to get the prescription of the doctor for consulting the NN1 (or NN3) specialist; ii) then, to go to NN3 to check the condition of retinal swelling, and take image to see the thickness of swelling, and get the recommendation letter from the NN3 doctor; iii) then show the letter to NAL HC, and get the approval for the medicine; iv) when the injection-medicine was received at NAL HC, collect it and go to NN1 (or NN3) for getting it administered into my eye in their mini-operation theatre; v) go to NN3 to get the eye checked for post-injection observation, if any problem was there due to injection; and vi) to see the NN1/NN3 doctor for seeing if there was any improvement in the eye or not, for which the eye-scanning was to be done again; and this process-visits were carried out for 15 injections; in all nearly 80 visits were made to NAL HC, and NN1/NN3 in a period of two and half years; this was not only taxing me, but was a very heavy burden to my son who had to adjust with his office work, which he did without ever telling me that he had to do some adjustments, etc.; and how he managed with all the visits, since someone had to take me to the hospital (because I alone could not go my eyes would be dilated), I really do not know; only during one such session his friend had taken me to the hospital, because my son was out of town.
Some other treatments related to my eyes:
a) Since, I was to be given injections in my eyes, it was necessary that my other health parameters were within the prescribed limits (in the ranges specified), because I had already BP problem, and was also on regular tablets for cholesterol, and blood thinning. So, it was suggested that I must have the EEG, ECG, EchoCG tests done; the first two were done at NAL HC, and the third was done at Manipal Hospital (opposite NAL).
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From the net: i) An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that measures electrical activity in the brain using small, metal discs (electrodes) attached to the scalp. Brain cells communicate via electrical impulses and are active all the time, even during sleep. This activity shows up as wavy lines on an EEG recording.
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An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) records the electrical signal from the heart to check for different heart conditions. Electrodes are placed on the chest to record the heart's electrical signals, which cause the heart to beat.
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An echocardiogram (EchoCG) checks how your heart's chambers and valves are pumping blood through your heart. An echocardiogram uses electrodes to check your heart rhythm and ultrasound technology to see how blood moves through your heart. An echocardiogram can help your doctor diagnose heart conditions.
b) Complete blood checks, so many parameters to be checked, for which nearly two or three samples of blood were taken; and most results were negative, except that vitamin D was deficient, for which some tablets were taken.
c) Also, a treatment during which several laser shots were given in my eye, for which the eye was dilated and I was told by the doctor that she had given some 1200 shots, I really do not remember what this was done for?, but it was really painful, and while she was giving the shots I had got headache, of course I was told that if it created head ache I must tell the doctor so that she can wait for a few minutes before continuing the treatment. I do not know whether this has helped in my macular edema or not.
d) Several field vision tests were done for my two eyes, to check the Glaucoma development, and this required a lot of patience, I found that this test was really boring.
e) Several times, the Cornea measurements tests were carried out.
From the net: A pachymetry is a simple, quick, and painless examination used to measure the thickness of the ‘cornea’. It has different applications in daily clinical practice, such as complimentary examination in glaucoma, to determine potential refractive surgery or even to diagnose certain diseases of the cornea.
Aftermath:
So, in the period of three years from 2013 to 2016 (and even afterwards nearly every six months), I had gone through several hassles related to my eye-treatment, but because of timely and quick treatment, and regular medicines my conditions of eyes are fine, not that great, but I am able to manage, and I am psychologically able to accept the present condition. In fact, my left eye does not have macular edema, though it had Glaucoma, and of course no operation was required for the latter. However, looks like cataract is lurking. Overall situation is that I was/am able to read properly, and during my treatment and even afterwards, I have written three technical books that were published by the CRC press (Taylor & Francis), Florida, USA; and recently I have submitted manuscript of one more book to CRC.
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