Focus on Eye Health Expert Series: Geographic Atrophy

Janet S. Sunness, M.D., Medical Director of Hoover Low Vision Rehabilitation Services at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, discussion Geographic Atrophy (GA) and AMD with Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness.

[@KarissaDianeTunes]

Hi there!
I am 37 years old - I was initially diagnosed with early onset AMD at 21 years old. I have lots of drusen in both eyes, but I have recently (this week) been diagnosed with Geographic Atrophy. Thank you for having these videos available - it helps navigate the situation and get more expert information about what this really is.
Is there any kind of average prognosis for a timeline? It's really hard to know how much to prepare and how quickly... especially in someone my age.
Thank you.

[@KarissaDianeTunes]

ALSO - my visual hallucinations FINALLY explained! Thank you!!!!!

[@PreventBlindnessNational]

Thank you so much for your comment. Disease progression can be different for everyone, so it's important to monitor your vision on an ongoing basis and work closely with your ophthalmologist. We're glad there are now treatments available for GA. We also have a lot of resources at lowvision.preventblindness.org if and when GA does affect your vision, and there are also a lot of helpful resources at hadley.edu/ - among other programs they facilitate discussion groups and ways to connect with other people with similar experiences.