We are looking for individuals who have had either type of implant, Retisert or Ozurdex, who would be interested in sharing their experiences about this type of treatment with people who are considering treating their birdshot in this way.
We believe that there have been more of this kind of operation in the USA than in the UK and would really appreciate it if anyone who reads this post, who has had this done could get in touch with us at via our contact form, so we can link you up with a couple of our members who are anxious to chat to people who have had this done, so that they can get some first hand feed-back.
Alternately, if you don’t want to email individuals directly we would love to have a write up on your experiences which we could publish on the website for all our members to read, or you could log-on to our forum and post details of your experience there.
Thanks. It is great to have a Birdshot community like this so that we can share experiences. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Annie and Rea
Hi Annie and Rea,
I had the Ozurdex implants about 9 months ago. The implants seemed to work well, but it is hard to determine the actual effectiveness.
The disease went undiagnosed and misdiagnosed for over 10 years. When it was finally diagnosed, we began with a treatment using Cellcept. The effect was immediate but the side effects caused us to have to cut that treatment short. We then went with steroid injections until the inflammation was under control. We then tried cyclosporin but again, the side effects cut the therapy short. We then went with the Ozurdex implants. The implants seemed to work well, but the previous treatments caused cataracts which needed surgery about 4 months into the Ozurdex treatments. To keep the inflammation under control we went with steroid injections a week prior to the cataract surgery so the actual efficacy of the Ozudex is unknown. We’re not sure if we will continue with the Ozurdex implant primarily because of the cost and shorter term nature of the therapy.
The options for future treatment we are now discussing are the Retisert implants, Humira, and another implant treatment that has been discussed but has not been approved for use as of yet.
In my particular case, I don’t tolerate the broad spectrum immunosuppresive treatments very well.
I have a Retisert implant in my left eye which was inserted last July. In November I had a cataract removed and a Restor implant inserted. The effect of the Retisert implant is remarkable, no signs of inflammation and God willing, no side effects such as increased pressure.
I too was unable to tolerate the systemic drugs as they caused MULTIPLE side effects. Recently, I had a steriod injection into the right eye as it too developed inflammation. Since that eye in the past deleveloped an increase in pressure, my doctor and I are cauious to move forward with a Retisert implant in that eye. I am exploring alternative. My hope is that my message will help you, God Bless and good vision. Kate C