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Photodynamic Therapy Visudine

Posted , 3 users are following.

kylie91848
kylie91848

HI Everyone

Just wondering has anyone ever had PDT?

I am only 36 and been diagnosed with a choroidal hemangioma.about 6 years ago. Now it is leaking fluid. They want to do PDT treatment only has a 50% chance and a heaps of side effects that will really screw up my life.

I do not beleive in drugs and have tried natural remedies hoping this thing will disappear.But no such luck. Although they said it had shunk a bit.

My main concern is this drug has only been licenced in Australia for only 15 years and the clientel is usually old fokes aged over 70. I have a feeling i will end up wih liver or kidney issues such as cancer as i used to drink heaps of alcohol. I don;t particulary wish to suffer i would prefer to die and be done with it.

My Intuition tells me a loud n clear no. I do not trust this doctor at all.But everyone keeps telling me he is the best in Aus and i should just go along with whatever.

1 like, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • robert93685
    robert93685 kylie91848

    Posted

    I am an eye doctor so used to dishing out, not receiving! 

    Please bare in mind the visudine by itself does not do much.  It is light that does the work.  Basically the molecules accumulate in abnormal blood vessels.  Then laser light shines on that area for 83 seconds and the blood vessels are meant to shut down /shrink.  Of course as visudine is in the whole bloodstream you have to be careful and cover up for 48 hours when outside to avoid direct sunlight afterwards.  Visudine is cleared by the liver so caution if you have actual liver failure or cirrhosis.  Your GP can check your existing liver function by a simple blood test.

    Visudine has been use in lots of frail elderly people without problems. Of couse it is not licensed for kids nor pregnant women. 

    You should be fine and this is a much easier and safer option than eye surgery or radiotherapy to remove the haemangioma inside your eye.

    Nowadays visudine has been superceded in treating wet macular degeneration but is still the best treatment for choroidal polyps and your condition. 15 years is a pretty long safety profile.  Hope this helps.

    • crys15821
      crys15821 robert93685

      Posted

      Hi robert93685,

      I will also be getting visudine treatment next month for my right eye for wet macular degeneration. I'm currently undergoing injections in the same eye and my doctor suggested visudine to help with persistent fluid.  

      I would like to get new glasses.  Does the visudine treatment and injections affect my prescription.  Should I wait to get the glasses until after my visudine treatment?  If so, how long?

      Thanks for your help!

  • kylie91848
    kylie91848

    Posted

    hi there,

    Just wondering how old r u?

    My major concern with this drug is the side effects. I am scared of ending up with gastro cancers as i have found evidence to suggest this drug is Cancerogenic. I have read the product information and have a lot of questions about long term effects. I have also read another oneline forum where a guy described this drug as "feeling like he has been poisoned.

    This is a major concer too:

    "s. In addition, other photodynamic therapy agents have been shown to increase the incidence of SCE in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells irradiated with visible light and in Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts irradiated with near UV light, to increase mutations and DNAprotein cross-linking in mouse L5178 cells, and to increase DNA-strand breaks in malignant human cervical carcinoma cells but not in normal cells. Verteporfin was not evaluated in these systems. In other assays verteporfin, with or without metabolic activation (hepatic S9 fraction), and with or without irradiation using white (full spectrum) fluorescent light, showed no evidence of genotoxicity in assays of gene mutation (bacterial and mammalian (CHO) cells) or clastogenic activity (CHO cells in vitro and an in vivo mouse micronucleus test). Verteporfin, with or without irradiation, was also negative in an assay of unscheduled DNA synthesis in rat hepatocytes. It is not known how the potential for DNA damage with PDT agents translates into human risk. Effects on Fertility No effect on male or female fertility was observed in rats following /PI_PDF/vid.pdf  And another thing i was told i only have 50% chance of it working. Lets say it fails i have just significantly increaesd my chances of getting god knows what cancers.

    • robert93685
      robert93685 kylie91848

      Posted

      As you can see it is light that does the work as with this chemical free reactive oxygen is released.  The chemical can change DNA just like UV light from sunburn .  Reactive oxygen in PDT treatment is released within the abnormal blood vesel cells when the calculated dose of laser light shines on the retina for about 1 minute.  Avoid further bright light by staying indoors and covering up after the treatment.  Most of the verterporphin leaves the body within 24 hours but it is recommended you cover up and stay in doors for 48 hours afterwards.  I have seen many cases of skin damage and cancer caused by sunlight, never seen a case of cancer from verterporphin.  I cannot be sure verteporphin never causes cancer but the risk seems relatively low.
    • crys15821
      crys15821 kylie91848

      Posted

      Hi Kylie,

      I am 72.  My doctor actually didn't mention any concerns other than skin damage with PDT.  I wasn't aware of the potential carcinogenic effects.  She also said that there is no guarantee that the treatment will work.  Hoping for the best!

  • kylie91848
    kylie91848

    Posted

    HI Crys 

    How did your treatment go?

    Did it work?

    Did u suffer any side effects?

  • kylie91848
    kylie91848

    Posted

    Anyone in the know about alternative medicine? 

    Does anyone know of any natural remedies that would shrink a tumour?

    I have tried eating Tumeric, Cinnamon, Garlic, Ginger, Fennel seeds, pepper balls, Cumin and i also take saffron tablets. But unfornately the tumour is getting bigger.

    Does anyone know anything about Thistle milk? I am tempted to try it. I know it makes warts disappear. 

    what do people think?

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