AMO may have caused Permanent Eye Damage

Indianapolis, INGregory McDonald went through five months of agony before his eye infection cleared up, all because he used AMO Complete MoisturePlus contact lens solution. "There is still concern that I may have permanent damage," says McDonald.

"Around October of 2006 I noticed a slight irritation and dryness in my eyes then I started to get a discharge," says McDonald. "I'd heard about bad batches of saline, such as Renu, so I tossed out the AMO solution I was using, thinking it might have been an old or bad batch and bought another bottle of AMO." But the damage was already done; his eyes worsened to the point that he couldn't wear contacts and had to seek medical help.

"I went to the nearest MedCheck center and they treated me for pink eye," says McDonald. "They also told me that it was some kind of infection, but treatment for pink eye was the only treatment they had available. The infection started to clear up with these drops and they also gave me a shot of antibiotics.

But about two weeks later, my eyes were drastically worse. The discharge was horrible and I was so light sensitive. As well, I felt something was constantly in my eyes; they itched and burned and I would get intermittent twinges of extreme pain.

It got so bad that one day I was out marketing and couldn't even finish my day's work because I couldn't drive. This time I was driven to the Urgent Care Center and they diagnosed conjunctive eye infection, probably from saline solution. At this point I switched brands - no more AMO.

By February my vision was so bad I couldn't drive with glasses or contacts. I could barely wear sunglasses, they were so light sensitive. I live where I work and my partner had to run errands for me, and run me around. I was at my wit's end.

That is when I went to my ophthalmologist and he determined that it wasn't just any old eye infection; I had Acanthamoeba keratitis, a rare but serious cornea infection and I needed to be treated with steroids--directly into my eye.

After about one week's treatment of these steroid drops - that burnt almost as badly as the infection—my eyes finally cleared up. It certainly took a long time to get the correct diagnosis and treatment. But I am not yet out of the woods because the inflammation from the infection was so intense that it caused 'infiltrates' around my cornea. They are basically little tears and I have to make an appointment this week to see if there has been permanent damage.

I have also noticed a decline in my vision since this issue. I was told in February to come back in six months for an eye exam. I am 36 years old and in great health; I certainly don't have any medical conditions that would cause eye problems. I went for almost half a year wondering if I was going blind. I spent almost a week with my eyes closed as much as possible and missed many days of work; if I didn't live where I work, I would have missed a lot more days."

As well, McDonald had to pay for visits to the MedCheck center and the Urgent Care center and his prescription costs were exorbitant. "I went through a lot of pain and discomfort and also threw away about $150.00 worth of lenses," he says.

"Just yesterday I went online and read about a class action lawsuit on your site against Advanced Medical Optics Inc., the makers of Complete MoisturePlus contact lens solution." McDonald wants to be reimbursed for his medical expenses, and then some...what is five months of pain and agony worth, five months wondering if you are going blind? McDonald will leave that question for his lawyer.