Eye on AMD™ — On your side against MACULAR DEGENERATION

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What to Expect from Treatment

LUCENTIS^® (ranibizumab injection) is an injection given into your eye. Before you get your LUCENTIS injection, your eye will be prepped — or cleaned thoroughly — to help you avoid eye infections. Then, your retina specialist will numb your eye to limit any discomfort you might feel.

Many people who get injections for wet AMD feel some pressure on their eye. Most of the time, this pressure is all you will feel. After your retina specialist gives you the injection, the pressure should go away.

After an injection:

You may have some redness on the white part of your eye at the injection site
You may see a few specks in your vision
Your retina specialist may give you antibiotic eye drops to use for a few days after the injection to help prevent infection. He or she will tell you how to use them properly
Ask your retina specialist if there are activities you should avoid
Check your vision in both eyes using an Amsler grid and note any changes

The whole treatment process may take a few hours. After the injection, your retina specialist will schedule a follow-up. Then you go home. Your retinal specialist will regularly monitor your progress to determine the right treatment schedule for you.

AMD is a chronic condition and there is no cure. But it can become manageable by treating it regularly with LUCENTIS. In 3 clinical studies, patients were given LUCENTIS on 2 different treatment schedules. Patients were given LUCENTIS monthly in 2 studies. In another study, patients were given 4 monthly LUCENTIS injections and then received injections once every 3 months. Treating with LUCENTIS monthly gives you the best chance to improve your vision. Patients that received LUCENTIS monthly for only 4 months saw a gradual loss in their vision (approximately 5 letters or 1 line) over the following 9 months.

Because everyone is different, your retina specialist will regularly monitor your vision and determine the right treatment schedule for you.

Injections were generally well tolerated in clinical studies. In fact, 95% of patients returned to continue treatment.

You should not be treated with LUCENTIS if you have any eye infections. Tell your retina specialist about any other medications that you take prior to treating with LUCENTIS. This includes prescription medicines, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Many people saw impressive results with LUCENTIS. In clinical studies on average, patients started seeing an improvement in their vision after their first few treatments. However, wet AMD is a chronic condition and requires long-term treatment. You may not notice any immediate improvements in your sight. This does not mean that the treatment is not working. It is a gradual process that may maintain or improve your vision over time. Individual results may vary. In key clinical studies, a few people treated with LUCENTIS did have some vision loss. Keep in mind that without any treatment, the loss of vision is likely to be much greater.

Contact your retina specialist if your vision gets worse or the redness and specks don't go away after a few days.

Next > Talk with Your Retina Specialist

Who is LUCENTIS for?

LUCENTIS^® (ranibizumab injection) is a prescription medicine for the treatment of patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

What important safety information should I know about LUCENTIS?

Like any prescription medication, LUCENTIS is not for everyone. You should not use LUCENTIS if you have an infection in or around the eye.

Like other injections given into the eye, serious eye infection (endophthalmitis) and detached retina have occurred with LUCENTIS. Increases in eye pressure have been seen within 1 hour of an injection. Your eye doctor should monitor your eye pressure and eye health during the week after the injection. If your eye becomes red, sensitive to light, painful, or has a change in vision, you should seek immediate care from your eye doctor.

Although uncommon, conditions associated with eye- and non–eye-related blood clots (arterial thromboembolic events) may occur.

Serious side effects related to the injection procedure were rare. These included serious eye infection, detached retina, and cataract. Other uncommon serious side effects included inflammation inside the eye and increased eye pressure.

The most common eye-related side effects were red eye, eye pain, small specks in vision, the feeling that something is in your eye, and increased tears. The most common non-eye-related side effects were high blood pressure, nose and throat infection, and headache.

LUCENTIS is for Prescription use only. Individual results with LUCENTIS may vary. Please see LUCENTIS full Prescribing Information. For more information visit www.LUCENTIS.com.