Stevie Nicks Opens Up About Struggles With Macular Degeneration

Stevie Nicks has recently expressed concern about her eyesight. The 76-year-old actress, known for her work with Fleetwood Mac, mentioned this in October during an interview with Rolling Stone. She publicly announced that she had been diagnosed with Macular degeneration about a year and a half.

However, Stevie Nicks’ macular degeneration did not stop her from being excellent as usual when she performed The Lighthouse on Jimmy Kimmel Live in November. According to her, the song, written in 2022, was important in her career as it emphasized women’s rights. But she suspected something was wrong with her eyesight when she began to see things and colors abnormally.

Stevie Nicks’ macular degeneration

Stevie Nicks shared that she had wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which usually happens as a person grows older. Her diagnosis followed a period of “seeing all these colors, big things of purple,” and it was as though she were having “acid trips.” The actress was confused about her symptoms as she had never had anything close to it. But after being diagnosed, she learned about the disease and how to manage it.

There are two types of age-related macular degeneration: dry age-related macular degeneration and wet age-related macular degeneration, which Stevie Nicks suffers from. Generally, macular degeneration occurs when the central part of the retina, known as the macular, is responsible for clear vision deterioration due to age. This illness does not make the person blind; however, their vision is affected. Stevie Nick’s wet age-related macular degeneration is less common between the two types and is more serious. It happens when abnormal blood vessels begin to grow under the macular and leak blood, leading to rapid vision loss.

Stevie Nicks undergoes treatment for AMD

There have been cases of age-related macular degeneration without a family history, but Stevie Nicks recalled that her mother suffered from dry age-related macular degeneration when she was about 80. Nick’s mother usually helped her father with financial accounts, but when she could no longer do it because of macular degeneration, she was heartbroken. “I think it killed her,” Nicks said.

Hence, after Stevie Nicks’ diagnosis, she became more intentional about her drawings, which were equally important to her as much as her songs. “You need to finish these drawings because what if you start to lose your sight?” She recalled saying to herself. Although there is no cure for macular degeneration, it can be treated and prevented from getting worse. Stevie Nicks says she is taking anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections to reduce the number of blood vessels leaking in the retina. “Now, every six, seven, eight, nine weeks, I have to have a shot in each one of my eyes. That’s going to be for the rest of my life.” She said.