Macular degeneration

chessylady · ‎05-01-2010

I am 65 and the eye doctor told me today that I was in the very early stage of macular degeneration in my right eye. She attributed some of it to the cigarette smoking I did years ago(I quit 25 years ago). From the studies it was determined that getting lutein and zeaxanthin is important to slow this down. I plan to get more of the foods rich in these nutrients as well as take vitamins with the recommended levels. Have any of you had this diagnosis and if so, what supplements do you take and what has been your experience?

RACALAMB2 · ‎03-26-2010

My Mom just told me she has this!

She's getting shots in her eyes ,not sure what they are. I'll ask her about them for you.

I just heard you should eat PUMKIN. I'm going to tell her to get some libby's and eat a little everyday. Freeze it in an ice cube tray and just take a cube out everyday!!

Are you getting any treatment?

chessylady · ‎05-01-2010

No, the eye doctor said it was very early, just a few dots on the pictures of my eye. She just said to eat the foods, take supplements, and come back in a year. There is dry and wet macular degeneration. Sounds like your mom may have the wet kind that requires immediate attention. I will also try to incorporate more orange, yellow and green food. This shows up in more Caucasian women over 50, no cure, can lead to blindness.

Azcowgirl · ‎04-10-2012

Chess........I hope you can keep it at bay so that it doesn't get any worse. I am worried about winding up with it.....My dear Daddy lost his sight from it. I hadn't heard about pumpkin, but DD took kale and lutien and other eye nutrients but he was too late to stop it from progressing.

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

Both of my parents were legally blind from macular degeneration. My dad drove until he could no longer pass the vision test, which was much longer than he should have. It impacted them both terribly. Dad could no longer play golf, his love, nor could he go fishing alone in slippery mountain streams. He was also hard of hearing which alone was isolating. Mom had to quit her volunteer job as a docent at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and could no longer meet her friends for lunch. She couldn't see TV at all nor could she read. We got audio books but she had trouble making selections and operating the machine. She had the most limited vision. Her primary pleasure was sitting on the patio which, overlooked the golf course, in the evenings. Well, she apparently was bitten by a mosquito while sitting out there and died of West Nile virus in 2003. Turns out the golf course was not aerating a nearby pond which made it a pool of stagnant water.

As you can see, this disease has really affected our family. I get checked for it every year and found a source for a daily mega dose of Lutein. You can't get enough from food. So far so good. Dad did have a big expensive reading machine that he mostly used for writing checks and reading small things. Not really suitable for reading books. I don't remember if they had the wet or dry kind but theirs wasn't treatable.

Good luck to you!

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

Azcowgirl · ‎04-10-2012

Kachina .......it's so heartbreaking, .....Your poor Mom wound up getting west Nile on top of all of that.... and your Dad sounds so much like mine.I remember you talking about driving them on RV trips when they could no longer drive themselves....what a blessing you were able to do that for them... It was devastating for my Daddy too when his hearing loss made being blind even worse....he also tried audio books, and had a big magnifying screen . I should probably go on mega doses of lutien also. I'm so glad to hear that it is "so far so good" since you are taking it.

JeanLouiseFinch · ‎10-03-2011

My mom had this and it got worse with age. She was also essentially blind in her later years. My understanding is that there's both a wet and dry version, but I don't remember which one she had. As the macula degenerates, the person is left with only peripheral vision, and the degree varies from patient to patient. Now my uncle, her baby brother, has it. It's supposedly more common in women with light skin and light eyes. Smoking after age 60, high blood pressure and obesity are also risk factors. Due to having a couple of the risk factors myself along with the family history, I take a mulitvitamin that includes antioxidants, zinc, lutein and zeaxanthin plus another supplement that's a combo of lutein and zeaxanthin and I wear sunglasses whenever I'm outdoors for an extended period of time.

Good luck to you.

addiegal · ‎06-09-2014

My older brother has MD. He is legally blind and has been so since early '90's. He has the wet type and there was nothing to be done at the time of his diagnosis and it is too late now. He is a smoker and has diabetes and hypertension...and when I went with him to see a new opthamologist the doctor did not tell him to stop smoking, just to take the Ocuvite to protect the little vision he had left. He is not doing well as he doesn't try to adapt and make any effort to fill his day...he just sits and he has someone to drive him so he goes out to breakfast and dinner and that is his life! So, he is the poster child for what not to do with MD, but you can do all you can to protect your eyes from this devastating disease. I am so afraid of it myself and so far so good. There are some new things for the wet kind and the dry as I understand usually doesn't blind...I wish you well. Please eat well and take zinc and also omega3's are said to help.

JML · ‎03-16-2010

I was diagnosed with wet and dry macular degeneration 2 months ago. The wet means a blood clot that is bleeding behind the eye. My left eye is wet and right is dry. I immediately was rushed into Boston to a retina specialist who gave me my first treatment. I have had 3 shot in the left eye since April and see some improvement. I drive with one good eye. I do not drive out of town nor do I drive at night I am 78. I take PreserVision Arreds Formula2 for my condition as this was recommended by the specialist I saw in Boston. I have learned how to prepare Kale and now eat that along with other healthy food. There is a world of good information on You Tube. I am fortunate to live near Boston.

addiegal · ‎06-09-2014

JML, you are fortunate to have access to good treatment. My brother went to retina specialists at Vanderbilt ( I think) but there was so little to do back then...it sounds like you are doing good things for your health.