Wellness

[Kachina624]

On 7/26/2014 Azcowgirl said: 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.

Azcowgirl, It's too bad our dads didn't know each other. They would have had a lot in common. Yes, I drove that motor home towing a Ford Explorer all over the US. They sold it about 4 months before mom died when dad had to be on oxygen full-time and they could no longer go to the high altitudes. Nearly broke their hearts. We all loved the mountains so much. They were Colorado natives. Do you get checked regularly for MD?

[Feral]

I am now 66 and was diagnosed with macula degeneration at age 48, my sister who is 5 yrs older than me was diagnosed when she was 53, my aunt went blind from it and other in my family have it. I take Andrew Lessman Eye Support capsules and my doctor (who specializes in glaucoma, macula degeneration, retinopathy, etc.) is very impressed with the ingredients and feels they have been a great help in keeping blindness at bay.

[Ibby114]

Bausch & Lomb has a product my Dad uses - PreserVision Eye Vitamin and Mineral Supplement AREDS 2. He's had MD for years and it has helped. It's important to get the AREDS 2 formula (not just AREDS) because it contians zeaxanthin. I believe Andrew Lessman's eye product also contains lutein and zeaxanthin.

[Azcowgirl]

On 7/26/2014 kachina624 said:

On 7/26/2014 Azcowgirl said: 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.

Azcowgirl, It's too bad our dads didn't know each other. They would have had a lot in common. Yes, I drove that motor home towing a Ford Explorer all over the US. They sold it about 4 months before mom died when dad had to be on oxygen full-time and they could no longer go to the high altitudes. Nearly broke their hearts. We all loved the mountains so much. They were Colorado natives. Do you get checked regularly for MD?

Kachina.....I wish they had known each other too....... I know when my parents finally could no longer drive their motor home, they donated it to a charity .....Mom stood in the window and cried as it pulled away out of the driveway and drove away ): I haven't been checked for MD, but I certainly will now.Thank you and best of health to you.

[Dancing Barbara]

I was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration (dry type) in 2011. I am now 74. One aunt and one cousin had this. I get checked twice a year and take the AREDS2 formula twice a day. So far, I have not had any problems. I have large soft drusen which is not good. I also have an autoimmune disease called Guillian Barre Syndrome which takes about a year to get over.

[bebe777]

cheesy lady, I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis. From a supplement perspective, I would suggest that a combination of lutein/ zeaxanthin, DHA ( from Omega3) and a good multi- vitamin are your best bets.

While you can get some lutein from green leafy vegetables, unless you actually Vitamix them, I don't know how much of the lutein your body will actually absorb since their cellulose cell walls are difficult to break down. And the only good souce of zeaxanthin that I know of is spirulina which is a type of green algae and tastes terrible. Also, when you eat these food you also need to make sure you are also consuming some fat (preferably DHA) since these nutrients are fat soluble. Otherwise they cannot be absorbed by the body.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are very exciting nutrients with respect to eye health. You should have a look at the US government website pubmed dot gov for more information. Just enter key words such as lutein or zeaxanthin and macular degeneration or eye. In our bodies, zeaxanthin is concentrated in the very center of the back of the eye at the point where damaging UV radiation penetrates the eye so that we can see objects. Lutein surrounds this yellow dot of zeaxanthin with a yellow circle of it's own. The fat lipid concentrated in the eye is the DHA fraction of the Omega3s.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are able to absorb this damaging fraction of blue UV light so that it does not damage the eye.

I would highly recommend that you use supplements to make sure you are getting enough of these nutrients on a daily basis. I have been using supplements and experimenting with a number of different brands over the past seven years. By far, Andrew Lessman's supplements from procaps labs dot com are the very best supplements I have ever used. And his customer service staff is very knowledgable and helpful (and they don't try to hard sell you products). You can feel free to ask them all the questions that you have.

I would suggest that you purchase their Ultimate Eye product and take two capsules each day (that's what I take). I would also suggest that you add their Essential-1 one capsule multi- vitamin to your regimen because that should provide you with foundational daily nutrients. -- Since the most cost effective way to get Omega3s is a liquid bottle form (versus capsules), I would suggest the purchasing the 16oz bottle of Carlsson Omega3s which you can purchase on either iherb or Vitacost for around $31. It's an excellent company that specializes in fish oil and they use the most effective form of Omega3s ( and not the cheaper and less effective alcohol ester form). I would suggest that you take about one and a half servings each day so that you will be getting about 600mgs of DHA daily.

. Also, Procaps has a TS on each of these supplements during the year. They just had one for the Essential-1. Next spring they would be having TSS for both the Ultimate Eye as well as the Omega3 capsules.

Best of luck!!!

bebe.

[BLH]

There are two kinds of macular degeneration. Wet and dry. Macular degeneration affects your central vision. Someone with macular degeneration can be looking at you but can't see your face, but can see all around you. There is nothing you can do for the dry except take the vitamins to try to slow down the progression. The wet is the leaking behind your eye and that's the one they give the injections for. It can run in families. People with macular degeneration should look at an amsler grid everyday to see if there is any difference in their vision. Lighting is very important to these patients. They should sit by a window to read. Lighted magnifiers can help also.

[misspammie]

BLH, I had that grid on my fridge and looked at it periodically. Ran into a woman while shopping (in the meds asile) and she started a story that scared the beegeezes out of me. I've had the lazer operation to relieve pressure, and know I'm prome to MD. This woman told me stories that stick with me today. My eyes now seem to be feeling dry, BUT also have read on here it could be constantly blowing fans?? (just moved south and fans go constantly along with the A/C). I just keep in touch with my NEW doctor down here and I'm hoping for the best. My new doc even commented on what a wonderful job my other doc had done with the operation. I called my 'old' doctor's office and let them know the kudos he'd gotten from a fellow doc. Left msg. with the nurse and she was elated to let him know.