Macular degeneration?

[pmanton]

Are any members dealing with a loved one's Macular degeneration?

What resources are there for help and assistance?

My wife's vision is getting worse and we're concerned.
I'm 87 and she is 85 which doesn't help.

One Dr. said she'll always have some vision, while another said she'll wind up blind.

Thanks.

 

[Vtgw938]

Paul:

My mom had it, I think one wet and one dry. She just passed away at almost 101.

She got a lot of assistance from the state such as a machine to help her read and write, books on tape and early on she went to group meetings and such. She had it for quite awhile, maybe 25 years. Even at 100 my mom could see enough to go to the diming room, eat and everyday things. At the end she couldn't really watch TV and obviously couldn't read.

Your state should have an agency dealing with blind & impaired that can provide a lot of information. I live in Vermont, I assume other states have similar resources.

I re-read your post. My mom ended up "legally blind" but she could always see.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Paul, let me echo Vtgw. My mom passed at 90. For the last 5 years of her life she had macular degeneration. Every 6 weeks she would go the the Cincinnati Eye Institute to get shots in her eyeballs. She called it "getting them topped off".

She said it was painless and she retained her eye sight until the end.

 

[blackdeuce]

My mother has it. She's 83. She gets a shot in both eyes. Monthly, I believe.

It's genetic. Her eye doctor suggested that my brother and I take lutein supplements daily, so I do.

 

[oldbrownhat]

My mother has it. She's 83. She gets a shot in both eyes. Monthly, I believe....

Me, too (alas) for wet AMD, about 6 years now. Not quite painless , but over quickly.

There is a gene therapy treatment available now although "eye-wateringly" expensive so your medical plan may not cover it. But it's a one-time procedure and involves just standard retinal surgery. The modified gene does just one job, without affecting anything else: fighting the "growth factor" that produces the distortion, just as the injections do, but it becomes part if the genetic makeup of the eye, so does not require "topping up".

New Treatments for Age-Related Macular Degeneration

I'm in the right age group, but apparently you have to have had cataract surgery before they'll approve it and I haven't, so I'm not eligible. (Not sure if that's a regional health requirement here or not.)

My retinal surgeon said recently that a newer technique only requires an injection - no surgery, which would be even better if that becomes available.

 

[wood714]

Paul, let me echo Vtgw. My mom passed at 90. For the last 5 years of her life she had macular degeneration. Every 6 weeks she would go the the Cincinnati Eye Institute to get shots in her eyeballs. She called it "getting them topped off".

She said it was painless and she retained her eye sight until the end.

My dad also had it and got the shots. When he got them in Ohio he said it wasn't that bad. When he got them in Florida during the winter he said it wasn't good, and his eye looked awful for a few days.

They told him without the shots he'd eventually go blind. He was still seeing most well when he died at 88.

 

[Onomea]

Paul, I send my best wishes for your wife, that her condition is treated quickly and successfully.

(My boss, 20 years ago, had that. He's still out there, looking around successfully.)

 

[bgrafsr]

I have dry Macular Degeneration in my left eye. I get an injection every 10 weeks or so and it helps.

 

[pasound]

I don't have "wet" MD, I have the "dry" kind. The treatment is two daily doses of the Areds 2 formula mega-vitamin supplements. It's 500mg (556%) of C, 180mg (1200%) of E, 80mg (727%) of zinc, and 4mg (444%) of copper.

Three years taking them, and no further deterioration has been detected. The doctor also the wet kind is easier to treat, as the shots are only as needed, and often will clear the symptoms for years after.

My doctor recommended the generic brands as opposed to the original Preservision brand. It's no longer a prescription item, so my insurance doesn't cover it, but the price through Amazon for their generics, or Sam's Club for theirs is reasonable.

 

[oldbrownhat]

I don't have "wet" MD, I have the "dry" kind. The treatment is two daily doses of the Areds 2 formula mega-vitamin supplements. It's 500mg (556%) of C, 180mg (1200%) of E, 80mg (727%) of zinc, and 4mg (444%) of copper.

Three years taking them, and no further deterioration has been detected. The doctor also the wet kind is easier to treat, as the shots are only as needed, and often will clear the symptoms for years after.

My doctor recommended the generic brands as opposed to the original Preservision brand. It's no longer a prescription item, so my insurance doesn't cover it, but the price through Amazon for their generics, or Sam's Club for theirs is reasonable.

I also have a bit of the dry kind, which is not unusual at my age (nearly 73) and I take AREDS-2 as well.

A neighbour and I are heading to the range this morning to make some noise. I think I'll be shooting mostly with my one relatively good eye (left) as my right one has some blurring and distortion due to AMD, which affects my stereo vision. Very depressing but it's better than it would have been 20 or so years ago when there was little or no treatment available. I just hope the gene therapy becomes available before I'm too decrepit to go to the range (Or, the way things are going up here, anything more evil than a slingshot is banned.)

 

[pmanton]

Thanks all for the info. My wife does take the Areds 2 eye vitamin.
I'd swap places with her if I could. :-(

 

[wundudnee]

I have had dry AMD for about five years. I also take two Areds 2 daily. I first noticed it as distorted power poles and crooked fences. Mine seems to bother me most cosing in from outside. I just passed my vision test to get my drivers license renewed. I will be 86 next month, so a four year license should be enough.

 

[Harrison]

First thing is to see a Retinologist, a specialists, not a regular eye doctor. Medicare should cover her treatments. Do not wait, it will only get worse.