Macular Degeneration

Yo Mama

Yo Mama

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Sep 25, 2011
Messages
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So I'm only 36 and was diagnosed with beginning stage macular degeneration. It's not age related, as I'm younger, but still it's there. It was a total shock, I see fine with contacts and glasses. I haven't had a real eye exam in many years, so I went all in to a real eye doctor and not a contact place for refills.

I go back Thursday, and am starting AREDS 2 formula now, but till then I just wanted to see if anyone here has this condition, and how bad it can get? I'm worried about blindness, and everything I love in life involves my eyes. I don't know if it will progress that far, or how long it may take over time. The thought of not being able to see scares me.
 
No personal experience with AMD (my side of the family tends more to detached retinas, optic nerve strokes and eyeball bleeds, but some in-law side folks have it.

TYPICALLY, it starts showing up in folks over 55, hence the term AMD, Age-Related Macular Degeneration. For my in-laws brothers, it was first diagnosed about the time they hit their early 60s (they were twins - it was found in one and the other one then went in and was found to also have it). Even though they are twins and both have it, the disease has progressed at different rates. 12 years after being diagnosed, one has lost about 15% of his vision by degradation and the other, about 30%. The first one is still allowed to drive as he can still pass the DPS vision test but only does during the day. The other is not legally allowed to drive at all.

It has definitely been a life changer for them over time. One thing that has happened is that since they were first diagnosed, a lot of progress has been made in tretment. It is still not curable, but the rate of degradation can be retarded by lifestyle changes, e.g., diet, exercise, quitting smoking (if you do), among others, can slow the degradation down

Listen to the doc. and good luck. hopefully, yours will be a really slow case. I've heard of some people going 30 years with minor degradation. It was found and then just kinda quit getting worse, with no known reason.
 
Thanks zzyzzogeton

I appreciate the support

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Not a happy prospect. But as zzyzzogeton says, see what the doctors have to say and follow their advice. Don't worry too much before you've gotten definitive news.
 
I feel for you and it would frighten me as well. I wish you the very best and a VERY slow development/progression to this disease.
 
Thanks Esav and 22! Good feeling my bf family has my back.

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Sorry it took me so long to respond. One eye for now. Doc says based on my age it could be that it just doesn't go any further with use of the areds 2. It's pretty crazy what he told me about the wet form injections that work real well nowadays.

He said in the past it was something people were devestated by but now the supliment and if worse case the injections really make a difference.

Side note: the areds 2 supliment has 400 iu of vitamine e has been shown to increase risk of prostate cancer between 1 and 2 people in 1000. The eye doctor said don't worry about that, it's easy to fix prostate cancer especially if you go to the doctor every year for a physical! You can't fix your eyes at all with macular degeneration unless you take the supplement.

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Eye medicine has really improved over the years.

Nearly 3 years ago, by mother experience essentially a stroke in her right eye - blood vessel broke, flooding the eyeball with blood and she had 0% vision in that eye. After 24 monthly injections of "some kinda stuff", she was back up to 90% vision back, dropped to bi-monthly injections and is up to 95%+ percent vision.
 
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