OT: Macular degeneration

My vision is about border line for unrestricted drivers license. Near vision is very bad too.
Question is if anyone has experience with the specialty glasses?
Either close range or telescopic for driving
The optometrist never mentioned them after exam.
Unable to find any independent reviews on Google, only ads.
Thanks, Ken

Of the people I know who have this condition those who still drive expect to have to give it up as it progresses.

Although there are special low vision glasses and lenses AFAIK they are mostly aids to things such as reading and computers and will not meet most states minimum requirements for driving. Sorry to not be more positive but this condition is not only increasingly common but the best treatments only seem to delay rather than halt progression.

I assume you are diabetic, as are most with this condition and the number one thing that helps is to get the diabetes under control. I have one friend who has lost all sight in one eye and most of the central vision in the other. He has adopted an aggressive anti-diabetes diet and this seems to have slowed further progression. He no longer drives.

Like most things it's is somewhat hereditary. My dad has it hasn't driven in 20 years. Has it in both eyes but he had a burst aneurysm in one eye about 15 years and is blind in that eye he told he see a ring out of that eye. One of his doctors told him the other day if he would had it happen today they could have saved his eye . He gets an injection in his not so good eye about once a month to slow macular degeneration down. when mom can't take him to the VA I take him I watched one time they map his eye then gave him an injection in his eye. He told me he see bubbles as it's injected into his eye and he told me that it take a day for his eyesight to improve them as the treatment wears off his eyesight get worse. Ken

Not diabetic, no family history that I know of.
One device ca ought my attention is a Minnie telescope, about 1/2 to 1 inchin length.
Supposedly legal in most states for driving.
Cannot find any user info, so I am suspicious.

Wet type might respond to treatment, mine is dry.
Age qualifies one for degeneration, apparently that is the major cause. (I am 76)

Here is link to "miracle device" :Ocutech- Worldwide Leader in Development of Bioptic Glasses

kenh said:

Not diabetic, no family history that I know of.
One device ca ought my attention is a Minnie telescope, about 1/2 to 1 inchin length.
Supposedly legal in most states for driving.
Cannot find any user info, so I am suspicious.

Click to expand...

I am curious; is it wet or dry MD and has it been given a specific diagnosis by name. I ask because a friend had a type of macular problem unique to nearsighted people called Myopic Choroidal Neovascularization and it was caught early and successfully treated with a series of injections over several months. Although not every outcome is as good this condition is often more treatable than cases occurring due to underlying diabetes.

Ocular nutrition

I've never tried it....

Paul Harvey's Ocular Nutrition | LIVESTRONG.COM

Ken,
Did your optometrist actually say that you had macular degeneration or any other serious eye disease ????

Why not get a second opinion by an eye surgeon (Ophthalomologist) and find out what is really going on??
Best,
Jim

He is a eye surgeon, does cataracts, etc..
He said no cure, only a vitamin that may arrest it or slow it down.
I am taking it.
"Wet" type may be treated. If it is discovered/treated within 48 hours there may be an improvement.
One Nurse said it is "iffy", also chance of ending up worse.
In the final analysis The best thing is to die before going completely blind.
Drivers test next month, I may be put on a short leash, to town and back.
To sum it up: *&^$#@((

kenh said:

He is a eye surgeon, does cataracts, etc..
He said no cure, only a vitamin that may arrest it or slow it down.
I am taking it.
"Wet" type may be treated. If it is discovered/treated within 48 hours there may be an improvement.
One Nurse said it is "iffy", also chance of ending up worse.
In the final analysis The best thing is to die before going completely blind.
Drivers test next month, I may be put on a short leash, to town and back.
To sum it up: *&^$#@((

Click to expand...

Not just vitamins, load your diet with all the eye friendly stuff including fish such as (wild caught) salmon, blueberries, red peppers, greens, and many more. If you search the web you will find plenty of sites that list what foods provide the nutrition to support eye health.

Food can be medicine or it can be metabolic poison. Eating what works good rather than simply what tastes good is the best prescription for healthier older years. I know quite a few people who are in better health than they were ten years ago after changing how and what they eat.

Yeah, Kale is supposed to be a do all, cures diseases yet to be discovered. I am on my 2nd ton of the stuff

FYI my Grandad has the wet kind, started when he was in his early 80's. You don't end up fully blind with his kind. You get left with peripheral vision to some degree. Yep not enough to drive and more than enough to be registered as blind over here. Its a common result of badly managed diabetes, but thats far from its only cause.

Theres some really interesting treatments involving stem cells to reverse it. Still early days, but if you read the online research its looking like a problem that should be very treatable in a decades or so's time. So any dietary improvements - anything you can do to slow it down buy your self time, may really improve your treatment options down the road.

The glasses option is something to try, but bare in mind your playing with your remaining vision - brain interface and it will take your brain a good few days to adjust and if you don't like it it will also take your brain time to un-adjust. I think its something you have to try for your self. Just realise its going to screw up your coordination and its going to take time to readjust to that. These are not like reading glasses, you can expect to just slap on and be fixed, your basically changing the area of cells that see the image in the eye and that takes time to get use too. Equally thoes outer cells are not as numerous or sensitive so you will need brighter lighting + you won't have the vision you had either. Theres no free ride here with any lens, because fundamentally its not a optical path issue, its the eyes sensing layer thats failing.

Ken, may you find the best of possible outcomes.

For those of you with cataracts who are putting off the surgery you may wish to rethink your procrastination. Your optometrist can't properly examine your retina for macular degeneration when you have a cataract. Early treatment can slow the progression on the wet type, and slow the change from wet type to dry type.

Thanks Steve.
Gbent: cataracts were removed last summer. New glasses brought the left eye up to a decent level, then about a month ago it started to deteriorate.
I also follow a decent diet, inserting a Bacon cheeseburger on occasion!

kenh said:

Thanks Steve.
Gbent: cataracts were removed last summer. New glasses brought the left eye up to a decent level, then about a month ago it started to deteriorate.
I also follow a decent diet, inserting a Bacon cheeseburger on occasion!

Click to expand...

Eat every color of the rainbow and the fresher the better. Avoid excess salt and forgo as much sugar as you can stand. Don't neglect healthy fats especially fish oil, coconut oil etc. and there are specialty supplements aimed at preserving vision. IMO one of the best is Vitacost Eyebright Vison Complex, which seems to have a good balance of the recommended nutrients.

I am using the AREDS 2 Capsules, from viteyes.

According to the eye mechanic the AREDS 2 is what qualifies the good stuff/