Macular Society Archives

US, all of us vs. AMD. The Video

Us,all of us, v. AMD – video

This is a terrifying example of what can happen; Watch our (Macular Society) new video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfGlf_jlWeI.

I was appalled and I mean absolutely appalled, by this lady`s experiences, after just five years, though you can get to the severe state in just two years.
Personally I have survived for eight years so far and I an still playing tennis even though I have total loss of central vision.

Based on my personal experiences

What can we do if or when it happens, the call to action;

Immediately start training your peripheral vision to take over as your dominant vision
Immediately start taking Lutein, 40 mg per day,
Be angry, very angry, that it`s happened to you
Channel that anger into helping you devise ways of checking that the road is clear, ways of doing things, of finding new activities, of creating new friendships,
Join a support group because they`ve all been through it
Keep active, go for walks (somewhere it`s green), get some good walking shoes, (much to my wife,,s horror I wore climbing boots every day everywhere for two years!)
Get better lighting at home and work and use bright colours
Think hard about how you can get the best from your smartphone
Think hard about everything you do to make it as successful as you can
And your support group will give you help with other things like kitchen gadgets and cooking

You can rebuild your self-reliance, resilience and self-confidence.

We are.

What can we do to stop it happening? There are no guarantees:

Take Lutein with Ziaxanthin supplement, 10 mg (upto 40 mg) per day from the moment you watch the video. (Not medically proven but I would sincerely recommend it. The video appalled me so do whatcever you can)
Naturally take a balanced diet, rich in kale, spinach etc
Wear sunglasses, particularly if you are blue eyed
Similarly wear a cap or other protection
Keep fighting fit because you will need to actively fight it and also keep your brain fit to fight it
Make sure you are up-to-date with smartphones Android or iphone

We can

Open letter to Macular Society re Lutein v AMD

An Open Letter to the Macular Society about Lutein v AMD

Looking at my local Macular support group only two out of twelve members had heard of Lutein and both used it successfully. The others, ten people had never heard of it.

Whilst the Macular Society on their web site support the benefits of Lutein, their quote is buried deep in the turgid detail of a report by scientists. I quote:

“Research supports the theory that high macular pigment levels may reduce your risk of AMD or its progression.Macular pigment can be increased by taking supplements with lutein or zeaxanthin or by changing your diet to include more of them.” Macular Society website.

What they don’t say is that 50% of users found that their eyes stopped deteriorating. They do not state that there is no scientific or statistical support for these same benefits being achieved by changing your diet on its own.

It is my contention that our Macular Society is letting our members down and allowing thousands of members to suffer continuing degradation of their sight unnecessarily.

If I was a cynical person I might think that this situation has occurred because of the financial support given to the Macular Society by the suppliers of assistive technologies. They have a strategic need to find more people with deteriorating eyesight. [They sponsor our annual conference and advertise in our magazine.] But may be that’s unfair.

THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE.

I Propose a new policy for the Macular Society:

Draft 2 for Lutein Policy for the Macular Society to consider.

(28^th september 2014)

“The Facts about Lutein

It is a fact that our eyes have Lutein in the macula.

The AREDS (Age related Eye Disease Study) found that people suffering from AMD got relief from further deterioration by taking supplementary Lutein (with Zeaxanthin) in doses ranging from 10 to 30 mg per day. There were no no side-effects observed.

There is also empirical evidence and some early studies showing that Cataracts cease growing when using the Lutein supplement.

There is increasing professional support of the results of using these supplements and some eye professionals are starting to prescribe them.

The Macular Society is pleased to see these developments and will conduct its own study of our members to try to confirm, or otherwise, the effects of the use of these supplements. In the meantime it is upto each person to find out as much as they can and take their own decision. We will conduct our own study and then we hope to endorse its use fully.

The Macular Society

Dated:…….