Age Related Macular Degeneration

Updated 28th August 2013 Still battling on. Suffered a couple of setbacks as the doctos gave me some rablets for High Blood Pressure and they may have been too successful as my eyes suffered. Nine months on my eyes may be recovering. Still I thought you might like this link to hear what an eyecare professional comment on the Macular society.

I also need to tell you taht I’m now taking 80mg Lutein each day and whether it’s actually working or whether it’s told my brain that this is a serious problem and needs to be dealt with i don’t know but it’s not as bad as when I initially had the HBP pills damage.

By the way my left eye developed Wet AMD.

Updated 02022011 Lutein. I read somewhere about positive effects of Lutein. The test cases used 20-39mg per day and got positive results. I’m fairly well built and I need to get a result so I’m taking 40mg per day. I need to clear my eyes fo the gunk if I can. It seems to be working as I’m back to reading the paper, in the right light of course and it’s easier to use the computer and the Kindle. I’m scheduled for another eye test in early July. I’ll report how we get on.

Posted 11012011 Age-related Macular Degeneration.

I found I was suffering from dry AMD about four months ago. I also have a slight void in the macular muscle which is distorting my vision.

My optician, well his lady assistant actually, picked it up and arranged a fast appointment with my optician / ophthalmologist, because he has an OCT (Optical coherence tomography) machine. Yes, there was the build-up of dry AMD. He arranged an appointment with the local eye hospital but the specialists there couldn’t see any build-up and sent me forth saying there was nothing there “I can’t see anything wrong.”

I assume that’s why they also have an OCT machine, because it can ‘see’ better than the human eye. However their machine is fairly old and can only take a photograph of three slices across the eye whereas my optician’s is the latest and takes 127 photographs – forty times more detailed.

Suffice to say I got a new appointment at a different eye hospital, with the same result even though their machine was slightly newer, but it only takes a photograph of seven slices across the eye, so my optician’s is still nearly twenty times more detailed.

I’ve told my optician that ‘in the land of the blind, the one-eyed is king’ and he’s the king, also that he has already seen more in his patients eyes than the ‘experts’ have done.

As far as treatment is concerned there’ is no treatment yet for Dry AMD, though possibly lutein may help. I’m taking 30mg per day in the hope that it’ll do some good. Also I’m hoping stem cell treatment may be possible at some stage.

Meantime I’ve turned down the brightness of my computer screen; bought a Kindle; rebalanced how much time I allocate to the various tasks I ask my eyes to do and I’ve bought a Blu-ray player.

But it’s not looking good.

No driving at night; no clear view of a person’s face; no recognising people across a room (except by listening); no newspapers;  no lip-reading;

As I said, it’s not looking good.

Cliff

For the Doctors

For the Doctors

I use my eyes to see the far horizon
I use my eyes to see the beautiful South Downs
I use my eyes to see a buzzard climbing a thermal
I use my eyes to see a kestrel diving on its prey
I use my eyes to see the sunlight on the waves,
I use my eyes to see a swan mothering its cygnets.

I use my eyes to follow a butterfly
and then to get a picture of it.
I use my eyes to marvel at the moon
and the lightening lightning,
I use my eyes to marvel at the blue sky,
the green grass, the yellow daffodils,
the pretty pinks, and the red roses,
I use my eyes to create new art from sunsets,
holiday huts, the blossom on a branch,
palm trees, even fresh fruit.

I use my eyes to write books,happy and
hopeful books
I use my eyes to write poetry and prose
I use my eyes to create story cards
for learning english
I use my eyes to create
a website for learning english
I use my eyes for on-line forums
and discussion groups,
I use my eyes to see people and
to focus on their eyes and their faces.

I use my eyes to spot weeds and to sow seeds
I use my eyes to enjoy sumptuous squashes,
the merry marigolds, crisp cucumbers,
bolshey brassicas, the Barlotti beans,
the cornucopia of courgettes, and
the pile of peppers, the pretty petunias,
the lines of leeks and the lovely lavender,

I use my eyes to harvest the bags of beans,
the bunches of onions, the gaggles of garlics,
the purple plums, the tons of tomatoes,
the armfuls of artichokes, the pots of potatoes,
the piles of pumpkins,
the baskets of strawberries.
the heaps of swedes and parsnips.
And now to read the menu

I use my eyes to cook and to wash up
I use my eyes before we cross the road
I use my eyes to see the road ahead
I use my eyes to see the path over the Downs
I use my eyes to see the boardwalk to the pier.
I use my eyes to enjoy dancing and the theatre

I hope to use my eyes for grandchildren,
I hope to use my eyes for my wife as we age.

My eyes I take seriously and personally,

Yours truly,
Cliff Jenkins,
3rd September 2010 (V 111110.)

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