macular degeneration, macular, diagnosis Diagnosis – My Macular Degeneration Journey/Journal

AMD: The Disease Process by Amanda Legge, OD

Dr. Amanda Legge (pronounced Leg-ee) is a member of our Facebook group. She’s an Optometrist at the Wyomissing Optometric Center in Eastern Pennsylvania.

I want to summarize AMD as a disease process. I explained this during my Facebook Live talk with Linda on 12/12/2021. I also recommend looking in Guide 2 for “what tests does my eye doctor do to diagnose and manage macular degeneration”. In that post I show what normal retina health and normal OCT looks like in comparison to this post about AMD.

Click on image for larger version.

AMD is a disease of the transport process of nutrients in and waste products out of the macula. Oxidative stress and other factors damages the bottom layer of the retina called the RPE (retina pigment epithelium). The RPE has several jobs, but one of its main responsibilities is to help transport waste OUT of the retina, through the RPE, and into the blood vessels below so that the waste is eliminated then with the rest of the waste our bodies produce. It is also responsible for carrying nutrients from the blood vessels under the macula, through the RPE, and INTO the macula where it nourishes the photoreceptors that are responsible for our vision.

The disease of AMD is a fault of this transport system as a whole. Studies show AMD starts 3-5 years before eye doctors can view this clinically in the macula as drusen. An entire wash of waste deposition already builds between the blood vessels and macula as very early AMD starts (shown in electron biomicroscopy of donor eyes, we cannot visualize this yet clinically). As that waste product builds more and more, eventually eye doctors can see the iceberg peaks of that waste deposition that we call drusen. Drusen look like yellow bumps/deposits in the macula during a dilated eye exam.

Drusen can be present for a very, very long time (decades even) in the macula before vision deteriorates. But if the disease progresses, not only is waste not able to escape the retina (and builds up as drusen), it also creates a thicker and thicker barrier for nutrients to get through in order to feed the retina.

Advanced AMD

That is what is at the heart of vision loss in AMD, the photoreceptors are not getting enough nourishment so over time either AMD can progress to advanced dry AMD or turns to wet.

Advanced Dry AMD (often called geographic atrophy) occurs when the photoreceptors don’t get enough nourishment and slowly die off (atrophy) over time until there are no photoreceptors left in large areas of the macula. No photoreceptors = no vision in that area.

Wet AMD occurs also because of lack of nourishment and oxygen to the retina. 15-20% of the time the body decides it’s a good idea to grow NEW blood vessels from the vasculature underneath the retina, through the RPE, and into the retina itself. In theory this sounds good, right? New blood vessels = new route for more nutrients and oxygen to get to the photoreceptors. It is a good idea……but unfortunately it’s only good in theory.

These new blood vessels, known as neovascularization, do not have the same structure as the blood vessels we are born with. They are much more fragile. Because of this they very easily leak and bleed causing fluid and blood to accumulate in the center of our vision which can quickly cause vision distortion or vision loss. So, it makes absolute sense why diet, exercise, control of diseases that affect our vasculature (diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, cardiovascular disease as the most common) and supplementation helps to protect the retina.

We can control oxidative stress by providing the retina with the fighting power of antioxidants to protect the RPE from further deterioration and thus less waste deposition.

Exercise helps increase the “push” through that thicker barrier, AMD diet helps feed the retina more nutrients when not enough gets through on its own. Control of vascular systemic conditions helps the blood vessels stay healthy so they can do their job easier of giving nutrients and taking waste. And as AMD progresses, AREDS2 and extra nutraceuticals [medicinal foods supplements, fortified foods, etc] help further boost the amount of good nutrients our macula craves to stay healthy (carotenoids and antioxidants).

It can be hard to change and maintain a healthy lifestyle for the long term. But hopefully understanding this process makes that a little easier when it all makes sense in the end. Have a great weekend everyone!. ~Dr Legge

Written December 7th, 2021.

Images with Dr. Legge’s Notes

Click on each image. To go to the next one, look for the arrow pointing to the right. To go back to the previous one, look for the arrow pointing left.

 

Personal Message December 11th, 2021 Our Genetic Guns: Part 5 and Final

Continued from part 4

Comment 10: Should The Moores Take a LMZ Supplement?

Looks like it would be of benefit to us since:

  1. We are not confident that our diets give us enough LMZ.

  2. We don’t know if our macular pigment and level of carotenoids in the brain are sufficient, which is what this research has shown to be important in reducing our risks of both AMD and Alzheimer’s

Can’t We Just “Pop a Pill”?

Taking a supplement is NOT a substitute for eye- and brain-healthy eating. We will still be eating our leafy green vegetables and colorful fruits and vegetables and other eye-healthy foods to get the other nutrients we need such as Vitamins A, B, C, and E (we were found to be deficient in D so we each take a Vitamin D supplements) and the other essential nutrients. We eat healthy plant-based foods and wild-caught salmon 2 or 3 times a week to get our Omega-3 fatty acids.

First Things First

There are always 2 concerns when considering any supplement:

• Are the ingredients generally safe to take & specifically safe based on one’s medical history & use of medications?
• If they are, which product is the best one as verified by one or more respected, independent testing labs?

Are the Ingredients Safe for Each of Us?

You should ALWAYS talk to your medical doctor before starting a supplement, especially if you have other diseases and take medications. We have different GPs, and we’ve been in touch with them. No problem.

Here are the 2 things I always look for:

  • Are there interactions with the medications we take and the diseases we have? I checked rxlist.com and drugs.com. I checked each of the 3 carotenoids. No interactions for either of us. There are very few issues for anyone, but check it out for yourself.

The 20 years of this research has shown these 3 carotenoids are very safe. There is research to back that up, but it’s beyond the scope of this post.

Comment 11. Which Brand?

I came to this stage in my research feeling confident that taking LMZ was safe for both my husband and me. I had also, to the best of my ability, gone through the research done by Dr. Nolan and his colleagues and felt confident that it met my criteria for solid, scientific research (according to the criteria I listed in Comment 4.)

The next step was to confirm which product was used in Dr. Nolan’s research. It’s what’s currently in the products MacuHealth (available in the US & Canada) and MacuPrime (UK & Europe).

If you watched the ‘Preventing Macular Degeneration Through Science’ video I posted last week (you did, right? ::smile::) you heard Dr. Kerry Gelb say he takes the MacuHealth product when he interviewed Dr. Nolan. Dr. Nolan said he takes it, his wife takes it, and his young daughter sometimes does as well. He and his family have since switched to MacuPrime.

Confusion

If you read the 2014 scientific paper from the CREST trials (you did, didn’t you? ::smile::), you’ll see the product listed as MacuShield. There’s a LOT of confusion about that! I reached out to Dr. Nolan who apologized for it (though it certainly was not his fault). At that time, the company that commercialized the formulation available to Dr. Nolan in the UK was MacuVision Europe, and they branded it as MacuShield. The company was then sold to Alliance Pharma who did not continue with the same formula that was tested. The company in the US that had the world rights to the formulation at the time of the study was MacuHealth (founded in 2006) and the product was then and still is MacuHealth.

Any research after this change in companies was with MacuHealth.

Clarification

Currently, MacuShield is a product only licensed in the UK and Europe. It is a TOTALLY different product than MacuHealth. I confirmed that in an email to the MacuShield company. They were very good and replied clearly & quickly. To be clear (again), MacuShield is NOT the product recommended here.

Bottom Line

MacuHealth products in the US and Canada and MacuPrime products in the UK and Europe are the products that contain the formulation used in Dr. Nolan’s research.

For those who are good candidates for an AREDS2-based formulation, there’s MacuHealth Plus and MacuPrime Plus. For everyone else, it’s just MacuHealth and MacuPrime.

For those who want an AREDS2-based formulation with 0 zinc, you can take MacuHealth/MacuPrime with LMZ and add 500 Vitamin C and 400 IUs Vitamin E separately. That’s the whole AREDS2 formulation.

Please remember my cautions for some of you who are or will be taking an AREDS2-based supplement – those of you with other diseases and who take medications. Please talk to your medical doctor before you start because the doses of Vitamin C and E in the AREDS2 formulation may be too high for you.

Comment 12: More Validation

I could have stopped there, but I wanted to make sure that I did everything for this product that I do for all supplements I choose to take.

Independent Testing

Of course, knowing that others take a product, especially if it’s the researchers themselves, is important, but so is independent analysis of a product.

Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports, a U.S. independent, non-profit organization recommends that since the FDA does not regulate food supplements in the US, it’s important to look for independent labs that test the products to make sure that what is on the label is in it. https://www.consumerreports.org/supplements/how-to-choose-supplements-wisely-a2238386100/

Consumerlab.com

My ‘go to’ independent lab, one recommended by Consumer Reports, is Consumerlab.com of which I’m a member. THEY are confused, too! Even though they are a U.S. company, they tested MacuShield, but not MacuHealth! I emailed them, and they replied that they DO know of the confusion and are working to resolve and report in it. I’m watching for their update.

NSF International

Another source of independent testing referred to by Consumer Reports is NSF International (it was originally the National Sanitation Foundation). The NSF has tested and certified  MacuHealth products (you can see what that means in the Consumer Reports Article above).
https://www.nsf.org/consumer-resources/articles/supplement-vitamin-certification

Supplement Certified

Another certification they have is ‘Supplement Certified,’ another independent lab that I referred to earlier. It’s a new project from Dr. Nolan’s Nutrition Research Centre Ireland (NRCI).
https://supplementcertified.ie/

Company Responsibility

If you listened to the podcast I referred to in Comment 3 (you did, didn’t you? ::smile::), you heard the story of how in one of Dr. Nolan’s clinical trials, when they used an early formulation with just lutein, they unexpectedly found meso-zeaxanthin in it. The trial was stopped, and the company stopped production and sales of the product for over a year. They did produce the new product and the trial continued.

Why Does It Matter?

So if a product has all 3 carotenoids (there are a few), what difference does it make which product you buy?

The lutein in ANY a product probably comes from marigolds. Where the marigolds are grown, what farming methods are used, and how it is processed is important. The processing creates the lutein, zeaxanthin, and meso-zeaxanthin that goes into the tablet or capsule that a person takes. The marigolds used for MacuHealth come from the same fields in Mexico and are tightly managed for specific best-farming methods.

In 2020, Dr. Nolan and colleagues did research (COAST study) to validate a new production method called Micro-Micelle(tm) that MacuHealth uses to make sure the LMZ has the highest possible bioavailability which means how well a substance is able to get into our circulation, to get to the target area, and to do what it’s intended to do. They confirmed that when they take the carotenoids in their ‘free’ form as in the original MacuHealth products, and enhance their stability plus use an oil base because carotenoids are oil solvable, this new technology gives you the best absorption of LMZ.

Read Reviews Online? Misinformation & Testimonials

I rarely do that (they are testimonials, after all), but out of curiosity I went to the Amazon listing for MacuHealth or MacuShield – can’t remember which, and found inaccurate information. Someone asked about MacuHealth and MacuShield: (paraphrasing) “are they the same?” and someone said “yes, they are. It’s the same company, but it’s called MacuHealth in the US and MacuShield in the UK.” WRONG! Yes, I told them that. ::smile::

Here’s another source of confusion. You CAN go to the Amazon US site and buy MacuShield. I emailed the MacuShield company about that since they’d told me they only have a license to distribute their product in the UK and Europe. The seller on Amazon US is a 3rd party distributor. If you purchase MacuShield through Amazon US, you will not get it right away because the 3rd party seller has to get it from the UK!

Got it?

Comment 13: A Beginning and The End

Whew!! Are you thinking, “All this to just pop a supplement? They’re ‘vitamins’ and as such, they can’t hurt!!”

If you’ve been with me long enough, you know how I react to that often-repeated opinion. They CAN and DO hurt SOME people.

However, having gone through this ENTIRE procedure which included talking to the researcher Dr. Nolan and others:

I CAN say that the research shows that taking LMZ in the MacuHealth and MacuPrime supplement is safe!

The Beginning

Change takes time. Making sure we’re getting the proper foods is work and a long-term commitment. We’ve only been taking MacuHealth for 2 months. We’ll be taking it for the rest of our lives.

As for us, I don’t expect to see quick improvements in our vision, but I certainly will be happy to have it be the best it can be as time goes on.

We both have issues with cognitive processing and memory (most likely due to medication), especially word retrieval which is a source of frequent ‘Charades’ (“You know, the thingie that you use for…whatever!”). Maybe someday we won’t have to spend so much time doing that! ::smile::

Not Pulling The Trigger

I started this with the sentence, “Genetics loads the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger!”

What I HOPE and PRAY I can do is come back in 10 years to say that neither of us have AMD or Alzheimer’s Disease!

The End!

If you’ve read this far, thanks so much! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Personal Message December 11th, 2021 Our Genetic Guns: Part 2

Continued from Part 1

Comment 3. Three (3) Carotenoids, Not Just 2!

I knew that antioxidants are important in battling oxidative stress, so I decided that I should go back to one area that doesn’t get much attention despite its 20-year history of solid research. You probably have heard about 2 of them: lutein and zeaxanthin. There’s a third antioxidant called meso-zeaxanthin.

About abbreviations: Meso-zeaxanthin is often abbreviated as M or Mz, lutein as L, zeaxanthin as Z. Sometimes you’ll see LMZ or LMZ3.

Carotenoids

Lutein, zeaxanthin, and meso-zeaxanthin are called carotenoids. There are MANY others, including beta-carotene. They are pigments that give plants their yellow or orange color. When we eat plant foods, these pigments benefit the body in essential ways.

Macular Pigment

At the back of the eye, at the very center which is known as the macula, LMZ collectively join and concentrate to form a yellow pigment that is called macular pigment (MP). Macular pigment protects the macula from harmful blue light (because it is yellow and can filter out the blue) and provides antioxidants to keep the photoreceptors nourished & healthy to fight oxidative stress.

We Need All 3

The short story is that research has shown that even though there are about 700 carotenoids, only these 3 are found in our macula: LMZ. They have a synergistic effect on each other, which means we need all 3 of them, so they work at optimal levels. Pretty amazing that of all the carotenoids available from nature, the eye ‘chose’ these 3!

Eating Plant Foods

The important thing to know is that if we don’t eat plant foods, we won’t have macular pigment. A researcher quit eating plant foods for 21 days & had virtually no macular pigment at the end of that period. When he resumed a diet which included plants, his macular pigment recovered. https://profjohnnolan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/loughman2012a-bjn-letter.pdf

It also means that if we don’t eat a sufficient amount of plant foods, we don’t have sufficient macular pigment.

It also means that if we don’t eat the plants that contain these 3 carotenoids, we may not have sufficient macular pigment.

Healthy macular pigment, which protects, nourishes the photoreceptors and fights oxidative stress, comes from getting enough of these 3 carotenoids.

With me so far? I hope so!

Comment 4. What Is Meso-zeaxanthin? Why Is It Important? Show Me the Research!

So what is meso-zeaxanthin, and why is it important? To be honest, it depends on who you talk & listen to and what you read. Research frequently comes down to the stories of the people who conduct it. That’s certainly the case with my journey.

The path I followed began when I listened to a September 3rd, 2021, podcast interview with Dr. John Nolan who has been doing research into the 3 carotenoids for the last 20 years (I’ll give you the link in Comment 5). Since then, I have watched countless hours of video, listened to hours of podcasts, and read (or tried to read) LOTS of scientific papers. I have enough of a background, education, and confidence in the scientific method that I felt I was able to understand and assimilate what I needed to be able to follow the research.

Little did I know how MUCH there was, but I was determined to dig through as much of it as I could. That’s why it took so long!

I found that there are many others who were involved and are still involved – quite a multidisciplinary collection of people. I’ll be introducing you to some. These are professionals who have dedicated their careers to the study of macular pigment in the macula which is only about 5.5 mm in the size!

Dr. Nolan (often referred to as Professor Nolan) is not only a scientist & researcher but also a compelling speaker and effective educator. He makes it clear that he’s only one part of this multidisciplinary team that has evolved over his 20-year career. During that time, he became the author or one of the authors of over 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals. You can find all his articles at https://profjohnnolan.com.

In the Beginning

In 2005 in Ireland, John Nolan defended his PhD in Biochemistry on a Wednesday and left for the US on a Friday. He’d applied for and was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to study at the Medical College of Georgia. There he worked with researchers who were studying how lutein affects our eyes. [Personal note: My husband got his Occupational Therapy degree at Medical College of Georgia, although he wasn’t there at the same time. I’m always amazed at what a small world it is!]

When he returned to Ireland, he set up the Macular Pigment Research group at the Waterford Institute of Technology. There they began to collect a body of evidence that pointed to the macular pigment as critical to the health of our eyes and as an indication of the level of carotenoids in our brain.

In 2016, he set up the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland (NRCI) where he is the Director. They’re involved in numerous project including the new Supplement Certified program where they are testing supplements to certify that what is on the label is in the product. In 2021, they analyzed 47 nutritional supplements containing carotenoids and found that 64% did not meet the content described on their labels. They are also working with supplement companies, so they make sure that what’s on the label is indeed in the product. Since supplements aren’t regulated, this is welcome news! For more, go to. https://www.supplementcertified.ie

Continuing Down the Path

There’s MUCH more to Dr. Nolan’s biography. I hope you’ve read what I wrote in the Events post (Facebook page) which is more complete.

Here are the reasons I chose to continue:

⁃ Dr. Nolan’s research is based on recognized scientific methodology, where the results are published in peer-reviewed journals. In the world of scientific research, there’s something called the ‘Hierarchy of Evidence.’ Although the details vary from country to country, Level 1 scientific evidence means it was obtained through randomized, controlled clinical trials. Dr. Nolan’s research has been Level 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy_of_evidence

⁃ He does not work alone. He repeats this over and over in his articles and interviews. He frequently refers to people he’s worked with over the years. This isn’t a ‘one man show.’

⁃ His research depends on objective measures of the levels of the carotenoids in blood, the macula, and the brain. He uses state-of-the-art equipment, equipment that has improved significantly over the years.

⁃ He does not work for any company exclusively. He has tested many supplement products. The main funding for his research comes mostly from government sources, including that of Ireland and the EU.

⁃ When he first started using an LMZ formulation from a specific company, it was with the agreement that he would publish the results no matter what they were. And he did!

NEXT: PART 3 –COMMENT 5. DR. NOLAN’S RESEARCH: HIS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Personal Message December 11th, 2021 Our Genetic Guns: Part 1

A Personal Message from Me, the Founder and Administrator of This Group. December 11th, 2021.

This began as a project for my Facebook Group founded in May 2016 to be an extension of this site. The day before I posted it, I decided that it should be here, too, for anyone who can benefit. I apologize about the ‘comment’ format. I hope it’s not too distracting.  – Linda Chernek Moore.

Who should read this?

Everyone who is concerned about eye and brain health:

• those with and without macular degeneration,
• those with and without cognitive problems, including Alzheimer’s Disease.

In my opinion, that means everyone here.

My Journey Story

I will – for the first time in over 5 years here – tell you what supplement my husband and I take and why. I will take you step-by-step through the process of how I came to select it for us.

This isn’t a sales pitch because I’m not actually promoting a product, I’m actually promoting good scientific research.

Why am I sharing it in what seems to be a ‘big way’? It’s because I think it is important. You probably know how cautious I am about supplements. I do not promote the “It’s a supplement/vitamin, it can’t hurt!” They CAN hurt some people. I have many examples of that.

This is one of the FEW times I’ll be able to say, “It can’t hurt! It’s safe!”

Our Genetic Guns

My dad had advanced dry AMD/geographic atrophy. My husband’s mother had AMD, but we’re not sure of the type. Neither of us have AMD – yet – but research has shown that we each have a higher risk of it than someone with no family history. We each have additional risk factors as well.

There’s another disease for which we both have an inherited risk factor: Alzheimer’s Disease. My mother had it. We think my husband’s mother had it as well, although it may have been another form of dementia.

In memory of Harry & Genevieve Chernek and Elizabeth & Jacob Moore

I’ve shared this quote that’s often used for discussions of genetics:

genetics loads the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

What does that mean? It means that a person may have a specific genetic makeup that predisposes them to a disease, but lifestyle factors DO matter. They can prevent the expression of the genes or can lessen the impact of them.

With family histories of AMD -and- Alzheimer’s, our guns are loaded!

We are COUNTING on those lifestyle factors! I’m 68 and my husband is 70. There’s a third risk factor: age. They’re both age-related diseases, so our guns are REALLY loaded!

Comments

I’ve been working on this in ‘fits and starts’ since early October, so it’s been almost 2 months. I hope I’ve managed to put together a coherent description of this long process. Because there’s been so much to it, I’ve put the details in the comments (on the Facebook page, that is). Here is an outline, so you can go to what you’re interested in if you don’t want to read the whole story.

Outline

1 The Eyes and the Brain: Same Lifestyle Factors
2 Oxidative Stress and Antioxidants
3 Three (3) Carotenoids, Not Just 2!
4 What Is Meso-zeaxanthin? Why Is It Important? Show Me the Research!
5 Dr. Nolan’s Research: His Questions and Answers
6 Where Do People Get LMZ? My Questions and Answers
7 Time to Get Personal: Are The Moores Getting Enough LMZ?
8 Can The Moores Improve Their Diet?
9 Those of You With AMD: Your Benefit
10 Should The Moores Take a LMZ Supplement?
11 Which Brand?
12 More Validation
13 The Beginning and The End

Comment 1. The Eyes and The Brain: Same Lifestyle Factors

The eyes are actually part of the brain, so it’s not surprising that what benefits the eyes, benefits the brain. If you’re not familiar with the connection between the eyes and the brain, here’s a brief explanation. https://youtu.be/4Na0Mj0b_6A

Lifestyle Factors for the Eyes and the Brain

The same lifestyle factors affect them both. Nutrition and smoking are the main ones. I never smoked, but my husband did but quit 40 years ago.

I started my investigation with nutrition because of our continued struggles with the Mediterranean way of eating, which is recommended for both diseases. We try our best to eat healthy but found that we were falling short of the very specific nutrition advice given frequently.

Not Just Healthy Eating

Years ago I found out that ‘eating healthy’ does not necessarily mean ‘eating healthy enough for the eyes’ and now discovered the same thing applied to eating healthy for the brain! Much more to it!

Comment 2. Oxidative Stress & Antioxidants

In both diseases, oxidative stress is a major factor because research has shown that it leads to inflammation, which leads to diseases such as AMD and Alzheimer’s. I wanted to make sure I understood the terms oxidative stress, free radicals, and antioxidants.

What Exactly IS Oxidative Stress?

Think about an apple that you cut and is exposed to the air. It changes & spoils the apple, doesn’t it? Also, think about what rust is. Both processes are from oxidation, which means something is exposed to oxygen and is changed.

Some people say that since we depend so much on oxygen, aging is just rusting! Lovely image, huh? Soon I’ll be introducing you to Dr. John Nolan who says this is “the cost of doing business with life.”

In the body, oxidation is a chemical reaction in a cell when it is exposed to oxygen. Our retinas use the most oxygen of any cells, so that’s a LOT of oxidation!

In these cells, there can be an imbalance of what are called free radicals (the ‘bad guys’) and anti-oxidants (the ‘good guys’).

Oxidative stress is when the ‘bad guys’ are getting control, which is NOT good! Here’s a short video that explains this.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR2pV_Z35dnfoWxdzx9IXdmQSm9t6MfMR1VAkHCsAkFCQHNlB9b3ks69XS8&v=9OgCjhAFCC0&feature=youtu.be

Oxidative Stress and Inflammation

Oxidative stress can trigger inflammation which is thought to cause dis-eases (yes, I purposefully put in the -) like AMD and Alzheimer’s, or at least it’s thought to be a major factor. For more information about the effects of oxidative stress on the body—> https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324863#summary

Anti-oxidants

So to battle oxidative stress, we need a good and consistent supply of anti-oxidants (that is ‘anti’ for ‘against’ & ‘oxidants’ referring to oxidation and oxidative stress; I’ll leave out that ‘-‘ from now on).

This 15-minute video is the first part of a Continuing Medical Education course which gives a GREAT explanation of the process and introduces the role of the 3 powerful antioxidants that are critical to protecting and nourishing our photoreceptors, which are the cells that convert light to sight. ‘Macular Pigment Supplementation: A Prescription for Vision and Cognitive Health.’
https://youtu.be/-8n9rz2AmXE

I highly recommend part 2 as well.

Next: PART 2 – THREE (3) CAROTENOIDS, NOT JUST 2!

Personal Message December 11th, 2021 Our Genetic Guns: Part 3

Continued from Part 2

Comment 5. Dr. Nolan’s Research: His Questions and Answers

Perhaps the best way to understand how this research evolved over time is to listen to Dr. Nolan describe it in detail before he joins us on Tuesday, December 14th (see the Events section on the Facebook group’s page). It was this podcast from September 3rd, 2021, that helped me to understand how the researchers started by looking at lutein and then measuring and testing all 3 carotenoids.
‘Age-related Macular Degeneration, Supplementation, and Key Research Findings in the Field of Ocular Nutrition.’
http://broadeye.org/nolan/?fbclid=IwAR29J6lcBxCYHkAGuV8wTfsxD7t6cbnNieWFC8U1wLihlVrcStYcR_0DC0g

The Questions

What’s clear from the podcast is that he approaches all his research as you should – with questions. The basic ones were:

  • Can we prevent eye diseases like AMD by enhancing the macular pigment?
  • By optimizing all 3 carotenoids in the macular pigment, can we improve contrast sensitivity (ability to detect differences in shading and patterns), reduce glare issues, improve photostress recovery (ability of vision to come back to normal after exposure to bright light) and other measures of vision in everyone with or without AMD?
  • Does the measurement of the macular pigment give us an indication of the levels of the carotenoids in the brain?
  • Does enhancing the level of carotenoids in the body prevent a disease like Alzheimer’s?
  • Does enhancing the level of carotenoids in the brain help improve memory and cognition?
The Answers

The answers after 20 years of doing study after study were yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes!

He and his colleagues were able to move beyond subjective measures to objective measures that could be validated and reproduced.

Summary

As far as the research about our eyes, they not only looked at the ‘traditional’ measure of vision which is visual acuity, but objectively measured contrast sensitivity, glare sensitivity, and other aspects of vision. Having sufficient levels of LMZ meant significant improvements in these measures.

As far as research about Alzheimer’s, they not only looked at preventing the disease but at improving memory and cognition.

Understand My Excitement?

I hope you understand why I was so interested in the work he and his colleagues did and continue to do 20 years later!

Onward!

After digging through all the research I could and talking to Dr. Nolan personally to fill in the gaps, it was now time to apply the findings from the research to my life and my husband’s.

Comment 6 Where Do People Get LMZ? My Questions and Answers

So MY big question at this point was:

If we need all 3 carotenoids, can we get them from our diet by eating plant-based foods?

Although we can get enough lutein from plant-based foods, it’s harder to get zeaxanthin and almost impossible to get meso-zeaxanthin because it’s found only in the skin of some fish like trout and shellfish. We don’t eat trout or shellfish.

Somewhere along the line before this project, I’d read that zeaxanthin & meso-zeaxanthin are made from lutein in the body.

There are researchers who believe that the body metabolizes lutein and produces meso-zeaxanthin so as long as we’re getting enough lutein, we are fine.

Dr. Nolan says that he believes that SOME people do produce meso-zeaxanthin from plant foods, but not everyone. He’s done extensive testing of people’s macular pigment over the years and estimates that 15% of the population don’t have optimal macular pigment for whatever reason.

What reasons? Not getting enough lutein? Getting enough lutein, but their body isn’t converting it to meso-zeaxanthin? The ‘jury is still out’ on this, but it may be because of a lack of certain enzymes.

Next: PART 4 – TIME TO GET PERSONAL: ARE THE MOORES GETTING ENOUGH LMZ?

Personal Message December 11th, 2021 Our Genetic Guns: Part 4

Continued from Part 3

Comment 7: Time to Get Personal: Are The Moores Getting Enough LMZ?

How do WE know if we are among those who get enough lutein from our food and make enough meso-zeaxanthin from it? We don’t.

What I understood at this point from the research:

This is big!

This is the key to stopping that genetic gun from firing!

Since we cannot get a measure of our macular pigment, we have to assume it’s not as healthy as it needs to be to prevent both diseases.

Comment 8: Can The Moores Improve Their Diet?

My husband and I have had general concerns about our nutrition for some time:

  • We have trouble finding produce that we’re convinced is nutritious because there are well-documented problems with farming, distribution, and availability.

  • We often don’t get the vegetables cooked properly. Sometimes they are in the refrigerator for too long. Our health issues mean that some days we just don’t have the energy to prepare a healthy meal, even though we have the food.

  • We both have diseases for which we take medications, so we know we don’t absorb nutrients from food as well as someone with no other diseases and who do not take medications.

  • Because of our age, we don’t absorb nutrients as well as someone younger.

Even if we were to try to follow the Anti-AMD Diet that I refer to frequently (see Guide 11), the daily recommendation is to eat 6-7 servings of fruit and vegetables a day: 2.5 cups of vegetables & 2 cups of fruit). A serving is ½ cup cooked, 1 cup raw. The vegetables should include leafy greens, but I’ve not seen any recommendations of the ratio of leafy greens to other vegetables.

That’s a LOT! Do YOU eat this every day? We certainly don’t!!

Comment 9: Those of You With AMD

So far, I’ve shared research that says that having the optimal amount of LMZ in the macula is linked to the PREVENTION of AMD which applies to me, my husband, your kids, your grandkids – those of us with a family history – and your friends and neighbors who do not have AMD or a family history of it.

Want Me To Fast Forward? Sure!

You’d like me to fast-forward, right, to the part where I tell those of you who already have the disease what, if anything, LMZ will do for you?

Relief From the Symptoms

Full disclosure: this is not about slowing the disease – at least we don’t yet know/haven’t proven if having optimal macular pigment reduces the risk of AMD progressing to an advanced stage such as wet AMD or Advanced Dry AMD/Geographic Atrophy. Those types of clinical trials take a LONG time.

We DO know it is about:

  • protecting the photoreceptors from further assault and damage from oxidative stress;

  • improving the symptoms that make vision with AMD problematic: problems with glare and contrast, slow recovery from bright light, slow dark adaptation;

  • protecting the photoreceptors from damaging blue light. Here’s a great video where Dr. Nolan talks to Dr. Kerry Gelb about it. https://youtu.be/wpV4dWd3_80

AREDS2 Formulation Plus Meso-zeaxanthin for Some

What HAS been shown is that for those who are good candidates for an AREDS2-based formulation – those with intermediate dry AMD or with wet AMD in one eye but not the other – adding meso-zeaxanthin DOES improve vision while providing that same reduced risk of progressing to wet AMD found in the AREDS & AREDS2 research.

Dr. Nolan’s CREST Trials

In 2011, Dr. Nolan received funding from the European Research Council to do 2 trials called ‘Central Retinal Enrichment Supplementation Trials (CREST).

Their research question was: if we enrich a person’s macular pigment by giving them LMZ as a supplement, can we improve visual function as measured by contrast sensitivity as the primary endpoint and visual acuity, glare disability, and other measures of vision as secondary endpoints.

CREST AMD (sometimes referred to as CREST 2)

There were 2 CREST trials, but I’m leaving out the details, including those for Trial 1. Dr. Nolan can fill us in about it (and a lot of his OTHER research that I’ve not discussed – there’s just been SO much!).

Trial 2 is called CREST AMD, so they studied people with early AMD. Their primary measure was contrast sensitivity. There were 32 tests in all!

There were 2 treatment groups who both got a supplement with the ingredients from the AREDS2 formulation: Vitamin C and E and 25 mg of zinc, lutein and zeaxanthin.

Group 1 also got meso-zeaxanthin.

You’ll find a good graph in this article that shows the results. The article says, “Patients with AMD would have usually been expected to experience a continued deterioration in their vision throughout the 2 years of the clinical trial. Instead, those receiving carotenoid supplementation showed a significant improvement across 24 out of 32 tests of vision. Improvements in vision were particularly marked among those patients receiving all three carotenoids (group 1) compared with those receiving only Z and L (group 2). Of note, 34.8% of trial participants who received all three carotenoids had what is deemed to be a clinically meaningful improvement in their vision after 24 months, compared with 19.6% of patients on the AREDS2-like formulation (see Figure 1).”

‘CREST AMD Trial: Vision Improvement Among Patients with AMD Who Consume Xanthophyll Carotenoids’ https://www.optometricmanagement.com/newsletters/nutritional-insights-for-clinical-practice/may-2018

What If Your AMD Is Beyond the Early Stage?

It’s not been studied, I’m sorry. However, since we know that LMZ protects the macula from further damage from oxidative stress and from further damage from blue light and has proven to reduce symptoms of glare and contrast sensitivity, improves dark adaptation, and improves photostress recovery, I think it’s safe to assume it will have a positive effect for you, too!

It’s Also About Alzheimer’s

No matter what stage AMD you have, LMZ also reduces your risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease. Every time there’s an article about the link between AMD and Alzheimer’s Disease, it causes quite a stir.

The connection isn’t between AMD and Alzheimer’s: it’s the connection between the eyes and the brain!

Next: PART 5 AND FINAL-COMMENT 10: SHOULD THE MOORES TAKE A LMZ SUPPLEMENT?

I have dry AMD. Will It Turn to Wet? What is wet AMD?

QUESTION: I have dry AMD. Will it turn to wet?

ANSWER:

Not everyone with AMD progresses to wet AMD. There is another FAQ with details about the risk of vision loss from AMD. Briefly, if you have early or intermediate dry AMD, your risk of progressing to wet is 10-14 or 15 %. That means that 85-90% of all people with AMD have the dry kind, so that’s the majority. Wet AMD is in the minority and rare, but if left untreated it can quickly cause central vision loss.

Parts of the Retina

The parts of a healthy retina.
Click on image to see it larger.

Let’s review the parts of the retina that are involved in AMD. From top to bottom there are the Photoreceptors (rods & cones) that convert light to sight, RPEs that take care of the Photoreceptors, Bruch’s Membrane, and the blood supply in the Choroid.

How and Why The Process Starts

VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) is a protein produced from cells that causes new blood vessels to develop when needed, such as after an injury or lack of oxygen. In most places in the body, that’s a good thing. But not when it happens in the retina.

Photoreceptors, RPEs and Angiogenesis

All AMD starts as dry even if it’s not diagnosed until it’s wet. As the disease progresses, drusen (we call it ‘eye poop’) builds up and can weaken Bruch’s Membrane. This causes inflammation which signals the release of VEGF. This process is called angiogenesis (‘angio’ refers to blood, ‘genesis’ refers to development of something).

These unwanted blood vessels grow through the weakened Bruch’s Membrane into the area of Photoreceptors and the RPEs.

Wet AMD and CNV

This process is called wet AMD and CNV (Choroidal Neo-vascularization refers to the Choroid, ‘neo’ refers to new, and vascularization refers to blood vessels).

Wet AMD is Exudative Macular Degeneration

Those new blood vessels are fragile and can leak fluid, can rupture and leak blood, or both. That’s where the ‘wet’ descriptor came from. These fluids are ‘edudates’ which is why sometimes you’ll see wet AMD referred to as Exudative AMD and dry as Nonexudative AMD.  CNV can occur in any form of macular degeneration.

Symptoms from Wet AMD/CNV

For normal vision, the macula needs to be flat. The blood or fluid collects in something similar to a blister which distorts vision and causes a person to see wavy lines and have other distortions. Have you ever had a drop of water fall on a piece of paper with writing? It distorts what is under it, right?

Make sure if you have any changes in your vision that you contact your eye doctor as soon as possible. Research has shown that the sooner treatment is started, the better the prognosis.

Inflammation

This buildup of fluid or blood causes inflammation (edema) and can form scar tissue which cannot be removed. It can also cause damage to the RPEs, so they’re not able to keep the Photoreceptors working well. It can also kill the RPEs. If the RPE dies, the Photoreceptor dies, and central vision loss occurs. That’s why it is so important to get treatment as soon as possible!

The Injections

The medications that are injected into the eye are called anti-VEGF because they block the further release of VEGF. They are also called angiogenesis medications. That stops new blood vessels from growing. You might think of a VEGF protein as a lock. The anti-VEGF medication puts the key in the VEGF lock to stop it.

Current Anti-VEGF Medications

The current anti-VEGF medications are Lucentis, Eylea, Avastin, and Beovu. For some people, the disease is slowed down by repeated treatments. For some, vision improves. Everyone is different.

‘Dried Up’ is not Dry AMD

The blood and/or fluid is then reabsorbed by the body. That’s why you’ll hear the retinal specialist say that the eye is ‘dried up.’ That’s not the same as dry AMD. Wet AMD cannot go backwards, but sometimes it goes into something similar to remission and can remain stable. You always have to be diligent to check your vision and report any changes.

The anti-VEGF medications wear off quickly, so repeated injections are necessary.

New and Better Treatments on the Horizon

There is a lot of research related to wet AMD/CNV. New treatments will extend the time between them and replace injections with eye drops and oral medications. It’s the drops and pills that many people are looking forward to! You can find out more in the article ‘Have Wet AMD and Hoping for Something Other Than Injections?’

Even better, with gene therapy, a ‘one-and-done’ treatment may stop the disease entirely. There’s more about this in ‘Gene Therapy Research for AMD.’

Great Resource

One of the best sources of information about AMD is from the Angiogenesis Foundation’s site ‘Science of AMD.’  There you can find text explanations with audio available, colorful illustrations, videos, and brochures.  They are a not-for-profit site, so they don’t sell anything. That’s a good indication that their information is not biased.

There is an excellent infographic explaining the angiogenesis of AMD.


GO BACK TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

What questions do I need to have answered by my eye specialist?

Question: What questions do I need to have answered by my eye specialist?

Hopefully as you have been learning more about your diagnosis, you’ve been writing down any questions you have. Make sure you take that list with you to your next appointment.

  1. You need to have a firm diagnosis. Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is not the only type of macular degeneration. It is most common in those 50 and older. For someone under that age, there is Myopic Macular Degeneration (MMD; any age) and forms of Juvenile MD.

2. If it is AMD, you need to know what stage each eye is in. You can have dry or wet in both eyes, dry in one eye and wet in the other, or AMD in only one eye. With that information you can make informed decisions about what might help you, what treatment(s) is available, etc.

Here is a complete list of questions. https://www.macular.org/ten-questions-ask-your-doctor


go back to frequently asked questions


In the Beginning – Revisited 2018

Three years ago June my life changed. I did not know it then. I almost ignored the first sign of trouble. I had a blind spot in my left eye. How bad could it possibly be?

The reaction from the people at the hospital was a little disturbing. “Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!” Don’t ignore this! Don’t mess with this!

Hey, it’s a little blind spot, for crying out loud. I have another eye. Don’t make such a big deal of this.

If I had known then where I was heading? Not sure really. If I had been able to fast forward to the following January, I would have been devastated. I “lost” my second eye at the end of that month. I lost my ability to drive. I almost lost my career and I lost a good part of life as I knew it.

If I could have fast forwarded to now? The outlook would have been less bleak. I have been working hard on “me” recovery. I have been working hard on mastering my second career – something even a blind woman can do, psychotherapy. My disability is actually a benefit because no one can say I have not had losses and challenges!

I have also been working hard on getting back to things I love. I went skiing last year and am already scheming how to get again this year. I went rafting last weekend. I am seriously looking at a bus trip into New York City. Where there is a will, there is a way.

And what about next year or the year after? No clue. I am well aware my condition is progressing at an “average” rate; whatever the hell that means. I may be unable to do what I do now. Adapting may be harder and things I include in the definition of “me” may become impossible.

One thing I do know: adapt I will. It may not be great but it will be tolerable. Grow. Adapt. Change. Endure. Where there is a will, there is a way.

 

Written September 5th, 2018

What Can I Do to Slow the Progression of AMD?

There ARE things you can do to battle AMD. These are the recommendations backed by research. Since we don’t yet know what causes AMD in any individual, we don’t know which of these are more effective than others. We do know that there are many factors that influence the development and progression.

I have included a few self-help tips, too.

These are NOT in any order except for number 1.

Remain hopeful!! There is a lot in the pipeline–>http://www.retina-specialist.com/…/pipeline-update-whats-ex…

1. Don’t smoke. #4 and many others.

2. Risk of AMD is 50-70% genetic, the rest is age and lifestyle factors below. High genetic risk of AMD? Lifestyle factors such as nrs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11 are important. #4

3. Follow the Mediterranean diet, on the low carb side, esp. low sugar. #4 #1 and others

4. As part of the Mediterranean diet, eat lots of colorful veggies, esp green and leafy which have important carotenoids in them. #4 #1 and others

5. Omega-3 supplementation? If one’s diet is rich in healthy oils, some nuts, and fish such as wild caught salmon, some say supplementation is not necessary. #4 #1 and others

6. Moderate aerobic exercise. #1 and others

7. Drink enough water to stay hydrated. #1 and others

8. Reduce stress. Although it is common to have depression & anxiety when you get the diagnosis (and can recur as you do your research, please seek help if you cannot move past this–especially if you have thoughts of harming yourself. #3 #16

9. Wear sunglasses when outside: polarized, blue block. #9

10. Working on the computer – use built-in screen colors to reduce blue light. There’s no firm evidence that electronic devices give off enough blue light to harm our eyes. It does affect our sleep which is important. #17

11. Maintain overall good health including maintaining a normal BMI, normal blood pressure, normal cholesterol. #4 and others

12. Moderate AMD or wet AMD in one eye but not the other? Take AREDS2 with zinc if you know you are NOT zinc sensitive (genetic test). If you don’t know or know that you ARE zinc sensitive, AREDS2 with no zinc. #2

13. Use an Amsler Grid or other monitoring systems. #5 #7 #8

14. If by using aids in nr. 13 & symptoms indicate that dry converted to wet, get treated with anti-VEGF as soon as possible. The earlier the treatment, the better the prognosis. #6

15. Have your eyes examined regularly (every 6 months advised) by a retinal specialist who is an ophthalmologist who specializes in diseases of the retina; write down your questions and take them to your next visit. #12

16. TIP: If you have vision impairment, find a low vision specialist who is an optometrist who specializes in evaluating vision and recommending low vision aids. There are also organizations and specialists who can advise you as to how to adapt your home or workplace. #13

17. TIP: Make sure you have enough light and provide contrast since AMD decreases the ability to detect contrast and increases the need for light.

18. TIP: Don’t drive if you are not safe to do so, especially those who have blind spots. You may not realize that you HAVE blind spots that could block your ability to see other cars or things along the road. #10


References

#1 Mediterranean diet reduces risk for AMD–>http://www.aoa.org/news/clinical-eye-care/mediterranean-diet

# 2 AREDS/AREDS2: A Guide–>https://mymacularjournal.com/home/guide

#3 Can psychological stress cause vision loss?–>https://m.medicalxpress.com/…/2018-06-psychological-stress-…

#4 Macular Degeneration Epidemiology: Nature-Nurture, Lifestyle Factors, Genetic Risk, and Gene-Environment Interactions – The Weisenfeld Award Lecture–>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5749242/

#5 ForeseeHome–>https://www.foreseehome.com/

#6 VIDEO: Registry shows early detection of wet AMD helps patients maintain better vision–>https://www.healio.com/…/video-registry-shows-early-detecti…

#7 KeepSight monitoring tools->http://internationalmacularandretinalfoundation.org/keepsi…/

#8 How to Use the Amsler Grid–>https://www.brightfocus.org/mac…/article/how-use-amsler-grid

#9 How to Choose Sunglasses–>http://www.webrn-maculardegeneration.com/sunglasses-and-mac…

#10 Mailbox or Child with self-test–https://mymacularjournal.com/home/mailbox-child

#11 Macular Degeneration: Frequently Asked Questions–>https://www.brightfocus.org/…/macular-frequently-asked-ques…

#12 Ten Questions to Ask Your Doctor about Macular Degeneration–>https://www.macular.org/ten-questions-ask-your-doctor

#13 How Low Vision Services Can Help You–>https://www.brightfocus.org/…/how-low-vision-services-can-h…

#14 Low Vision Rehabilitation and Low Vision Aids–>https://www.aao.org/…/diseas…/low-vision-aids-rehabilitation

#15 Reflecting on ‘grief’ after losing my vision–>http://www.blindintuition.com/reflecting-on-grief/

#16 Highlight: Is depression following the diagnosis of AMD normal?–>https://mymacularjournal.com/archives/5923

#17 Blue light hastens vision loss? ‘Not so fast,’ —>http://www.aoa.org/news/clinical-eye-care/blue-light-transforms-molecules-?refer=rss

What’s the Difference?

Hello. Spent a good part of yesterday working on getting my Wi-Fi connection back. My friend says she enlists the aid of the archangels and the saints. Supposedly Hilarion is the patron saint of technology. How a guy who, according to Wikipedia, spent his life wandering in the desert has anything to do with my Wi-Fi is beyond me. Of course, Hilarion sounds like hilarious and tech and I are a cosmic joke….

But before things went dark, Lin sent me a list of things the Facebook members thought would be of concern for those newly diagnosed. At the top of the list was the difference between dry and wet AMD.

I am going to tackle this sans references because, well, I think I got it. But, if I don’t, feel free to call me on it.

To begin with, both dry and wet AMD start out as dry. With the drusen accumulating between your retinal pigment epithelial cells and their food source, the RPEs start to die.

http://patient.info/health/age-related-macular-degeneration-leaflet

RPEs? Those are the servant cells to the photoreceptors. The photoreceptors are the cells that change light energy into chemical energy and then into electrical energy so your brain can see. Without their servant cells, photoreceptors died.

The death of cells and withering of a body part is called atrophy. In advanced dry AMD that is pretty much all that happens. RPEs die. Photoreceptors die and we loose part of our vision. Advanced dry AMD is called geographic atrophy (GA) because the pattern of living and dead retinal cells once looked to someone like oceans and continents on a map.

That is GA. It is generally a slow process. Vision loss is mild to moderate. In my inelegant terminology, your macula just sort of rots away. Yippee.

Now, that is not exactly what happens when you develop wet AMD. In wet AMD, the way I conceptualize it, your RPEs and photoreceptors send out messages begging for more supplies. Excuse me! We are dying here! The body responds by building more supply routes. These are blood vessels. However, these new vessels are substandard products and they leak. Those of us with wet AMD have eye bleeds.

Wet AMD is clinically called neovascular. Neo for new and vascular for blood vessels.

Bleeding in and about the retina causes cell death. You lose cells and vision quickly. One of the commandments of AMD is thou shalt not ignore an eye bleed! Wet AMD only happens in about 10% of us but it accounts for about 90% of the severe vision loss in AMD.

Now, treatments. The short answer for dry AMD is there are none. They are getting closer and I am hopefully but right now the answer is still none.

The AREDS/AREDS2 formula has been proven effective in reducing the rate of progression from dry to wet. Ask Lin. She is our expert. AREDS as a topic makes my head hurt. To my knowledge supplements do little to stop the slow progression of dry AMD. [Lin/Linda here: I’ve put some information about this at the end.]

The treatment for wet AMD is anti-VEG-F shots. VEG-F is the chemical messenger that calls for new blood vessels. Shut that guy up and there is less that can bleed. There are several different types of “eye shots”. Some work better for some people. Others work better for other people. Work with your doctors on that.

That is the difference between dry and wet AMD according to me. Hope it helped.

Written March 13th, 2018

For more information, here’s a good place to go: The Science of AMD.  I highly recommend the 2 videos on this page as well as the other information.


Lin/Linda: OK, more about AREDS/AREDS2.  The short answer is that they HAVE been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of wet AMD but only for those with intermediate dry AMD or advanced wet or dry AMD in one eye but not the other.  There is an issue about one’s genetic makeup in regard to taking the high dose of zinc in the original formulation (80mg).  For some people with a specific genetic marker, taking that much zinc can cause one’s AMD to progress FASTER to wet than those without that marker.  More about this at AREDS/AREDS2: A Guide where you can get more about the short answer, a link to a page where there’s “If you have…” which will tell you if the AREDS/AREDS2 supplements have been studied or not for the stage of your eyes & whether they’ve helped, and a link to 6 pages with details about the research that produced these supplements.]

Continue reading “What’s the Difference?”

Keep an Open Mind

Hi! Looking for information on coping with vision loss I found an article that covered something called the Coping with Vision Loss Study. It was covered on the VisionAware.org site.

The study was a small one (n=163) but it had a noble goal: to document the process of coping with vision loss. The information came from people who had gone through the process of vision loss. 45% had macular degeneration.

The study determined the most prevalent emotional reaction to the diagnosis of a condition that would cause vision loss was anxiety. Personally I do not need to ever have panic attacks like the ones I had ever again!

Even though anxiety was a major concern for the greatest number of people, it does not mean other, emotional problems were not present. A fair number of respondents were found to be dealing with moderate to severe depression.

Of course, since the study was about actually coping with vision loss, the emphasis was on factors and strategies for getting by and avoiding these adverse, emotional reactions. The study reported respondents had a variety of suggestions for doing this. These suggestions included seeking out the most competent specialists available as well as getting a second or even a third opinion, following doctors’ directions and connecting with others who have personal experience with vision loss.

These suggestions from the study respondents centered on personal responsibility and becoming your own, best advocate (as opposed to your own, worst enemy!) Be proactive about your life and your condition. Become knowledgeable about the condition. Get your questions answered. Monitor your own vision loss and seek out training so you can learn new skills to increase your independence.

Building support networks was another idea endorsed by the respondents. The respondents specifically mentioned family, friends, specialists and helpful community resources.

Community agencies were also listed as very important. Many agencies for the visually impaired can be helpful in finding support and educational resources as well as help you find the appropriate assistive technology.

Technology does not seem as appealing to the older generations as it does to younger folks. Yet respondents encouraged those who are new diagnosed to embrace the technology that is available. Competent use of iPads and magnifiers can significant improvement the quality of life for the visually impaired.

The article mentions a great many things we have talked about. It reviews the importance of proper lighting and contrast, for example. Finding someone who can help you with these sorts of things is important.

The list of recommendations from the study authors veers off into some things that are more personal and possibly even more essential for adjustment. The list includes things like being patient and gentle with yourself. Adaptation is not an overnight process, often grieving the loss is necessary before moving on. Take time to do so, but try not to get stuck in your grief.

I paint my pigheadedness as positive and call it persistence or fortitude. However, stubbornness can also be a bad thing when it keeps you from experimenting with technology or other strategies for living. The study suggested keeping an open mind and doing what is effective.

Which brings us to the last one I want to mention: there is more than one way to skin a cat (I reiterate: where did that saying come from? Did our ancestors spend that much time hanging out and trying various ways to skin cats? Yuck.) Find new ways to get things done. The idea the only right way of doing things is how I was taught at my father’s knee does no longer apply. Learn to be flexible and do what works.

There are other things that were discovered by the study, but those are the highlights as I saw them. Hope it was helpful!

Written Feb. 4th, 2018

Continue reading “Keep an Open Mind”

My Advice to Those Newly Diagnosed

Hi! Greetings from Chaos. I need to just sit and chill for a while and since I am not good at doing nothing, I guess I can write a page.

Crazy time! I not only skied Wednesday, I also went to a preschooler’s birthday party on Saturday and a gospel concert today. (Passing on a little bit of good stuff: go onto YouTube and search Sister Rosetta Tharpe “Didn’t It Rain”. The gospel roots of rock and roll. Learned something today!)

Lin said a topic the Facebook group is going to discuss is how to handle “all that bad news” of vision loss. I thought how I would approach that and did some research, but decided to approach the topic from my own perspective first. Then from the perspective of the professionals. And get ready, because I am going to be the naysayer.

What am I talking about? Oh, just what I have been saying for a while now. Specifically this: vision loss is no picnic but it is not as bad as you think it will be. What you are listening to is your fear talking. Stop listening to it!

As I have said before, I was initially told I was going ‘blind’, but I am not. I am losing my central vision, not all my sight. I may be ‘legally blind’ but I do not live in darkness. Huge difference!

The second thing about dry AMD is it is slow. It has been two years, guys, and I am still functional. Remember the commercials about waiting for the ketchup to leave the bottle? That is what it is like. If you have dry AMD, you will not be blind by next Tuesday.  [Lin/Linda here: dry AMD can turn to wet AMD in 10% of those with the disease.  Please make sure you check your vision regularly with an Amsler Grid or another way as recommended by your retinal specialist.]

Bringing me to my third point. A slow-go process like dry AMD leaves you plenty of time to adapt. You will not have to learn how to function as a ‘blind’ person overnight. There will be weeks and months and – yes – years until you will be significantly impaired. There is more than enough time to get yourself adjusted.

What have I given up? Driving. That is pretty much it. Oh, and a lot of reading. I used to read mystery novels. Now I listen to them. A couple of pages to be read can be read with the help of a magnifier.

Don’t panic

What would my advice be to those with a new diagnosis? Don’t panic would be the first thing. You will grieve, of course, but don’t panic. The life changes may be not be as significant as you think.

Take care of your physical health

Beyond that? Advice I would give everyone everywhere. Take care of your physical health. I stay sane by being fit and strong enough to be active in life. I can walk down the road to catch a ride on the street corner if need be. I can carry all my own ‘luggage’ for the day. CCTV, briefcase, lunch, gym clothes all go out with me in the morning. And who is lugging all this stuff? Yep, me. All by my lonesome.

Foster social relationships

I have the best group of people supporting me that you have ever met. People want to keep me involved; bless them. People actually text me and ask if I am ‘good’. They invite me to go along. Get out there. Foster the right attitude. You will meet the best people in the world, too.

Don’t be afraid to do things differently

And lastly, don’t be afraid to do things differently. Learn how to use a CCTV. Apply for BARD and listen to you books. Don’t be so pig-headed and ask for help, for crying out loud!  Lots of problems happen not because of low vision but because we refuse to try a different way.

There it is. Me telling you it is not all the bad news you think it is. Believe me. Revile me. Put me on a pedestal as someone who does amazing things you could never do. But in another few years, when you are functioning just fine as a VIP?  Remember who told you it is going to be okay.

Written 2/21/2018 Continue reading “My Advice to Those Newly Diagnosed”

I Tried My Best

I was raised to be responsible. I am responsible. I go to work and the job gets done. I have done the job between bouts of vomiting, with fevers and with migraines.

I am responsible but I am not crazy.

OK. Maybe the word is not crazy. However, I am definitely not one for not using good judgment or not looking at the big picture. Now, this is especially true when it comes to my vision.

I was at a professional gathering on Friday. One person there asked me about the circumstances of my sight loss. This person had an eye bleed that had started on Tuesday! That is three, count them, three! days. I advised an immediate trip to an emergency room. I told this person his sight could be very much at risk but was told in turn he had other, important obligations to attend to and he would, essentially, get around to it later.

I tried one more time and was again rebuffed. Are we truly our brother’s keeper? I wanted to call 911 and get this person to the hospital. That would not have been appreciated, but would he have appreciated my efforts if I had saved his sight? If he gets to a doctor sometime next week and gets told he has done irreparable damage to his vision will he appreciate I tried? Will he wish he had listened?

I assume our readers have more common sense, but since assuming can make an ‘ass of u and me’, I am going to spell it out. Never, as in NEVER, ignore an eye bleed. Mary Lowth wrote about vitreous hemorrhages for Patient. She stated vitreous hemorrhages are one of the most common causes of sudden, painless vision loss. Vision can be totally obscured by blood in the vitreous. Even if nothing serious is wrong that caused the bleed to begin with, you can be left with floaters. Not to mention blood is cleared from the vitreous at the rate of only 1% a day. That is over three months of impaired vision!

There is a whole list of things that can be horribly wrong to cause bleeding in the eye. Because I have dry AMD and have been warned about the potential of developing wet AMD, a bleed due to neovascularization was the first thing I thought about. There is also diabetic retinopathy and posterior vitreous detachment. PVD can be associated with a tear in the retina. None of these are problems to take lightly. [Lin/Linda: if you ever see what looks like a curtain drawing over your visual field or part of your visual field is obstructed, that IS an emergency which requires IMMEDIATE attention because it can mean that you do have a retinal tear. Most PVDs are accompanied by lots of floaters & sometimes flashes of light that are more noticeable at night (that’s the vitreous tugging at the retina. If in doubt, call your doctor.]

Lowth stated “retinal detachment must be excluded urgently”. In other words, should you have a bleed, run, don’t walk to the doctor and make sure your retina is still where it is supposed to be. Waiting three days is not an option.

Some of you are also sadly aware that bleeding can cause scarring and even more significant vision loss. Bleeds should be diagnosed and controlled as quickly as possible.

So, there you have it, some people believe they have more important things to do. They believe satisfying responsibilities is more important than taking care of their eye health. These people are wrong. If you even think you have an eye bleed, get to your doctor.

As for this person yesterday, I tried my best. Matthew 10:14 [“And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.”]

written December 3rd, 2017 Continue reading “I Tried My Best”

Diffy Cults

Just getting a quick page or two written before I am off. That is ‘off; as in ‘off on vacation’ not as in “she is a little bit off.” That happened quite a while ago.

Still hoping to get my loaner CCTV before we leave but I doubt it will happened. A friend of my husband’s is watching the house. He promised to take delivery and pack up my machine to send for repairs.

I am still hoping against logic that this will all be settled by the time we get back. Cockeyed optimist; so shoot me.

Of course, I have found several interesting web articles now I don’t have a lot of time to go over them and no CCTV. Since I don’t have my machine to put them on to read, I put one on NaturalReader. Let the iPad read to me. [Lin/Linda: to read all about NaturalReader, go to Sue’s page Let Me Read to You.]

Some of the pronunciations are a bit ‘off’ as well. D.O., doctor of optometry, comes out as ‘odd’. I guess she calls them as she sees ’em!? She? It is a female voice on my machine. Not sure if I could change it if I wanted. Never tried.

Found something called Practical Guidelines for Treatment of AMD. The pamphlet says with all of the rapid advances in potential treatments for AMD it makes it “diffy cult” for practitioners to know what will be “Benny Fish All” to their patients.? Gotta watch those “diffy cults”. Not to mention that Benny Fish All. OK, OK, so I am easily entertained.

The article suggests doctors are not proactive enough in the early stages of the disease. It suggested something like 78% of AMD patients have substantial, irreversible vision loss already at the time of the first treatment. This includes 37% who have become legally blind by the first treatment. Yikes! It goes on to state not all drusen are a result of AMD and doctors may hesitate to make the diagnosis on the criteria of drusen alone. There is also the patient variable involved. Will the patient believe she is losing her sight and do something if there is no acuity loss? Will she freak? Stay tuned….

The article suggests using dark adaptation problems to emphasize there is a real problem even when acuity seems just fine. It quotes statistics dark adaptation is an excellent predictor of age-related macular degeneration and is, indeed, 90% accurate!

In other words, if you know someone who has a lot of problems with dark adaptation, suggest they be checked for AMD. There is evidence problems with dark adaptation can be detected up to three years before the disease can be detected through clinical measures.

Later….There is a lot more in that article, but I have to sign off here. Too much over 500 words and I turn into a pumpkin. Watch out for those “Diffy Cults” and if you run into “Benny Fish All” say hello for me. After all, he is the kind sort. Me, I’m going to crank up my loaner CCTV. It came today!

Written October 27th, 2017 Continue reading “Diffy Cults”

Sue’s Best Pages – Part 1

If you are new to our website, you might have looked at the LONG list of Sue’s pages and felt overwhelmed.   I hope this series of “Sue’s Best Pages” will help you to navigate through some of them.  We hope you will eventually read them all.

Spoiler Alert – why should you read these pages?

After a year of learning how to deal with her visual impairment both physically and emotionally, Sue has a rather ‘normal for her’ life: At age 64 and with advanced AMD geographic atrophy, she works several jobs, attends regular exercise classes, rides her bike safely, travels, walks her dog, kayaks, attends social events with her friends.   We are not suggesting that reading her journal will ensure you the same results but we hope that Sue’s Journal of Her Journey will be educational and inspirational.

For the newly diagnosed
  • You need to start In The Beginning.  Follow the sequence of pages with the links that are at the bottom of each page.  The first 13 were written in the early days of this journal.
  • Page 13 “A Human Doing” is where Sue starts to talk about her experiences with Pennsylvania’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation’s Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services.  Because she wanted to continue to work, they were instrumental in getting her the assistive devices and training she needed to do that.
  • Of course, we hope you continue to read from there.  If not, please continue with the next section.
Pages highly recommended by our readers

We ask readers to rate the pages.  I’ve taken the ratings and comments to select these pages.

How She Does What She Does

Sue was 62 when her vision deteriorated so quickly that she had to stop working and driving. She could have started early retirement but she is not the ‘retiring’ type. ::smile:: She contacted Pennsylvania’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation’s (OVR) Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services (BBVS).  The services she received included low vision, technology, orientation & mobility and rehabilitation.   Counselors for each of these services came to her home and workplace to deliver assistive technology, software and training. There was a one-time co-pay based on income. Some people pay nothing. Sue paid a small fraction of the true cost of the services, software and devices.

166.  A Day in the Life which covers the time she is not working.

288. A Day in the Life: Work Day

Next:  Part 2 Dealing with the Emotional Reaction to Vision Loss

Home

Testing…1…2…3

Back again after vacuuming the living room and filling both the washer and the dishwasher. Starting to wonder which is worse. I have always been a little crazy but tackling some of this research stuff is, well, nuts!

“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.

“You must be” said the Cat “ or you wouldn’t have come here.”

Now that THAT is settled….the article, Clinical Endpoints, etc. talks about how using spectral domain OCT can even predict where GA will spread in your macula. With no way to stop it, I might want to be ignorant of where the condition will hit next, but the authors opine being able to discover new biomarkers may indicate new directions for therapies, something we want to hear.

The article then moved over to the wet side of the street. I only had testing for wet AMD one time. They shot me up with ‘carrot juice’ aka beta carotene, and then used what was probably either fluorescein angiography or indocyanine green angiography to look for leaks.

Back to a more general discussion, did anyone ever put electrodes on your corneas and shine a light in your eyes? Multifocal electroretinography measures the strength of the signal coming off your photoreceptors when exposed to light. And I am just full of bad news today, but there appears to be a diminution of the signal strength even in early AMD.

We have talked at some length about dark adaptation and contrast sensitivity. We even mentioned the contrast test they talk about, Pelli-Robson. Allow me a moment of satisfaction for that one?.

On to one I never heard of: microperimetry. This test put stimuli on very specific parts of your macula and you hit the old button if your see them. Your fixation point is monitored so if you “cheat your sweet patootie off” like I do – in other words use eccentric viewing instead of putting my poor, ravished fovea on the target – they will know.

Other than suggesting where on your retina you can actually put your eccentric viewing, the ‘maps’ from microperimetry also give an idea of where the atrophy is going to spread. Not that I want to know perhaps. And even more bad news is the study quoted found even functional macular tissue was compromised.

I think I need to stop reading this cursed study. It is depressing!

Okay, the last section of the article talked about quality of life. Finally, back to my neck of the woods. Remember: social scientist here.

And some last thoughts:

It is just fine to put problems you cannot solve away until you actually have the resources to deal with them. In DBT (and no, I have not forgotten about that) it is called pushing away. I share good news and bad. It is up to you to pick out the things that are helpful and put away the information that is not helpful or depressing. Even the depressing findings add to our knowledge base and lead us towards treatments and maybe even a cure. Let the researchers deal with the depressing stuff.

“I don’t focus on what I’m up against. I focus on my goals and ignore the rest.” – Venus Williams

October 8th, 2017 Continue reading “Testing…1…2…3”

Know the Terms

Happy Saturday! Miserably 3H today. That is hazy, hot and humid. A Pennsylvania summer day at its finest. I don’t mind this. It is the type of day I would head off for the swimming hole when I was a kid. Good memories. However the husband hates it and the Beastie Baby, elderly and with lung disease (cancer?), is not thrilled.

Nine days in and she is still not looking as if she is at death’s door. Dare I hope? Still just taking it a day at a time.

I went to the Y this morning. I was cleared to TRY some things that would involve my shoulders. Got about halfway through yoga before I got ouchy.

Time to go back to major modifications. Grrrrrrrrrr…. I really am trying to be good. It is not easy.

Once I got home – and discovered I had zero motivation for any real work – I decided to write a page. Topic, topic,….TOPIC! How about visual impairment?!?!?

I always explain I am visually impaired, not blind, not low vision, etc. Some days I say I am legally blind. I have never been totally sure I am legally blind, though. I know I had to be legally blind in order to get the services I got from the state but maybe someone fudged a bit? I don’t actually feel legally blind.

But I digress. What are the proper terms anyway?

VisionAware published a list of terms. They say low vision is the preferred term these days. (Does anyone else have trouble keeping up with the ‘acceptable’ terms recently? I am always woefully not PC.) Low vision is uncorrectable vision loss that interferes with daily activities. Low vision’s definition is functional. If you cannot get enough correction to do what you need to do, it’s low vision. Sort of a subjective definition.

Legally blind Is a term used by government agencies. It is not subjective. If you want to try for disability or get goodies, you need visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with best correction. Another option for qualifying would be no correct letters read from the 20/100 line on the new charts.

Please note I said in the better eye. That means there has to be impairment in BOTH eyes. We have had clients insisting they qualify for help with only one ‘bad’ eye. Not the case.

The other way to qualify with dear Uncle Sam is to have tunnel vision. Tunnel vision is 20 degrees of arc or less in the better eye.

Remember that is with your better eye and with optimum correction. Those of you with only one involved eye again don’t qualify for help.

And as I get to the end of the article, I find my preferred label, visually impaired. Visual impairment is sort of a general term. It covers the gamut. You can be moderately, severely or profoundly impaired and still fall under visual impairment. Visual impairment and its levels are objective rather than functional as defined. The World Health Organization uses these levels in their work.

So, when all is said and done, I guess I can still tell people I am visually impaired. It is still an acceptable term, but you can say your are low vision, too. Don’t get too attached to your terminology, though. These ‘label’ things can change like the weather!

written July 22nd, 2017

Continue reading “Know the Terms”

One Foot in Front of the Other

We recently had a reader ask how it is possible to maintain hope, faith and optimism, etc. when “everything” is slipping away. She stated she does not want this disease because she had watched it “destroy” others. Her friends do not want to associate with her because of the “doom” she is facing.

Oh, my…where to start. First of all, I guess I need to say “I’m with you! I don’t want the damn thing either.” But wanting it or not wanting it really does not make a bit of difference. We do not get to make decisions like that in our lives. We only get to accept (or reject, but if you fight reality, I can practically guarantee you will waste a whole lot of energy and in the end, still lose. To paraphrase “I fight reality, reality always wins!”). We also can find ways of coping.

That appears to be a magic word: cope. This is not a fatal disease. If you are still breathing and conscious, you are capable of dealing with things and trying to make them better. Your hope is in every breath you take. Breath.

Remember one of my favorite people whom I never met, Viktor Frankl, said “the last freedom left to any man is determining how he will react to his circumstances.” This disease will not destroy us. It may take things from us, but not destroy us. We destroy ourselves through our reactions to it.

Our reader may not realize it, but she IS coping. She reached out to this website. She has sought professional help and she is involved with the state services for the visually handicapped. She is doing what she can do.

We don’t have to like having AMD and losing sight. We don’t have to be happy about it. We just have to keep moving. I mentioned this before but another one of my favorite, never met people, Winston Churchill, said something like “when you are going through Hell, keep going!” It is in pouting and denying reality – in stopping in the middle of Hell – that we are destroyed.

To address the part about being hopeful, optimistic, etc, a bit more, there are times all of those pretty thoughts are going to desert us. Times there seems – as in appearances and impressions – there is no hope. Those are the times we simply put one foot in front of the other. Determine what is next and do it.

I have been told I am “in love” with DBT. I am, for the simple reason it works. Mindfulness and staying in the moment work.

For example, the Beastie Baby has been diagnosed with lung cancer, but right now she is sleeping peacefully on the floor next to me. Right now, life is good. We will take one day at a time, one hour, one moment if need be. We will not grieve (much) and ruin life when things are good. Lesson: stay in the moment. Deal with the now. By dealing with each moment as it comes, we can handle a scary future. Buying future grief and hardship is a bad investment.

I could address the absolutes – always, never, everything – but I won’t. Not much, at any rate. We just need to remember few things in life are truly that black and white, that cut and dry. Every dark cloud has a silver lining and every silver cloud has some dark inside.

This has been a little jumbled, but that, after all, is my mind. I guess in summary, what I want to say is:

Accept this is happening, Recognize you are not powerless, we all have choices we can make.

Understand if we take care of each moment as it comes, the future will take care of itself. Don’t get ahead of yourself.

We don’t need to be hopeful or optimistic all of the time (even though there is reason for hope). If you cannot muster any faith in your future, just put one foot in front of the other and move. You will be surprised where you end up.

Continue reading “One Foot in Front of the Other”

Timeline Part 1: Advances in Treatment & Care for People with Macular Degeneration

It’s Lin/Linda.  I created this page to go with Sue’s page Not Your Parents’ AMD.  Like some of you, I had a loved one with AMD.  It was my father who was diagnosed with AMD in 2005 at the age of 82.  At the time, I was living 700 miles away and I did not know much about the disease or at what stage he was diagnosed.  He progressed to geographic atrophy (GA), that much I knew.  He was the sole caregiver for my mother who had Alzheimer’s Disease.  He continued to drive (not safely), take care of her and the house.  He was never referred to vision rehabilitation or offered any help other than being told to use handheld magnifiers.

I wondered how things have changed since then which led me to do this timeline review.  Not only have there been advances in the medical end of the field but also in the technology that is allowing people to remain independent for as long as possible.  That is if a person learns how to use the various devices and apps available.

I’ve based the categories of time on an article Age-Related Macular Degeneration
1969 –2004: A 35-Year Personal Perspective by Stuart L. Fine, MD published in 2005.  He says “In 1969, patients with AMD constituted a small part of a typical ophthalmic practice. From 1969 to 2004, the prevalence of AMD has increased, and the methods of evaluation and treatment have changed dramatically.”

I know I have missed many events that have been critical to the history of the treatment & care of AMD.  There is SO much information out there and I’ve tried to use the most significant dates I could find.  Have a suggestion of what to include? Did I get a date wrong? Let me know in a comment or send me an email at light2sight5153@gmail.com.

1st Era: 1969–1979
  • Emergence of fluorescein fundus photography: test used in diagnosis of retinal diseases
  • Development of ‘hot’ (high power) laser photocoagulation, first treatment for wet AMD
  • Relationship of drusen to age-related macular degeneration
  • Other developments:
    • 1976-1977 first personal computers affordable for home use
    • more low vision aids:
      • 1960s large print books became available
      • 1976 large print calculators became available
      • 1969-1970 CCTV (closed caption TV) for reading aid
2nd Era: 1980–1994
  • Clinical trials to evaluate new treatments, especially laser photocoagulation (1979-1994)
  • Development of risk factor data from large and small epidemiologic studies (epidemology is looking for patterns & causes)
  • mid-1980s term ‘senile macular degeneration’ becomes ‘age-related macular degeneration’
  • Other developments:
    • 1982 Vitreous Society was founded; 1983 first meeting attended by 44 retinal specialists
    • 1991 OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) test used in diagnosis of retinal diseases
    • mid 1980s name changed from ‘senile macular degeneration’ to ‘age-related macular degeneration’
    • 1992 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
    • 1983 first cell phones
    • 1991 World Wide Web for ‘surfing’ the Internet with easy-to-use browsers
    • low vision aids:
      • MaxiAids catalog of aids for orders from people with low vision & other impairments
    • technology/low vision aids:
      • 1982 DragonSystems founded Dragon NaturallySpeaking, speech to text
      • 1988 ZoomText was released which is software to magnify text on a computer screen
3rd Era: 1995–2003
  • Evaluation of radiation therapy for neovascular AMD, not proven to be effective
  • Assessment of pharmacologic interventions for neovascular AMD; Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) “cold” (low power laser) with Visudyne (first drug treatment;  2001)
  • Prevention trials: results AREDS released 2001
  • Other developments:
    • 1995 Amazon sells books online (1998 expands beyond just books; e-books 2000)
    • 1996 Google released
    • 1998 first e-book reader The Rocket
    • 2000 GPS available for civilians; 2001 personal navigation systems available like Garmin and TomTom
    • 2000 Microsoft & Amazon sell e-books
4th Era: 2004 – 2017
  • Completion of ongoing trials for neovascular AMD: FDA approval: Macugen 2004; Avastin 2004; Lucentis 2006; Eylea 2011
  • Earlier identification of eyes at risk: regular use of OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) and other diagnostic tests
  • Prevention trials: results AREDS2 released 2013
  • Increased number of retinal specialists: eg, American Association of Retinal Specialists (ASRS), formerly Vitreous Society (see 1982 above), has 2700 members representing 60 countries.
  • Other developments:
    • 2011 First baby boomers turn 65
    • 2004 Facebook
    • 2013 first ‘bionic eye’ retinal implant, Argus II approved by FDA
    • technology:
      • 2007 Amazon Kindle e-reader; iPhone & Apple IOS
      • 2008 Android 1.0 & Android phone
      • 2010 Apple iPad
    • technology/low vision aids:
      • 2005 Apple VoiceOver for Mac users
      • 2009 VoiceOver added to iPhone IOS
      • 2010 FDA approved implantable telescope
      • smart glasses/wearable technology
      • 2014 KNFB Reader app for Apple & Android; 2017 for Windows 10
    • ongoing research areas:

One Good Eye

Just heard from a reader who said family and friends made her feel guilty about making a ‘fuss’ when she lost sight in her first eye. After all, she was older and you need to expect these things. Also it was ‘only’ one eye. She had two; did she not? She should have been happy she had one good one! They did not think she should fear vision loss.

Good grief. Not sure what species these people are from but we humans have a pretty strong fear of vision loss. In fact WebMD published results of a survey that found vision loss is what Americans fear the most.

This is a consistent finding across varying racial and ethnic groups. We ALL fear going blind.

In fact, fear of loss of sight was the same or greater than fear of losing hearing, memory, speech or a limb. And what is so scary about loss of sight? Quality of life and loss of independence, of course. Having good vision can be seen as a key to one’s overall sense of well-being. Good vision is frequently seen as essential to overall health and daily functioning. Good vision is seen as basic to just about everything.

There are five – just five – basic fears according to Psychology Today and I can see sight loss as feeding into three of them. First is the fear of mutilation, the loss of a body part. I took a little poetic license with this one, equating loss of function with loss of the organ itself. Then there is loss of autonomy, pretty self-explanatory, and separation. Sensory loss can certainly lead to a lack of social interaction. Is it any wonder we get so upset about sight loss? It taps into three out of five primal fears!

Fear is not just for weaklings and sissies. Fear is a valuable emotion. It tells us something is wrong and we had better start paying attention. There is something that needs to be dealt with. It is not only necessary but perfectly acceptable to listen to your fears.

To address their first point, vision loss is not an inevitable part of aging. There are a number of vision changes that occur but it seems only one of the common ones is not considered a ‘disease’. This is presbyopia – literally ‘old eyes’ from the Greek – or farsightedness. Presbyopia can be fixed in one of two ways: corrective lenses or grow longer arms!?

The Washington Post article entitled Vision loss is a part of old age but it’s not inevitable then goes on to list the rest of the causes of vision loss in older folks: cataracts, glaucoma and retinal disease. Please note the word ‘disease’.

Disease is not a normal part of anything and yes, you get concerned, and, yes, you see a doctor.

Our reader still did have one eye left, but would you like a good obsession? Try wondering when you will lose function in the second eye! That should afford you untold hours of uninterrupted worry! Somewhere I read waiting for the second eye to go is one of the most stressful things about progressive eye disease. Don’t know where, though. I read quite a bit on the subject.

Take away points: sight loss is not inevitable. Most causes of sight loss in older folks are considered disease and there are treatments for most of them. Don’t let anyone but a retina expert tell you there is nothing wrong. Most importantly, although I did not say this earlier in this page, if there is a sudden onset of symptoms, act quickly and get to the doctor.

Continue reading “One Good Eye”

Will I Go Blind?

QUESTION: “Will I go blind?” is one of the most common and emotionally-charged questions asked when a person gets a diagnosis of any macular disease such as Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Stargardt’s Disease, Myopic Macular Degeneration (and others) that can damage central vision.

The short answer is no.

Having AMD or any form of macular degeneration affects one’s central vision, but peripheral vision is spared. More details below.

Central Vision Loss is NOT Inevitable!

You can find what the risk of having a vision impairment or vision loss: I have AMD. What’s my chance of having vision loss?

With early or intermediate dry AMD, the chance of progressing to a stage where vision loss can occur (wet or geographic atrophy) is 10-15%!

That means that MOST PEOPLE do NOT have vision loss.

Blind? Vision Impairment?

Many people use the word ‘blind’ to mean any vision loss, but we try NOT to use that word for macular degeneration. Instead, some people will have a visual impairment or become legally blind, but not everyone.

Terminology

This is just a partial list of terms.

    • Total blindness refers to an inability to see anything with either eye.
    • Legal blindness is a level of vision loss that has been legally defined to determine eligibility for benefits. The clinical diagnosis refers to a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the best possible correction, and/or a visual field of 20 degrees or less. Often, people who are diagnosed with legal blindness still have some usable vision.
    • Vision loss refers to individuals who have trouble seeing, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses, as well as to individuals who are blind or unable to see at all.
    • Visual impairment is often defined clinically as a visual acuity of 20/70 or worse in the better eye with best correction, or a total field loss of 140 degrees. Additional factors influencing visual impairment might be contrast sensitivity, light sensitivity, glare sensitivity, and light/dark adaptation.

 


GO BACK TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


 

BIG News!

Woke up with a start at 2 am last night. Probably several things.

First thing that happened was a call from one of my contracts. She had called my third place of employment to schedule an evaluation and was told I did not work there anymore!

News to me! Now, I don’t get there a lot but the plan was for me to go and do a case or two when called. Maybe something like once every six weeks or so. I was never told I was being fired!

Of course it turns out someone got something wrong but it did get me to thinking. Once again, how does one graciously bow out or – hopefully equally graciously – be shown the door? Inquiring minds.

The second thing that has me a little anxious is my big ‘field trip’ tomorrow. I am going to do some sightseeing on Manhattan with an acquaintance from school. First time that far away from home without my husband since my sight loss. I know it can be done, but it is still a little scary.

Third thing: I saw Regillo yesterday. My eyes are getting worse slowly. (I am not so sure about the slowly part!) He confirmed scotomata (aka blind spots) get darker but did not necessarily say they go black. He said that he would not expect a central vision loss to cover 60 degrees of arc. That wide a loss would be ‘extreme’. Those two answers at least get us slightly closer to settling two of my burning questions from this Spring.

The big news, though, is he wants to try me on lampalizumab next winter. It appears the phase 3 clinicals are going to wind down by the end of the year and phase 4 trials will be starting.

People, the numbers of subjects in phase 4 trials is BIG. HUGE! Phase 4 trials take place after the FDA approved the marketing of a new drug. The drug is made available to the public through local physicians. They look for effects and side effects in diverse populations.

What this means for you is simply this: the first actual TREATMENT for geographic atrophy may only be six months away! This is the first breakthrough!

Lampalizumab is an injectible drug. It has been proven to slow the progression of geographic atrophy and to “reduce the area of geographic atrophy” by 20%. Dosing occurs monthly or every six weeks.

Will I do it? Probably. I really believe stem cell replacement of RPEs is the way for me to go, but it is taking forever and I don’t have time for forever. Lampalizumab can be administered locally and would avoid lots of trips to Philly. I don’t like the idea of intravenous injections but I don’t like the idea of a vitrectomy either! A 20% decrease in disease progression might win me enough time (and macula!) to have a more successful intervention later.

If you have dry AMD and geographic atrophy, it might be worth your while to broach the subject of lampalizumab with your retinologist. Let him know you are interested. This could just be the start of something big for all of us.?

Continue reading “BIG News!”

Not Your Parents’ AMD

3 pm Monday and so far it is a good day. The pool guy is working on my new liner. The funny thingee on my tummy is a normal, benign growth and the transportation company got new vans with fancy logos painted on them. No more confusion with two dozen, white vans. Life is looking up!

Lin told me there was a conversation thread in the Facebook group about parents who struggled with AMD. People remember what their mothers and fathers went through and they are determined not to become like them.

I am reasonably sure my father’s vision problems were AMD. The more I think about it his father’s vision problems may have been AMD. I remember both of them using a handheld lens to read the newspaper as well as the really strange interpretations Daddy would have when it came to TV shows. I have no idea what HE was watching but it was not the same thing I was watching!

I have said it a couple of dozen times and I will say it again: this is the best time in the history of the human race to be losing our sight. Absolutely the best. You may not realize it. You may remember what you saw and think we are doomed to go there too but we are not. We really are not.

I tried a handheld magnifier for a couple of weeks. Not doing that again. They are very inefficient. I have my CCTV, my handheld reader and my iPad which can go in the Justand.

[Lin:Linda: To see what Sue uses on a daily basis, check out these pages: A Day in the Life and A Day in the Life:Work Day.]

I can get newspapers on my phone and books from BARD (there are other sources, too, as well as magazines which are available).  I’m able to take a picture of pretty much any text I want and my KNFB Reader will read it to me. The zoom feature on my iPad will allow me to read email and research pretty efficiently. ZoomText allows me to work. (refer to the “Day in the Life” pages above)

If I want to look at something a little distance away I can use my max TV glasses or my monocular. Not too bad.

Depending upon when Lin publishes this page, you either have or will be hearing about audio description services (coming soon!). If my father had had those for the TV we would have been “on the same page” a lot more than we were when we watched programs together. Audio description can also allow you to go to the movies and live theater and actually know what is going on.

Do I want to be losing my sight? Hell, no! This is not a walk in the park but it is not what Daddy endured either. Just the same he made it into his mid 80s and managed to take care of himself until other issues brought him down. If he could do it without all of the toys, I can do it.  [Lin/Linda: My dad had geographic atrophy & took care of my mother who had Alzheimer’s using several different handheld magnifiers & a few other low vision aids.]

Yet another reason to be optimistic is all of the exciting research happening. We are poised for a veritable explosion of treatments. Not cures, mind you, but treatments. Thirty years ago there was nothing.

[Lin/Linda: To see what’s in the research pipeline, click here.]

What can you do? Be willing. Use what has been provided. If you put that iPad your son gave you in the drawer you have absolutely no grounds for complains. Bluntly put? Your extra suffering will be your own damn fault.

What else? Volunteer. Sign up for clinical trials. Join support groups. Share your knowledge and skills.

Life – and this vision loss bit included – is the craziest thing you will ever experience and none of us get out alive. Make the most of it while you can.

Continue reading “Not Your Parents’ AMD”

Good Guy Force

We could be a force. Really! According to ScienceDaily (4/27/17) we are up to an estimated 14 million AMD sufferers in the States alone. That is one big number of visually impaired older folks!

We already know knowledge is power. Numbers are power, too. It is hard to ignore that many people. That is slightly more than the populations of Buenos Aires or Istanbul. Wow.

So now that we realize we have so much power, we need to decide if we want to use it for good or evil. Silly question! We all know we are the Good Guys!

Good guys go out and rescue people; right? Well, it turns out there are a heck of a lot of people who need to be rescued!

What am I talking about? David Neely at the University of Alabama re-examined 644 people who had been given clean bills of macular health based on routine eye exams. Double that to get the number of eyeballs, 1288.

Neely found 320 eyes had AMD! That is 25%! There was not a whisper in medical records about any of these eyes having drusen. Undiagnosed AMD was associated with older patients, male gender and less than a high school education.

Maybe there is no treatment for those eyes now, but what about in five or ten years? By then such lapses in diagnosis may mean the difference between an easy fix and serious problems.

Hot Topics Small Talk (volume 2, number 5) also picked up on Neely’s work and make a nice, little summary sheet for us. This summary noted it is harder to visualize the retina during routine exams in older adults. Maybe ‘routine’ should become a bit more rigorous? The pathology was observed using fundus photography.

Other findings cited by Hot Topics? The presence of cataracts did not contribute to misdiagnosis. Also, it did not matter if the initial exam was done by an ophthalmologist or an optometrist.

Essentially, this research suggests we could be over 17 million strong (and I mean that word, strong) if these early cases were not being overlooked. Like I said, perhaps not essential now but possibly crucial in the future.

So, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to encourage everyone, but especially older folks, to have fundoscopic examinations of their eyes. As usual, should any of your AMD Good Guy force be caught doing this, we will be very proud of you. This page will self-destructive in ten, nine, eight…… Continue reading “Good Guy Force”