Good Morning! I am going to review, over the next 2-3 days, the dietary and vitamin recommendations for patients that have been diagnosed with Macular Degeneration. Today's Post: What has been proven and not proven to work. Focusing on the AREDS study and the supplements. Next: Part II: What looks promising from a dietary standpoint, i.e. what things to eat … [Read more...]
Technical Timeout – I Need Feedback!
September 16, 2009 By 9 Comments
No post this AM. Check out my new pics in the header! I am trying to find out if the site takes along time to download. Would like my readers to actually check the site at some point and I would like to hear if you note a long time downloading the site. You may email me or "comment" as you prefer. Thanks, Randy EMAIL: … [Read more...]
Diabetic Retinopathy Vs. Macular Degeneration (Part 2 of 2)
September 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Good Morning! This is part 2 of 2. Part 1 was posted yesterday. Read Part 1. 6. Treatment with Avastin® or other anti-VEGF inhibitors Technically, both diseases may be treated with anti-VEGF inhibitors. Presently, I sometimes treat the neovascular component of diabetic retinopathy with Avastin® if pan-retinal laser photocoagulation (standard treatment) … [Read more...]
Diabetic Retinopathy Vs. Macular Degeneration (Part 1 of 2)
September 14, 2009 By 2 Comments
Happy Monday! Today's post starts a comparison between macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. Both diseases have the possibility of causing severe vision loss, but MOST PATIENTS WITH EITHER DISEASE MAINTAIN GOOD USEFUL VISION THROUGH THEIR LIFETIME! If you remember anything about this post, remember this. Neither disease is necessarily an impairment or … [Read more...]
When Shouldn’t Patients with Diabetes Get Glasses?
September 12, 2009 By 1 Comment
Patients with diabetes need to be careful when getting new glasses. Patients with diabetes should NOT get glasses when their blood sugar is abnormally high or low. Believe it or not, several times a year, I will see a patient that is referred for unexplained decrease in vision, OR, I will have a patient that keeps getting the "wrong" glasses. The patient goes in for … [Read more...]
Distortion May Be the First Sign of Wet Macular Degeneration
September 10, 2009 By 2 Comments
A patient came into the office complaining of new onset distortion in the right eye. My patient, JG, is a 64 year old male, caucasian, and has a long history of smoking. JG started noticing changes in his central vision about 6 weeks ago. At first, there was some distortion in the central vision. When looking out his front window, he noticed that the telephone … [Read more...]
Ozurdex Implant Likely to Help Diabetic Macular Edema
September 8, 2009 By
There is a new implant available to us in the United States for treatment of macular swelling (edema). The implant, Ozurdex®, is a product of Allergan Pharmaceuticals and received FDA approval in June 2009 for treatment of macular edema caused by retinal vascular occlusions. Ozurdex® is now available for your doctor to use when indicated. What does Ozurdex have … [Read more...]
Successful Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy
September 3, 2009 By 2 Comments
I have a patient, BG, with diabetes mellitus. BG has had diabetes for over 45 years. She is 60 years old. I saw her yesterday and will not see her for another 6 months. She has had a long course with proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Her vision is 20/25 in both eyes. BG has had multiple laser treatments and vitrectomy surgery. I want to share her … [Read more...]
Thirst, Frequency and Blurry Vision……Early Signs of Diabetes?
September 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Excessive thirst, increased urinary frequency and blurry vision can all be early signs of undetected diabetes mellitus. What you already know. Diabetes mellitus is the body's inability to decrease the sugar in the blood. This "serum glucose" rises after every meal as our food is broken down into its basic components. In the normal situation, a rise in blood sugar … [Read more...]
Using Avastin for ARMD, A True Success Story
September 1, 2009 By 3 Comments
I am going to try something new. I am going to report on a patient with macular degeneration who did well with anti-VEGF therapy. It is a success story that I'd like to share. Of course, the names have been changed to protect the innocent................... About 3 years ago, a friend asked me to examine his 84 year old mother. She had lost the ability to read … [Read more...]
