Posted by paulette schmid on June 29, 2000 at 19:39:46:
my mother in lawas just diagnosed with md in her right eye and was told laser surgery was not an option at this time. She is upset at the idea of becoming partially blind and since she is expecting a grandchild this christmas is hoping that the progression will be slow. What UI need to know is how long does it genera;yy take to progress? at this point her vision is cloudy and discolored but she is still able to see. how long before it could affect the other eye? Nothing i have read has given me any idea on what she can expect and i'd really like to give her hope tyhat she will get to see this baby.
I'd really appreciate any help here!
Posted by Mary Ellen Lewis on June 30, 2000 at 08:50:29:

In Reply to: how long will it take? posted by paulette schmid on June 29, 2000 at 19:39:46:

: /my mother in lawas just diagnosed with md in her right eye and was told laser surgery was not an option at this time. She is upset at the idea of becoming partially blind and since she is expecting a grandchild this christmas is hoping that the progression will be slow. What UI need to know is how long does it genera;yy take to progress? at this point her vision is cloudy and discolored but she is still able to see. how long before it could affect the other eye? Nothing i have read has given me any idea on what she can expect and i'd really like to give her hope tyhat she will get to see this baby.
I'd really appreciate any help here!
I am sorry but it is hard to say how long. Every one is different. Some cases progress more rapidly than others, especially the "wet" form of macular degeneration. The "dry" form of macular degeneration usually progresses more slowly. Sometimes years. So there is definitely hope that your mother-in-law will see her grandchild.
Don't give up hope. Much work is being done into treatments for macular degeneration. Read as much of thsi web site as you can. Go to the button for Macular Degeneration on the HOME page. It has much to say about both the Wet and Dry types of macular degeneration. Then go to the ARCHIVES button. Some 12 topic headings are listed. All are from previous postings on the AMDF Bulletin Board. Read them. They may help. You could also read about Drugs to Take With Caution and the AMDF puts out a quarterly newsletter too. You can find both on this highly-informative web site. Don't give up hope. Try to keep encouraging your mother-in-law. Read the nutrition articles and have her eat the suggested foods - such as dark leafy vegetables, kale and orange peppers. Make sure she doesn't smoke. With time, we will defeat this disease. My best wishes to you and your mother-in-law. Sincerely, Mary Ellen Lewis.
Posted by Paulette Schmid on June 30, 2000 at 14:26:55:
In Reply to: How Long Will It Take for Macular Degeneration To Progress? posted by Mary Ellen Lewis on June 30, 2000 at 08:50:29:
Mary -
Thankyou for your response.
She has the wet form, and it was found only two weeks after she had a "normal" eye check. In those two weeks she went from seeing fine to noticing discoloration and blured vision. Its rapid onset is what most upsets her. I did find something that mentioned a two year progression - which has made her relax a little. I'm doing the research for her since reading bothers her and gives her headaches. I have suggested making sure her husband smokes outside, and the nutrition ideas I read here - she also has hypertension, and since her mother died very young we have no way of knowing if she had it or not. since she loves to read we are looking into books with large print, books on tape, and if this goes to teh other eye, I will teach her braille too. I am completely blind in one eye (cataracts, glaucoma, detached retina all caused by blunt trauma head injury), and have been since I was five. I have been hope for her that she will be able to function normally since I do drive, fuul time college student, mom of three (and a half) but I have adapted to this since I was very young - I don't remember what normal two eyed vision is! I can't imagine how this will be for her, I couldn't even hope to know where to begin to make the change easy for her. Any ideas on how to make this change as less traumatic as possible? This is a woman who lives to see her grandchildren, and reads avidly.
Posted by Elaine Coates on July 05, 2000 at 14:44:56:
In Reply to: Re: How Long Will It Take for Macular Degeneration To Progress? posted by Paulette Schmid on June 30, 2000 at 14:26:55:
since she loves to read we are looking into books with large print, books on tape
You could also try looking into video magnifiers, they needn't be too expensive. See my message "Benefits of video magnifiers" on this site, 9 June 2000.