Eugênio
Hi Mary!
I'm Eugênio, from Brazil.
I discovered having macular degeneration some 20 years before people usually find out. Furthermore, I did Orthotic exercises for 5 years for Eye Convergence and Suppression.
Both (lack of Convergence and Suppression) gave me headaches.
With the exercises, I ended up developing greater visual acuity, and I learned to have eye muscle awareness, performing convergence or divergence of the eyeballs at my will.
But what does this have to do with macular degeneration?
I started to have greater "ocular awareness" of what I saw and what I did not see (ocular suppression has nothing to do with macular degeneration).
One day, from the top of a building, in São Paulo, I saw a train coming. I looked distractedly at the tracks across the street and realized that one of the train's 2 tracks was twisted, open!
I thought: this will cause the biggest accident!
I called my colleague, who also went to the helipad to smoke, to see the inevitable derailment of the train.
And we were waiting ...
He asked: where is the twisted and broken track?
And I said, over there, don't you see?
The train came, passed and there was no accident, thank goodness!
As I looked closely at the tracks below, I noticed that the defect in the track was moving, as I moved my focus to another section of the tracks, ahead or behind.
That's when I realized that the "defect in the tracks" was not in the tracks, it must have been in my eyes.
Returning to Rio de Janeiro, I went to the Clínica de Olhos, where a fundus examination with iodine contrast confirmed that I had an onset of dry macular degeneration.
Since that day, more than 20 years ago I learned, observing, some things.
1- Macular Degeneration increases (the deformation of horizontal and vertical lines, and the concealment of small areas of the perceived image) with increased stress, the intake of alcoholic beverages and the use of tobacco.
2- Steamed or raw carrots, cabbage leaves, broccoli and all dark green leaves help to decrease the arrival and increase of dry macular degeneration.
3- As there is still no total cure for this degenerative disease (genetically transmitted - my father had severe, wet Macular Degeneration - the older sister that I have very weak, and I have) early prevention and the intake of what help and elimination of what gets in the way (alcohol, tobacco, stress) can improve.
4- Learning to look and "SEE" no longer with central vision, but with peripheral vision, BEFORE losing central vision, can give us a greater sense of security to walk and see people, as the disease will make us lose the central part of the vision, responsible for reading, put the needle on the thread and stuff ...
5- Usually the degeneration process starts in the non-dominant eye and progresses to the dominant eye after a few years.
If anyone has more up-to-date information on procedures, treatments proven to be successful, please share here with us, thank you.
I hope I have contributed in some way.
Sincerely,
Eugênio - 69 years old