Preserving and Restoring Vision in Macular Degeneration

(Reprinted From "Nutrition and Healing" Vol. 7, Issue 12 December 2000)

I first published case studies concerning recovery of vision in macular degeneration in the Journal of Nutritional Medicine (1990;1133-158). After several more years of experience, Nutrition & Healing covered preserving and restoring vision for individuals with macular degeneration at length in August 1996. My colleague Tom Dorman M.D. confirmed my observations in his own newsletter in February of 1998. In the ten years since 1990 literally dozens of physicians, mostly members of the American College of Advancement in Medicine (ACAM, 1-800-532-3688) have told me that the treatment pioneered at Tahoma Clinic has worked for the majority of their patients, too. So why isn't this treatment better known and much more widely used?

As usual, the answer is "it's unpatentable". Patent medication companies (also called "pharmaceutical companies) aren't interested; government grants are almost entirely made available to test "mainstream" medical theories. [Note: If anyone can help the Tahoma Clinic Foundation with a research grant of approximately $1 million-sorry, it'll take that or more---we'll be happy to demonstrate with a "controlled trial" that appropriately-done nutritional treatment stops and/or reverses macular degeneration in approximately 70%.]


But despite the absence of "controlled research", macular degeneration is such an important health problem-affecting 9% of us over age 70, according to one prominent "eye' journal-that it's time for us to cover it again.

Sam Peterson was depressed, and very worried. "I can still see good enough to drive with my latest glasses" he started. "But my vision's going fast, and my eye doctor says that since the vitamin and mineral pills he gave me didn't make any difference, there's nothing left to do. I'm just 73, my father lived to 95, and I….I can't face not being able to get around, or maybe even going blind. The doc says that's possible." He paused to control his emotions. "I always told Amy here I'd take care of her-we've been married 44 years now-and instead I'd be depending on her." He stopped again.

"Now Sam, we promised to take care of each other" Amy said. She reached over and took his hand. "Besides, that's what we're doing here. Remember what Elaine and Tom told us?" She turned to me.

"We feel so blessed, Doctor. We just accidentally met Elaine and Tom MacDonald on our vacation, and they told us about Elaine's remarkable improvement in her vision from your treatments here. So we just had to come in."

"Tom said you told them the treatment works most of the time, but not all the time?" Sam asked.

"That's true, it doesn't work every time, but halting or reversing the problem about 70% of the time isn't bad."

"And even if it's just stopped where it is, you can still drive with your glasses, Sam" Amy pointed out.

"Hope I'm not in the 30% or so" he worried.

Amy changed the subject. "What's this Amy told me about starting with a stomach test? I've heard that the way to a man's heart might be through his stomach, but the way to his eyes, too?"

"Not just the heart and eyes, but all the rest of the body. And not just for men, for women, too. Especially when we're past 60 years old, it's wisest to check the stomach and the rest of the digestion whenever anything goes wrong and just won't get better.

"Why's that?"

"As we get older, all body functions slow down. We can't run as fast, lift as much, and in many cases see or hear quite as well as before. Digestion isn't exempt from this process, it slows down, too. By the time we're 60, half or more of us have enough digestive "slow-down" to interfere with optimal nutrition for all our body cells. Specifically, since the 1980s, we've found poor stomach function and/or other digestive problems in nearly everyone with macular degeneration."

"Why macular degeneration in particular?

"Can't say for sure. Perhaps it's because that part of the eye is so active and exposed to possible damage from focused light so much of the day. But we don't know for sure.

Amy looked thoughtful. "I think I remember that Elaine told us you said her cracked, chipped, peeling fingernails were a sign of poor digestion, because her body couldn't absorb enough nutrients to keep her fingernails healthy."

"Right."

"My fingernails are fine" Sam observed.

"Don't know why, but that sign of poor digestion occurs mostly in ladies" I said. "Symptoms of poor digestion that both men and women get include heartburn, bloating, indigestion, constipation, and sometimes night-time leg cramps from not absorbing enough minerals. Oddly enough though, in a minority of cases, poor digestion and assimilation doesn't have any specific symptoms.

The only notable body sign that both men and women with poor stomach function get are dilated capillaries in the cheeks and around the nose….and those don't occur in all cases of poor stomach function, just some."

"I had the heartburn and indigestion awhile back" Sam said. I took a bunch of those acid blockers and it's gone now. But lately I noticed this little red thing at the side of my nose." He turned his head and leaned towards me.

"I noticed that, too" Amy said. "Is that one of those dilated capillary things?"

I looked closely. "Yes, it is. Doesn't prove you have poor digestion, but it increases the likelihood."

"OK, I'll get my digestion checked. Anything else need testing?

"Yes: Nutrients likely to be low when the stomach isn't working: minerals and essential amino acids. Lastly, testosterone."

Sam looked puzzled. "What's testosterone got to do with digestion?"

I laughed. "I wasn't thinking of digestion here. Testosterone is measured because it's the most potent anabolic steroid-tissue building hormone-in humans of either sex. Of course it's more likely to be low when we're past 60. If it is, then using a little bio-identical-identical to natural-testosterone can help rebuild tissue faster, anywhere in our bodies."

"Elaine said she had several weeks of intravenous treatments, minerals and vitamins and so on. We assumed that intravenous is needed because of poor digestion. What's in those? When does Sam start, or do we wait for the test results?"

"Since the mid-1980s, we've started everyone with macular degeneration on IV treatments simply because more people get better, and sooner, too. If all the digestion tests come back normal-which is unusual-then we consider going to "all-oral" treatment. We usually start as soon as tests are done, which can be in a day or two.

The most important minerals for macular degeneration healing, zinc and selenium, are "central" to the IV treatment. In fact, those are the only two we used for much of the 1980s. We've expanded the list to include all known essential minerals, as well as vitamin B12 and the other B-complex vitamins. That improved results a little further, and costs very little more."

"Zinc and-I think-selenium were both in that vitamin/mineral pill the eye doctor gave me that didn't work" Sam observed.

"Unfortunately the quantities are always much too small…" I started.

"….and probably they weren't being digested and absorbed either" Amy observed.

"Tom told me about a supplement with vitamins minerals and herbs that you put together for macular degeneration. Should I get that?" Sam asked.

"Actually, it was put together both to help prevent and to help treat both macular degeneration and cataract. It's based on a "multiple vitamin/mineral" formula so folks won't need to buy as many different products, but extra quantities of key nutrients for eyes, like vitamin B2, are added. In addition, bilberry, ginkgo, lutein, N-acetylcysteine, and other supplemental items particularly helpful for eyes are added. While it's true this supplement will probably help more once digestion is "patched up", you may as well start now."

"What's it called, where do we find it, and how much should Sam use?"Amy asked.

"Ocudyne II, it's available through the Tahoma Clinic dispensary (1-888-893-6878) and nearly all natural food stores." I turned to Sam. "Please use three capsules, three times daily, for now."

I wrote out the recommendation, and Amy took notes. "Let's see" she said "Stomach and digestion tests, mineral and amino acid tests, check testosterone, mineral and vitamin IVs, that Ocudyne….anything else?"

"Not for now."

"When will I be able to tell if it's all working or not?"

"Most everyone who's going to see improvement…no pun intended…in four to six weeks. If there's no change by eight weeks, there probably won't be."

Sam got up to go. "I'll keep my fingers crossed" he said.

"And I'll pray a lot" Amy remarked, as she joined him.

As expected, Sam's tests showed poor stomach function, as well as inadequate digestive enzymes. He started on supplemental quantities of betaine hydrochloride with pepsin with meals to help his stomach, as well as digestive enzymes right after meals. He continued on his "multiple" supplement, and added in the amino acids indicated by his blood test. (Amino acids are important "building blocks" for tissue re-growth). His testosterone test was OK.

Fortunately, Sam was in the "70%" group. His vision started to improve by the end of the first month of IV treatment. He continued IV treatments until his vision stabilized at a much better level, as confirmed by his eye doctor.

Nearly eight years later, his vision remains improved.