Overcoming Macular Degeneration: A Guide to Seeing Beyond the Clouds

Macular degeneration is a disease that doesn't just affect people in their 50s and 60s - it can strike at any time, has a hereditary component, and there's no way to predict the rate of progression. More depressingly, it robs sufferers of their central vision and there's no cure available, either through drugs or surgery.Being diagnosed with MD feels like being told you've got terminal cancer, and Dr Solomon immediately identifies the coldness of the medical community in handling patients with this disease. He also dispels some of the myths around MD - it's relieving to hear that you will *not* go blind - and talks about how patients can restructure their lives to manage this disease. While it's undoubtedly a life-changing event, he provides great insight into what specifically will change and how sufferers can address these problems (such as having to quit driving).However, as an early MD sufferer, the biggest challenge for me is how to halt its progression, and the book provides extremely useful advice on how to change habits and lifestyle to give yourself the best chance of preserving your eyesight for longer. Specifically:* Quit toxin-inducing habits (drinking, smoking, coffee, etc.)* Introduce kale, spinach, carrot and broccoli into as many meals as you can* Start a regimented vitamin routine* Begin a daily exercise programOut of the sheer terror of this disease, I've immediately and permanently adopted all four of these points - and while the dead retinal cells will never regrow, it's worth taking the chance that these steps may help slow or stop any further deterioration. I'm doing my best to buy time, since I've been investigating the stem cell operation in some detail, and have the feeling that it's still 5 years away from a reliable and safe solution.Overall, I feel this book is the authority on macular degeneration, especially given the scant information provided by opticians and doctors. Its message is simple: this is a manageable condition that has attracted feverish levels of medical research, with the potential for a cure in the future, and its progression can be decelerated. But most importantly: you won't go blind.

My parents both have macular degeneration and I thought I understood what they saw but I didn't. This book helped me understand what they see (it's like they have a patch of waxed paper they are trying to look through in the central vision - and it can have different shapes for different people, and changes in density as the degeneration continues) and it had a lot of good information on ways to see around the bad spot or how to manage despite the bad spot. It talks about different sorts of aids and devices. I really found it uplifting because the author is an opthamologist and developed AMD himself. So he knows what he's talking about from both the doctor's and the patient's point of view. The book I read was a second edition published in 2009 so there are new devices and treatments, of course, since then but I still found this very helpful - and most of the ideas are going to hold true far into the future. One of the most interesting things is that he clarified for me that we don't go blind from AMD; being considered 'legally blind' is not the same as going blind. I thought that was a very helpful thought. Also, he talks about going to a low-vision specialist and how much they can do in terms of finding good ways to do the things that are important to the particular patient. Even reading is possible although it can be quite tough. Much of the material in the book applies to people with other retina problems too - for example, people with retinal vein occlusions have similar problems with spots where vision is missing or cloudy, and can use tips on how to work around these issues. I found this such a helpful and (for me - with AMD almost certainly in my future) hopeful book. I highly recommend it for anyone who is developing or likely to develop macular problems, and for those who care for someone with AMD.

*****This is far and away the best book written on macular degeneration. Not just written by an ophthalmologist, it is written by a compassionate ophthalmologist who has age-related macular degeneration (AMD) himself, and who has established a practice devoted to AMD and the rehabilitation of low vision. I cannot overestimate the amount of relief I felt when I read his book as opposed to many/most of the others, which stress hopelessness and have a grim tone. This book provides a realistic yet positive view of the prognosis of AMD, no matter how much or how little vision you have left as the years go by.It covers everything you need to know in just one book. The average person will not need to buy any others, many of which sound like they were written with copy from doctors' office brochures cut and pasted in. It is also a good book for the AMD patient's family to read. The book covers: understanding the diagnosis, explaining AMD, therapies, the important role of nutrition (diet as well as which supplements to take), as well as important concerns such as how to decide when to stop driving, low vision rehabilitation, adapting your home, caregiver issues, and so much more. It is a book that gives hope, comfort, reassurance, and invaluable knowledge.Thank you, Dr. Solomon, for giving this gift to those of us who have received this potentially terrifying diagnosis. It took me from a place of sheer terror and panic to one of hope and feeling as though I would be able to cope no matter what happens.Highly recommended.*****

I did not realize this was so out of date! I got so depressed when started reading, then found the published date - 8 years ago. For some books, it wouldn't matter much, but for this it really does. So much has been done since then. I was going on the previous recs, should have noticed.

A sensitive and reassuring account of macular degeneration written by a doctor sufferer for patients with the disease. It emphasizes the point that you do not lose all of your sight if you have M.D. which has to be the most important aspect of this publication.

It is unfortunate that this book was not published in large print. Much of the information is "old hat" now. I was disappointed.