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Best meds for early stage Macular Degeneration
My wife and I have both been diagnosed with very early stage dry eye macular degeneration. We were told to take the formula recommended by the National Eye Institute after their Areds 2 study. We have been taking the VITEYES product which follows the recommended formula produced by NEI. We have been taking this product for around 15 years, however, there are several companies selling similar products with varying formulas. A recent one is called EYE PROMISE and it was recommended to my wife by a new optometrist she went to see recently. How are we supposed to figure out which formula is the best one to use??
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Areds 2 is what my retina doctor tells me and he teaches at the well-known Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.
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2 ReactionsI don't think the brand makes much difference as long as the ingredients are the same as recommended by the National Eye Institute for AREDS2.
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2 Reactions@kaye46 the problem is that these various other formulas are different than that recommended by NEI. Some are slightly different and others are significantly different, thus my question.
@gjenkinsak, the one I buy, which is a chewable, is available from both Amazon and Walmart in Canada, and is the same as the recommended formula. I don't see the problem. I only buy ARDS2, that have the exact same formula that the NEI recommends.
I have been using Areds2 for two years but had to reduce the dosage to 1 pill a day instead of 2 because of the excessive amount of zinc in the 2 pill dosage. The maximum amount of zinc recommended daily is 40mg. The 2 pill dosage gives you 80mg daily...too much.
@sherri50 the fine folks that make the supplement that we are taking have a reduced amount of zinc option available of 25 mg per pill. We have been taking that for 12 to 15 years. The concern that we had was that some manufacturers are significantly changing the formula and we want to know whether that’s good or bad or doesn’t make any difference. I’m hoping to find someone who knows the answer to that question.
I think the answer to your question depends on who you ask. My retina specialist said to take Preservation Areds2. The cornea specialist said to take another brand with less zinc and the neuro ophthalmologist said that if I prefer, I could juice vegetables instead of taking the Areds2 and to definitely take only one per day on the days I don't do the juicing (especially beets, carrots, celery). Juicing is way too much trouble at my age so I take one Areds2 daily. Honestly, I believe you need the Areds2 only if you don't eat enough fruits and vegetables but otherwise, they probably don't make a whole lot of difference. To me, it's just common sense. Walking for better circulation might help too.
@sherri50
Eye-gut axis - newest area of AMD eye research:
i have a vita mix and a champion but found it easier and healthier to ferment vegetables. Now I have beets and celery fermenting together in the refrigerator and it keeps forever and is gentle on the kidneys and good for gut/eye health.
The ones I take have 12.5% of Zinc per tablet. Down a lot from the original ones.
Thanks, I'll look into that!