Photobiomodulation for Early/Intermediate Dry AMD

@kaye46
Looks like 4 treatments within 10 days are required and cost is 499 a treatment so like 2000 CAD yearly not paid by insurance. Again like photomodulation not a cure. Must be repeated each year.
A recurring $2,000/year therapy with no proven evidence it stops progression. You can see some lines better on the eye chart but just temporarily and therapy must be repeated.
Some people experience noticeable short-term visual improvements.
It is unknown whether these improvements correlate with slower disease progression.
Query --BUT what if you did both photo and micro together? Would those combined therapies work together actually slow progression? Not FDA approved in the US -clinical trials.

Has anyone been treated with this new therapy? My doctor just recommended this for my advanced stage of dry AMD.

I’m also a candidate, but Medicare doesn’t cover…it’s expensive…and am unaware of any studies that suggest it’s beneficial. Hopeful for improvement in all of these…

Started taking AREDS 2 supplements as recommended.
https://www.nei.nih.gov/eye-health-information/eye-conditions-and-diseases/age-related-macular-degeneration/nutritional-supplements-age-related-macular-degeneration

I’ve been taking AREDS for 15 years. It has probably prolonged my good vision until now.

@sstonecliffe and @mikewyatt, I moved your posts to this active discussion so you can connect with other members talking about light therapy for dry macular degeneration.

- Photobiomodulation for Early/Intermediate Dry AMD https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/photobiomodulation-for-earlyintermediate-dry-amd/

Do you have a reference source for the comment, “It's been successful in treating both early and intermediate dry AMD. Best for visual acuity of 20/120 or better.”?

@mikewyatt , I'm tagging @prayingtolucy to make sure they see your question about a reference citation for the comment in the original post.

This article from the American Academy of Opthamology explains more about the approval and light therapy.
- FDA Authorizes Light Therapy for Dry AMD https://www.aao.org/eye-health/news/light-therapy-photobiomodulation-dry-amd-ga

Referring to the attached presentation by Dr. Cabell which discussed the benefits of the longer wavelength spectrum of light. I am not qualified to make any conclusions. However, my take and intuition is that any broad spectrum light that we experience, albeit from sunrise, open flame, clear glass incandescent lights, etc… could possibly be beneficial. So, I try to get my sunrise light, but I also enjoy candles and clear glass incandescents on a dimmer every morning with coffee and music. I know my soul benefits, and possibly my eyes… https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ia8fg9oq2vtoncs1nau7l/Dr.-Cabell-Health-Talk.pdf

I recently requested information on this same subject matter on this site.
The treatment was developed in Japan and has been used in Europe and Japan for 5 years.
The treatment is called Valeda light delivery system. It is used only for dry macular and the FDA has approved its use in the USA but there are certain criteria to meet. My macular recently progressed from intermediate to geographic atrophy after 10 years of remaining stable. I unfortunately do not fall into tge category for Medicare to cover my treatments andvI need to pay out of pocket. It is ridiculous bc you have to lose a certain amount of sight for Medicare to cover the cost. The purpose of the treatments is to stop the progression bc the sight you lose cannot be restored. I have dealt with Wills Eye for 10 years and they just offered me the new injections for dry macular Izervay which in most cases causes dry to turn to wet after numerous injections. I have fear of that outcome and refused the injections. Went home and started my own research and also scheduled appointments with two other highly skilled retina specialist..
I stumbled upon the Valeda and went back to Wills Eye for a consult with my retina specialist of 10 years. He informed me that Wills Eye is not using this machine at present but he was fine with me trying it. He gave me the name of a retina specialist in my area (Bethlehem/Allentown PA) that has the machine. He is Japanese and very highly rated.
I am scheduled for my 1st set of treatments to begin June 8th.
Treatments consist of 3/week for 3 weeks. Mine Treatments on all and then in 4 months you repeat them again after another OCT scan.
I did hear from one person on this website who responded to my 1st inquiry that she had started these treatments and she saw a difference in her sight after the 1st and 2nd which were not promising and she thought perhaps she just needed new reading glasses. However, after her 3rd treatment her dry turned to wet. This concerns me and I plan to address this concern to my retina doctor (Dr Kazahaya) who is going to perform my treatments. I will update my progress.