Eye Vitamins?

[crabo]

Has anyone found that taking any particular eye vitamin has made a difference? I am 55 and like everyone else that is getting old, I can't see as good as I used to.

Anyone done any ladder testing on eye vitamin/exercises?

Thanks,

Crabo

[Wayne Smith]

Like all of us, I suppose, I've seen those adds too. Given a cataract and glaucoma I'm shy about doing anything that might destabilize what I've got now! Any answers others have would be welcome here, too, though. If there's anything to it I'll talk to my eye doc.

[VTDW]

A friend who is a Physician's Assistant is trying to get me to take something called Eye-Tac. I am not sure about the spelling but his optometrist had him go on it and he swears by it.

Dave

[sundog]

No, but I forgot to put the ladder in the pot of beans I made the other day. Big mistake.

Paul Harvey advertises some ocular nutrition product supposed to help macular (sp?) degeneration. Are any of these products any good? I been blessed with very good eye sight, but need reading glasses. That doesn't mean things won't change as I very rapidly pass sixty (time seems to go faster as you age).

[Dale53]

I talked to my eye surgeon (I have two replacement lenses and retinal surgery on both eyes.

He says there has been NO clinical proof of anything helping (he takes nothing himself).

The problem is, even if there was something helpful, if no one can make any money off it (like the drug companies) they will NOT spring for the millions to do clinical testing. Who can blame them?

About all we can do is to live decently, eat decently, and maybe a general "one a day" type vitamin.

My oldest son is a Comprehensive General Dentist and my Daughter is a Doctor of Pharmacy. We have discussed these things.

I am a bit on the cautious side as these "supplements" are drugs. They have dosage requirements just like the prescription drugs. The only problem is, with no clinical trials NO ONE knows what the dosage should be.

Dale53

[Ed Barrett]

I'm 66 years old, I still have the same eyes I had on the Navy rifle team back in 1962, The eyes just don't do as well as they did then. I take the "equate vision formula" they sell at Wal-Mart. I don't know if it does any good but it hasn't hurt me, I have been taking it for about a year. Many of the things I do in reloading and shooting have not had studies done on them, but if they work for me I use them. Just an old farts ramblings.

[mooman76]

I'd like to know too. Iam assuming we are talking of this stuff that is advertized in all the hunting and shooting mags. I was thinking of getting it for my Dad but found out this stuff is kind of expensive. It's worth it if it works but there is so much out there that doesn't work like they say. I was even thinking of getting it myself. I've been having a little trouble seeing the front sight on my longer guns lately.

[NVcurmudgeon]

No, but I forgot to put the ladder in the pot of beans I made the other day. Big mistake.

Paul Harvey advertises some ocular nutrition product supposed to help macular (sp?) degeneration. Are any of these products any good? I been blessed with very good eye sight, but need reading glasses. That doesn't mean things won't change as I very rapidly pass sixty (time seems to go faster as you age).

Yes, I hear Paul Harvey several times a day here. I'm waiting for "The Rest of the Story" before I try his eye medicine.

[leftiye]

Not interested in starting the whole "nutrition vs the AMA" thing up. One thought, despite the Hippoctratic oath & etc., the medical profession makes more money the more we get sick, maybe that's why they do zilch when it comes to preventive medicine(?).

Vitamins are like all other foods, when you've got enough you've got enough. How much is that? Varies for the individual. Don't get enough, and your health will suffer, and it won't take a health food nut to figure that out for you. That's it for vitamins. Supplements are more in the realm of super foods and some work and some don't. Problem is we can't afford to test them all ourself. But some do solve specific problems- if you can find out reliably which and what.

There are recognised groups of vitamins and herbs for a wide range of issues nowadays. The nutrition industry has made huge strides in the last 20 years. Unfortunately, there are probly more snake oil sellers too.

[Pathfinder1cav]

FWIW, about 5 years ago it seemed that my eyers were taking a turn for the worse- I'm 63 & most my life I've had 20/20 eyesight. Sure enough, the VA eye doctor said that it looked like I had the precursor to macular degeneration & warned that it could happen very fast. Scared the S***out of me (I'd trade ALL my guns to NOT lose my vision!) & asked if there was anything that I could do. He said that he had been getting good reports from other eye Dr's with patients using eye vitamens (Luten & Zenithen-sp?). So I went on them (I-Caps at Wal Mart). A year later, the report was no worse- next year, the same & maybe better- I personally feel that my eyes are stronger- don't tire as easy, but not 20/20 when I was 30 either.
As a result though, I was lucky enough to have qualified for the US Long Range BPCR team & help bring home the World Championship in South Africa last year- I don't believe that I could have done that, the direction my eyes were going in 2002. YMMV!

[VTDW]

THAT is what my buddies Optometrist told him I-Caps. Thanks. I also know for a fact that zinc tablets are good for helping night vision but once you quit the same problem exists. Might be good to take during deer season for those low light situations.:drinks:

Dave

[Whaump 'em]

The first thing I will suggest is to go to the health food store and look for "Bilberry Tea".
Then more importantly, your eyes need exercise. Focusing on a near then distant object, and back and forth,and back and forth. Sitting and looking at a computer screen does as much good for your eyes as it does for the size of your gut.

[crabo]

My eye doctor is also an eye surgeon ,(one of the reasons I go to him), and when I asked him about vitamins a year or 2 ago, he said it did not make any difference. My wife saw him last week and he sent some B&L Preservision samples home with her. They claim they are the #1 vitamin recommended by eye doctors.

My mom, 81, has glaucoma and has lost sight in one of her eyes. Her doctor told her to take
I-Caps and when she came back several months later, he said that the reason something, (I forget what), was improved was because of the I-Caps she had been taking.

I know my eyes are getting more sensitive to light and I sure am having a harder time when it gets dusk. I think I will try the I-Caps again, and do it twice a day.

Crabo

[targetshootr]

Sitting and looking at a computer screen does as much good for your eyes as it does for the size of your gut.Now you've gone and blown my whole exercise program. [smilie=1:
I think my eyesight is the thing I miss most as the years go by.

[longhorn]

I seem to get to weigh in on this every 6 months or so--I'm a pharmacist with a doctorate in natural medicine. There are some studies out there (usually small, in terms of people enrolled) that indicate that lutein supplements can help and/or arrest macular degeneration. More importantly, will it prevent? Don't know, but I take a lutein supplement religiously. What have I personally noticed? A definite improvement in night vision. Speaking of studies, I might note that my experience in examining the studies behind the stories you see in the popular media (good or bad) indicates that someone is usually cherry-picking the data to come up with a headline. In other words, be very careful of what you believe about vitamins, minerals, and nutritional supplements if your belief is based on something you heard or read "somewhere." You might not have seen the whole truth...

[Bigscot]

This place is great! I order from them and am very satisfied. If you look at the link (not the home page) you can find all sorts of information about conditions, supplements etc. I have never seen so much information in one site.

http://www.vitamin-connection.com//NIQ/indexC.html

Hope this helps.

Bigscot

[Ken O]

I'm 60 and have trouble with the front sight. I shoot competitons to 1000 yards using irons, and the last couple years its has been a strugle. I started taking lutein and billberry on the advise of a couple much older Palma shooters I shoot with, and the sharpness has really come back. If I miss a few days even the TV looks fuzzy when looking at the letters for the channel guide.
These are real cheap, $3.88 at Walmat for a 60 capsule bottle. For the price you aren't out much if it doesnt work for you. A total of less than $8 for both for two months supply.

[Kraschenbirn]

A little over three years ago, I was hit with rapid ("wet") macular degeneration in my left eye...30%+ vision loss in less than 30 days...which required multiple "cold laser" treatments to arrest. Corrected vision in that eye went from 20/20 to something like 20/50-20/60 and the loss is permanent. Both the opthamologist and the retinal surgeon recommended adding Lutein caps to my regular daily multi-vitamin and wearing sunglasses when in direct sunlight. So far, there's been no recurrance and vision loss seems to have stabilized.

Bill