Alright, I know I need to lose weight, so nothing new there.
Height - 5'8.5" .... Weight - 230
BMI - 34
Body Fat - 23.5%

The doctor said he was surprised my body fat was that low for my weight. He agreed with my goal to get down to 200-ish. I was hoping for 205, he said try to get under 200. It's unrealistic for me to weigh 167 as the "charts" suggest.

Hearing - Near Perfect.
EKG - No problems.
Blood Pressure - good. 109/59 (lower than it usually is, but it's good)
Resting heart rate - good. 71bpm (lower than usual, but these were the 'official' results)
Eyesight - 20/20

However.... I have signs of Macular Degeneration. The doctor said it's very rare to see this in someone my age, and it's almost ALWAYS linked with old age. I'm only 26! The lady who tested my eyesight was different than the MD who discussed all of the final results with me. The final doctor (Brigadier General Dr. Robert Belihar M.D. Mph Ret.) was actually General Schwartzkopf's personal physician during the Gulf War, and one of his specialties is Opthamology. So... I trust his diagnosis of the Macular Degeneration.

He was doubtful of the other doctor's diagnosis until he used one of those handheld light/magnifier things and saw it in my eyes. He said it's something that happens over time, and since I haven't had any eye exams in like.. 13 years, there's no history to look back on to see the progression.

<span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%">My Question...</span> Everything I seem to read about it says it's an "Old Age" disease. If I have it at 26, how likely is it that it's going to rapidly worsen by the time I'm 36? Am I going to have the eyesight of a 76 year old? He said there isn't much they can do to slow it, or any way to reverse it, but also said there's a lot of eye research going on.

I've never had glasses or contacts. The thought of not being able to see, focus, or have eyesight problems really bothers me. Any type of reliance I have to place on someone else makes me emotionally depressed. I hate being sick, injured, or anything not perfect. I'm really dying inside thinking that I'm going to have eye problems soon.

It doesn't affect my daily vision, I wouldn't know anything was wrong if I hadn't had a physical today. They gave me a little piece of graph paper to focus on to see if the lines become wavy. I'd really like something more concrete to keep track of the 'degeneration' than graph paper.

I'm supposed to go to a general Ophthalmologist and get a pinpoint of where it is right now so we can start tracking it. I guess my post here is really just to vent and get all my feelings out, because this eye sight thing is really bothering me.

Is there anything I can do to slow down this degeneration? What caused it? Genetics? Tanning beds?

 

Man, that really sucks. I am really sorry to hear that this is happening. Unfortunately since it usually happens to older people they might not know what the road will look like for you. My gut feeling is that it won't deteriorate as fast as it would in an old person, but I'm no expert. Hopefully they'll get it figured out and be able to correct it before it gets too bad.

News like this is why I'm scared to get a physical. sad.gif

 

Sorry to hear about that man. I dont know much about that but i would start taking everything you can for you eyes. Vitamins, always wear sunglasses with UV protection. I assume you Web MD'ed it and such. I guess you just have to take care of them best you can.

 

Sucks. Do you know if its related to stress by any chance? I know I remember you and your wife were going through a lot of stuff with her health. Maybe take more vacations if its possible and try to relax.

 

Haven't read anything yet about it being related to stress, but I've had PLENTY of stress in my life. As mentioned, my wife's previous medical problems have been one of the many sources. Most of her medical problems are under control and not a major issue right now, but of course we discovered some other things today at our physical. She has nodules and cysts in both thyroids. Waiting for the blood test results to see the extent of her problems. I'm clueless about thyroids, other than it's related to weight issues.

I'm 26 and been losing my hair for years. I've had plenty of stress in my life. The doctor didn't mention stress at all, but did suggest buying good UV protection sunglasses and avoiding direct bright light in my eyes (lasers, tanning beds, sunlight, etc)

 

I'm sorry to hear about your problem. As things stand, try not to worry too much until the next exam - there is not much to go on, as far as you know you could have had this for a very long time, progressing extremely slowly.

If you think you can get a second opinion without much hassle, I would do it.. if nothing maybe another doctor will tell you slightly different things so you can get a better picture.

Synthetic thyroid hormones are readily available (as pills) so I wouldn't stress too much about your wife's problem either.. vast majority of thyroid nodules are benign, and if (god forbid) they are not, it is still very treatable without too much hassle.

 

Lutein found in spinach, eggs, and other foods. Has been shown to decrease the rate of Macular Degeneration.

5-30mg/day is the recommended amount to supplement with. Many supplements have mcg's (micrograms) of it, if the supplement has mcg's you'll need 5000-30000 mcg's/day as that's the recommended amounts (anything less is too little and anything more is too much).

Lutein Plus 20mg of Lutein...from Douglas labs is a great product. I've been sending it oversea's for the past couple years to a patient in Romania (she has macular degeneration) and it's in a stronger dose than she can get at the pharmacy with a prescription in that country.

 

How much Lutein is found in eggs and spinach? I'll eat a damn spinach salad covered in eggs everyday if it'll help.

This is what the doctor suggested I take - i-Caps with Lutein and zeaxanthin. I can't find how much it has in it.

edit: website says 4mg Lutein/zeaxanthin - http://www.icapsvitamins.com/lutein-zeaxan...ye-vitamins.asp

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?...ci_sku=10324212