Vitamins for low macular pigmentation?

June 25, 2015 6:40 PM

I just came back from the optometrist and my gut is telling me I'm being taken for a little bit of a ride. I know YANMD, but hopefully someone can back up or refute what happened.

I went to the eye doctor today for the first time in 4 years (I know, I know). I ended up seeing a different doctor in the practice than the last (and first) time I went there. Part of the exam was some brand new test for blue light detection and a picture of my retina. The blue light test involved staring into a machine at a blue or white dot a clicking a button when it started shimmering. When the optometrist looked at the picture of my retina there were some small dark spots near the macula that he was concerned about, and the results of the blue light test were that I had low macular pigmentation. Due to this and a history of macular degeneration (father's mother) he said I should take some vitamins (EyePromise Restore) and come back in 6 months to see if there was any improvement. I ended up buying the vitamins, which were very expensive.

Now that I'm home and googling more about low macular pigmentation I'm just getting the feeling that this is primarily a way to separate me and my money. I asked some questions, but I'm sure not the right one, and I'm feeling pretty uninformed right now. Part of it is that I got the impression that this was some very very new technology and I just don't understand how tested it is and how well it improves outcomes; another part is that I don't have an established relationship with this doc or any other in my city and that makes me nervous.

So a few actual questions finally:
1: Have you experienced low macular pigmentation and found improvement through vitamins?
2: Is this worth getting a second opinion on from another optometrist?
3: Is there any debate within the optometry community surrounding low macular pigmentation and taking vitamins to improve it?

posted by noneuclidean to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

Generally I run from any doctor that sells supplements (or offbeat proprietary treatments) as part of their practice.
posted by Grumpy old geek at 6:46 PM on June 25, 2015

This doesn't actually answer any of your three specific questions, and I've never heard of low macular pigmentation, but risk of age-related macular degeneration is proven to be reduced by taking specific supplements. I take the AREDS2 formula sold as PreserVision, because my mother went blind from AMD and my maculars are showing preliminary signs of failure. Buying online makes the capsules less expensive.
posted by anadem at 7:07 PM on June 25, 2015

(My husband is an ophthalmologist, but not your ophthalmologist, and this does not constitute even second-hand medical advice, but his take was:) You need to see an ophthalmologist. An optometrist is not a medical doctor and is most certainly not a retina specialist, and that is who you need to see: an ophthalmologist who specializes in retinal issues. Especially if there is a family history of macular degeneration. An optometrist does not have the medical training to properly evaluate or diagnose you. (Even a general ophthalmologist would refer you to a retina specialist rather than treat or manage themselves, it's that specific a field.)
posted by mothershock at 7:08 PM on June 25, 2015

macular degeneration I got this from Medline Plus, which is the web site for the National Library of Medicine. I had a Mac spot develop on the back of my eye, and it did respond nicely to vitamins and a reduction of sunlight; it's very faint now. The last two paragraphs of this sheet talk about AREDS, vitamins that the eye responds to. I got my leutin and Vit A from lots of carrot juice and cucumbers, which contain a lot of leutin. I don't take any supplements, but I did notice an appreciable improvement in my vision with these vitamins.
posted by effluvia at 7:29 PM on June 25, 2015

Adding to what mothershock wrote: Yes, go to an ophthalmologist; it was my ophthalmologist who started me on AREDS2.
posted by anadem at 8:10 PM on June 25, 2015

I'm sitting here and going, "are you fucking shitting me?" Eye Promise Restore? Are you fucking shitting me?

Please go get a second opinion.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 8:15 PM on June 25, 2015

Get a second opinion, but from an ophthalmologist.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:44 PM on June 25, 2015

Have you opened the pill bottle yet? If not, take it back for a refund.

And then, yes, go to an ophthalmologist.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:45 PM on June 25, 2015

My opinion (as a pharmacologist) of supplement packages such EyePromise Restore is that they sell small sets of vitamins and supplements for a ridiculously high mark-up and when they mark it as natural source, probably don't even include the ingredients they claim. In the link, 4% of Walmart herbal products included the herb.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:55 AM on June 26, 2015

Thanks everyone for confirming what my gut was telling me. I ran over to their office at lunch today and returned the vitamins with no problems. Now to find an ophthalmologist for a second opinion (ugh...I hate finding new doctors).
posted by noneuclidean at 9:36 AM on June 26, 2015

Costco sells the Bausch and Lomb eye vitamins OTC. Costco is a good source for supplements in general that are what they are labelled to be.
posted by w0mbat at 8:02 AM on June 27, 2015