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• Exceptional Recovery from "untreatable" Macular Degeneration
• Posted: 2007-08-30 12:14:56 By Ray A
• 
  Three years ago I was diagnosed with "untreatable" myopic macular degeneration, having lost virtually ALL central vision in my left eye. At that time I was seeing UK 6/60 or USA 20/200.
  
  Now, three years later I am now seeing UK 6/6 or USA 20/20! No, this is not a mistake nor is it a typo, and my improvement has been maintained for two years.
  
  In my case, a tear in my left RPE broke through the very middle of my macular (the fovea). All written and verbal clinical communication to me and my family doctor GP (by my ophthalmologist consultant and also his clinical colleagues) expressed the view that nothing whatsoever that could be done to recover my vision and I should accept the situation as a "fait accompli". I was also diagnosed with macular degeneration in my right eye (though I was seeing Ok out of this eye at that time).
  
  So how did I improve so much?
  
  In one sense I was lucky. Because NO clinical evidence-based treatment for my macular degeneration was considered in the least bit appropriate on the one hand, together with my absolute refusal to believe that nothing could be done to regenerate my macula on the other hand, I sought out, selected and used a non-evidence based healing modality; a so-called "alternative" approach called Ayurveda.
  
  What I am saying is that my extraordinary improvement was "subsequent to" the Ayurvedic treatment. This is not the same as me explicitly (and possibly irresponsibly) asserting that my recovery was "caused by" the treatment. Just because one event follows another, it does not of course follow that there is a causal relationship between the two.
  
  On the other hand, as the improvement and especially the degree of it, was SO contrary to clinical expectation, it cannot be unreasonable to advance the proposition that my treatment and recovery are indeed associated.
  
  As searches through the published scientific paper bio-medical databases of “Medline” and “PubMed” show NO cases of precedents, I have published my own Case Study of my macular degeneration recovery subsequent to Ayurveda at http://www.macular-degeneration-recovery.com (copy and paste into browser address bar). I believe readers of this post will find the site both responsible and temperate.
  
  The site includes two versions of my retinal recovery against a detailed time-line - one for clinicians and the other for non-clinicians, and it also includes a discussion about possible placebo and co-incidence artefacts and additionally provides contact treatment details and contact details for myself.
  
  A final point: My current understanding is that on rare occasions some degree of spontaneous recovery from ‘myopic’ macular degeneration (the type that I have) can occur (though I have been statistically unable to quantify it). However, to date, I am unaware of any spontaneous recovery of the same (or even near) magnitude (6/6 to 6/60 or 20/200 to 20/20).
  
  [I am actively seeking citations from clinicians/ researchers that clearly show spontaneous recoveries of the same magnitude - so if any are reading this post, I would be most grateful if you would contact me so I can revise the discussion portion of my site accordingly].
  
  Best wishes,
  Ray

• Re: Exceptional Recovery from
• Posted: 2007-09-05 03:37:12 By TERESA N
• Hi Ray
  
  My name is Teresa, my sister has had the disease since the age of nine, she has gone from one doctor to another to profs and experiements.
  
  She has recently lost her husband and has two small children to care for in the last 3 years her eyes have deteriorated very fast and she is now at the point of a guide dog.
  
  Please explain what Ayurvedic treatment is and do you know of the availability in UK I am researching the possibility of getting her some help.
  
  Your story has really given me the movitation to keep trying.
  
  Regards
  
  TERESA NEASHAM
  terrysemone@hotmail.com

• Re: Re: Exceptional Recovery from
• Posted: 2007-09-05 08:54:09 By Ray A
• Dear Teresa,
  
  I will be happy to help and assist all I can.
  
  I suspect that as you are asking what Ayurveda is, you probably haven't looked at my site yet:
  http://www.macular-degeneration-recovery.com)
  
  My I suggest that you do this first, and in particular look at the FAQ page where I give a brief introduction to Ayurveda.
  
  After that please do contact me again - either using the contact form on my site, or here on this discussion board, I will be glad to help further.
  
  very best wishes,
  Ray
  
  
  
  
  

• Re: Re: Exceptional Recovery from
• Posted: 2007-09-06 10:07:24 By Mary S
• Theresa,
  here is a link for you.at end of this message\
  Ayurveda is an ancient system of health care native to the Indian Subcontinent.
  
  While some of it's principles may be ok, and beneficial in some ways, It is not a replacement for modern medicine.
  Nor has it ever been proven to be the " cure" of Illness and/or disease.And in some cases it can be detrimental.Please be careful and ask your doctor before taking any of these remedies.
  
  Safety concerns
  There is evidence that using some ayurvedic medicine, especially those involving herbs, metals, minerals, or other materials involves potentially serious risks, including toxicity.[17][3][18]
  
  A research study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association[19] found significant levels of toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic in 20% of Ayurvedic preparations that were made in South Asia for sale in America. The Journal found that, if taken according to the manufacturers' instructions, this 20% of remedies "could result in heavy metal intakes above published regulatory standards"[19] Similar studies have been performed in India, and have confirmed these results. Cases of metal toxicity from use of ayurvedic medicines are well known.[20] Some practitioners claimed that "heavy metals are integral to some formulations and have been used for centuries. There is no point of doing trials as they have been used safely and have mention in our ancient texts."[20]
  
  There is a technique of detoxification applied to heavy metals and toxic herbs called samskaras, which is similar to the Chinese pao zhi although the Ayurvedic technique is more complex and may involve prayers as well as physical pharmacy techniques.[21] An intriguing study of the effectiveness of the Ayurvedic samskaras was printed in the Journal of Postgrad Medicine[22]:
  
  Crude aconite is an extremely lethal substance. However, the science of Ayurveda looks upon aconite as a therapeutic entity. Crude aconite is always processed i.e. it undergoes 'samskaras' before being utilised in the Ayurvedic formulations. This study was undertaken in mice, to ascertain whether 'processed' aconite is less toxic as compared to the crude or unprocessed one. It was seen that crude aconite was significantly toxic to mice (100% mortality at a dose of 2.6 mg/mouse) whereas the fully processed aconite was absolutely non-toxic (no mortality at a dose even 8 times as high as that of crude aconite). Further, all the steps in the processing were essential for complete detoxification.[23]
  
  It should be noted that the cited paper makes no mention of prayer being employed during the detoxification, which calls into question its necessity in the process.
  
  The described detoxification is a simple chemical processing which involves four succesive rounds of boiling the crude root in cow's urine (twice) and cow's milk (twice). Such processing is reasonably expected to chemically modify both toxic and proposed therapeutic components of the root. It will also lead to extraction of these compounds from the root into the boiling solvents, thereby decreasing their concentration in the final product.
  
  It should also be noted that, while these washes appear to ameliorate the toxicity of the crude root, there is no evidence that the processed root has any therapeutic value. A search of the Citation Index, via Web of Science (isiknowledge.com), returned no mention of any therapeutic value for aconite. However, the literature is replete with instances of aconite poisoning, though no mention of specific processing is made in these poisoning cases.
  
  
  [edit] "Miracle Cures"
  Some critics also question the safety of those Ayurvedic drugs that are said to provide "Miracle Cures". [24] The critics argue that simply following age-old Ayurvedic formulas is no guarantee of safety and the fundamental processes and concepts on which these ancient processes are based must be exposed to serious scientific scrutiny.
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda#Safety_concerns
  
  
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda
  
  

• Re: Exceptional Recovery from
• Posted: 2007-09-06 09:58:45 By Mary S
• Ray,
  I just saw this message from you.
  I tried your link and could not access the site.
  
  Let me just add that while I am not in objection to trying some herbal or naturalistic remedies, that I believe it to be very dangerouls to profess that this way of life has cured you and others should seek it out.
  
  No one should take herbal remedies, or naturalistic medicines without first talking to their medical doctor,RS and any other specialist they may see.
  
  For one thing, some of the Natural produts can have adverse effects with other medications folks may be useing for their heart, blood pressure and so on.
  
  Secondly, If natural medicine was the cure all to macular degeneration and other Retinal diseases there would be unending media coverage, and someone making lots of money from the discovery.
  
  I would hate to see someone read your message and think that this was the be all answer. Spend what little finances they may have for
  " The Cure" that does nothappen, and not be able to afford medical care thay may have helped them to hold onto their sight a bit longer, or preserved it until some better Scientifically proven means comes about.
  
  If you were truly helped, then my best to you, but if you are someone trying to scam those who are in real need of medical intervention for something so detrimental as a loss of eye sight, please do not post in here any more.
  
  People who have diseases such as Mac degen and other blinding retinal diseases are seeking what they can to maintain their vision. Having some one come into a sight such as this and perhaps try to scam them along to a non proven cure raises my eye brows and realy ticks me off to be totaly honest with you.
  
  Thank you for understanding my posistion and that of those who have macular degeneration or other Retinal Diseases.
  
  Mary

• Re: Re: Exceptional Recovery from
• Posted: 2007-09-06 11:55:40 By Ray A
• Dear Mary,
  
  Your heartfelt post has only confused me, for you appear to be responding to something you 'thought' my post said, rather than what it actually did say.
  
  Here is just one example:
  
  RAY SAYS "What I am saying is that my extraordinary improvement was "subsequent to" the Ayurvedic treatment. This is not the same as me explicitly (and possibly irresponsibly) asserting that my recovery was "caused by" the treatment. Just because one event follows another, it does not of course follow that there is a causal relationship between the two".
  
  MARY RESPONDS "I believe it to be very dangerouls to profess that this way of life has cured you and others should seek it out".
  
  I cannot see how your response relates at all to my post. I believe any reasonable person would have to conclude it is a non sequitur.
  
  Mary, I do recognise your heartfelt concern, but may I respectfully ask you 'carefully' re-read my post and then 'carefully' review my site. After that - should you wish to continue to castigate me and impune my character, your critique will carry more weight ... as it will be based on what I actually say, rather than what you are projecting that I say.
  
  The link is
  www.macular-degeneration-recovery.com
  
  Thank you,
  Ray
  

• INFOMERCIALS
• Posted: 2007-09-06 19:05:50 By Andrew V
• Ray,
  The heart of the matter here is sales techniques. It is paradoxical that a salesperson who believes wholeheartedly in a product adopts a cavalier sales pitch to sell it. The FIRST IMPRESSION is the lasting impression. And the first impression that I received was “…the same old snake oil in a new bottle.” I can go back and re-read everything and form a second impression, but a second impression is not a first impression.
  
  There is a Spanish proverb: “No cuentas tu dinero en frente de los pobres.” (don’t cound your money in front of the poor.) We are people with a disease and that taints our objectivity. You know this having once seen through damaged eyes yourself. A spoonful of “bedside manner” helps the medicine go down.
  
  I would take a month or so to re-invent myself; re-do my website. Take out the nuance and innuendo. I would add certifications to my “before and after” states, other than my own testimony (if there are references I didn’t find them and stand corrected) and I would urge the good Maharishi to upgrade his slightly ambiguous website. Then in October or November I would come back to this message board confident that the information I have to share would be welcomed by all of us who never lose our optimism.
  
  Sincerely
  AV