baby aspirin and macular degeneration

[laratterman]

My neighbor had a heart attack a few years back and currently takes a baby aspirin a day because of this.  He also has macular degeneration and has had several bleeds and has had to have injections in his eyes to stop the bleeds.  He has only taken occuvite and the more recent equivalent to this... no other prescription meds.  My question is, could the aspirin be contributing to the bleeds?  Unfortunately, his eye specialist cannot answer this question.

[DonW66]

It may be possible to supplement the possible stopping of baby aspirin by increasing the cardio exercise a bit.
A good daily walk, if one is not doing it now.

[flossy93]

From a quick scan of the literature it appears that a weak but definite link was recently identified between bleeding in the retina and the use of daily aspirin therapy.  So, your neighbor's retinal bleeding could be worsened by the daily aspirin therapy.  The question is whether the benefit to him from taking the aspirin (for example, not dropping dead of another heart attack) outweighs the possible increased risk of retinal bleeding from the aspirin therapy.

His cardiologist and/or primary care doctor presumably are aware of his risk of wet AMD and decided to prescribe the aspirin anyway.  It would be worth asking him to be sure to tell his other doctors about his wet AMD, if he has not already told them.

He should also be made aware of the risk of increased bleeding from certain supplements.  If he is taking Ocuvite (which is fine) he may also be taking other supplements that could affect his wet AMD.  If he tells you he is taking anything else (like Omega 3/fish oil), it's easy to Google for a list of supplements which can affect bleeding.  It would be kind of you to check this for him, to make sure he is not unknowingly increasing his risk by taking supplements he may not know could impact his eye disorder.

The Avastin/Lucentis injections for retinal bleeding have been a game-changer for wet AMD patients, so I am glad he has been given this therapy.  It has likely preserved the vision he does have.  Good luck helping him navigate future issues.  

[DonW66]

Please try following link.  Is top search result.
By Dr. Li.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=aspirin+age+related+macular+degeneration

[KayakerNC]

So, you're trying to "help" your neighbor by steering him/her away from doctors and medical treatments?  
There's a special place in hell.

[laratterman]

Thank you for your response.  Can you please provide me with a site reference for the information you provided?  I would appreciate having it to pass on to my neighbor.  

If anyone is wondering why I am the one writing for him, it is because #1, he has a hard time seeing the computer, and #2, he does not have a lot of faith in his ability to negotiate the internet.  He is also older, so he doesn't have the desire to learn new things such as this.

I am trying to help him sort through things, as the doctors don't seem to have an answer.

I know there are several people who have macular degeneration who take medicines and/or who have had laser surgery to help stop the bleeds.  If anyone has any specific information they would like to share with regard to their successes (or failures) with other treatments, I know he would appreciate hearing about them.

My one last thought is... I suffer with a brain condition and associated co-morbid disorders and take place in other groups here on MelHelp, so I fully appreciate the support and suggestions of others.  One thing I have come to embrace is the usefulness of Western Medicine and Essential Oils as opposed to the man-made chemicals forced on us by doctors and big pharma.  Granted, there is no insurance helps for these, and they can be more costly, but I have found a lot of the same or greater relief through these treatments.  Does anyone have any success stories with regard to their use?  If so, what were the treatments?

Thank you in advance for your response(s)!

[DonW66]

From PubMed:

This meta-analysis updates similar reviews that included studies with various types of biases. A rigorous analysis shows a weak but statistically significant association between aspirin use and the risk of AMD; a result which is different to that previously reported.