Aa
vision rehabilitation
Im 47 yrs old and I had a stroke on june 30th....thankfully I only lost the vision in my right eye. It is now only the peripheral vision that is gone
The Dr's have tested me for everything and can't determine why I had the stroke . I understand that it is sometimes difficult to tell the cause. I'm very healthy except for the stroke so they are concerned about the cause.
I'm a little bit more concerned at the moment about recovering my eyesight.
The Neurologist basically told me there is nothing to do. That it will come back in time or it won't but there is no therapy or treament to help in its recovery.
Apparently my optic nerve is fine it is the brain that is not recognising the input
Her bedside manner was far from warm and made me quite depressed.
Ive tried flashing lights in my blind spot for 10 to 20 minutes, which makes me very nauseous after awhile. I thought that might be an indicator of my brain straining to interpret the lights..my neurologist says that flashing lights make people nauseous, that my optic nerve is picking them up and the images are being unconciously processed hence my nausea.
Can anyone recommend any therapys / treatments that aided them with an improvement in their vision.
The fact that my Dr's are telling me there is nothing I can do makes me very sad.
.
The Dr's have tested me for everything and can't determine why I had the stroke . I understand that it is sometimes difficult to tell the cause. I'm very healthy except for the stroke so they are concerned about the cause.
I'm a little bit more concerned at the moment about recovering my eyesight.
The Neurologist basically told me there is nothing to do. That it will come back in time or it won't but there is no therapy or treament to help in its recovery.
Apparently my optic nerve is fine it is the brain that is not recognising the input
Her bedside manner was far from warm and made me quite depressed.
Ive tried flashing lights in my blind spot for 10 to 20 minutes, which makes me very nauseous after awhile. I thought that might be an indicator of my brain straining to interpret the lights..my neurologist says that flashing lights make people nauseous, that my optic nerve is picking them up and the images are being unconciously processed hence my nausea.
Can anyone recommend any therapys / treatments that aided them with an improvement in their vision.
The fact that my Dr's are telling me there is nothing I can do makes me very sad.
.
Hello--
I noticed your discussion about NovaVision, a client of mine, and wanted to provide the following information on a recent study released by Columbia University as well as information regarding coverage.
Columbia University Medical Center researchers have demonstrated, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), that brain activity was increased in stroke and traumatic brain injury survivors who underwent NovaVision’s Vision Restoration Therapy (VRT).
Researchers, led by Randolph S. Marshall, M.D., M.S., associate professor of clinical neurology and acting director, Division of Stroke and Critical Care at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, examined the fMRIs of six patients aged 35-77 with vision loss on the same side of both eyes (homonymous hemianopia) caused by stroke or traumatic brain injury. The fMRI data showed increased activity in visual processing areas of the brain as patients learned to detect stimuli in the borderzone between the seeing and non-seeing fields. This enhanced activity was identified one month after beginning treatment and suggests that the brain is responding accordingly.
The study is currently published in the peer-reviewed journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair.
http://nnr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1545968307305522v1
As for Medicare coverage, Yes, it is discouraging that the therapy isn't covered by Medicare when there are many people who could benefit from it, but from my limited understanding, some patients have submitted claims and had them paid. Additionally, some patients have gotten funding from non-profit organizations and financing is available at many locations.
If you would like further information please visit www.helpforvisionloss.com/02, NovaVision's new consumer education Web site.
I noticed your discussion about NovaVision, a client of mine, and wanted to provide the following information on a recent study released by Columbia University as well as information regarding coverage.
Columbia University Medical Center researchers have demonstrated, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), that brain activity was increased in stroke and traumatic brain injury survivors who underwent NovaVision’s Vision Restoration Therapy (VRT).
Researchers, led by Randolph S. Marshall, M.D., M.S., associate professor of clinical neurology and acting director, Division of Stroke and Critical Care at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, examined the fMRIs of six patients aged 35-77 with vision loss on the same side of both eyes (homonymous hemianopia) caused by stroke or traumatic brain injury. The fMRI data showed increased activity in visual processing areas of the brain as patients learned to detect stimuli in the borderzone between the seeing and non-seeing fields. This enhanced activity was identified one month after beginning treatment and suggests that the brain is responding accordingly.
The study is currently published in the peer-reviewed journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair.
http://nnr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1545968307305522v1
As for Medicare coverage, Yes, it is discouraging that the therapy isn't covered by Medicare when there are many people who could benefit from it, but from my limited understanding, some patients have submitted claims and had them paid. Additionally, some patients have gotten funding from non-profit organizations and financing is available at many locations.
If you would like further information please visit www.helpforvisionloss.com/02, NovaVision's new consumer education Web site.
If I remember, the Novavision therapy was like $1,000 a month for at least six months. Insurance would not cover it either.
As for the eyelights, no, they did not make my wife nauseous. HOWEVER, depending on how one sets the lights to flash, either brighter on top or brighter on the bottom, it triggered the emotional part of the brain. I just can't remember which way did it but it's explained in their web site. I think it helped my wife some wearing their glasses. They cost about $165 I think.
Unfortunately, I think your doctor is correct. Your eye sight might or might not come back. It might come back a little. I sense the reason for not knowing is that they can not "see" the actual damage. Xrays, CAT Scans and MRI's are really just images as compared to say, open heart surgery where they really can "see" the damaged area.
What also seems to have helped my wife are simple, hand held, computer games like solitar. Tossing a bean bag from one hand to another. Reading books. Anything to challenge the deficet.
I've been told that the first 90 days after a stroke usually shows the most significant amount of improvements. The next 90 days is less and so on up to about a year out. After that, recovery can slow to a crawl. Yet, as in my wife's case, she continues to recover 28 months out albiet slowly. I guess the key is to never give up and keep on fighting. The alternative is to give up and not improve.
As for the eyelights, no, they did not make my wife nauseous. HOWEVER, depending on how one sets the lights to flash, either brighter on top or brighter on the bottom, it triggered the emotional part of the brain. I just can't remember which way did it but it's explained in their web site. I think it helped my wife some wearing their glasses. They cost about $165 I think.
Unfortunately, I think your doctor is correct. Your eye sight might or might not come back. It might come back a little. I sense the reason for not knowing is that they can not "see" the actual damage. Xrays, CAT Scans and MRI's are really just images as compared to say, open heart surgery where they really can "see" the damaged area.
What also seems to have helped my wife are simple, hand held, computer games like solitar. Tossing a bean bag from one hand to another. Reading books. Anything to challenge the deficet.
I've been told that the first 90 days after a stroke usually shows the most significant amount of improvements. The next 90 days is less and so on up to about a year out. After that, recovery can slow to a crawl. Yet, as in my wife's case, she continues to recover 28 months out albiet slowly. I guess the key is to never give up and keep on fighting. The alternative is to give up and not improve.
thanks for those suggestions.
I looked at the Novavision website and something about it seems shady
The lack of a price range for therapy always sets of an alarm bell in my head
Joesi is there any quantifiable effect of the eyelights?
It was their website that made me put the flashing lights in my blind spot and made me nauseous? Did the glasses make your wife nauseous?
I hope not to give up
I looked at the Novavision website and something about it seems shady
The lack of a price range for therapy always sets of an alarm bell in my head
Joesi is there any quantifiable effect of the eyelights?
It was their website that made me put the flashing lights in my blind spot and made me nauseous? Did the glasses make your wife nauseous?
I hope not to give up
My wife has the same issues except it's in both eyes and on her left side. You might want to try http://www.testvision.org/decide.html Doing the test frequently seemed to help some and appears to be similar to Novavision. You might also like to try visiting http://www.eyelights.com These glasses also seemed to help my wife some. We are now considering magnetic therapy. http://www.amri-nc.com It's been 28 months since her stroke and she still has her eye sight issues. It's my understanding that every stroke effects people differently and in the case of eye sight, some people recover and some don't. Just NEVER GIVE UP.
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