Diabetic Retinopathy and Curing it Early

by John Brown
(Towcester, UK)

I put up an earlier story about how eye exercises improved my vision and led to weaker glasses.

In 2003 I weighed 19.5 stone due to long-distance commuting, living in digs, and cheap eating out. I eventually moved house and got a doctor, who put me on a diet where I lost 3.5 stone. But my blood-glucose went up, just over the diabetic threshold.

I adjusted the diet to high protein as per Dr.Atkins, and did a lot of vigorous exercise, and 12 months later a glucose load test showed I was not diabetic, but my level was mid-way in the insulin resistant range. The doctor arranged a retinal photograph and had my feet examined, and everything seemed OK.

I kept on passing fasting glucose tests, and another glucose load in 2010 showed completely clear. Since I am now 62, I thought I would go for a routine retinal photograph. I was referred to a hospital opthalmologist who examined with an opthalmoscope, and diagnosed first-stage diabetic retinopathy in one part of the macular in one eye, with hemorrhage.

I lost 1.5 stone, down to 1 stone above my "ideal" weight, cut daily carbohydrate intake to 60 then 40 gms., walked 20 minutes after breakfast and dinner, plus a 35 minute hard walk through the fields. I took 500mg. vitamin C every 4 hours, 2000 IU vit E, bilberry extract night and morning, 3mg. Astaxanthin, as well as my usual Selenium, zinc, magnesium, vitamins B, B12 and D, and 2gm. fish oil.

After 9 months of this, the opthalmologist has just discharged me, saying no hemorrhage and just 1 micro-aneurism on one small vessel.

Recent research, particularly by the Japanese, highlights a "hyperglycemic memory" in the arterioles that develops with high blood-glucose, and then over long-term, causes increased constriction during the high glucose peaks following meals. My therapy was designed by me to remove this memory, and allow repair of the arterioles. It looks like it has worked. I continue to apply it, but have replaced the walks after meals with house-work.