Macular degeneration and dementia, what are the symptoms?

my son got a form like macular degeneration at 12 years old he just turned 18 it was terrible news he gets a avastin shot monthly its in both eyes we sit at the dr office with 70 80 year olds we didnt even know if he would get his driving licence the disease is adnormal blood vessels behind the eye that burst then fluid leaks out the shot dry up the fluid there are two types wet and dry my son has wet he takes shot series and has it in both eyes cental on one perinfial on other he adjust each eye and can see before the shot he couldnt even see us but has gotten better it hits quick sqiggly lines and floaters we hope we can keep it stable it has been an ordeal getting through school this fall he will start college we worry about what job career he will be able to do in later years this disease can also be inherided i encourage every age if they notice something get to the eye dr guick the quicker the better he also wears sunglasses regularly its the glare if you hold your fingers in front of you eye and move your head keep finger in front of eye thats kinda what it looks like dark spot without treatment it will get worse quick avastin shot has worked for us thank god that and alot of prayer i also take care of my bedridden mother she now lives with us if anyone knows of a young person with this disease please let me know

My mom has alz, and macular degeneration plus many other things. She doesn't close her eyes and she is blind even after having surgery. Some days she can see a little , like a shadow or bright light which bothers her terribly. She can she peoples shapes but can't see who they are, she is also deaf and she lost both sight and hearing at the same time. It's hard for them when they have had their sight to get used to it. We are in the process now of trying to get mom into a nursing home but until all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed for insurance she will be at home. She also qualifies to have a pca come 4 hours a day to take care of her. She lives with us and has now for over a year , then ten months she was in a n.h and before that we cared for her for 6 years. But at least now when everything goes threw we will now have help with lifting her as she is bedridden also. Things at the moment are looking up. Praise God!!!!

wowow , I soo applaud all of you who are going thru these events , I thank god don't seem to have that going on with my mom but I soo bless you all who are dealing with this , this site brings to light so many heroes that we never hear of , thanks for sharing everyones stories and suggestions , godbless you all !!!

Thanks Lori1943, a few yrs back, my Mom was undergoing treatment for her eyes and we were keeping up with her diabeties and neuropathy but then her health took a back seat to my Dad's health and the Macular degeneration progressed. I think Mom is and Dad are really tired in their older ages and everything is exhausting to them. Bless our Elders and our caregivers.

My mother has both macular degeneration and dementia, but she has been receiving successful treatment for the macular for several years--in the form of hypodermic shots into the eyeball every other month. Sounds awful, but it isn't that bad, and it has saved her eyesight; definitely worth investigating. When macular degeneration starts, it's like a dark spot right in front of your eyeballs, and as the disease progresses, the "spot" gets progressively darker and larger. There is some peripheral vision but that also fades as the disease progresses. I can understand why someone would want to just keep their eyes closed; it must be an effort to try to see anything, and I can also understand how this might make the hallucinations so characteristic of dementia seem worse. The folks in my mom's nursing home just had to take down the drapes in her room, because she was "seeing" snakes in them. And her eyesight is good; one can imagine how something like this would be so much worse if all you could see was cloudy peripheral vision. Dementia is a cruel, cruel disease, and so is macular degeneration; what a combo. Utterly exhausting for the sufferer and the caregiver alike. Hang in there.

Thanks for your replies, my Mom readily admits or rather blurts out "you know I can't see at all now" at one time she said she sees outlines but not faces or colors and yes some outlines made her think she saw something else like a snake or children crawling around. Mom has described her vision issues to me but this eye closing is rather different but as jessiBelle said, maybe not seeing anything that may further confuse her its just easier to close her eyes. Thank you all so very much.

Jessibelle may be on to something. Bright sunlight makes my mom's eyes water terribly. The light really bothers her especially out doors. Maybe the sunlight is hurting her eyes. And she closes them without consciously doing it.

I read something last night I thought might be relevant. Sometimes people see shapes on their retinas that make them feel crazy. I can understand that, since I think of how often I rub or blink trying to correct some vision problem. Even if the shapes are still there when a person closes their eyes, maybe it is easier to take. I had also never heard of closing eyes as a symptom of macular degeneration.

I wonder, too, if there is some magic thinking going on. Since UV light is not good for MD, perhaps there is some thought that keeping the eyes closed would help. I know this is just reaching for an explanation, but I thought I would mention.

My mother has macular degeneration also. She has for some time. It's a quirky thing. Some things she sees and some things she cannot. But I have never seen her eyes close. I've not heard of that being a symptom. My mom sees best in natural daylight. At this point, she can see silhouettes of people but no faces. She can she contrasting objects and lettering, but would not be able to see something grey on black or beige on white. I try to get her to talk about her vision, so I can understand it more, but she is overly sensitive about it and refuses to discuss it, as though she doesn't want anyone to know. I am trying to get her to use a cane, but she is stubborn. She would rather walk and"foot feel" for steps and uneven surfaces. I'm sure one day she will fall, but as I said she tries to hide her disability. Perhaps your mom closes her eyes because she really can't see and doesn't want to face it????