As it turns out, I was researching uveitis last night, a major cause of "floaters".
Cheers!
The artical spelled it wrong. “Benfotiamine”
I see a lot of kids in our clinic with uveitis. I work with a Pediatric Rheumatologist who manages the meds for these children, since the Ophthalmologists at our medical center aren’t comfortable prescribing for that age group.
Usually they are treated with topical steroid eye drops, but many end up on Methotrexate (a cancer chemotherapy used in lower doses to suppress the immune system and tame down the symptoms), and some even are given Humira or Remicade for uveitis. This vitamin would be MUCH cheaper and much safer.
ping
Wow. This is a very interesting article. I’ve been a chronic victim of uveitis since I was eighteen, getting it at least twice a year until about four years ago.
My ophthalmologist told me it is related to arthritis, so she sent me to a rheumatologist who tested me for a specific gene that predisposes one to it. I did have the gene, but so far have not developed the arthritis that usually shows up in your thirties.
I was a contact lense wearer, which the doctor said had nothing to do with bringing on the episodes. I was one of her two worst patients. Finally we were both in for an appointment on the same afternoon and the doctor introduced us. This woman had had uveitis for seven years straight. I had had bouts which lasted four or five months, but not years. Oral steroids and topical steroidal drops sometimes were not enough, so I eventually caved and (don’t wince) let the doctor give me shots in the eye. (Numbing drops were used, which worked quite well, and it’s not like you see the needle coming . . . it’s given in the lower outside corner of the eye.)
Without insurance the shots cost me about $50 each. A couple of times it took four shots in four days, but usually less. Only twice have I ever had it in both eyes at once. The shots beat going back to the doctor every other day for months on end. They would usually put a stop to the episode within a couple of weeks, saving me tons of money.
Years ago my uveitis prevented me from having Lasik surgery. Then one day the doctor told me they had changed their thoughts on this in recent years, thinking perhaps the wearing of contact lenses stressed out the eyes much more than a laser surgery would, probably increasing the frequency of the episodes. So about four years ago I had the newest laser surgery for that time and it was the best thing I ever did. I have to be honest and tell you that later that year I had the worst episode of uveitis I had ever had, but since then I have not had one instance of it. I do carry a small bottle of steroidal eye drops with me at all times though, in case I feel a twinge of it coming on. The doctor said over the years sometimes even she couldn’t see it with her instruments when I would come in for an episode, so she said I knew better than her when it was starting up and she trusted me to know when to use them.
I’m going to email her this article to see if she’s aware of this research. If something this simple could help, so many people could benefit. One of my doctor’s patients got uveitis for the first time and was blind in three days. She was of American Indian descent. They are some of the biggest sufferers of this malody.
I have been taking benfotiamine for about a year now - not for my eyes, but to see if it would help with neuropathy in both feet, probably due to borderline diabetes now controlled by diet - no medication.
I started taking 3 capsules a day, but when I went to my neurologist for a checkup he found that my B1 level was almost 3x normal. I cut back to one per day several months ago, and now have an elevated level, but not clearly out of normal range.
I cannot say that it has helped the problem, but nerve regeneration is a very slow process and recovery, if it comes, may not occur for years.