Sudhir R (NeSTIT)
2009-02-02 06:24:14 UTC
Hi folks !
Been following the thread on Sreedhareeyam and thought I should share my
experiences and observations, being a RP patient myself and one who has
been associated with this institution since its inception.
a) Sreedhareeyam has good treatments for eye disorders like
hyper-myopia, astigmatism, etc. I have seen radical improvements in
patients who are able to reduce the power of their eye glasses after a
few bouts of in-patient treatments. But, here I should also mention
that the eye exercises prescribed by the Arvind Institute for Perfect
Sight, Thiruvananthapuram are equally good in bringing down refractive
disorders. They hold camps for 2 weeks where they teach simple eye
exercises designed to strengthen eye muscles and thus correct the
curvature of the eye lens. Exercises include palming, following a ball
as it bounces from one hand to the ground and catching it with the other
hand, staring at the sun with eyes closed, staring at darkness and a
lighted candle alternately etc. This hardly costs anything and can be
continued in the privacy of one's home after the initial non-residential
training.
b) Retinitis Pigmentosa is a family of diseases with varying
manifestations in different patients. I have seen patients for whom
only the lateral vision is getting affected and they have no problem
reading or recognizing people since their central vision acuity is
maintained, though the field of vision narrows down progressively. But,
for a lot of people including me, RP is also accompanied by macular
degeneration and optic atrophy and here there is very little that one
can do.
c) ) Sreedhareeyam's cure for RP is a bit hyped, if one is polite
about it. Usually, RP is also associated with high refraction problems
like myopia, astigmatism etc and these are addressed to a large extent,
especially in younger patients, but, this is not due to improvements in
retinual attenuation or pigmentation, the root causes of RP. What
usually happens is that one is influenced by the positive vibes existing
in their campus between the patients that makes one feel good. Usually,
patients who reach Sreedhareeyam are facing vision loss and are
undergoing the associated trauma of depression, self-hatred, rejection
from mainstream society or self-withdrawal. In Sreedhareeyam, we come
across people of our own kind and it consoles us tremendously. Then,
there are the unconfirmed stories of how some guy or gal has been
"cured" by the treatment which instills hopes in us. Sadly, as a lot of
ex-patients have vouched for in AI, these hopes turn into
disillusionments quite fast.
d) My friend, Dr Reshmi Pramod, an Ayurvedic doctor herself and
now visually challenged, tells me that Susrutha (Acharya of Ayurveda)
himself says diseases of the Retina cannot be cured. I request Reshmi
to comment further on this, especially since she herself was a patient
of Sreedhareeyam for multiple bouts.
e) The treatments at Sreedhareeyam has become very costly over
the years. In 1999, when they started off, it was a very small,
intimate affair where there was excellent interaction between the
limited patients, therapists and the doctors and their family members.
Progressively, as it grew from the small Illam (traditional Kerala
House) to the complex of modern buildings and cottages, it has lost its
intimate character and is today a commercial entity, mainly into medical
tourism, targeting rich NRIs and foreigners.
f) In conclusion, if one has the luxury of time and money, one
can keep on experimenting with Sreedhareeyam and similar institutions in
Kerala (who also claim cures for RP). I feel bad for middle class / low
income group parents of blind / low vision kids who trek religiously to
this place every 3/6/12 months and spend time and money trying to cure
blindness or reverse deterioration. Wherever possible, our self-help
group in Kerala reaches out to such patients and reach them the
redeeming message of assistive technologies and urge them to continue
their studies / professions using computers. Prasanna Kumar, Reshmi,
Renuka and countless others from Kerala have been able to use computers
instead of running after miracle cures and are productively engaged
today. I myself often rue the 10 years I wasted in pursuing treatments
of all genres (homeo, naturopathy, suddha, unani, ayurveda at
Sreedhareeyam and at other places) and wish I had learnt Java and Oracle
instead with all that time, money and residual vision. (smile) At
least, that would have contributed better to my new career (started
after losing sight and then having to quit a public sector company
through a voluntary retirement) as a marketing manager in a software
company !
g) I Do not wish to discourage anybody from trying Sreedhareeyam,
but, please note that all that glitters is not gold. (smile)
Thanks and rgds
RS
Kochi
Sudhir.r at nestgroup.net
098 472 76 126
h)
Been following the thread on Sreedhareeyam and thought I should share my
experiences and observations, being a RP patient myself and one who has
been associated with this institution since its inception.
a) Sreedhareeyam has good treatments for eye disorders like
hyper-myopia, astigmatism, etc. I have seen radical improvements in
patients who are able to reduce the power of their eye glasses after a
few bouts of in-patient treatments. But, here I should also mention
that the eye exercises prescribed by the Arvind Institute for Perfect
Sight, Thiruvananthapuram are equally good in bringing down refractive
disorders. They hold camps for 2 weeks where they teach simple eye
exercises designed to strengthen eye muscles and thus correct the
curvature of the eye lens. Exercises include palming, following a ball
as it bounces from one hand to the ground and catching it with the other
hand, staring at the sun with eyes closed, staring at darkness and a
lighted candle alternately etc. This hardly costs anything and can be
continued in the privacy of one's home after the initial non-residential
training.
b) Retinitis Pigmentosa is a family of diseases with varying
manifestations in different patients. I have seen patients for whom
only the lateral vision is getting affected and they have no problem
reading or recognizing people since their central vision acuity is
maintained, though the field of vision narrows down progressively. But,
for a lot of people including me, RP is also accompanied by macular
degeneration and optic atrophy and here there is very little that one
can do.
c) ) Sreedhareeyam's cure for RP is a bit hyped, if one is polite
about it. Usually, RP is also associated with high refraction problems
like myopia, astigmatism etc and these are addressed to a large extent,
especially in younger patients, but, this is not due to improvements in
retinual attenuation or pigmentation, the root causes of RP. What
usually happens is that one is influenced by the positive vibes existing
in their campus between the patients that makes one feel good. Usually,
patients who reach Sreedhareeyam are facing vision loss and are
undergoing the associated trauma of depression, self-hatred, rejection
from mainstream society or self-withdrawal. In Sreedhareeyam, we come
across people of our own kind and it consoles us tremendously. Then,
there are the unconfirmed stories of how some guy or gal has been
"cured" by the treatment which instills hopes in us. Sadly, as a lot of
ex-patients have vouched for in AI, these hopes turn into
disillusionments quite fast.
d) My friend, Dr Reshmi Pramod, an Ayurvedic doctor herself and
now visually challenged, tells me that Susrutha (Acharya of Ayurveda)
himself says diseases of the Retina cannot be cured. I request Reshmi
to comment further on this, especially since she herself was a patient
of Sreedhareeyam for multiple bouts.
e) The treatments at Sreedhareeyam has become very costly over
the years. In 1999, when they started off, it was a very small,
intimate affair where there was excellent interaction between the
limited patients, therapists and the doctors and their family members.
Progressively, as it grew from the small Illam (traditional Kerala
House) to the complex of modern buildings and cottages, it has lost its
intimate character and is today a commercial entity, mainly into medical
tourism, targeting rich NRIs and foreigners.
f) In conclusion, if one has the luxury of time and money, one
can keep on experimenting with Sreedhareeyam and similar institutions in
Kerala (who also claim cures for RP). I feel bad for middle class / low
income group parents of blind / low vision kids who trek religiously to
this place every 3/6/12 months and spend time and money trying to cure
blindness or reverse deterioration. Wherever possible, our self-help
group in Kerala reaches out to such patients and reach them the
redeeming message of assistive technologies and urge them to continue
their studies / professions using computers. Prasanna Kumar, Reshmi,
Renuka and countless others from Kerala have been able to use computers
instead of running after miracle cures and are productively engaged
today. I myself often rue the 10 years I wasted in pursuing treatments
of all genres (homeo, naturopathy, suddha, unani, ayurveda at
Sreedhareeyam and at other places) and wish I had learnt Java and Oracle
instead with all that time, money and residual vision. (smile) At
least, that would have contributed better to my new career (started
after losing sight and then having to quit a public sector company
through a voluntary retirement) as a marketing manager in a software
company !
g) I Do not wish to discourage anybody from trying Sreedhareeyam,
but, please note that all that glitters is not gold. (smile)
Thanks and rgds
RS
Kochi
Sudhir.r at nestgroup.net
098 472 76 126
h)