Jeff
This message is to introduce myself and to reply to 2 already posted messages... one about driving (day vs. night) and one about taking Vitamin A. I am a 38 year old male who was diagnosed with RP in December 1999. I now have 15 degrees field of vision left in each eye and am told I am considered legally blind. I was told that in Ohio where I live, to have a drivers license you must have 115 degrees field of vision (I have 30 total). I didn't officially surrender my drivers license but my Opthamalogist said I should not drive at all--day or night--as I am a liability to everyone on the road. He specifically said that it isn't his job to "report" it to anyone (like the BMV), but if I were to get in an accident my medical records could be subpoened and it would show that I knew I was not to be driving. The end result (besides the possible tragedy) would be a lawsuit that would take all I've ever worked for. The adjustment to not driving has been very difficult. I am told that most people continue driving anyway, but after all that my doctor said I just cannot see taking the risk. Also, my job included a great deal of driving so I am not working at this time. The Ohio Bureau of Rehabilitation came to my home to offer services and I am looking at being retrained in another field. I was also told that because I am "legally blind", I can attach a letter saying so to my taxes and receive a deduction. I take a high dose of vitamin A daily--15,000 IPU. I am told that this can slow the progression of the disease. We have not seen results of this yet. They also said I should have my blood tested every 6 months or so to check for liver toxins. I plan to do this soon. One other note... we've been blessed with a beautiful daughter who is now almost 5 years old. She recently had an eye exam and everything looks normal. We were told that if we have another child, a boy would have a 50% chance of presenting the disease... a girl would have a 25% chance of being a carrier. We do not know where this supposidly "hereditary" disease came from... there is no family history of RP that we are aware of which leaves us confused.