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 sudhi...@nestgroup.net 098 472 76 126 h) To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. 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