Valeda Light Therapy: What to Expect
What to Expect from Valeda Treatment
Valeda light therapy is delivered in our office, in short visits, on a schedule that runs longer than most people expect. This page lays out exactly what that involves, whether you are already scheduled for your first session or still working out whether Valeda is something you want to pursue.
The individual visits are brief and painless. The commitment is the part worth understanding early, because Valeda is an ongoing therapy rather than a one time procedure.
The Schedule at a Glance
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Initial series: 9 sessions over 3 to 5 weeks, generally three visits per week
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Repeat series: every 4 months from the first treatment date
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Annual total: 3 series, which comes to 27 treatments per year
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Full program: two years, or 54 treatments
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Treatment duration: approximately 5 minutes per eye
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Session duration: approximately 15 minutes per visit
In practice, your year is three concentrated blocks of visits with several free months in between, rather than a standing weekly appointment.
What a Single Session Is Like
You will be seated comfortably in front of the Valeda Light Delivery System. The device delivers low-intensity light at three wavelengths to each eye in turn. You will see the light, but you will not feel anything.
There are no eye drops, no dilation, no medication, no injections, and no anesthesia. The active treatment takes less than 5 minutes per eye. Including check-in and setup, plan for about 15 minutes in the office.
Depending on what your physician determines, treatment may be delivered to one eye or to both. Both take place at the same visit.
Afterward you may notice a brief afterimage, the same effect you get from looking at a bright light or a camera flash. It typically fades within seconds. There is no downtime. You can drive, read, return to work, and resume all normal physical activity immediately.
Before Your First Treatment
There is no special preparation. You do not need to fast, stop any medication on your own, or arrange time off.
Two things to bring:
- Your complete medication and supplement list, including anything prescribed by another physician. Some medications increase sensitivity to light and require a waiting period before treatment can begin.
- Your glasses or contact lens case. You will be asked to remove your glasses or contacts for the treatment itself.
You may drive yourself to and from treatment sessions, because your eyes are not dilated for Valeda. This is different from the evaluation visit that determines whether you are a candidate in the first place. That visit does involve dilation and does require a ride home.
Your First 3-5 Weeks
The initial series is 9 treatments, typically three per week across three weeks. Some patients spread the same 9 sessions across as many as five weeks, depending on scheduling and travel.
A typical three week series looks like this:
- Week 1: treatments 1, 2, and 3
- Week 2: treatments 4, 5, and 6
- Week 3: treatments 7, 8, and 9
This is the most demanding stretch of the whole program. Once the initial series is complete, you will not be back for another series for about 3 months.
After the First Series
Four months after your first treatment date, you return for another series of 9 treatments on the same weekly pattern. That rhythm continues, three series a year, 27 treatments annually.
The full program studied and authorized runs two years, or 54 treatments in total.
Before you begin, it is worth thinking honestly about the logistics. How far you are from our Carlsbad, La Jolla, or Poway office. Who drives you if you would rather not drive yourself. What your next two years realistically look like. Patients who plan for the full course complete it at a much higher rate than patients who start and then discover the calendar.
It is also worth understanding the full financial picture before your first session rather than partway through. See Valeda cost and insurance.
What You Might Notice
We want to set honest expectations here.
In clinical study, treated eyes showed measurable improvement in visual acuity compared with sham treatment, on average a gain of about one line on the eye chart over the course of the study. Many patients gained more. Some gained nothing.
Some people report subjective improvement in reading, contrast, or vision in dim light. Others complete a full course without noticing a day to day change even when their measured acuity has improved. Neither response is unusual.
Benefit is not guaranteed, and it is possible that any benefit may not persist significantly after treatment is stopped. Your physician will track your acuity and imaging over time and discuss with you whether continuing makes sense.
Safety and Side Effects
Across multiple clinical studies, side effects occurred at similar rates in treated and sham groups. There has been no evidence of retinal damage, no treatment-related serious adverse events, and no meaningful impact on color vision.
The brief afterimage described above is the most common experience patients report, and it resolves on its own within seconds to a minute.
Tell your care team if anything changes between sessions, particularly a sudden change in vision, new distortion, or new floaters or flashes. Those are not expected effects of Valeda and they warrant a look regardless of what is causing them.
Where You Will Be Treated
Valeda light therapy is available at three of our patient care centers:
- Carlsbad
- La Jolla
- Poway
If you are normally seen at our Coronado or Hillcrest office, we can evaluate you there and coordinate treatment at whichever of the three treating locations is most convenient for you. See all of our retina centers and locations.
Because the program involves repeat visits over two years, choosing the location that is genuinely easiest for you to reach matters more here than it would for a one time procedure. Tell us what works and we will build the schedule around it.
Not Sure Whether Valeda Is Right for You?
Valeda is intended for a specific group of patients, and candidacy is determined by an exam with retinal imaging rather than by symptoms alone. Read about what we look at and what rules Valeda out, or learn more about Valeda photobiomodulation and how it works.
Fill out our evaluation form below and our team will review your information and reach out to discuss candidacy, scheduling, and next steps. You can also reach us at 858-451-1911.