Hi Frostydays.

My mother has had glaucoma for many years. Her condition is quite advanced now and complicated by another eye condition called Fuchs Disease. She's also had a corneal transplant - so her case is one of the extremes.

Early one her glaucoma was controlled by drops but as she progressed, we now see a specialist.

She's had every type/brand of drop imaginable as she also has an allergy to the preservative used in many of the drops. She has also had a valve implant in one eye to reduce the pressure as well as a laser procedure in the other.

Please don't get concerned by my post - I just wanted to give you a little background first.

From what I know, "normal" eye pressure is usually in the teens - 13-17 or so. The eye pressure also depends on the thickness of the cornea. The thicker the cornea, the more you can "adjust" for the pressure. For instance, my mother's left cornea is very "thick" from the Fuchs - so a pressure of 17 for her is actually about a 12 or 13. Her right cornea is thinner from the transplant, so her 9 in that eye is really about a 12. All this I have learned over the years from her specialist.

There are a variety of drops for glaucoma - Timoptic, Azopt, Lumigan, Travatan and I'm sure many more that I have forgotten the names over the years. The biggest thing I can gather is to stabilize the pressure and to check annually for any optic nerve damage. This is usually done by a very simple periphial (sp?) eye test called a visual field. It's painless and only takes about 5-7 minutes per eye.

I hope all this helps and a second opinion is probably always valuable. I'd recommend seeing an opthomologist and not an optomitrist as the latter isn't a real doctor.

Good luck!
Barbara

hi frosty,
I'm 52 and have been medicating my glaucoma for about 12 years now. For me it is hereditary. Grandfather went blind from it. (untreated) My Dad and 1 uncle also have it.
Barbara is right, 13 to 17 is about normal. Even in my 20's I was always on the high side of normal, then it gradually kept climbing. I would have it tested every year. One year it was up to 26 and my Dr. said "You rang the bell this year." I've been on eye drops ever since. It seems over time they loose their effectiveness and then I start a new one. I've used all the ones Barbara mentions. My Dad and uncle have both had laser surgery for it. I'm sure my time is coming.
See an opthamologist very soon.
Ron

My husband has to use the Xalatan drops. He's been on them for about two years, I guess. Hubs was referred to an opthalmologist by our optometrist, because our optometrist was concerned about hubs' pressure readings. (And there's a family history of glaucoma in hubs' family.)

The MD said that hubs basically had two options -- the first was to have a little, bitty, teensy, tiny hole put in the eye, to allow the fluid to drain. Said it works, on average, for about 5 years; then it would need to be redone; but it can only be redone once. The second choice was to use the Xalatan drops. We decided on the drops.

He started out with one drop in each eye every night at bedtime, but a few months ago the doc changed it to one drop in each eye every other night at bedtime. His pressure is holding at a great level (sorry, don't know the exact number right now, but I do know it hasn't gone up at all in the two years he's been on the drops), even after changing to the every-other-night schedule.

One of the side effects of Xalatan is that the eyelashes can become longer and thicker. Hubs had to-die-for lashes before the drops, so we really haven't noticed a change, but I don't know if we'd be able to tell, anyway, because his lashes were already fabulous. Another side effect is that the drops can cause a change in the color of your eyes -- with the tendency to get brown pigmentation. Hubs' eyes were already brown, so we don't see any difference there, either. :-)

Hubs hasn't experienced any of the other listed side effects - redness, itching, oozing, etc.

I was diagnosed with high IOP 30 years ago. Since then, I've: visited my opthalmologist every 3-4 months, spent a full day every year or so at one of the country's best eye hospitals having a battery of tests, been on every class of glaucoma med available, and consulted with one of the country's top glaucoma specialists.

My pressures are always in the 25-29 range. The meds made no difference to my readings.

And yet, in all those years, I've had no damage to my optic nerve--no actual symptoms of glaucoma at all.

Then, about 4-5 years ago, on one of my annual visits to the glaucoma lab at the hosptial, the tech doing my tests asked if she could measure my corneal thickness. She'd just been trained on the machine the day before and had yet to use it solo on a patient. Before that time, it wason't common to test a glaucoma suspect's corneal thickness.

Well, voila! My corneas are so thick that it's impossible for the drs to get an accurate reading with their instruments. My thick corneas account for my high--but normal for me--pressure readings.

My dd also has thick corneas--which she's very thankful for at the moment because she's having Lasik in about a month--and it's much more successful on people with thick corneas. As a matter of fact, her surgeon (who is also her boss) is trying to get me in--he wants to do my thick corneas as well.

If you're asking for advice. First thing I'd recommend--if you haven't yet had it done--is to have your opthalmologist measure your cornea. A thicker or thinner than average cornea can really skew the pressure results. Then, educate yourself. Learn about glaucoma--the risks, the effect it will have on your eyes, the potential treatments, etc. I'd recommend that you go to a dr. who is a glaucoma specialist, associated with a very, very good eye hospital. Opthalmologists tend to have different specialties. When my original dr. retired a few years ago, he recommended a young woman dr. who is an expert in the field of glaucoma--I've been very pleased with her. You see, even though I don't yet have that disease, I consider it vital to go to a glaucoma specialist BECAUSE in my case, if I ever do develop it, it's going to be extremely hard to diagnose.

Glaucoma, if you do have it, is very treatable in most cases, if caught early. Most cases will respond to one or the other of the drops. If not, surgery is an option. But it's important to understand that glaucoma rarely has any symptoms in it's early stages, it's not until you've suffered irreversible vision loss that you'll notice it.

I urge all my friends and family to have regular check-ups with and OPTHALMOLOGIST (not an optometrist--optometrists aren't medical drs) to keep an eye on the health of their eyes, whether or not they need glasses.

If you want to find more info on glaucoma and other eye conditions, the Wills Eye Hospital site is a great resource. Don't know if they still have this, but they used to offer online chatting with some of their glaucoma drs at certain times during the week.

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention.

About the drops. My dr. saved the Xalatan for last--I have very light blue eyes, and there is the risk of blue eyes turning brown. When they made no difference in a month, we discontinued them. One of the other drops (I'm thinking Alphagan? but I've taken so many over the years) gave me a really uncomfortable allergic reaction. The surface of my eyes looked like crinkled saran wrap, my eyes were extremely itchy and painful, and it took over a month for me to be fully back to normal. I mention this not to scare you, but to alert you--if you find your eyes feeling at all odd with the drops, don't hesitate to give your dr. a call as soon as possible.

Besides the drops and surgery, there is another option--a med impregnated disk, like a contact that you insert in your eyes. But the meds are pretty much the same as the drops, so I never tried that one.

My pressure is about 23. I did use Istalol, but my insurance made me change to a generic medicine.
JoanMN/FL

I have glaucoma. I see my ophthalmologist sometimes as often as monthly. My next appointment is this coming Wednesday and that will have been four months.

Three years ago I had cataract surgery in my right eye, and it did not go well. During the surgery a piece of the lens fell back into my eye. I had to go to a specialist the next day for surgery to put in an implant. It has been touch-and-go since then. Finally diagnosed with glaucoma. I use Istalol, one drop in each eye, in the AM. Have not had any of the ones mentioned above. I have had pressure reading as high as 20 in the right eye. Last time it was 17. I also have double vision in my right eye, if I look to the left.

I depend on my Doctor to do what is right for me, and don't get upset over different readings, etc. or technological points that I have no control over.

The important thing is to take care of your eyes, whatever that requires.

Sue

I had borderline high pressure readings for about 6 years. My doctor said I had thicker than normal corneas, but I still had a narrowed angle in the inner eye that was causing pressure build up. Although I didn't technically have glaucoma yet, I was at high risk and my thick corneas would make it difficult to get an accurate reading, so I was sent to an eye specialist. The specialist decided to do the laser surgery, which was a very quick, relatively painless procedure.

Although given numbing drops first, I could feel a quick 'ping' with each zap of the laser (about 6 in each eye) but it wasn't painful enough to flinch. I did experience a side effect that he said isn't uncommon, but usually doesn't last too long. Whenever I looked at something unusually bright (like a bright sky, for example)I would get a white glare that would rise up from the bottom of my vision to about the half way point of my eye, every time I blinked.

It was rather annoying, but only happened when looking at something bright, so it didn't happen very often in the course of a day. The only time it happened indoors was maybe at a movie theater when the screen would have a scene change that was really bright, certain scenes on t.v., or glancing up at a ceiling that has flourescent lighting. A bright computer screen didn't bother me.

It lasted about 3 or 4 months, then went away. The only thing that disappoints me is reading here that the procedure might only last about 5 years and can't be redone more than once. I specifically asked the surgeon if it would ever have to be redone and he said it was extremely unlikely, so I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed. At least the procedure is free here under our provincial health care plan.

My mom has had glaucoma for about 40 years, treated it with drops and the occasional minor laser surgery to open up a duct. She has suffered no vision loss at all and had successful cataract surgery about 15 years ago. She's 87. She sees her specialist about every 3 months and they occasionally change her drops, which she administers to herself religiously. If you have to do drops, ask your doctor for the proper way to do them, there's a trick to them, like pinching off the ducts so the drops don't get absorbed too fast or something. Good luck to you!

My BIL has glaucoma. He was diagnosed in his early 30's-Unusual to be so young. I believe his numbers were really high, but I don't think he's ever had a laser surgery? He goes to the doc every 3 months, unless his numbers stablize, then every 6 months. I know he uses eyedrops that he keeps in the fridge.

Unfortunately, his DD, 11, has been seeing an eye doctor since the shape of her eye is EXACTLY like Dad's. They fear she may have some of the same problems eventually.

Thank you everyone for your imput...it was helpful to hear all your stories.

Ive seen one opthalmologist but wasnt all that crazy about him....he wasnt willing to discuss much or explain options, concerns or anything.

Im going to make an appt with another ophthalmologist for a second opinion since the first guy wasnt my cup of tea. I want a dr that is willing to explain and work 'with' me so I know what is going on and what my options are.

Again thank you all for your imput...I appreciate your help.