For many years I was a ‘frequent flyer’ at my local eye-specialist hospital, firstly suffering (and being treated for) acute angle-closure glaucoma 30 years ago, twelve years later with intermediate uveitis and a couple of years after that with cystoid macular edema. I ended up with essentially shitty sight, but the miracle of spectacles gave me adequate enough visual acuity to drive, read and use a computer yada yada.
So I haven’t been near an ophthalmologist for maybe 6yrs or so…but needing to check my glasses-script recently, turns out the IOP in one of my eyes was in the high 30’s.
Back to the eye-quack today, and indeed I now have chronic angle-closure glaucoma, but because of my OTHER previous eye issues (esp the uveitis) they’re not sure quite how to treat the problem. They suggested that the conventional trabeculectomy might actually reactivate the uveitis and that’s something to be avoided if possible. And I personally would like to avoid high-dose oral steroids after having some nasty reactions last time (moon-face was the least of those).
I have another app in 3 weeks by which time they will have assessed the best possible course of treatment, but wondering whether anyone else has been through a similar situation.
I sympathize with your troubles. I’ve had two cornea transplants, luckily both to my right eye rather than one to each eye. My first was when I was 21, due to a perforated corneal ulcer. The same thing happened to that one, and I had my second transplant 4 years later. I’m nearly 40 now, and I’m amazed the second one has held out as long as it has. I’m pretty sure if it happens again I’ll be looking it either an artificial cornea or removal of my eye, depending on the exact situation.
Yikes! I had an IOP of 24 when I was diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma 10 years ago. My opthamologist likes to keep mine at around 14 (although she does keep me on a short leash as I am relatively young). An IOP of 30 is scary!
I found out I had glaucoma when I went to my optometrist for a regular eye exam to get my prescription updated. When your optometrist tells you that “your optic nerve looks scary,” you don’t mess around. The glaucoma has not progressed since I started medication, hopefully it will stay that way. I’ve lost a bit of vision in my right eye, but not enough that it affects anything.
I don’t know if the medications are generally the same for your type of glaucoma, but I take two eyedrops and I don’t believe either of them are steroids.
Good luck, I hope your doctors are able to find a good method of treatment for you.
Not to be a downer, but I’m legally blind, and I think I’ve seen eight ophthalmologists in my lifetime. All but one were piss-poor, and the good one is probably dead now. Too many of them had the bedside manner of an Egyptian camel veterinarian. One was a WalMart optometrist with a MD in ophthalmology somehow. Two of them looked in my eyes and said they didn’t see anythng to be concerned about. One told me to take lutein, a miracle drug, and 20 years later another one told me to stop taking it.
I’ve had cataract surgery in both eyes, two different docs, and they turned out alright, but aside from being adequate surgeons, they weren’t such great doctors either. My last one, I wrote up a scathing review on Yelp.
I’m beginning to suspect that almost nothing is known about the medical treatment of eye conditions, the doctors know it, and shut themselves off from patients, rather than to admit it.
I have microscopic cysts in my eyes, that itch like hell at night. I have to put some OTC gel and eyedrops in when I go to bed. I don’t know the name for the disorder, but there it is.
I had cataract surgery last month. The ophthalmologist prescribed me three different eye-drops to use post-surgery. One was a steroid intended to improve the healing. Four days post-surgery, he checked me out, I had IOP of 29 in the affected eye and 14 in the other.
He said I was “sensitive” to the steroid and switched me to another steroid and gave me some drops to lower the pressure. It seemed to work; a week later my IOP was 12 and 14.
I saw him today and he says my healing is complete. My vision is better than it has ever been and I am off all eye drops.
