Eye check up....
 

Had not been for an eye check up for about a year and a half and for the last few years have been going to Costco eye docs. This time round I went to a local eye doc in a health clinic. He did a more thorough examination of the eyes with eye dilation.

He noticed that both optic nerves are not quite normal and there is some cupping.
He concluded that I may have some glaucoma but the eyeball pressures are normal.
I was not aware that you could have the start of glaucoma with normal eye pressure but apparently this is the case.

Doc is moderately concerned and will do field vision tests in two weeks. My mother had glaucoma starting in her eighties and had degraded vision for the rest of her life. It is good that the doc caught this early and further deterioration can be prevented by eye drops or an operation. The concern is that even normal eyeball pressure is not good for this situation and the pressure needs to be lowered.

So my suggestion is to have a thorough eye check up as like anything else in health(eg. blood pressure, prostate condition) if it is not checked then correction is likely harder to achieve than prevention. SmileWavy

My doc didn't do his own tests, looked like I might have a problem so he sent me to a specialist to get checked out.

I go to a eye surgeon once a year for my eye checks. He does a complete exam. Dilation is done on each visit. Same guy did my wife’s lens replacement on both of her eyes.

Yes, there is a low pressure glaucoma. My wife's family has some history of it.

https://www.glaucoma.org/glaucoma/normal-tension-glaucoma.php

Oh, the joys of aging. I put my cues away some time ago because I was missing shots I considered routine. Went to my regular ophthalmologist. He sent me to a retina clinic. Tests. Pressure elevated, age related macular degeneration (AMD for short) in the left eye. So, perhaps a result of having AFIB? Maybe the diabetes?

At the retina clinic, got an injection of some sort of jungle juice in the eyeball. These to prevent more vision loss. Seems like this is an every few weeks process.

Back to my usual ophthalmologist next week for another pressure test.

Groan...

Whippersnappers wonder why so many crusty old bastids about? We're crusty because we hate the physical deterioration process, hate that nobody beats father time...

Annual retina and eye exams for me. I had a torn retina 3 years ago - not fun.

Got shots in the eyes about once a month for a year. Then tapered off. Now it is about every 6 months.

You guys are scaring the hell outta me. I go for a check up once every two years and my eye are super staple now. My earsightedness is pretty bad.

Question..did the shots help your vision return? Meaning..if doing this would mean my pool game would return, I'd go the program. If not, I can't see wasting the time..
The way my left eye is now, being blind in it wouldn't make much difference.

I got the same timeline from my eyes specialist so I would not worry.

I just would like he update his equipment (which line is better, 1 or 2, 2 or 3...). The new equipment is all digital using laser, no more guessing which line is better.

Yep, shots worked.

Have retinopathy. Where the blood veins in the retina swell and leak. Where they leak causes floaters and new blood veins grow reducing vision. Also causes the retina to detach and cataracts to grow. At one point was 20/100 in both eyes almost blind. Glasses did not help.

Gave me shots in the eye to reduce the vein swelling and toughen them so they don't leak. Also did laser treatments that stops new veins and is like spot welding my retina to the back of my eye so it does not detach. Did a couple of surgeries to remove the extra blood and did cataract surgery on the right eye. Waiting for the left eye to heal a bit before doing cataract surgery on it.

Vision is now 20/50 left and 20/20 right. They scan my retinas to check for swelling and I get shots based on whether the retinas have swelled any or have an new bleeding.

Was lucky, got on a drug testing program that they paid me $25 per eye per shot instead of me having to pay $1000 per shot. They said there was a 1 in 1000 chance the shots would make me blind. Figured at 20/100 was pretty close to being blind anyway.

I have my eye surgeon check me no longer than 3 months apart, I have been doing this since 1996. At 40 years old I had been diagnosed with Angle closure and open angle glaucoma.

I started going blind over a 2 day period and on a Monday walked into his office. My IOP was 52 in the right and 54 in the left. Emergency surgery and 5 different eye drops 2 -3 times a day and 9 pills. Been doing this for 22 years.

Glaucoma is damage to the optic nerve which has no way to heal ever. Several things can cause it but high Intra Occular Pressure is the most common.

I had the thickness of my sclera measured. Not everyones eyes are equal in thickness which affect the amount of IOP. Hence some can have low pressure damage as a thick sclera can not expand as much and the small increase will put pressure on the optic nerve.

So to date I have had 2 laser treatments, after no medications were being effective any longer had a Trbeculerotomy and just recently cateract removal.
My iris is so beat up dialation barely works and had to use Iris Hooks to pull my iris open.

If you are eye queasy do not look up my procedures they are horror movie stuff.

Glaucoma is a sneaky Bast*rd vision is lost before you know it. I suffer from Acute Glaucoma attacks so my pressure can spike without notice.

So to the OP, My normal IOP is 20 in the left with no further damage and my right has been anywhere from 5 - 22 with lots of damage from previous spikes. Normal pressures should be say in the 7 - 16 range to be safe.

Do Not Rely on the Optitician for any serious evaluations, go to a ophthalmologist yearly for a total check up. They can check your Sclera thickness which is only a one shot deal, photo map your internal eye, visual field, pressure test with a more accurate method and a dialated visual inpsection.

Terry

PS - Since the last 2 procedures my eyes have been better than the last 20+ years to see as clear as I do today is a golden gift. Still not seeing 20/20 but what I had to now is nothing less than amazing. Still on the 3 month review.

Thanks. You & blue wing are giving me some hope. I'm new to this unhappy game. Frankly, I've been pretty down in the dumps over it.

Paul D- sending you best wishes. Scary stuff but at least we live at a time and in a country where there are options.
Terry- horror movie stuff indeed. Puts my own retinal detachment / vitrectomy / laser spot welds / face down for 2- weeks story in more perspective. And that’s not easy to do. Glad to hear you’re doing so well.
To every one else- eye problems can go from 0-100 real quick. Outta nowhere. Ophthalmologist once a year for sure

An injection in your eye? Holy fcuk, I don't think I could handle that!

I've been going to Costco optical for years and they always do the pupil dilation. My gf goes to her optometrist and never gets that done. I never understood why. I just had my eye exam on Tuesday and everything was good, but the dreaded glaucoma eye puff.

The tech did my right eye 6 times and got nothing. Moved to my left eye and same thing, after 4 tries. Turns the machine off, and turns it back on. Machine works fine now! :mad:

That ought to be the title of a sticky. The board here has called me more than grumpy more than once. :D

Thank goodness when he gives a shot in the eyeball he sticks the needle in from the side so you can't see the needle coming. My doc is good it only takes him 2 seconds. And despite the pain killer drops the needle still hurts. Is kinda 60's acid trippy to see the drug make bubbles in your vision though.

Was also glad when he did the vitrectomy (operation to clear the blood from in front of the retina) that they used liquid instead of gas. Said if they used gas I would have to keep face down for a few days. Since they were able to use liquid didn't have to do that.

Good description of the shot. Really guys, sounds worse than it is. See what some of you young ones have to look forward to? Tell ya, not many young people in the retina clinic waiting room.