Glaucoma.

IKE

Well-known Member
Because of diabetes and high blood pressure, which are both currently being controlled well with oral medications.......not counting my optometrist exams for glasses when I feel I need new ones, I've been seeing a ophthalmologist once a year for the past three years for a yearly exam.

Today was my yearly ophthalmologist exam and guess what she found today boys and girls ?....Glaucoma !

I think most doctors try to sugar coat things to ease a persons mind but she said that we caught it early and after another battery of tests on the 26th of next month she'll have a better idea on if she wants to go with oral medication or prescription eye drops for a treatment plan.....she also said that from now on my exams will be at six month intervals as opposed to twelve.

Below is a picture off the internet of what my pictures pretty much looked like today......the light colored area in my right / bad eye may be only about two thirds as big as the one pictured but it's definitely bigger than the left eye pictured below which is normal.

Glaucoma optic nerve..jpg

I've got my nose cancer removal and reconstruction on Oct. 11th and the more comprehensive glaucoma tests on Oct. 26th......I hope my eye doctor won't be bothered by the stitches in my nose. :)
 

I hope they can successfully treat the glaucoma, Ike. I am always afraid I will develop macular degeneration since my father had it, and I make sure to keep my annual eye exams.

I hope the skin cancer surgery goes smoothly and you have an easy recovery.
 
Sorry to hear about your eyesight Ike, you certainly have had more than your share of health problems. Hope things go smooth with your nose surgery, you've been through so many of them....will be thinking of you and sending you healing thoughts. :sentimental:
 

I hope they can successfully treat the glaucoma, Ike. I am always afraid I will develop macular degeneration since my father had it, and I make sure to keep my annual eye exams.

I hope the skin cancer surgery goes smoothly and you have an easy recovery.

I know you made the comment something like you will never take supplements, well for me taking years of antioxidants as I do keeps my 80 yr old eyes healthy. It's never too late too start, almost never too late anyway. Grape Seed Extract is supreme for all circulation of the body systems which includes the eyes and circulation.

And years of wearing SUNGLASSES in sun and shade have helped so much too.

Prevention rules.
 
Well I have high eye pressure which has been controlled by drops. Cosopt.

I go every 3 months to get my pressure checked and it’s been in the normal range with the drops. Also have a huge peripheral vision test once a year and I haven’t lost any vision so far.

Had an appt yesterday and my pressure was slightly higher and dr added another drop. He gave me a free sample and wants to see me in a month.

This drop is similar to Latisse...which although can grow your lashes seems to have more side effects than the one I’m on...had none with that.

woke up with bloodshot looking eyes..one of the side effects. Promised myself I wouldn’t google the drops but did which led to a panic attack.

Then I went to Curves and broke down crying, not just because of drops but my kitchen light fixture which is hard for me to replace went out.

They all hugged me and made me feel better and said if I can’t find anyone to replace the lights they’d ask their husbands...or church.

My next door neighbor said he’d come after work to do it. Thank goodness.

Im Just overwhelmed with all the things that need done here and I can’t do. :(

So im looking for a cheap handyman also.

When it rains it pours!

these are the drops....


Pic wouldn’t load but its called Travatan Z.

Needless to say I’m in panic mode....just overwhelmed.
 

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CeeCee, my neighbor who is 92 takes glaucoma drops and goes to Jules Stein for her glaucoma issue. She's also turned away from a lot of meat and calls herself a vegan of sorts. Says the meats are not helpful for glaucoma issues. Don't know how true that is.

I've taken eye supports for a long time and doing good and many do take both their pharma drug and adjuncts for their issues...and in your case could be Vit C, grape seed extract and lutein could help your issue. I'd do a search .. does your doctor mention adjuncts to what you take for your eyes.

Antioxidants are vital. Here is a good read and of course, consult your MD if you add anything to your regime. My 92 yr old friend takes a lot of supplements and when an MD gives her a script for this or that issue, she reads about it in her big pill book and ends up throwing it away and starts her own work.

http://new-glaucoma-treatments.com/antioxidants-in-the-treatment-of-glaucoma/
 
CeeCee, my neighbor who is 92 takes glaucoma drops and goes to Jules Stein for her glaucoma issue. She's also turned away from a lot of meat and calls herself a vegan of sorts. Says the meats are not helpful for glaucoma issues. Don't know how true that is.

I've taken eye supports for a long time and doing good and many do take both their pharma drug and adjuncts for their issues...and in your case could be Vit C, grape seed extract and lutein could help your issue. I'd do a search .. does your doctor mention adjuncts to what you take for your eyes.

Antioxidants are vital.

No, he doesn’t. I don’t eat much meat at all. Not a vegan but do eat a lot of veggies.

Usually my numbers are good 20/21 but last couple times they’ve been 26/27...yesterday he measured it twice with two different machines and one was slightly lower but not low enough.

I was going to a opthamologist in Monterey at first, because my daughter would take me but once I got on Medicare I ended up in Fresno at the eye institute...huge place across from hospital.

Both drs had same diagnosis except my first one called in high eye pressure if untreated could become glaucoma...this guy calls it glaucoma.

He says it could be hereditary..my dad had it. I’m not diabetic, etc

Anyway...I just get panicked when I read side effects even though some really would t come from the drops but hav ego be listed.

I did fine with Cosopt for many years. Will see..I am being more careful with diet but I always am anyway.
 
Ike and Cee Cee, good luck wth your eye issues. My gramma had glaucoma but was either cured or well managed cuz she lived into her 90's with no appreciable vision problems except wearing glasses.
 
Ike and Cee Cee, good luck wth your eye issues. My gramma had glaucoma but was either cured or well managed cuz she lived into her 90's with no appreciable vision problems except wearing glasses.

Thanks! I’m more anxious right now about the new eye drops than anything else. The other drops were doing a good job for years, don’t know why the change recently.

Eyes are my biggest anxiety trigger, followed by cancer and all the other horrors out there. I know, I’m a big baby...but try as I might...can’t help it.

my vision actually improved a little from last visit but not much. :)
 
Thanks! I’m more anxious right now about the new eye drops than anything else. The other drops were doing a good job for years, don’t know why the change recently.

Eyes are my biggest anxiety trigger, followed by cancer and all the other horrors out there. I know, I’m a big baby...but try as I might...can’t help it.

my vision actually improved a little from last visit but not much. :)

You are not a big baby..stop that. But I'm a huge believer in antioxidants for all my heath management including cancer prevention.

Why not talk to the doc(s) why the drops were changed. If you were doing good, what's there to fix. I have a distrust in doctors overall and maybe this one you are now taking costs more $$$ and the doc is getting his kickbacks....my bad for thinking that but can't help it...as so much of it is true. A new med comes out and it's pricier and the old one was doing good. grrrrrrrr
 
You are not a big baby..stop that. But I'm a huge believer in antioxidants for all my heath management including cancer prevention.

Why not talk to the doc(s) why the drops were changed. If you were doing good, what's there to fix. I have a distrust in doctors overall and maybe this one you are now taking costs more $$$ and the doc is getting his kickbacks....my bad for thinking that but can't help it...as so much of it is true. A new med comes out and it's pricier and the old one was doing good. grrrrrrrr


I was doing well until the last two exams....the one drop I use now is about as cheap as you can go with eye drops...this one might be more but he knows my finances.

I still have to use the first one...
 
He gave me a free sample and wants to see me in a month.

This drop is similar to Latisse...which although can grow your lashes seems to have more side effects than the one I’m on...had none with that.

woke up with bloodshot looking eyes..one of the side effects. Promised myself I wouldn’t google the drops but did which led to a panic attack.


Then I went to Curves and broke down crying, not just because of drops but my kitchen light fixture which is hard for me to replace went out.

They all hugged me and made me feel better and said if I can’t find anyone to replace the lights they’d ask their husbands...or church.

My next door neighbor said he’d come after work to do it. Thank goodness.

Im Just overwhelmed with all the things that need done here and I can’t do. :(

Needless to say I’m in panic mode....just overwhelmed.

CeeCee, I hope the new drops help you, glad you vision improved slightly from your last visit...that's rare to me. Sorry to hear you had a panic attack and was so upset over the lights, but it's nice that your neighbor is coming over to help out. If I lost my husband and was living alone, I'd need help with things too. Hope you can find a handyman to use in the future who is safe and trustworthy, it would be nice to have one individual that you could rely on to do small jobs and do them right. Relax and don't feel too overwhelmed.....hugs.

A little about the eye drops HERE, doesn't seem like many bad side effects at all.

[h=3]Types of Glaucoma Eye Drops
[/h]Prostaglandin analogs include Xalatan® (latanoprost), Lumigan® (bimatoprost), Travatan Z® (Travoprost), and Zioptan™ (tafluprost), and Vyzulta™ (latanoprostene bunod), and they work by increasing the outflow of fluid from the eye.

They have few systemic side effects but are associated with changes to the eye itself, including change in iris color and growth of eyelashes.

Depending on the individual, one of these preparations may be more effective and produce fewer side effects. Latanoprost and some formulations of bimatoprost are now available in generic form. Tafluprost is a preservative-free prostaglandin analog.
 
CeeCee, I hope the new drops help you, glad you vision improved slightly from your last visit...that's rare to me. Sorry to hear you had a panic attack and was so upset over the lights, but it's nice that your neighbor is coming over to help out. If I lost my husband and was living alone, I'd need help with things too. Hope you can find a handyman to use in the future who is safe and trustworthy, it would be nice to have one individual that you could rely on to do small jobs and do them right. Relax and don't feel too overwhelmed.....hugs.

Thanks, SB..yes, it can be overwhelming sometimes. Almost 2,000 sq ft home that was built in 1999..so lots of little and big problems for little old me.
 
CeeCee, I hope the new drops help you, glad you vision improved slightly from your last visit...that's rare to me. Sorry to hear you had a panic attack and was so upset over the lights, but it's nice that your neighbor is coming over to help out. If I lost my husband and was living alone, I'd need help with things too. Hope you can find a handyman to use in the future who is safe and trustworthy, it would be nice to have one individual that you could rely on to do small jobs and do them right. Relax and don't feel too overwhelmed.....hugs.

A little about the eye drops HERE, doesn't seem like many bad side effects at all.

Good!! Makes me feel better. Yesterday I was reading reviews from people and some were really scary and nothing to do with the eyes...I got carried away, like I always do with side effects.

Eyes were a little red in the morning but then really red after my crying jag at Curves, lol.
 
Cee Cee, ever consider scaling down a lot..one person and 2000 sf. I have a comfy 700 sf apt and could even live in less. I have some of the young and even an old guy around the bldg help me. One of the fellas took out my recycle bag to bin in alley today. I just email them and they help me. Since using a walker, so much I cannnot do, so I ask. And I get help.

On the other group I'm a member we talk about scaling down, getting rid of stuff and living a more minimalistic life and especially in retirement. So many still life in big houses with lots of stuff. It all begins to own them/us.

No need to have meltdowns, we can make changes.
 


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