Happy prose
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Post by Happy prose on Dec 19, 2013 21:03:40 GMT -5
Does anyone here have glaucoma? I had a regular check up at eye dr (twice) and my numbers came up high, so i have to go to a glaucoma specialist the end of this month. If it turns out I have it, what should I expect?
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marvholly
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Post by marvholly on Dec 20, 2013 7:04:37 GMT -5
My late father had this for many years (20 ish-he was 94.5 when he passed). It is treated with eyedrops 1x/day. At the tie they were pretty $$ but a generic should be available by now.
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bookkeeper
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Post by bookkeeper on Dec 20, 2013 10:00:00 GMT -5
I have been treated for ocular hypertension for the last three years. This is the precursor to glaucoma. My grandmother and my mother both had glaucoma. My brother also has very high readings when they test the pressure in his eyes.
I go in about every 6 to 8 months for a check up. They do all kinds of tests and take pictures of your eyeballs. I was on Travitan for over a year, but it had some side affects I didn't like (and it cost $110 for a little bottle).
Now I use Timolol, one drop in each eye every morning. It doesn't work quite as well as the Travitan, but I don't have a twitchy right eye anymore. I see my doctor in January and he suggested last visit that we try another prescription eye drop if my numbers continue on the high end. My pressures were 23 and 26 last visit with the Timolol and Travitan brought them down to 16 and 18.
My readings have been high my whole life. Check your family health history. Often times glaucoma is hereditary with women outnumbering men as having the condition.
The good news is that it is easy to control. Regular check ups and daily eye drops is all there is to it.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Dec 20, 2013 11:36:43 GMT -5
I worked for ophthalmologists for 6 years, including a glaucoma specialist. Drops, regular pressure checks (these visits don't take long). There will likely be a visual field test in there somewhere to make sure you're not loosing your vision. And if drops don't work, there is surgery for glaucoma. It's not as routine as cataract surgery, but your glaucoma specialist is going to have performed enough of them that it still isn't a big deal.
The "biggest deal" with glaucoma is drug interactions. Make sure you have a complete list of any other prescriptions you are on when you go see the specialist. And if you get prescribed drops, make sure you let all your other doctors know that you have glaucoma and what medication you are on. For whatever reason, glaucoma drugs are among the ones that most frequently have interactions with other drugs.
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Happy prose
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Post by Happy prose on Dec 20, 2013 12:57:34 GMT -5
Thanks all for the info. I hate starting new things like this. To my knowledge, I have no family history of glaucoma. I don't recall what my numbers were, but I'm really hoping the elevated numbers are normal for me.
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kilroy
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Post by kilroy on Dec 20, 2013 13:03:20 GMT -5
Happy prose, I hope your glaucoma, if you do have it, can be treated easily and with minimal hassle.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2013 17:47:12 GMT -5
I have had glaucoma for over ten years now. I started with one eye drop in each eye before bedtime (Travatan and now Travatan-Z) but now do that as well as Combigan twice a day. The drops are very pricey ($60 copay each a month), but Travatan-Z has run a promotion for over a year now where they pay your copay except for $25. It really does help. They give you a drug card to hand to the pharmacist.
I have to go every six months for a check-up. Once a year I have to do a visual fields test. I hate it. It's like a video game. They have this light that flashes all over the screen, and you click every time you see the light. It's very intense to me. Once a year they also take a picture of the eye and optic nerve so that they can look for changes, etc.
I was going to have the surgery at first because I couldn't get in the hang of the eye drops. I didn't take meds at the time, and I would forget. My optometrist warned me that the surgery isn't permanent, and you could only do it twice. That may have changed, but it is not the first thing you choose.
The initial diagnosis of glaucoma is not covered by your medical insurance because it is a symptomless disease. Subsequent visits are, subject to your co-pay, because it is a medical condition.
One good and bad side effects of the drops--some of them contain the same ingredient found in Latisse so it really lengthens and fills in your eye lashes. I didn't even notice because I always had long, full eye lashes without mascara. In fact, mascara just gets my glasses dirty. Then my optometrist remarked on them. When I said the above about my eye lashes, she laughed and reminded me I am almost sixty years old. Those aren't my natural eye lashes.
The bad thing is that sometimes those long eyelashes are curly. If one turns, it feels like something is poking you in the eye. I have had a couple of visits to just have the eye lash pulled.
One other thing is that a potential side effect is that it can change hazel eyes to brown eyes. I cried when I heard that because I love my "green" eyes. So far it hasn't, though.
If you have other questions, please feel free to PM me. The potential for going blind is rather scary. I know how you must feel. But it can be controlled. Mine is.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2013 17:50:01 GMT -5
Happy prose, I hope your glaucoma, if you do have it, can be treated easily and with minimal hassle. Glaucoma is controllable, but it is a life-long condition. You learn to live with it the rest of your life.
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Happy prose
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Post by Happy prose on Dec 20, 2013 21:23:09 GMT -5
Thanks Susana. Thankfully, I have great insurance and prescription coverage. $10 copay for dr visits, and prescriptions are $5 and $15. I had a visual field test at eye dr already, but he did say the specialist will also do one. It was a weird test- half the time I think I imagined the flashes! I am also not good with eye drops, but if needed I will learn to be. The thought of eye surgery freaks me out. I flinch when the dr just looks with the light. I may PM you after my visit on the 30th. I'm curious...sis this affect your vision at all?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2013 12:21:49 GMT -5
Thanks Susana. Thankfully, I have great insurance and prescription coverage. $10 copay for dr visits, and prescriptions are $5 and $15. I had a visual field test at eye dr already, but he did say the specialist will also do one. It was a weird test- half the time I think I imagined the flashes! I am also not good with eye drops, but if needed I will learn to be. The thought of eye surgery freaks me out. I flinch when the dr just looks with the light. I may PM you after my visit on the 30th. I'm curious...sis this affect your vision at all? Lucky you on the insurance. It hasn't affected my vision at all, but the optometrist warned me that I wouldn't know if it did. Your field of vision would just slightly narrow each year (or whatever). It would be so gradual that you wouldn't know. The damage is not reversible. That's why the visual field test is so important. The optometrist can see if your peripheral vision is worsening over time. I still find myself deliberately looking out the side of my eyes, though, to make sure I can still see something. Lol. The pictures of the eye and optic nerve are also important. At first, they thought there was no damage at all to my optic nerve, but after a couple of years of my only partial compliance with the eye drop regimen, some developed. That's been about eight years ago; there's been no more since. You really have to take them religiously. Good luck with your visit. I'll be thinking of you.
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