Eye Glaucoma
Glaucoma Disease » Eye Glaucoma » The future

The future

Question:

"sdf" <s…@yahoo.com> wrote in message <news:gtUAb.44028$aT.525@news-server.bigpond.net.au>… > I was referred for an unrelated problem, that turned out to be blepharitis. > As part of the examination, I had pressure taken and the optic nerve > examined. Vision was also tested (I’m 47, and vision was 20:20. I don’t wear > glasses). > The IOP was 17, apparently within the normal range. More disconcerting was > that I have 70% cupping. Now, the doc said that doesn’t necessarily mean > anything, and he said come back in a year for a vision field test. However, > when I went back to my general doctor, he said he had read the report and > that we need to keep an eye on it (pardon the pun!). > So, while ‘m not panicking, any ideas as to prognosis? Should I worry at > all, and is there anything I need/should be doing?

If you have 70% cupping, or what we call a 0.7 cup to disc ratio, you may simply be someone born with large cups, or you may have glaucoma. You can’t tell someone "You don’t have glaucoma" just because he/she has a normal pressure at one point in time.  We all have diurnal variations…some of us have high IOPs early in the AM, some spike in the late afternoon.  Maybe your doc just checked your IOP at your low point of the day.  Also, some patients have "low-tension glaucoma" and develop progressive optic nerve damage even with a normal pressure. The only way to know is to observe for changes over time in both your optic nerve appearance as well as a computerized visual field test. Personally, I wouldn’t have let you go for a full year.  I check most of my glaucoma suspects every six months.  You should also have optic nerve head photos or analysis done and measurements of your corneal thickness.  If your doc doesn’t have this technology in his office, find someone who does, possibly a glaucoma specialist.  Good luck to you. –Rick Cohn, MD Glaucoma specialist Winter Park, FL

Response:

I was referred for an unrelated problem, that turned out to be blepharitis. As part of the examination, I had pressure taken and the optic nerve examined. Vision was also tested (I’m 47, and vision was 20:20. I don’t wear glasses). The IOP was 17, apparently within the normal range. More disconcerting was that I have 70% cupping. Now, the doc said that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, and he said come back in a year for a vision field test. However, when I went back to my general doctor, he said he had read the report and that we need to keep an eye on it (pardon the pun!). So, while ‘m not panicking, any ideas as to prognosis? Should I worry at all, and is there anything I need/should be doing?

Response:

Related Posts

Write a comment