Will eye pressure lead to blindness?
Question:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Earle Jones <earle.jo…@comcast.net> wrote in message <news:earle.jones-A2499C.20414324102003@netnews.attbi.com>… > In article <hqohpv0al8qmg7jtkqhfsg4m3iafuid…@4ax.com>, > Raymond A. Chamberlin <ra…@znet.com> wrote: > > I haven’t been to this group in about 7 yr. Same old thing. Someone > > posts a message on a glaucoma case with no specifics whatsoever, and > > tons and tons of words appear here in responses to a basically > > unanswerable posted question. And Singleton’s still right there in > > the middle of it. > * > Ray: > Were it not for my great and fundamental love for the idea of freedom > of speech, I would say that your postings should be censored and > cancelled from this newsgroup. > You post website references, which you wrote yourself, as some kind of > authoritarian guidance. > In my opinion, your references serve as step-by-step instructions to > blindness. Your posting should be labeled: "Follow these steps and > lose your vision". > My advice to readers here: If you want to go blind, read the > references of this ignorant and biased poster. > High intraocular pressure is a major risk factor for glaucomatous > disease. Ignore these measurements and you are much more likely to > suffer vision loss. Follow your ophthalmologist’s directions and you > can continue a happy life with good vision. (Like me, I might add — > having been diagnosed with glaucoma in 1970, I used every drop known > to science for thirty years. Then, following very successful > trabeculectomy surgery in each eye, I am now (at age 72) enjoying > 20:20 vision with *NO* drops at all.) > Why you post your ignorant bleatings is something I do not understand. > I would hope that you would go away — stop pushing your uneducated > and grossly incorrect "advice" here. People who visit this group need > good modern advice. You, as you demonstrate, are incapable of > offering it. > Go away, > earle > * > (I am an engineer and not a health-care professional.)
While I agree that Ray is certainly entitled to his opinion, I do find that it serves little purpose in a "support group" of glaucoma patients. The basic idea behind a support group is to offer guidance as well as information in a constructive manner and to offer friendship so that sufferers do not feel that they are alone out there. Ray simply offers nasty assaults on physicians, pharmaceutical companies, etc., feeling that we all have some hidden agenda here. I know mine…to keep patients seeing as long as possible. I have clear evidence in my patient population that significantly elevated IOP leads to loss of optic nerve tissue and gradual loss of vision. I also know that by lowering some (but probably not all) of my patients’ pressures, that I have managed to preserve vision in a large group of these people. Clearly we know that IOP isn’t the entire picture…patients with low tension glaucoma lose vision despite high/normal IOP. Many have shown evidence that vascular issues may be at work here. The OHTS study, a multicentered study compared treatment vs. nontreatment and found that 50% fewer patients show loss of nerve tissue or visual field over five years in the group recieving meds to lower IOP vs. a group that went untreated. We know that many will not get worse without treatment. I simply feel that I would rather be in the treatment group and be seeing when I’m 75 than take the risk of vision loss. If Ray doesn’t need any drops, God Bless Him. If he loses his vision, someone else will have to type his nasty posts here. Rick Cohn, MD Glaucoma Specialist Winter Park, FL P.S. Things have been so pleasant here without Ray’s posts. I was kind of thinking that some California mudslide might have washed him away…oh well.
Response:
HI, While I find it commendable that you are being a good friend, and trying to find out some information, I have to agree with Donald who suggests that she should ask her doctor for his advice. It must have been Donald who additionally put this idea into my head of being able to ask a doctor questions, and if I don’t like what I am hearing, Find a New Doctor!!! I do just that now. Imagine being made to feel too afraid to ask a question to the individual who you are entrusting to give you correct information about the condition of your eyesight. Your friend should definitely take any medication prescribed, and make sure to have routine eye examinations. I have been using glaucoma medications for approximately 10 years now. I am happy to report that I have just had a great check-up, with my New Doctor, who advises that the condition of my eyes is still excellent 
Regards, Danny "xqjegje" <aewo…@efoihv.com> wrote in message
news:nDqba.213170$UXa.205753@news02.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I’m just wondering for a friend who has to take eyedrops to control eye > pressure. She’s wondering if her condition will eventually and inevitably > lead to loss of sight? > Please post response. > Thanks.
Response:
"xqjegje" <aewo…@efoihv.com> wrote in message
news:nDqba.213170$UXa.205753@news02.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com… > I’m just wondering for a friend who has to take eyedrops to control eye > pressure. She’s wondering if her condition will eventually and inevitably > lead to loss of sight? > Please post response. > Thanks.
I suggest your friend discuss this with her doctor, if left untreated – the answer is yes. If she is being seen by a family doctor she should get a referral to an opthalmologist for ongoing treatment. It’s useful to get regular field of vision tests done (yearly?) so any sign of vision loss can be detected before she actually notices. These can be computerized and computer analyzed. She can look at lots of websites for general info – I would start with the bigger Glaucoma centres.
Response:
Glad to see you’re still among the living, Ray, and glad to see you’re still your sunny, supportive self! Not so happy to see that you’re still quick with the criticism and slow with the helpful advice. And I definitely don’t consider it helpful or even particularly intelligent to discourage people from trusting their doctors, who have formal training and peer-reviewed certification, whereas you are self-taught, unreviewed and uncertified, backed up only by your own verbiage, unconcerned with the potential effect of your words. Destructive, I’d say. Don Singleton – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -"Raymond A. Chamberlin" wrote: > I haven’t been to this group in about 7 yr. Same old thing. Someone > posts a message on a glaucoma case with no specifics whatsoever, and > tons and tons of words appear here in responses to a basically > unanswerable posted question. And Singleton’s still right there in > the middle of it. > The answer to all these words is: Nothing has changed since 7 yr ago > or some 150 yr ago. MDs still make a living making people with IOPs > somewhat higher than normal believe their eyesight will be lost unless > they continually use eyedrops, whether or not they have lost any > vision to date. > Whether or not they have lost vision, unless their IOPs are way up > above 40 mmHg, the drops won’t do any good — even if they bring the > pressure down, which they won’t necessarily do. Either you’ll lose > vision or you won’t, and no MD will ever be able to predict whichever > (until something drastically different falls out of research), as long > as no change in eye function is being observed. And if degradation is > seen, will no doubt it will continue for some time, regardless of what > eyedrops are used, and you won’t know at what stage it will stop. > Finding an MD who’ll give you all the words you want is no problem, > but you can’t fix eyes with words. Check out: > http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1284/glaucoma.html > http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1284/introdef.html > They’re old but still right on target. > Raymond A. Chamberlin > On Tue, 11 Mar 2003 19:17:39 GMT, "xqjegje" <aewo…@efoihv.com> > wrote: > >I’m just wondering for a friend who has to take eyedrops to control eye > >pressure. She’s wondering if her condition will eventually and inevitably > >lead to loss of sight? > >Please post response. > >Thanks.
Response:
In article <hqohpv0al8qmg7jtkqhfsg4m3iafuid…@4ax.com>, Raymond A. Chamberlin <ra…@znet.com> wrote: > I haven’t been to this group in about 7 yr. Same old thing. Someone > posts a message on a glaucoma case with no specifics whatsoever, and > tons and tons of words appear here in responses to a basically > unanswerable posted question. And Singleton’s still right there in > the middle of it.
* Ray: Were it not for my great and fundamental love for the idea of freedom of speech, I would say that your postings should be censored and cancelled from this newsgroup. You post website references, which you wrote yourself, as some kind of authoritarian guidance. In my opinion, your references serve as step-by-step instructions to blindness. Your posting should be labeled: "Follow these steps and lose your vision". My advice to readers here: If you want to go blind, read the references of this ignorant and biased poster. High intraocular pressure is a major risk factor for glaucomatous disease. Ignore these measurements and you are much more likely to suffer vision loss. Follow your ophthalmologist’s directions and you can continue a happy life with good vision. (Like me, I might add — having been diagnosed with glaucoma in 1970, I used every drop known to science for thirty years. Then, following very successful trabeculectomy surgery in each eye, I am now (at age 72) enjoying 20:20 vision with *NO* drops at all.) Why you post your ignorant bleatings is something I do not understand. I would hope that you would go away — stop pushing your uneducated and grossly incorrect "advice" here. People who visit this group need good modern advice. You, as you demonstrate, are incapable of offering it. Go away, earle * (I am an engineer and not a health-care professional.)
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -xqjegje wrote: > I’m just wondering for a friend who has to take eyedrops to control eye > pressure. She’s wondering if her condition will eventually and inevitably > lead to loss of sight? > Please post response. > Thanks.
Response:
On Tue, 11 Mar 2003 19:17:39 GMT, "xqjegje" <aewo…@efoihv.com> wrote: >I’m just wondering for a friend who has to take eyedrops to control eye >pressure. She’s wondering if her condition will eventually and inevitably >lead to loss of sight? >Please post response.
My 34-yr-old best friend has congenital glaucoma (from birth due to a defect in the way her eyes formed), which is extremely rare. She has both open and closed angle. Her condition is very serious and very complicated. She lost the sight in her right eye as a child and is currently struggling to keep the sight in her left eye. She’s been back and forth to an opthalmologust in a neighbouring province since November, had four procedures between late November and mid-January and is facing a fifth if her eye pressure doesn’t stabilize by the time she sees the opthalmologist next month. Because of this friend, whom I’ve known for nearly 13 years, I know more about glaucoma than your friend who has it and when I think of how well-informed my best friend has chosen to be about her condition, I can’t understand how anyone with glaucoma could not be. Knowledge is power and you need to KNOW this condition to live with it because there is no cure. Knowledge will also possibly spare your friend a lot of unnecessary worry and emotional torment because it may not be as bad as she fears. When my best friend lost her right eye, they told her she’d be blind in the other by the age of 22. She’s 34 and she still has functional sight. She doesn’t even qualify for services under the Canadian Institute for the Blind (CNIB), because according to their guidelines, her sight is still too good. Not bad for someone who was supposed to be completely blind 12 years ago…according to the experts. I understand the advice to ask her doctor, which people here are giving, is warranted, but don’t rely on this. Doctors are spending less and less time with and effort on their patients (and that, not lack of money or resources, is the main reason health care is failing people) and your friend needs much more knowledge about her condtion than her doctor may take the time to give her. And as my friend’s situation demonstrates, the so-called experts can’t accurately predict such things. 24 years ago, they had no way of knowing what advances there would be in medications and surgical procedures by this time. And they cannot possibly know today what advances there will be even 5 or 10 years from now. There are a lot of informative resources on the Internet. If your friend doesn’t have access to the net, invite her over for a surfing session. Help her look things up if she’s not familiar with the use of the net or search engines. There are also books available. In fact, my friend has become even better informed as a result of the books she has acquired. There was even one we found in a health food store on vitamin and mineral supplements that can help control eye pressure, but it also contained a wealth of information on the various different kinds of glaucoma (even she didn’t know until reading that book just how many different types there are). If your friend is working with a good, and genuinely caring opthalmologist who will do everything in their power to control her eye pressure, she may not go blind for many years, if ever. The thing is, it’s not that simple. At the very least, she should find out from her doctor exactly what type of glaucoma she has before doing her research. What she’s dealing with may not be nearly as severe as what my friend has. But if it’s any comfort, my friend has had this condition for 34 years…her entire life! She’s lost count of how many surgeries she’s had in total because most of them took place in early childhood. But she still has functional sight in one eye and in spite of the difficulty she’s had controlling her pressure the past 4-5 years (to the point of being on two diuretics and five eye drops and having a pressure of 40 prior to her surgery in November), her vision hasn’t deteriorated. In fact, her fields improved briefly after her valve was installed in January. So, there’s always hope. By no means should your friend fear the worst. But, and I cannot emphasize this enough, my friend has followed every instruction her opthalmologists have given her to the letter, and she has had very competent and skilled specialists, in whom she places her complete trust. And whenever her condition went beyond what they could deal with, they did not allow their egos to get in the way of referring her to someone with more skill. She also has a friend who had the same condition and didn’t take such good care of himself and he lost his sight at the age of 22. You can never underestimate the necessity of taking those eye drops every day, as many times as required. Your friend also needs to ensure that she is working with a competent professional who specializes in glaucoma and with whom she is comfortable. This is very important. I think attitude also has everything to do with outcome and my best friend has a very strong resolve in living with this condition. I have certainly seen her get scared (just prior to boarding the bus to Calgary in November), but she is also the sort of person who says that if she were offered a miraculous opportunity to have her right eye back and have 20/20 vision tomorrow, she wouldn’t take it…because she wouldn’t be the same person. She wouldn’t have the same strength or the same appreciation for every beautiful thing she sees. Everything happens for a reason. Glaucoma has made my friend incredibly strong and she has been an inspiration to me. We’ve been through so much together and she is still going through a lot for someone as young as she is. Glaucoma is far from being her only medical challenge and I see all she’s going through now and I KNOW she couldn’t possibly keep going the way she does if glaucoma hadn’t given her the emotional strength she has. In her case, as odd as it sounds, glaucoma has been a gift. It made her who she is today. She is a beautiful person with a wonderful and strong spirit and I’m blessed to have her as my best friend. She has made such a positive difference in my life, and many others. Sometimes the most meaningful gifts we are given come to us in ways that don’t make sense at first. Briana
Response:
Bert, Like you, I was happy to see Ray re-emerge — but not for his advice! In my humble opinion, Ray’s advice is stupid, and, if followed, would be more likely to harm than help a glaucoma sufferer. Ray loves the sound of his voice, and he loves to show off his vocabulary and his reading (not learning) in the field. But he’s a smart (not wise) old codger, and reading his rants occasionally would brighten up a morning. By the way, if you really believe his counsel is "the best advice a thinking man could possibly give," I’m concerned about you. Don’t stand under a tree during a lightning storm, and look both ways before crossing the street! Don Singleton – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Bert wrote: > I was just wondering how you were Ray. So decided to look here, and sure > enough, you are at our old stand, giving the best advice a thinking man > could possibly give. I am one of the silent (I suspect) majority who are > happy that you are still at it. > Regards, > Herbert Collinson. > Raymond A. Chamberlin wrote: > > I haven’t been to this group in about 7 yr. Same old thing. Someone > > posts a message on a glaucoma case with no specifics whatsoever, and > > tons and tons of words appear here in responses to a basically > > unanswerable posted question. And Singleton’s still right there in > > the middle of it. > > The answer to all these words is: Nothing has changed since 7 yr ago > > or some 150 yr ago. MDs still make a living making people with IOPs > > somewhat higher than normal believe their eyesight will be lost unless > > they continually use eyedrops, whether or not they have lost any > > vision to date. > > Whether or not they have lost vision, unless their IOPs are way up > > above 40 mmHg, the drops won’t do any good — even if they bring the > > pressure down, which they won’t necessarily do. Either you’ll lose > > vision or you won’t, and no MD will ever be able to predict whichever > > (until something drastically different falls out of research), as long > > as no change in eye function is being observed. And if degradation is > > seen, will no doubt it will continue for some time, regardless of what > > eyedrops are used, and you won’t know at what stage it will stop. > > Finding an MD who’ll give you all the words you want is no problem, > > but you can’t fix eyes with words. Check out: > > http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1284/glaucoma.html > > http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1284/introdef.html > > They’re old but still right on target. > > Raymond A. Chamberlin > > On Tue, 11 Mar 2003 19:17:39 GMT, "xqjegje" <aewo…@efoihv.com> > > wrote: > > >I’m just wondering for a friend who has to take eyedrops to control eye > > >pressure. She’s wondering if her condition will eventually and inevitably > > >lead to loss of sight? > > >Please post response. > > >Thanks.
Response:
I was just wondering how you were Ray. So decided to look here, and sure enough, you are at our old stand, giving the best advice a thinking man could possibly give. I am one of the silent (I suspect) majority who are happy that you are still at it. Regards, Herbert Collinson. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Raymond A. Chamberlin wrote: > I haven’t been to this group in about 7 yr. Same old thing. Someone > posts a message on a glaucoma case with no specifics whatsoever, and > tons and tons of words appear here in responses to a basically > unanswerable posted question. And Singleton’s still right there in > the middle of it. > The answer to all these words is: Nothing has changed since 7 yr ago > or some 150 yr ago. MDs still make a living making people with IOPs > somewhat higher than normal believe their eyesight will be lost unless > they continually use eyedrops, whether or not they have lost any > vision to date. > Whether or not they have lost vision, unless their IOPs are way up > above 40 mmHg, the drops won’t do any good — even if they bring the > pressure down, which they won’t necessarily do. Either you’ll lose > vision or you won’t, and no MD will ever be able to predict whichever > (until something drastically different falls out of research), as long > as no change in eye function is being observed. And if degradation is > seen, will no doubt it will continue for some time, regardless of what > eyedrops are used, and you won’t know at what stage it will stop. > Finding an MD who’ll give you all the words you want is no problem, > but you can’t fix eyes with words. Check out: > http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1284/glaucoma.html > http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1284/introdef.html > They’re old but still right on target. > Raymond A. Chamberlin > On Tue, 11 Mar 2003 19:17:39 GMT, "xqjegje" <aewo…@efoihv.com> > wrote: > >I’m just wondering for a friend who has to take eyedrops to control eye > >pressure. She’s wondering if her condition will eventually and inevitably > >lead to loss of sight? > >Please post response. > >Thanks.
Response:
In article <3F9F49BB.7…@shaw.ca>, Bert <bert…@shaw.ca> wrote: > I was just wondering how you were Ray. So decided to look here, and sure > enough, you are at our old stand, giving the best advice a thinking man > could possibly give. I am one of the silent (I suspect) majority who are > happy that you are still at it. > Regards, > Herbert Collinson.
* Mr. Collison: Greetings! If you have been diagnosed with glaucoma and are showing high intra-ocular pressures (IOP) , you should definitely *not* follow the advice of the person who signs his posts "Raymond Chamberlain". His advice is wrong. High IOP is strongly associated with eventual visual field loss. In general, loss of visual field is *not* reversible. Please contact a reputable ophthalmologist, have a complete examiniation with visual fields tested, and follow the advice of the doctor. Good luck! earle * I am an engineer and not a health-care professional. (I am however a glaucoma patient, diagnosed over thirty years ago, with current acuity 20:20 in each eye. I have followed the exact advice of my ophthalmologist since 1970. You should do the same.) ej *
Response:
I’m just wondering for a friend who has to take eyedrops to control eye pressure. She’s wondering if her condition will eventually and inevitably lead to loss of sight? Please post response. Thanks.
Response:
Thanks, Briana, for saying it exactly right, and much better than I ever did. Your friend is lucky to have you for a friend, and she’s also blessed with an uncommonly responsible and courageous attitude toward her health. With that attitude, she’ll never be defeated by glaucoma or any other such condition. God bless her and you. Best wishes, Don Singleton – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -beaglemom wrote: > On Tue, 11 Mar 2003 19:17:39 GMT, "xqjegje" <aewo…@efoihv.com> > wrote: > >I’m just wondering for a friend who has to take eyedrops to control eye > >pressure. She’s wondering if her condition will eventually and inevitably > >lead to loss of sight? > >Please post response. > My 34-yr-old best friend has congenital glaucoma (from birth due to a > defect in the way her eyes formed), which is extremely rare. She has > both open and closed angle. Her condition is very serious and very > complicated. She lost the sight in her right eye as a child and is > currently struggling to keep the sight in her left eye. She’s been > back and forth to an opthalmologust in a neighbouring province since > November, had four procedures between late November and mid-January > and is facing a fifth if her eye pressure doesn’t stabilize by the > time she sees the opthalmologist next month. > Because of this friend, whom I’ve known for nearly 13 years, I know > more about glaucoma than your friend who has it and when I think of > how well-informed my best friend has chosen to be about her condition, > I can’t understand how anyone with glaucoma could not be. > Knowledge is power and you need to KNOW this condition to live with it > because there is no cure. Knowledge will also possibly spare your > friend a lot of unnecessary worry and emotional torment because it may > not be as bad as she fears. > When my best friend lost her right eye, they told her she’d be blind > in the other by the age of 22. She’s 34 and she still has functional > sight. She doesn’t even qualify for services under the Canadian > Institute for the Blind (CNIB), because according to their guidelines, > her sight is still too good. Not bad for someone who was supposed to > be completely blind 12 years ago…according to the experts. > I understand the advice to ask her doctor, which people here are > giving, is warranted, but don’t rely on this. Doctors are spending > less and less time with and effort on their patients (and that, not > lack of money or resources, is the main reason health care is failing > people) and your friend needs much more knowledge about her condtion > than her doctor may take the time to give her. And as my friend’s > situation demonstrates, the so-called experts can’t accurately predict > such things. 24 years ago, they had no way of knowing what advances > there would be in medications and surgical procedures by this time. > And they cannot possibly know today what advances there will be even 5 > or 10 years from now. > There are a lot of informative resources on the Internet. If your > friend doesn’t have access to the net, invite her over for a surfing > session. Help her look things up if she’s not familiar with the use > of the net or search engines. > There are also books available. In fact, my friend has become even > better informed as a result of the books she has acquired. There was > even one we found in a health food store on vitamin and mineral > supplements that can help control eye pressure, but it also contained > a wealth of information on the various different kinds of glaucoma > (even she didn’t know until reading that book just how many different > types there are). > If your friend is working with a good, and genuinely caring > opthalmologist who will do everything in their power to control her > eye pressure, she may not go blind for many years, if ever. The thing > is, it’s not that simple. At the very least, she should find out from > her doctor exactly what type of glaucoma she has before doing her > research. What she’s dealing with may not be nearly as severe as what > my friend has. > But if it’s any comfort, my friend has had this condition for 34 > years…her entire life! She’s lost count of how many surgeries she’s > had in total because most of them took place in early childhood. But > she still has functional sight in one eye and in spite of the > difficulty she’s had controlling her pressure the past 4-5 years (to > the point of being on two diuretics and five eye drops and having a > pressure of 40 prior to her surgery in November), her vision hasn’t > deteriorated. In fact, her fields improved briefly after her valve > was installed in January. So, there’s always hope. By no means > should your friend fear the worst. > But, and I cannot emphasize this enough, my friend has followed every > instruction her opthalmologists have given her to the letter, and she > has had very competent and skilled specialists, in whom she places her > complete trust. And whenever her condition went beyond what they > could deal with, they did not allow their egos to get in the way of > referring her to someone with more skill. She also has a friend who > had the same condition and didn’t take such good care of himself and > he lost his sight at the age of 22. You can never underestimate the > necessity of taking those eye drops every day, as many times as > required. Your friend also needs to ensure that she is working with a > competent professional who specializes in glaucoma and with whom she > is comfortable. This is very important. > I think attitude also has everything to do with outcome and my best > friend has a very strong resolve in living with this condition. I > have certainly seen her get scared (just prior to boarding the bus to > Calgary in November), but she is also the sort of person who says that > if she were offered a miraculous opportunity to have her right eye > back and have 20/20 vision tomorrow, she wouldn’t take it…because > she wouldn’t be the same person. She wouldn’t have the same strength > or the same appreciation for every beautiful thing she sees. > Everything happens for a reason. Glaucoma has made my friend > incredibly strong and she has been an inspiration to me. We’ve been > through so much together and she is still going through a lot for > someone as young as she is. Glaucoma is far from being her only > medical challenge and I see all she’s going through now and I KNOW she > couldn’t possibly keep going the way she does if glaucoma hadn’t given > her the emotional strength she has. > In her case, as odd as it sounds, glaucoma has been a gift. It made > her who she is today. She is a beautiful person with a wonderful and > strong spirit and I’m blessed to have her as my best friend. She has > made such a positive difference in my life, and many others. > Sometimes the most meaningful gifts we are given come to us in ways > that don’t make sense at first. > Briana
Response:
Brianna, I think you gave a very complete and terrific answer to the person who posted this question. Regards, Danny "beaglemom" <beagle…@nevermind.com> wrote in message
news:tihu6vkoum537c0vclpcv2qusu566ocjbr@4ax.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> On Tue, 11 Mar 2003 19:17:39 GMT, "xqjegje" <aewo…@efoihv.com> > wrote: > >I’m just wondering for a friend who has to take eyedrops to control eye > >pressure. She’s wondering if her condition will eventually and inevitably > >lead to loss of sight? > >Please post response. > My 34-yr-old best friend has congenital glaucoma (from birth due to a > defect in the way her eyes formed), which is extremely rare. She has > both open and closed angle. Her condition is very serious and very > complicated. She lost the sight in her right eye as a child and is > currently struggling to keep the sight in her left eye. She’s been > back and forth to an opthalmologust in a neighbouring province since > November, had four procedures between late November and mid-January > and is facing a fifth if her eye pressure doesn’t stabilize by the > time she sees the opthalmologist next month. > Because of this friend, whom I’ve known for nearly 13 years, I know > more about glaucoma than your friend who has it and when I think of > how well-informed my best friend has chosen to be about her condition, > I can’t understand how anyone with glaucoma could not be. > Knowledge is power and you need to KNOW this condition to live with it > because there is no cure. Knowledge will also possibly spare your > friend a lot of unnecessary worry and emotional torment because it may > not be as bad as she fears. > When my best friend lost her right eye, they told her she’d be blind > in the other by the age of 22. She’s 34 and she still has functional > sight. She doesn’t even qualify for services under the Canadian > Institute for the Blind (CNIB), because according to their guidelines, > her sight is still too good. Not bad for someone who was supposed to > be completely blind 12 years ago…according to the experts. > I understand the advice to ask her doctor, which people here are > giving, is warranted, but don’t rely on this. Doctors are spending > less and less time with and effort on their patients (and that, not > lack of money or resources, is the main reason health care is failing > people) and your friend needs much more knowledge about her condtion > than her doctor may take the time to give her. And as my friend’s > situation demonstrates, the so-called experts can’t accurately predict > such things. 24 years ago, they had no way of knowing what advances > there would be in medications and surgical procedures by this time. > And they cannot possibly know today what advances there will be even 5 > or 10 years from now. > There are a lot of informative resources on the Internet. If your > friend doesn’t have access to the net, invite her over for a surfing > session. Help her look things up if she’s not familiar with the use > of the net or search engines. > There are also books available. In fact, my friend has become even > better informed as a result of the books she has acquired. There was > even one we found in a health food store on vitamin and mineral > supplements that can help control eye pressure, but it also contained > a wealth of information on the various different kinds of glaucoma > (even she didn’t know until reading that book just how many different > types there are). > If your friend is working with a good, and genuinely caring > opthalmologist who will do everything in their power to control her > eye pressure, she may not go blind for many years, if ever. The thing > is, it’s not that simple. At the very least, she should find out from > her doctor exactly what type of glaucoma she has before doing her > research. What she’s dealing with may not be nearly as severe as what > my friend has. > But if it’s any comfort, my friend has had this condition for 34 > years…her entire life! She’s lost count of how many surgeries she’s > had in total because most of them took place in early childhood. But > she still has functional sight in one eye and in spite of the > difficulty she’s had controlling her pressure the past 4-5 years (to > the point of being on two diuretics and five eye drops and having a > pressure of 40 prior to her surgery in November), her vision hasn’t > deteriorated. In fact, her fields improved briefly after her valve > was installed in January. So, there’s always hope. By no means > should your friend fear the worst. > But, and I cannot emphasize this enough, my friend has followed every > instruction her opthalmologists have given her to the letter, and she > has had very competent and skilled specialists, in whom she places her > complete trust. And whenever her condition went beyond what they > could deal with, they did not allow their egos to get in the way of > referring her to someone with more skill. She also has a friend who > had the same condition and didn’t take such good care of himself and > he lost his sight at the age of 22. You can never underestimate the > necessity of taking those eye drops every day, as many times as > required. Your friend also needs to ensure that she is working with a > competent professional who specializes in glaucoma and with whom she > is comfortable. This is very important. > I think attitude also has everything to do with outcome and my best > friend has a very strong resolve in living with this condition. I > have certainly seen her get scared (just prior to boarding the bus to > Calgary in November), but she is also the sort of person who says that > if she were offered a miraculous opportunity to have her right eye > back and have 20/20 vision tomorrow, she wouldn’t take it…because > she wouldn’t be the same person. She wouldn’t have the same strength > or the same appreciation for every beautiful thing she sees. > Everything happens for a reason. Glaucoma has made my friend > incredibly strong and she has been an inspiration to me. We’ve been > through so much together and she is still going through a lot for > someone as young as she is. Glaucoma is far from being her only > medical challenge and I see all she’s going through now and I KNOW she > couldn’t possibly keep going the way she does if glaucoma hadn’t given > her the emotional strength she has. > In her case, as odd as it sounds, glaucoma has been a gift. It made > her who she is today. She is a beautiful person with a wonderful and > strong spirit and I’m blessed to have her as my best friend. She has > made such a positive difference in my life, and many others. > Sometimes the most meaningful gifts we are given come to us in ways > that don’t make sense at first. > Briana
Response:
I haven’t been to this group in about 7 yr. Same old thing. Someone posts a message on a glaucoma case with no specifics whatsoever, and tons and tons of words appear here in responses to a basically unanswerable posted question. And Singleton’s still right there in the middle of it. The answer to all these words is: Nothing has changed since 7 yr ago or some 150 yr ago. MDs still make a living making people with IOPs somewhat higher than normal believe their eyesight will be lost unless they continually use eyedrops, whether or not they have lost any vision to date. Whether or not they have lost vision, unless their IOPs are way up above 40 mmHg, the drops won’t do any good — even if they bring the pressure down, which they won’t necessarily do. Either you’ll lose vision or you won’t, and no MD will ever be able to predict whichever (until something drastically different falls out of research), as long as no change in eye function is being observed. And if degradation is seen, will no doubt it will continue for some time, regardless of what eyedrops are used, and you won’t know at what stage it will stop. Finding an MD who’ll give you all the words you want is no problem, but you can’t fix eyes with words. Check out: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1284/glaucoma.html http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1284/introdef.html They’re old but still right on target. Raymond A. Chamberlin On Tue, 11 Mar 2003 19:17:39 GMT, "xqjegje" <aewo…@efoihv.com> wrote: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->I’m just wondering for a friend who has to take eyedrops to control eye >pressure. She’s wondering if her condition will eventually and inevitably >lead to loss of sight? >Please post response. >Thanks.
Response:
The short answer is "No." Many here, including me, have been under treatment for years without loss of vision. But wouldn’t it make more sense for your friend to ask her doctor such a question? Remind her that it’s her right and responsibility to tell her doctor what’s on her mind, and that she’s paying him well for his knowledge and skill. And if the doc won’t talk, she should find one who will. Best wishes, Don Singleton – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -xqjegje wrote: > I’m just wondering for a friend who has to take eyedrops to control eye > pressure. She’s wondering if her condition will eventually and inevitably > lead to loss of sight? > Please post response. > Thanks.
Response:
I too am surprised that arse-e is back. Can’t imagine how he can enjoy repeating his diatribe. Hope you won’t let him get to you, Dr. Rick Bill
Response:
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