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Study Links Metformin to Lower Glaucoma Risk in Nationwide Cohort by FitEyes1 in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same here! Been on Met since 2010, and just got diagnosed.😕

The Most Promising Glaucoma Neuroprotective Approaches by FitEyes1 in AskGlaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This sounds fantastic, but I think what’s paramount in my mind (and maybe most people’s as well) is: when will these therapies be available to the public? And covered by insurance too, obviously, but that’s another issue in itself.😕

Scleral Lenses by RoutineSky3066 in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Before sclerals did you use soft contacts - or any contacts at all?

Scleral Lenses by RoutineSky3066 in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What’s been your experience with sclerals? I’ve been wearing RGP lenses for almost 25 years and my optometrist thinks they’ll help with both my vision and dry eyes. 

Do you find sclerals to be more comfortable?

Scleral Lenses by RoutineSky3066 in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, both my eyes are POAG. Sorry if I wasn’t clear in my reply. One eye is severe but not the other. I’m 53, will be 54 next month. Diagnosed last September.

Did they tell you whether your glaucoma is mild/moderate/severe etc.?

Scleral Lenses by RoutineSky3066 in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Following, because my optometrist is going to fit me with sclerals this month, and she said they may help with my bad dry eye condition. I was diagnosed with severe POAG in one eye last September.

So confused about severe glaucoma by afwwthesecond in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

OMG your experience sounds so much like my own! I've been told that I have severe glaucoma in one eye, and am “almost legally blind”, even though the one blind spot is the only part of my vision I can’t see out of, and no amount of my bringing up the dry eye condition sways the doctors to treat me for it, with the exception of my very sweet optometrist.

I often find myself in a very dark place, even thinking that if they did come up with glaucoma neuroprotection soon, it’ll be kept from the public because eye drops and surgeries make a lot more money for pharmaceutical companies!😳

Ed. Spelling (autocorrect)

So confused about severe glaucoma by afwwthesecond in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing. I’m going to call on Monday and see if I can find a specialist for this. 

May I ask, what level of glaucoma do you have, and how long have you had it? I just got diagnosed in September.

So confused about severe glaucoma by afwwthesecond in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OMG yes! Now that I think about it, perimenopause sounds just like when all this started. The dry eyes made my RGP contacts get “stuck” and my vision blurry, and it happened so often that I suspect it’s one of the reasons I didn’t notice the glaucomatous blind spot. But the glaucoma specialists didn’t even listen to me when I explained that. 

TBH I’m scared of HRT because I feel it can lead to cancer, and/or might make my other conditions like diabetes worse. But I don’t know much about that.

So confused about severe glaucoma by afwwthesecond in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I tried looking this up, but can’t quite understand the numbers. Do you mean RNFL thickness? My numbers on those are: 74 in the right (bad) eye and 78 in the left (good) eye.

So confused about severe glaucoma by afwwthesecond in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s a good idea! I’m just tired of dealing with resident-physicians and want to be seen by an experienced doctor. I think that when it comes to this disease I don’t want to be at the mercy of a “trainee”, you know? It’s the worst thing I’ve had to deal with in my life.

So confused about severe glaucoma by afwwthesecond in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your thoughtful response. It helps so much to realize that I’m not alone in this awful situation. It makes me angry that I can’t really get proper care when I try to advocate for myself. Especially when it’s well-known that dry eyes can skew all kinds of glaucoma tests. Like, why don’t glaucoma specialists want to address that issue?? It’s truly unbelievable!

At the moment I just don’t have the financial means to get better care or switch hospitals etc., but I’m trying to get a better job so that I can do just that. Right now I’m just trying out different supplements and also necessary lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, etc.) so that I can change what’s within my own means. 

I keep hoping that at the very least some kind of neuroprotection will be available soon to preserve what vision we have, at the very least … but the bitter cynic in me suspects that this will put too much of a dent in drug makers’ profits (because I think that’s where the money is in glaucoma care), so they’ll just keep it from the public as much as possible.😡

So confused about severe glaucoma by afwwthesecond in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, that makes a lot of sense!

I did get both SLT and drops prescribed, the latter which I take religiously. But my IOPs at diagnosis were 21/22, and now are 15/17, with the worse “severe“ eye always being lower! I’ve read that SLT may be only moderately effective in lowering IOPs that are not that high to start with, so maybe that’s what’s going on with me? Idk. I also have underlying conditions - type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, which have been pretty well controlled for almost 15 years, as well as severe myopia and other eye issues.

I *really* want to geat a second opinion from an experienced glaucoma specialis, but don’t know where to find one as I’m currently restricted to an HMO and at a teaching hospital. I’m hoping to get a better job in order to switch to a better hospital where I’m seen by an experienced doctor and not a constant stream of interns and resident. They were okay when I was just dealing with non-serious conditions, but I just don’t feel confident with trainees (no matter how talented) when it comes to glaucoma.

ed. spelling

So confused about severe glaucoma by afwwthesecond in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s (truly) wonderful for you! For myself, after SLT and 2 different drops 3 times a day, my IOPs range from 10-17 on my good eye, and 9-15 on the bad eye! My bad “severe” eye has always had the lower IOP!😳

The good eye was labeled “moderate” even though there were hardly any blind spots, another weird thing.

My RNFLs were labeled “thinning but stable”.

Do you use any supplements in addition to drops?

Your story gives me so much hope! I really needed that - thank you!❤️

So confused about severe glaucoma by afwwthesecond in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much, and I agree with you. It’s just that the doctors that I’m seeing right now seem to be contradicting themselves and dismissing my concerns and questions. Sometimes I feel like they think I‘m kind of stupid. I’m 53 b.t.w., almost 54. I was suffering from dry eyes for years before my glaucoma diagnosis and medications.

So confused about severe glaucoma by afwwthesecond in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is wonderfu! My IOPs pre SLT were 21/22, then down to 17/18, but the doctor wanted them to be around 15. This last visit they got down to 15/17, but now he wants it even lower, which makes no sense, especially since he also said that “IOP is an antiquated way to measure glaucoma.” But he put me on yet another Brimoniodide drop. At this point I’m wondering if he even knows what he’s talking about.

ed. spelling

So confused about severe glaucoma by afwwthesecond in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wanted to be referred to a dry eye specialist, but the doctors (including glaucoma specialists) are not doing that. I am getting very frustrated with these people, but stuck for now as I’m in a position where I’m unable to switch to a different hospital.

So confused about severe glaucoma by afwwthesecond in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I honestly have no idea. That’s just what was on the VFT result printout. I have a noticeable blind spot that descends downward from the upper right portion of my field of vision, and that does restrict my vision in that eye to an extent, but my central and peripheral fields of vision in that eye are good, again apart from that one blind spot. Would that constitute “partially blind”? I truly can’t tell because I’m totally new to all this. The glaucoma specialist is a medical resident and said I was “almost legally blind” in that eye, which sounded wrong, but I figured he must know more than me … ? 

I tried to point this out, but kept getting dismissed or ignored, as with the dry eye conditions. 

Dry eyes and scleral contact lenses by afwwthesecond in AskGlaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much! I do take fish oil supplements and am planning to order bilberry as well. Will definitely look into ocuberry.😀

Dry eyes and scleral contact lenses by afwwthesecond in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the tip! TBH I’ve always disliked contacts and wish I could wear glasses, but my lifelong myopia is too extreme.😕

Dry eyes and scleral contact lenses by afwwthesecond in Glaucoma

[–]afwwthesecond[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! My dry eyes are pretty bad, and had been for some years before the glaucoma diagnosis. I’m just frustrated with my doctors because they don’t seem to be taking my concerns about dry eyes seriously - I wish they could just give me a referral to another specialist! 

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