[cheekymonkeysmum]

Who told you that you had glaucoma? The usual first symptom is high eye pressure ...

my optometrist did as i told her i had a history of it in my family.

My son was born with Congenital Glaucoma. He started going blind in one eye at 13 weeks and had an operation called a Trabeculectomy(?sp) . His eye sight is good now but he has eye drops every night and frequent visits to his opthamologist. Maybe that operation would be a possibility for you?

I don't know how an optometrist would diagnose glaucoma if your pressures were OK and not sure what glasses are going to do to help with glaucoma which is a build up of fluid in the eye.

I would be asking for referral to an opthamologist if I were you!

Yes i will be getting a referral to an ophthalmologist.

I don't know how the optometrist diagnosed me but when she was looking into my eyes she told me i had early onset glaucoma.
I don't think the my eye pressure was normal normal per-say but as it was my first eye pressure test she didn't say a lot though i guess she was concerned enough to tell me that i had early on set of it iykwim.

[meljbau]

I don't know how the optometrist diagnosed me but when she was looking into my eyes she told me i had early onset glaucoma

I think your eye can have the "look" iykwim, but that still requires a lot more investigation before the diagnosis is made.
One of my eyes has the signs but after extensive testing by an ophthalmologist he's put it down to a genetic difference. My eye pressures though are right at the top end of normal but my visual field tests results were very normal.

[~brighteyes~]

Yes your eyes can have the look of glaucoma, but not actually have it- my mum was tested due to that reason.

I have glaucoma myself, from treatment for other eye problems (intermediate uveitis- treated with steriod injection behind the eye, and of course I was a steriod responder - so get high eye pressure from that).

Basically if your internal eye pressure is over 20, they consider it glaucoma. I was on 3 different eye drops and tablets 3 times a day when mine was at it's worst in 2005. Great stuff for a contact lense wearer

I then had surgery for it and pressure wasn't coming down to normal range with meds (consistently sitting at 46 makes for great headaches), and 6 years on, I'm only on one eye drop 3 times a day. I have to see the opthalmologist every 6 to 9 months to review it all though. You may not go completely blind with glaucoma, but you do have a reduction in your field of vision if left untreated.

[kay11]

Glad to hear that you are going to an opthalmologist. I've had my eye pressure tested by an optometrist at a hospital eye clinic and also seen an opthalmologist (several actually) and ended up with a diagnosis of pappilledema (optic nerve swelling) after an ultrasound. I've had several other tests to rule out anything more serious such as cancer etc as well as lumber puncture, MRI etc. I have an underlying immune system condition so it was checked fairly carefully.

I now have regular appointments and optic field tests to check on the progress. The immune system issue is being treated so I'm hoping that my eyesight doesn't deteriorate further. It's not affecting my life too much now anyway, thankfully.

[~*Twilight~Zone*...]

My DH had juvenile glaucoma which was treated with two lots of eye drops and on about 4 occasions he had laser treatment to reduce the pressure.

He ended up growing out of it but his family has a history of glaucoma so eventually he probably would have gotten it back.

Given his treatment I really can't see how glasses alone would help
.

[Turn left]

Thanks for reminding me to organise my pressure test. My gorgeous Grandmother who is 86 is completely blind due to Glaucoma (she's been legally blind for about 25 years now ). My Mum also has Glaucoma and has lost a lot of her sight already at age 60. I know I will be diagnosed with it, I'm just waiting for it to happen. What makes me the most sad is that I have two daughters and I know that they will very likely suffer from it too.

Mum is on three different eye drops and has had laser surgery none of which are working for her, in that the disease is still progressing. They say early detection gives your sight the best chance.

[kkbelle]

I see this is an old thread but there's a fair bit of misinformation in it. I'm posting to hopefully clear up a few things. This is my industry.

Glaucoma has a strong family history. If you have it, someone in your immediate family has a much higher risk, so it's important that EVERYONE get tested.

Glaucoma is a blanket diagnosis for a couple of conditions, so there are different forms. As such, you can have high OR normal eye pressure, and have glaucoma - you just have different types. All glaucoma - even early stage - requires treatment. Treatment is almost always drops, and some Optometrists can prescribe these, and some can't, depending on their qualifications and the licensing in your state (although that's becoming nationalised). Glasses do NOT treat Glaucoma. Once you have a diagnosis of Glaucoma you will need review AT LEAST every 12 months, and it is more likely to be every three months or more often until you're stable.

Having Glaucoma does not mean you'll go blind. The treatments for Glaucoma are very good, and stop the disease from progressing.

I'm not online very often, so I might not see this thread again, but I do reply to PMs so if you have questions I can answer them.