Posts by rapidranger79

frozencobra37,
1.Didn't they give you any paperwork at the clinic where you went for that exam? Usually, when you hit an ER, they hand you a summary detailing your symptoms, what tests they ran, and their preliminary diagnosis, don't they?
2.As far as I know about medicine, glaucoma is just the term for high intraocular pressure—it doesn't actually have anything to do with your other health issues or your blood pressure. High eye pressure is strictly about the anatomy of the eye and how narrow those drainage channels are.
3.If rapidranger79 has high eye pressure, then it’s highly likely one of her children—your mom or dad, perhaps?—could be in that same boat too, since it's often a hereditary thing that shows up later in life. People in those families are typically advised to start monitoring their pressure once they hit 40.
And since you fall right into that "high-risk" category, why would you take this lightly? You really ought to go back for another measurement in a month, and for heaven's sake, pay close attention to the contraindications on your medication instructions.

frozencobra37 said:I read 🙂
But I still don't get what those 44mmHg actually mean. Is that just slightly high, or am I looking at something critical?

I was scouring the web yesterday and honestly, I just panicked... It really bugs me how every single site claims, "If eye pressure stays high for an extended period, permanent damage can occur..." But they never specify what "extended" actually means. Is it an hour? A day? A month?
Then I stumble onto a page about acute cases, where they list my symptoms—though mine are a bit milder—and it says, "Emergency surgery required within hours." Terrifying. Honestly, it's better to just stay off the internet.
As for chronic issues, if I’ve got this right, it slowly eats away at your peripheral vision. I did a little testing yesterday, and my field of vision is about 180 degrees.

Yeah, I realized things were going on once my eye started acting up, and it wasn't even bothering me then. What I don't get is how such a simple mechanical device can actually measure intraocular pressure...

Anyway, nobody has officially told me I have glaucoma yet.
During the exam, one young doctor whispered to another, "Do you think it's acute?" and the other looked over and said, "No, there aren't any signs." Then later, this older doctor—maybe mid-30s or 40s—just told me to stop using these drops.

By the way, it feels weird... they tell me my pressure is high, then just send me home to let it clear up on its own. I guess they don't think it's serious since they didn't even give me anything for temporary relief.

1. Normal pressure is between 16 and 20, ideally 18. Yours was 40, so do the math on how critical that spike is.
2. Based on the doctors' conversation, it sounds like you're "latent," meaning you're in that risk group for developing glaucoma, and those drops—which are contraindicated for people with actual glaucoma—are likely what caused that shock in your eye. Those drops shouldn't hurt a healthy eye. This is just my layman's take based on talking to others with the condition.
Like you saw, they suspected acute glaucoma, but clearly, they weren't seeing enough evidence.
Otherwise, that specific device is the only one (at least here in the States) that definitely gets an accurate reading. I used to try controlling it myself on other machines because I couldn't stand the discomfort from the anesthetic, but you basically just rest your chin on the holder and stare at some blue light (that's the simplified version😁). They only use a tiny bit of anesthetic for that. However, they say this particular device is the only 100% reliable way to measure it!

I don't know how they'll direct you next; that's up to the ophthalmologists. Just take charge of your own health and keep monitoring it. If they don't recommend more frequent checks (assuming things stabilize now), make sure you go at least once a year, and READ the instructions for every medication you're prescribed in the future.
Also, field of vision tests are done using a specialized drum or something similar, and you can't just do that yourself. If they don't schedule it for you (you never know with our healthcare system, it can be pretty unpredictable), ASK for it. You won't regret being proactive.
Glaucoma, as I mentioned, causes PERMANENT damage to the optic nerve. There's no fixing it; surgery for certain types only works to stop the progression of the damage already done. The end result can be blindness.
So, be careful. Even if these doctors haven't scheduled a follow-up, go to an eye specialist, show them all your paperwork, and demand that they re-measure your pressure.

The Beatles... you've got some damn luck that they caught your high eye pressure, specifically glaucoma, right when they did.
You're treating it with drops to bring those numbers down (Timolol and such). You read correctly—a normal reading is roughly between 18 and 20.

From here on out, for EVERY single medication you take for any ailment, you better read the entire instruction manual, because there are plenty of drugs that can
spike your eye pressure as a side effect. Take sedatives, for example; almost all of them do it.
There's open-angle glaucoma, which is easy enough to manage, but closed-angle is a stubborn beast.
Then you have acute cases (which might be what you're dealing with, though I can't say for sure), and chronic cases—like the hereditary version I deal with. There's also a type that doesn't cause any noticeable symptoms but sneakily destroys the nerve and shrinks your field of vision.
I assume they'll send you for more testing too.

High eye pressure PERMANENTLY destroys the optic nerve, and once that happens, there is NO fixing it. That’s why I'm telling you that you were incredibly lucky.

So, here's the deal: follow your ophthalmologist's instructions to the letter and accept the fact that you might have to use glaucoma drops forever. Next time you go in for a checkup, try asking them to explain YOUR specific type of glaucoma in more detail. Unfortunately, doctors who actually bother to talk to their patients are a rare breed.

What they're putting in your eyes is just an anesthetic, and then they use that machine to measure the pressure.

One more thing. You need to tell every doctor you see during any kind of treatment, like surgery, that you have glaucoma. For instance, atropine, which might be used for anesthesia during surgery or even just to dilate your eyes for a prescription exam, MUST NOT be given to someone with glaucoma.

It happened to me—I've had this for 15 years, and I made sure to mention it because I suspected I was at risk due to family history, so I've been getting regular checkups for years—I needed an urgent eye exam before a procedure. I went into an eye clinic, and the doctor measured my pressure, but when he went to apply the drops after the test, he accidentally gave me atropine. I walked out into the waiting room and everything looked gray. I grabbed a mirror and saw my pupils were massive. I rushed back in and... thank God I knew it wasn't supposed to be like that. This is why you need to read up and learn about this stuff so you can help yourself.👍

It’s what it is. Jamie Clark74 was beating us over the head with stories about asbestosis on the Associated Press, showing us those colorful lung scans while we all just sat there making jokes. But I finally owned up to being wrong and shared that article about asbestosis here.

Now the whole joke has shifted to his "100 different aliases" that I keep using to talk to myself!😁

Alex Sanchez3 said:I’m still digging through some data in English, and honestly, I can only say that what I’ve found so far is solid material on an incredibly IMPORTANT TOPIC, but unfortunately, most people just don't pay attention—much like how they ignore the dangers of smoking and drinking!

Nice one, Jamie Clark74.

👋 👋

😂 🙂 😂 Jamie Clark74, you’re truly incomparable!

It’s funny how organ donation is still such a taboo subject here, yet people will spread every gruesome urban legend imaginable without a second thought.
We actually had a similar debate back at the Motel, where a conversation about such a noble concept spiraled into a massive argument.
Think about it for a second: what if one of those organs ends up saving my life or someone close to me? Why shouldn't MY organ be the one to save someone else?
Even if it's someone wealthy who manages to jump the waiting list, they'll still be saved by someone's gift.
And let's be clear—organs are harvested immediately once a person is declared clinically dead. So, all those whispered rumors about doctors just letting a poor soul die to get their parts? They simply don't hold water.
Do some incompetent doctors spread these myths? I don't know, but I wouldn't rule it out. I happened to witness how certain supposedly "skilled" physicians treated an AIDS patient who desperately needed urgent surgery, and honestly, there are definitely weeds among the flowers.
At the end of the day, donating is a truly noble gesture.

The folks over at Motelka might find this funny, but:
The New York Times, Monday, August 18, 2003, page 9
Headline: Data from an asbestosis victims' association has left the International Labour Organization standards committee absolutely stunned.
Title: In Vranjic, we lose one asbestos victim from the Salonit plant every twenty days.
Subheadline: Regarding the Salonit facility, there is a blatant disregard for international conventions concerning proper product labeling, worker notification, protective clothing requirements, safe waste disposal, and the essential training needed for those handling asbestos.
The article kicks off by stating that a person dies every twenty days...

Jamie Clark74 and I used to joke about it, but asbestosis is right here in our own backyard and yet nobody seems willing to say a damn word about it....