I have been a Glaucoma Suspect since 2013 because of Ocular Hypertension.

Eye care
1

hello , I am a 59 year old man and have been a Glaucoma Suspect since 2013 after an eye exam with an Optometrist . I then started to see an Opthamalogist who would put me through a complete set of exams He never mentioned what my eye pressures were but I do recall him calling out the number of 21 . He did mention to me that my Vision Tests were normal and that they would keep an eye on my optic nerve . well this went on for seven years with little ever being said except for the fact that i seem to have a very thick cornea and he said that was good for me . Now lets jump to 2019 and i have a new doctor because my older doctor retired , she also told me that my tests we good and to come back and see her in 2021. So now after my appointment with her in 2021 she would like me to come back in six months because my eye pressure was 17 and she was surprised because all the previous years it was 21 . She did mention to me that if the pressure remained in the 20 we may want to start talking about medication , This kinda of took me by surprise because this was the first I ever heard of medication for this. I should also mention that for the last 7 years I never once looked up eye pressure and Glaucoma on the internet ( well this month I did ) and I should never of done it , you get all kinds of stories and information out there and for the most part all i heard was eventual blindess . This has raised my Anxety levels through the roof . i am hoping for some freak of nature of pressure has actually gone down on there own and i would not need the medication at this time . I was wondering if anyone out there also has very thick corneas and how if any did it play out in your diagnosis and treatment . The thought of the eye drops scares me alot because of all the different side effects I heard on the web.

I am so Glad I found this website and could share what i have been feeling .. I try to explain it to my wife but she is a very postive person and says that my last appointment was good news ..

Mike

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You sound as though you are being well monitored for your ocular pressure so dont be too alarmed. The usual treatment is eye drops…one drop per eye each day and it keeps it under control. I’ve been in a very similar situation now for 9 years and the drops are doing their stuff. Glaucoma often runs in families.

3

Hello Mike,
i am in a similar position as you…
I went to optiometrist, and according to new protocols here, she took my eye pressure with the portable tonometer (tonopen). I had an eye pressure of 31. Went to opthamologist as a glaucoma suspect. There, my pressure was taken with the air puff tonometer and pressure was 28. Because of that, pressure was taken also with the contact tonometer, pressure was 21, so a big difference from 28 to 21. We did a test, took one week eye drops, the pressure was 24 at air puff tonometer (so not a big improvement), but 12 at contact tonometer. My corneea was measured, and it was determined to be 580, thicker than average, as in your case. i will get a full set of investigations next week to determine if there is glaucoma or the devices give an elevated pressure because of corneea. How thick is your cornea?