I've been diagnosed with Glaucoma in the past couple of weeks. While rare for people before their 50's and 60's, anyone can be diagnosed.
In short, Glaucoma is the rise of inter-ocular pressure(IOP) inside of the eye. Usually over the course of a very long time period, greater than 25 years, this constant additional pressure destroys nerve endings in the retina. Many people equate Glaucoma and the resulting blindness for 'just getting old', however it is anything but that. It is fully treatable and livable if it's detected. The best analogy to describe Glaucoma is the sun setting in your vision over the course of 25-30 years. Much like it doesn't suddenly become dark over the course of an evening, extend that analogy out over 30 years. Most people that don't realize they're losing infinitesimal amounts of vision on a daily bases.
Glaucoma is asymptomatic in 90% of cases - luckily I am in the 10% who was symptomatic. About six weeks ago I began intermittently seeing halos out of my eyes - when stressed, after intense exercise, after a hot bath, sometimes for no particular reason at all. They would come and go, at one point I was nearly two weeks without the halos.
Conceding I needed to see a doctor about it after the halos came back after a two week absence, the doctor performed the initial eye test where they shoot a puff of air into your eyes and the reading came back that I did indeed have high IOP.
Since then I've been run through much more extensive tests which confirmed the diagnosis of open angle pigmentary glaucoma, I've been put on an eye drop, which I'll likely have to use twice a day for the rest of my life. Of particular note is that I will have to be very careful about the type of exercise I have to do - namely any exercise that drops my head below my heart.
Here's where I turn to you guys on the forum:
What additional medical advice do you guys have to share, specifically with pigmentary glaucoma? Foods? Supplements? Exercise regimens? Best practices?
I've read a consistent pattern of research suggesting that any sort of strenuous exercise is in fact very bad for those who have pigmentary glaucoma.
Does anyone else on the forum have glaucoma? What have your experiences been?
I've done significant reading in medical journals the past couple of weeks, but there is a dearth of actionable information available on the internet that goes beyond 'don't worry, you can do it!'
In short, Glaucoma is the rise of inter-ocular pressure(IOP) inside of the eye. Usually over the course of a very long time period, greater than 25 years, this constant additional pressure destroys nerve endings in the retina. Many people equate Glaucoma and the resulting blindness for 'just getting old', however it is anything but that. It is fully treatable and livable if it's detected. The best analogy to describe Glaucoma is the sun setting in your vision over the course of 25-30 years. Much like it doesn't suddenly become dark over the course of an evening, extend that analogy out over 30 years. Most people that don't realize they're losing infinitesimal amounts of vision on a daily bases.
Glaucoma is asymptomatic in 90% of cases - luckily I am in the 10% who was symptomatic. About six weeks ago I began intermittently seeing halos out of my eyes - when stressed, after intense exercise, after a hot bath, sometimes for no particular reason at all. They would come and go, at one point I was nearly two weeks without the halos.
Conceding I needed to see a doctor about it after the halos came back after a two week absence, the doctor performed the initial eye test where they shoot a puff of air into your eyes and the reading came back that I did indeed have high IOP.
Since then I've been run through much more extensive tests which confirmed the diagnosis of open angle pigmentary glaucoma, I've been put on an eye drop, which I'll likely have to use twice a day for the rest of my life. Of particular note is that I will have to be very careful about the type of exercise I have to do - namely any exercise that drops my head below my heart.
Here's where I turn to you guys on the forum:
What additional medical advice do you guys have to share, specifically with pigmentary glaucoma? Foods? Supplements? Exercise regimens? Best practices?
I've read a consistent pattern of research suggesting that any sort of strenuous exercise is in fact very bad for those who have pigmentary glaucoma.
Does anyone else on the forum have glaucoma? What have your experiences been?
I've done significant reading in medical journals the past couple of weeks, but there is a dearth of actionable information available on the internet that goes beyond 'don't worry, you can do it!'