My father had glaucoma and I get my eyes checked once a year at the opticians. My pressures are going up-they were high at my last eyetest, though came to the top end of normal in a second different test, and I am really worried I will get glaucoma. The main reason it worries me is that I have no family, so would be dependant on social services for any support if I go blind when I am older. (I am 63 now). Does anyone know if elderly blind people who are completely alone get any practical support, such as someone to get their pension, get food for them and pay their bills ( out of their pension, of course.) I wouldn't mind going into a care home if this wre suggested. But I have this awful image in my head of beinbg stranded at home, helpless.
Any social care for elderly alone with glaucoma? - Glaucoma UK
Any social care for elderly alone with glaucoma?
Dear Fran,
I think the main thing to concentrate on is the fact that you know about the risk of Glaucoma when so many people plod along and rarely get their eyes checked.
By having regular checks and understanding as much as you can about the disease you are helping yourself prevent eye damage.
My mother had glaucoma and my sister and I both have it . There is research into new treatments all the time and this information is often available from Glaucoma UK and their excellent digital talks.
My mother was partially sighted but lived to over 90 years still happily independant in a village community and writing, painting and knitting. She also had the disease at a much younger age. She did have home care now and then and her home was adapted by Occupational Therapists which was free of charge.
The Glaucoma helpline and RNIB helpline are excellent.
My mother seemed to get a lot of free help from Somerset sight and there must be other such services around the country.
If you do a bit of research locally you will probably learn about what is available and things may not seem so bleak.
Best wishes
Bless you Fran I know how you feel. My mum had it & I was diagnosed in October. Most of what you read says that it’s rare to go blind from Glaucoma provided it is caught & treatment is started. I had regular eye tests (annual) because it was in my family & it wasn’t picked up. I have some damage to my optic nerve but only in one eye. My mum did go blind but not until she was in her late 80’s and her Glaucoma was diagnosed late. My mum had loads of help as she wasn’t very mobile. She had carers every day & got lots of aids from RNIB and a local sight charity. She had a pretty full life until her late 80’s and that was mainly due to mobility. Take care. As muddledme says at least you are aware of it & sounds like your opticians are on it too (unlike mine).
Hi Wales99....I am a newbie and looking at all the posts....like you recently I have some optic nerve damage in my left eye, I'm interested to know how it manifests itself with you ? Do you see it all the time ? Does your good eye mask it ! Can you read with the damage ! How long did it take to get used to it ! My damage show as a grey flickering smudge....I see it all the time, hopefully it will subside eventually....so many questions...sorry x
Hi Noelhoney . Mine is a very long story. Basically I started getting severe post-exercise headaches- migraine type about 4 years ago. Long story short it was diagnosed as post-exercise migraine & I was put on beta blockers. I still got the exercise headaches but the daily headaches stopped. During lockdown it got worse when I was doing HIIT workouts & Road Running. I went back to the GP - was referred to a cardiologist who recommended I come off the beta blockers. After being off them for a couple of weeks I too started getting the “greyed out/blind spots” in my right eye. The cardiologist referred me to a neurologist and by this time the greyed out vision was almost permanent. I was then referred to an ophthalmologist who diagnosed Glaucoma. Bit of a shock as I had been going for regular eye tests and always assumed they would pick it up. I can see out of my right eye still but my vision is quite impaired, everything looks dim & darker. I got a new prescription for glasses and that helped a bit. I can still read, I’m an avid reader. I still work- on a computer for most of the day & I still drive. I think my left eye - the good one does do most of the work but I think with the two eyes together they adjust & I can still see OK. My mum had it & although did go blind at the end of her life , she lived a pretty full life beforehand. I don’t think it’s all doom & gloom. If you read on the Glaucoma UK website it does say that it’s rare to go blind from it provided it’s treated. End of essay! Bet you wish you hadn’t asked now 😉😊
That's a great reply! No problem with the essay, made a good informative read...,definitely better when both eyes are working, in certain conditions my vision seems good, it's when I look into a bright sky that I see the damage area....I've been eating salmon and spinach most days plus zinc supplements and omega3 capsules, red wine, dark chocolate which is good for the eyes..,,every silver lining etc...do you feel depressed sometimes over your eye problems ! I'm a musician and have been turning away work from feeling down about my newly acquired poor vision....no doubt I'll eventually learn to live with it and get back to normal...strangely I'm better driving in the dark, I suppose it's the lack of glare...so thanks again for the reply...always open for a chat...we're all in this together!
Ha ha! Yes there are times it gets me down. I think the day after diagnosis I cried all day. My mum had it and I would love to have been able to talk to her about it but she died last February. She coped really well with it though. Don’t let it take over - Glaucoma doesn’t define you. Definitely try & get back to your music if you can. I find working really helps take my mind off it. There are days now when I don’t even think about it.
Thanks again for your insightful thoughts....for me as I expect you too, it's difficult when you rapidly go from normal living to having a sudden life long chronic and sight risking health issue...the dead spot is a constant 'always there' reminder of your health problem but you're a good example of the fact that we eventually adapt, accept and live on regardless....thank you x
Yes I keep closing my good eye to see how the bad one is. I think eventually I will stop doing that too. A good example just arrived in the post. My Uncle (not blood related - marriage related) has Glaucoma in both eyes and can hardly see (he’s 88) yet he designs his own cards on a computer & has just sent me a Christmas card. Just goes to show what you can do. Take care & stay safe. 😊
Hi, That's good about your uncle...there are many available tools for the more advanced sight impaired...was curious to know if your still exercising and running ? I spent a lot of time in the gym until recently and I've read the heavy weights in some positions can increase the risk of glaucoma...wondering now if that's how we've come to have it along with the hereditary side perhaps exacerbated it ? What do you think ?
I’m a regular gym goer but I have never weight lifted. Yes I think that should be avoided- anything with the heart above the head isn’t good so I’m to,d. My consultant said I’d be fine to go to the gym & that exercise is good for Glaucoma. I think free weights are OK. Maybe get some advice from the PT’s in the gym - if your gym has them. 😊
I read and replied to your other answer before reading this one. It must have been really frightening when your right eye suddenly developed greyed out/blind spots. I can't imagine what that would look like. Are they in your peripheril vision only? It's a relief you can still read as I would be lost with out my books. My right eye is my better eye. I can see out of my left eye, but the pupil is dilated all the time and objects 'shimmer' around the edges. Also, I feel dizzy when I use it.
To be honest I didn’t even think about Glaucoma! Even though it’s in the family. As I was having regular eye tests I always thought it would be picked up & it wasn’t. I assumed the greyed out spots were down to migraine. I nearly fell off the chair when he told me I had Glaucoma. It’s different now - my eyesight is just dim in that eye. Doesn’t seem to be the peripheral vision though. I have a rare form of glaucoma- it’s mixed open & closed angle - lucky me! Yes I love reading and watching films/Netflix series. Don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t do that!
Hi Wales99, Thank you for your really kind reply. I am so sorry to hear that you have glaucoma. Your opticians should definitely have picked it up much earlier. Do you know how long you must have had it before it was eventually found? It's good that your mum had a lot of help. Was it mainly for her blindness or for her mobility issues? I do have a couple of other eye issues but can handle them:partial 3rd nerve palsy in my left eye as the result of a brain aneurysm and I had posterior vitreous detachment in my right eye, but that passed.
I asked my consultant how long he thought I had it and he said it had probably been coming on for years. Because it was diagnosed as migraine I was put on beta blockers which of course helped the eye pressure which is probably why it was missed by the opticians. Also being a rare form it is hard to diagnose. So I’m told! 😊
I can understand your crying all day after getting your diagnosis. It is sad that your mum isn't still here as she could probably have given you a lot of advice and support. Could I ask your age? (You don't need to answer this). The opticians should have ben aware that beta blockers can reduce eye pressure and checked you for glaucoma. Are you definitely sure that I would get help and support if I went blind when I am elderly?
Hi Fran555 ha ha! I don’t mind at all. I was 56 in October. My husband is very supportive but it would have been great to talk to mum. I never really paid much attention to her Glaucoma. She had so many other ailments! Her mobility- or lack of was the major one. I really wouldn’t worry too much about going blind. Chat to your consultant at your next appointment- hopefully they can reassure you. Mine is quite good although very harassed and my appointments are quite rushed! I guess it depends on the area you are in. I know the RNIB were good & as I said, the local Sight charity to where she lived. You don’t know how you will feel when you are older or how your sight will be. You may feel more comfortable being in your own home with carers coming in, or you may feel more secure in a nursing home. I can understand it’s a worry if you don’t have family though.
I didn't pay a lot of attention to my dad's glaucoma either as mum's health always seemed to take precendence. At present I'm not under a consultant but probably will be after my next eye text next November. I wouldn't feel secure at home as it would be frightening to sit there and maybe hear a noise and not be able to see what was going on. Also my stairs are steep. Yes, not hainvg any family makes the whole thing much more worrying as there is noone to fight for me to get care, let alone to care for me.
Hi Fran555...I'm in exactly the same mindset as you, I'm 63, actually almost 64....but I have recently diagnosed advanced glaucoma, worried sick about the future and living with a chronic health problem for quite a few years to come, every day my glaucoma is all consuming......I have some vision loss in my left eye,..happened very suddenly...happy to talk when you need someone to talk to x
Hello Noelhoney, I would very much appreciate talking to you. I am so sorry that you have advanced glaucoma and would like to offer you support as well. How come you were only recently diagnosed? It should have picked up much earlier. I also have and have had other health issues but it is the thought of possible blindness which bothers me the most. People say that it is unlikely I will go blind, but to be honest this doesn't reassure me as it is quite possible that I might. If I knew for sure that I wouldnt just be left to get on with it if I did go blind, this would help set my mind at rest.
Thanks Fran...nice to have your support and mine to you in return whenever you need it....so I was told I had high eye pressure before moving to Spain from the uk...the was 3 years ago and mistakenly assumed my eyesight which was perfect so all was good...typical man, put off checks when all seems good plus I had a new pair of glasses before leaving the uk....so had 3 years of no vision issues then I had a acute glaucoma attack in the night 2 months ago ! Vision is affected now but it's all under control....been getting headaches/ migraines and eye pain but seems to be subsiding...would love to keep in contact....if you'd like to message via email... staterman@aol.comBe nice to keep regular contact...we seem kindred spirits x
My next reply will be via email. Thank you for giving me your address. I agree we seem like kindred spirits and it will be really nice to keep in touch. I can understand your not thinking of going for an eye test when your sight was good. Plus, you were also settling down to life in another country. In your position I would have done the same, though at the back of my mind I would be thinking, quite illogically,' if I have a problem but don't know about it, then nothing bad will happen.' It's good that your headaches and migraines are subsiding. Hopefully they will soon go for good. I have had visual migraine, where you get the special effects but without the headache. Had a brain aneurysm in 2012 and had them then. Do you speak Spanish? I speak Finnish and French.
Great Fran ...look forward to great chats via Email....so I had a few ocular migraines too..I looked them up and it said...just sit back and enjoy the show...which I did..😀....yes coming to another country was great but at the cost of some vision loss....I'm a working musician so that took up a lot of my time...hindsight is a wonderful thing ! Unfortunately we can't undo what's been done....life gives us hurdles to overcome especially into our golden years...have enough Spanish to get by but not fluent...my Inglesh is good though ...lol... hear from you soon 😋
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