low tension glaucoma

[KimboDyl]

I’m confused. I was diagnosed with normal tension glaucoma and now take eye drops to lower the pressure. Please can you explain why? Thanks

[NewCardinal]

If you have been diagnosed with glaucoma it means there are signs of some sight loss even though you have 'reasonable' eye pressures. The purpose of the drops is to get the pressures as low as possible to try and stop any further vision loss. Glaucoma UK has some helpful literature which might help if you are recently diagnosed.

[Quiet_Lin]

Hello Kimbo, I have normal pressure glaucoma. Until they are able to pinpoint exactly why I have glaucoma, the only approach available is to make sure my eye pressure stays low. Best wishes.

[Gyfers]

I have it too and also take eye drops. I think it’s because, although your pressures are in the normal range across the whole human population, they might just be too high for *your* eyes, and so are causing damage, and further damage can potentially be prevented by lowering your pressures further.

IIRC, a certain percentage of people with regular pressure glaucoma never get any worse, which means it’s just possible they had a one-off incident (like a blocked blood vessel) which caused the initial damage, and it would never get worse. But there’s no way of knowing who those people are, so everybody should be treated as if their pressures are the problem, just to make sure they have the best possible chance of no further damage.

[Welshsailor in reply to Gyfers]

hi, what deops do you take?

[Gyfers in reply to Welshsailor]

Monopost. I started out on Latanoprost but a few weeks in my eyes got very sore so I was switched. Monopost has the same active ingredient, but no preservatives (which are usually what causes irritation).

[Welshsailor in reply to Gyfers]

so your eyes are stable on 1 drop?

[Gyfers in reply to Welshsailor]

Seem to be, so far. I’ve only been diagnosed a year but at my last check, my field test was stable, even though my pressures haven’t really dropped (they’re about 16). I had laser treatment late last year to see if it would bring my pressures down further but it doesn’t seem to have made much difference in my pressures.

As I understand it, Monopost can help even out spikes in eye pressure, so even though I’m testing about the same pressure-wise, it could still be helping reduce spikes at other times. Or it could be doing nothing, but not worth the risk of not taking it.

[Welshsailor in reply to Gyfers]

have you got a home tonometer?

[Gyfers in reply to Welshsailor]

No.

[dikda]

To determine the root cause of normal pressure/tension glaucoma is apparently often extremely difficult sometimes verging on the impossible, as there are a number of obscure contributory reasons - it is NOT easy. I was so diagnosed and treated similarly to you and have been on 2 and for a time 3 different types of daily drops. This regime has been maintained for more years than I can guess at but the result has been that my glaucoma which is monitored by Moorfields twice a year has not progressed and actually 'plateaued' for many years AND my IOP is consistently low. The rule that is applied, is KEEP THE IOP DOWN as one thing that is pretty definite is any increase in IOP may well exacerbate the disease. The drops are effective and you will very soon get into the routine of night and morning applying them. You have now joined the company of many thousands of Normal Tension Glaucoma sufferers! Just be pleased that it is now under treatment and will be monitored regularly whereas, there are many people who have it undiagnosed and are therefore at far greater risk of losing their sight.

[KimboDyl in reply to dikda]

Thank you for the explanation.

[Welshsailor in reply to dikda]

what were your pressures before drops? And how come you changed the number of drops being taken? Was it that the disease was progressing?

[dikda in reply to Welshsailor]

IOP has never been high - max that I can recall is 14. The target is I believe consistently below 12 and I achieve this comfortably with 8 to 10 being common. The number of different drops was reduced from 3 to 2 last year because the IOP was consistently low NOT because of progression but the reverse. I was on Brinzolamide (Azopt) and Brimonidine am and pm, with Travatan (Travopost) pm only. The Brimonidine was stopped last year as it was deemed no longer necessary. I am monitored twice/year by Moorfields as well as seeing my own optician at least annually. Had RE cataract removed very successfully last year also.