sight loss

[Bazzer65]

The sight in my left eye is deteriorating and my consultant cannot find the reason why as my eye pressures are low and my visual field test stayed the same . He says the lack of blood flow and low blood pressure could be a reason so he is investigating this! In the meantime my sight may get worse so I’m panicking!! Has anyone else had the same issues or could advise me what I should do? Maybe go private?? Thank you

[balacakkhu]

Hello Bazzer65, ref: Left eye is deteriorating - Do you mean  visual acuity? Your visual field is stable and the pressure is low. In my case - my pressure is always on low (below normal limits) but there is defect on visual field on one eye. I was investigated for ?low blood pressure & low blood flow - monitoring the 24 hours blood pressure and blood tests etc. They were normal. I have been treated with various combination of eye drops for many years and took supplement medicine to increase the blood flow but at the end Trabeculectomy was needed. You can contact the eye clinic if you are worried and your eye is deteriorating. To see private - there are some advantages e.g you will be seen by the same consultant and can be monitored very closely at regular interval. No prolong waiting appointment and not seen by different doctors. With best wishes.

[Bazzer65 in reply to balacakkhu]

Thank you so much for you’re reply.. can I ask if having the Trabeculectomy worked to halt the loss of you’re eyesight

[balacakkhu in reply to Bazzer65]

Hello Bazzer65, I am sorry for my late reply. At the moment my eyesight is stable after Trabeculectomy and without any eye drops.

[Trish_GlaucomaUK Partner]

I am surprised that your consultant is investigating and not acting on it, as there has been more deterioration. I would speak to them with your concerns.

To seek a 2nd opinion privately, you just need to do a search for private glaucoma specialist in your area. Or if there is a particular hospital you would like to attend just type the name of the hospital followed by private clinic.

[Bazzer65 in reply to Trish_GlaucomaUK]

Thabk you for you’re reply I appreciate it 😀

[PBX142]

I think it's good that your consultant is investigating your low blood pressure and lack of blood flow but not if he's not going to see you for six months or so to give you the results and amend your treatment accordingly....But if he's working on it (and I'm interested to know how he's investigating, and whether he knows your blood flow is lacking, and if so, how he knows?!) and you can get to see him within a month or so, that's pretty good going. Of course if you're very worried, it never harms to get a second, private, opinion. Although expensive, it's put my mind at rest in the past. Always best to know what's going on!

[Beecalmed]

Hi Bazzer65! Can I clarify when you say your eye sight is deteriorating is this showing in your visual acuity test? Or is it that all your tests are looking ok and no or little progression but you are perceiving a change in your vision?

I ask as I had a possibly similar situation in that my fields, OCT and visual acuity tests showed barely any change and my pressures were the bottom of my target range but I still felt that my eye sight was deteriorating.

My consultant couldn’t explain it and felt perhaps that I was more sensitive to very minute visual changes than the average person would be. I found it hard to explain but I felt that in addition to the central vision loss which showed on my tests I also had a general loss of quality of vision and was convinced the recorded area of loss was extending slightly.

In the end I chose to pay to have eyes checked regularly and to have at least half an hour to chat through the tests done with a private ophthalmologist with specialist training in glaucoma. This is in addition to the NHS monitoring. I see the same person and have time for discussion. I felt then my whole eye was considered: myopia, dry eye, cataract etc as well as glaucoma so a bigger picture of my eye was monitored more often.

[Bazzer65]

This is really helpful as the usual test show very little change but I can see the change clearly so he said he will refer me to another consultant to see if they could advise.. I will look into a private appointment..

[Macavity99]

an interesting thread. I know my normal pressure glaucoma , about 2 years now, is deteriorating, tests are a bit worse. Drops have reduced pressure a bit, currently 10 and 11, doesn’t seem to help. I have AF and high BP, on various drugs for this. Eye hospital has offered two theories. One is poor blood flow, treading a fine line between heart attack and going blind ( her words). A different doc dismisses this , as BP high, around 140/90 , I monitor closely, and is investigating possible pressure from bone behind eye, I’ve had 2 scans , awaiting results. I’m doubtful because it’s both eyes. I can’t even find a name for this, can the moderators advise?

I’m more concerned that the drugs may be part of the story. I’ve been on Bisoprolol for many years, dose gradually increasing. I see it’s known to have a significantly bigger effect on peripheral blood vessels. It’s also been fingered to a certain extent on vascular dementia, not a cheery thought. To me, this points to a possible cause of low blood flow to eye even when standard readings are high. It definitely helps stabilise the AF, but I’m not increasing the dose further as proposed by GP to get BP down.

Another possible culprit is solfenacin, I have taken sporadically to get bladder control, I’ve taken in the same timeframe as the glaucoma appeared.

A real problem with all this is who to turn to who can advise on the balance of risk. One American article said it’s time the cardiologist professional societies talked to the ophthalmologists. Couldn’t agree more!

Btw I’m 78, in fairly good health generally.