Recently diagnosed with bilateral chronic simple glaucoma, which I have presumed is open angle? Not had much information and also not one person has told me that I need to inform the dvla!After reading posts on here I'm so worried that I may lose my driving licence.
I've completed the form and waiting to hear back now. Has anyone found this straight forward and is there anything I should be aware of.
Many thanks in advance.
Just do the visual field test as well as you can. It essentially rests on the results of that.
It depends whether glaucoma has been diagnosed in both eyes. In that case you need to inform the DVLA but not if it’s only in one eye.
The DVLA visual field test is much easier to do than the standard visual field test as it is designed to show up important patches of field loss sufficient to cause concern with driving. You do it with both eyes together and the white flashes are much brighter. A patch in one eye’s field can be compensated by the other eye still being able to see the flash at that point. Glaucoma clinic visual field tests are designed to find with each eye where the visual field is less sensitive than a normal person’s visual field so that they can measure the level of disease in an eye and whether it is changing. As a results the flashes used are much softer. Hope that helps.
Thank you for this information soliop. Very helpful and reassuring. Will have to go through the process and hope for the best. Thanks again.
My little tips are that you will likely be a bit anxious so my best advice is be sure to breathe, we tend to hold our breath when we do these tests which can make you more anxious.
Also feel free to blink as often as you need. The test is programmed to recognise blinks. Not blinking can dry your eye and that can make your vision seem blurry.
So breathe and blink. And ask for a printed copy of your results as it is your right. 👍🏻
Thank you for the advice. I'm sure I will be very nervous and I will definitely be asking for my results 😀
Hi Lucky200, many people do keep their license, especially if it is early stages and there is not much sight loss. We have a booklet on our website all about DVLA and driving which you might find useful. I have provided a link below, but if you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to us on the helpline at Glaucoma UK.
glaucoma.uk/wp-content/uplo...
Thank you for that Kieran and for the information, very helpful. I had accepted the diagnosis quite well initially but the concern over my driving licence as worried me. So very grateful for the reassurance. I will also contact the helpline for further advice too.
Many thanks
"What is another name for chronic simple glaucoma?Technically it is called chronic open-angle glaucoma (COAG), chronic glaucoma or primary open-angle glaucoma. COAG develops slowly and painlessly, so that any damage to the optic nerve and loss of sight are gradual and you may not notice anything has changed until the condition is very advanced."
Above is from Google....The best thing here is to be diagnosed as early as possible and treatment given, usually with eye drops! Good luck!
Thank you for that. I have recently had a copy of my clinic letter from the hospital which has given me a bit more info on the type I have but what you're saying has now confirmed that. Hopefully, this has been found early on and can be controlled. My IOP have come down since using Latanoprost for a month from 22 in both eyes to 16 and 17 so can only hope that's a positive step.
Perfect IOP reading!!!... Just enjoy your life!...Do punctual occlusions without fail, rinse away the residue of the eye drops with eyes closed..... Keep them moist,I use Nano Dropper to reduce the volume of medication!I don't know if it will fit on your bottle!nanodropper.com/
Good morning!
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