I had SLT in November expecting to be able to stop using my drops which make my eyes very red and itchy. At 3 month follow up, pressure 13 snd 14 ( although I have a thin cornea so may be slightly higher).
How low does pressure need to be before I can stop using drops? I hate them!
unfortunately it’s not all the about the numbers, my pressures are between 9-11 and I’m still on drops as damage is still occurring. This is a horrible journey.
Thanks for your reply….. I had major issues following the SLT… I now feel I went through it for nothing, and it caused problems rather than solved them.
I TOO REGRET slt last April for high pressure as back on drops -now have retinal tear in one eye and first sign of cateract in other eye. Pre SLT i had none of these issues and I thoroughly regret having slt- cannot be just coincidence all this has happened since the slt last April!!!!
I also have had eye problems since SLT which I never had before…,, all inflammatory conditions such as blepharitis and conjunctivitis. I think the laser process has left the surface of my eye open to infection….. although it could be coincidence, I will never know.
Hi there. There is no guarantee that you will be able to come off your drops after SLT. If they are making your eyes red and itchy then I would recommend letting your eye specialist know. It is possible that it could be that you need preservative free drops, but if you already use those then an alternative drop might be suggested. I would try to call the eye secretary.
Thanks for your response. I am on Monopost preservative free. Waiting on another appointment with ophthalmologist, so I’ll ask him about an alternative.
I sympathise. I am in the same boat, I had the SLT, my pressures dropped a bit, but I have been told to keep taking the drops. I think for me they are going to be permanent disagreeable feature of life but of course much better than losing vision.
That’s what I keep telling myself…,, better than going blind!
Yes, that must be very confusing and disappointing for you! When you had the SLT your consultant should have made it clearer what the hoped for outcome was to manage your expectations.
My issue was that we were running out of different drops to try as I can’t take beta blockers and I’d had allergic reactions to drops. Plus my IOPs were persistently unstable. Plus I was showing progression at quite low IOPs. So in my case the SLT was instead of adding another drop.
As an aside I find it interesting that post- SLT there’s light sensitivity for some people. Certainly my eyes have been super sensitive since my diagnosis but I can’t pin down if that’s the glaucoma, eye drops or SLT. I now wear reactolite lenses (I’ve given up on contact lenses) and a baseball cap out doors and I cannot stand fluorescents in shops and public places, where my reactolites don’t react always.
I also have the start of cateracts. No mention of cateracts at diagnosis 6 yrs ago. First mention after first SLT, but I didn’t consider there maybe a link. 🤔
Yep no mention of cateract ever pre SLT or of retinal tear in right eye for me! I dont think can be just coincidence either but they will never admit anything -i really wish I;d not had it but these days they never give you an opinion based on your individual case - after all they have more experience of potential outcomes than we do. Theyre too scared of their own backs-just get you to sign reems of stuff & tough what does it matter to them!!
I was told my Cataracts weren't bad enough to operate on by one hospital...at another the consultant took my Glaucoma into account too and decided that by removing Cataracts it would also help lower my pressures. and - amazingly - my Cataracts were then found to be much worse than they thought before. I also had stents put into my eyes at the same time to help with drainage. ..and new lenses made to last presctiption - and here I am still typing this without wearing any specs at all!
I had SLT to reduce pressures and was well pleased with it but was told to continue using the drops at bedtime -and have done this for some years now - then no appointments due to Lockdowns etc...and my next appointment is September. However my readings have been 12 or 14 each time - no adverse effects from Ganfort ...whereas others can/did cause problems! (Try Addenbrookes if you can! Expert in the field.)
SLT Results now 17 weeks later
SLT Success 😀
