Do I have normal tension glaucoma or not? 28 years old, scared.

Hi. I had the same issues as yourself. They tried for years to control my glaucoma with drops but the pressure wouldn't go down and it was starting to damage my optic nerve and I was losing field vision. It felt like my vision in that eye was continually misty and cloudy and the pressure build up gave me terrible migraines. I am much older than you - 51 years young!! My surgeon wasn't happy with my pressures not coming down (23) so in July he decided to perform a Trabeculectomy. It won't improve my vision but it will preserve the vision I have left. I was very scared before the procedure that things could go wrong and I lose my sight completely. But 3 months on I feel it's one of the best things I've ever had done and would not hesitate to have my other eye done - which may be the case very soon!

My mother started with glaucoma then macular degeneration and now at 92 she is blind. I have seen how it has affected her and I will do what it takes to keep my eyesight for as long as I can. Good luck with everything. Always here if you need to talk x

I, too, have Normal Tension Glaucoma;  unfortunately damage to my optic nerve already happened when it was "discovered" even though I went to eye drs religiously. I was told since I had lasik surgery on very near-sighted eyes, it "masked" and made my pressures lower than they really were and that the pressure readings I was getting weren't accurate because I have thin corneas.  I finally got a self-tonometer (Reichert 7CR) which gives readings like the Goldman readings in eye dr's offices and "true" readings taken into account thin corneas.  My pressures range from 9-16.   After my "glaucoma specialist" in Florida told me he would have to do a trab and that I wouldn't emotionally be able to handle it, I found another eye dr. who wants to do Cypass with Micropulse since it is minimally invasive, my pressures don't have to be lowered a lot, even though Cypass is only FDA approved for mild to moderate glaucoma, not advanced.   I shared all this on another eye forum called FitEyes where many members take their own pressure readings with either the Reichert or the Icare.  The top Glaucoma Specialist in the world (1/3 of his patients have NTG), Dr. Robert Ritch, saw my posts and said before I even cut my eye in surgery he said he would see me in NY.   What an eye opener (no pun intended);  Normal Tension Glaucoma isn't all about the pressure;   he ran tests on seeing if I was getting enough blood to my capillaries (i.e. blood to the small capillaries near my optic nerve)...sure enough, after a 24 hr. heart monitoring session, my blood pressure dips to as low as 85/58 when I sleep.   Also, I had Sleep Apnea and might not be getting enough oxygen to my eyes and have started using a CPAP.  I was told to sleep on a 20 degree wedge pillow to keep my head elevated when sleeping.  There are many articles online about how vascular irregularities can continue to worsen glaucoma even after surgery.   Also, many supplements were given to me to help:   

GLAUCO-HEALTH (prescribed by Dr. Ritch glaucoma specialist in NY)  for Glaucoma

alpha lipoic acid   100 mg

NAC (N-acetylocysteine)

Cognizin (Premium Citicoline)

Co-enzyme Q10 - Kaneka Ubiquinone

Ginkgo biloba extract, 

Grape seed extract 95% polyphenols

N-acetyl-cysteine,

Curcumin, (Norflo Curcumin-phosphatidycholine complex)

Green Tea Extract

 AND

Omega3 Fish Oil 1300 mg 

Eyebright  1000 mg 

Bilberry Fruit Extract 1000 mg, 

Lutein 20mg  (taken by itself;  not with other vitamins)

Pycnogenol 100 mg  (pine bark extract for circulation, eyes, etc.)

Asxanthin 4 mg for glaucoma

ResveraGrape - whole grape extract 500mg for glaucoma

Black Currant Extract   200 mg for glaucoma

Hawthorne Extract    80 mg      supports blood to heart muscle (blood pressure dips at night to 84/53 

Licorice Root 500 mg  sporadically for fixing low pressure

Natural Beta Carotene Vitamin A 10,000 IU (eye health )

Ashwagandha Standardized Extract 500 mg blood health

I am seeing an acupuncurist to see about stimulating blood circulation to my eyes.

My only concern about surgery is that my pressures may be to low (hypotony);   yet, I am scared (I am 62 - was diagnosed when 57, probably had it years before then, but went undetected) ;   it seems that Normal Tension Glaucoma isn't always cured with pressure lowering surgery.  If the optic nerve still isn't getting enough blood and oxygen, progression will still get worse.  By the way, I only take Zioptan (preservative free Latanoprost) at night.....all other drops I had reactions to...the preservatives in them cause severe dry eye for me and can cause ocular surface damage (which many drs don't even tell you....)   Good luck to all, hope this info helps someone out there.    If anyone has had the Cypass procedure (it's been used in Canada for the past 2 years and was just approved by the FDA in the U.S. this past April).  please post it here and let us know how that went.