scared for the future, husband’s glaucoma diagnosis

Posted , 5 users are following.

hello All

i am knew & i am glad i have found a space where i have been reading & learning a lot.

my husband was diagonised of glaucoma 2 yrs ago at 36 yrs. . this was a shock and has been on eye drops . last appointment they said his pressure isnt going down & they are considering informing dvla & also eye sugery. They did change his eye drops and told him to use for three months.

two days ago he received a letter for an appointment for a clinic in a months time , which makes it just two months in not 3 months.

i know he is scared & has told me so.

i myself have been so depressed as we have little children and i worry for the future. mortgage etc, We rarely talk about what the future hold or even make plans just in case. He wants to carry on as normal i guess.

i support him & never show him i am worried. we have such a good life that i feel is going to just crumble due to this. i feel guilty for feeling this way.

i am just scared & have no one to talk to. until now. i am sorry if i offend anyone.

thank you

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Posted

    Nyasha, Im sure nobody on here would be offended by anything you have said. Its normal to feel the way you do. Well done for supporting him and of course you are worried.

    Dont worry about the appointment being only 2 months away. Eye clinics are usually very full and this may have been the only time he could be fitted in. Better to be seen early than wait longer. Do you know what the pressures were? Is it both eyes that are affected?

    I do hope the pressures in his eyes respond to the drops he is using. If not there are more things that can be tried.

    If he is referred to the DVLA then they will want to do their own assessment as well. Dont worry,it means he will have a form to fill in and then will get an appointment at one of the high street opticians....usually Specsavers.....where they do the DVLA sight driving assessment.

    One step at a time Nyasha.

    • Posted

      thank you Marina for your kind words & the explanation of the DVLA process.

      most of his appointments have been during lockdown so i havent been able to attend any with him.

      He has glaucoma in both eyes but the left eye is particulary bad & had significant damage when he was diagnosed. He had laser on this eye 6 months ago, the right eye has been good. he has admitted that after the laser surgey he felt good & could see better so he skipped eye drops quite a few times --- sigh !!

      unfortunately he doesnt know his pressures , just that they where high.

      i am keeping fingers crossed that the eye drops he is using are effective to keep pressures to a good level & avoid further damage

  • Posted

    Most of the glaucoma patient will have vision in the entire life, Did your husband try rhopressa eye drop, most of the drops do not work for me except rhopressa, but I cannot tolerate the side effect. If eye drops cannot decrease the pressure, normally doctor will try Laser surgery first, if it fails then implant surgery. I did some recently research ( sorry cannot remember the detail) and it says implanting cell ( not sure what kind) into mice eye can treat glaucoma and recover, it also says 10 years later this may treat human being.

    • Posted

      hello lee,

      its reassuring to hear there is hope for a cure in a decade & also that most patients will retain some vision. it is definately fear of the unknown in my case & i just wish i could stop worrying.

      we havent heard of rhopessa but i will let him know to ask his consultant if his current drops arent helping

      he is currently on a combo Dorzolamide/timolol twice a day

      plus latanoprost once a day at night

      we are hoping this combo works and no further procedures will be needed for now.

    • Posted

      Hello Nyasha - how is the combo Dorzolamide/timolol and Latanoprost treament working? Wants to include Latanoprost to my own treatment, but unsure because I was told that it discolours the white of your eyes.

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