Sleep Apnea and Glaucoma

[Mary]

Interesting Read:

http://www.docguide.com/news/content.ns ... DGDispatch

[Guest]

This is very interesting. I have open-angle glaucoma and have lost some peripheral vision, but had never connected it to my sleep apnea.[/i]

[kavanaugh1950]

very interesting as i also have glaucoma. go figure! pat

[beneyw]

ALL the more reason sleep apnea should be dealt with far more professionally than it is. I don't mean to go off on a tangent but glaucoma, atrial fibrillation, pulmonary disorders, etc. and these ailments can improve with CPAP therapy. Long overdue for sleep docs and DME's to be more professional with proper mask fittings IMO than they are now.

[Vader]

Just to give another perspective on this, I thought I'd share my story.
Back in 1990, I was diagnosed with open angle glaucoma. I was prescribed glaucoma meds (beta blockers) 2 times a day. After a couple years, my eye clinic decided that there wasn't enough change in my pressure with the meds, so after trying other meds, they decided I needed surgery on both eyes. Surgery was VERY painful.

After surgery, my pressure didn't change a whole lot so they decided I needed to increase my glaucoma meds to 4 times a day! I did this for 15 years until recently my new Doctor (in a different city) told me I was misdiagnosed by my original doctor, and that I didn't have glaucoma. He proceeded to tell me that glaucoma detection methods were very flawed, and up until very recently, they were misinterpreting the pressure readings. It seems they never knew this before, but corneal thickness plays a critical role in proper assessment. People with thin corneas will have pressures that are higher than shown, and people with thick, or in my case 'extra thick' corneas, will have pressure reading way higher about 7-9 pts., than they really are.
I took all those irritating eyedrops for 15 years, for nothing. I asked my new Doctor, why didn't my old doctor tell me that I didn't need the meds once they found out the truth, he said "because Doctors don't like to admit mistakes"
I'd say it's more of a case of the drug companies lining their pockets to keep pushing the drugs.
So if anyone here is ever diagnosed with glaucoma, MAKE SURE they do a Corneal Thickness Test!

[NightHawkeye]

Just to give another perspective on this, I thought I'd share my story.

Me too!

Before I knew I had sleep apnea I associated my own eye problems with whatever was making me miserable during the night.

The eyes are very sensitive organs and can be an indicator of systemic problems, apnea being one and diabetes being another.

Long overdue for sleep docs and DME's to be more professional with proper mask fittings IMO than they are now.

FWIW, this problem is by no means restricted to sleep docs and DME's, but is spread throughout the entire medical establishment. I'm still struggling to fix unnecessary problems resulting from retinal detachment surgery over a year ago. The good news is that I've been able to make progress, albeit slowly (and expensively), and it appears that I will be able to make additional progress.

The great news is that because of the retinal detachment, I became motivated enough, after wasting years parading through a series of physicians offices, and hoping for a few good answers, that I finally decided to attempt to diagnose my own medical problems myself. (It is still amazing to me how easy it was to diagnose and treat apnea.)

My attitude toward physicians and the way I deal with them has changed markedly since I made the diagnosis of apnea. I more consult with physicians now, rather than rely on them for diagnosis and treatment. If physicians offer something of value for treatment, then I investigate that, but do not simply accept it at face value. I also have become much more selective in choosing physicians.

Case in point is that in June I visited a renowned ophthalmologist in Memphis, to get his assessment for treating an epiretinal membrane. To my surprise, he indicated that my primary problem was not the epiretinal membrane, but, instead, that I needed a YAG capsulotomy to remove the post-capsular sac at the front of the eye. I explained to him that I'd had the YAG laser surgery last year. He simply said, "It was ineffectual!"

About two weeks prior to going to Memphis, I'd had a follow-up appointment with the physician who'd performed the earlier YAG treatment, but he hadn't said anything about my possibly needing additional YAG surgery. When I got back from Memphis, I saw yet another local specialist who confirmed that I would benefit from additional YAG treatment, but who also felt compelled to offer lengthy apologies for the doc who'd performed the YAG originally. This surgeon went ahead and performed the YAG surgery and, sure enough, my vision has improved markedly as a result. I'm so encouraged that I'm ready to tackle another eye problem - frequent double vision.

Local physicians are telling me that I largely need to live with the double vision resulting from scarring to the eye muscles caused by the retinal surgery. The alternative, they say, is to perform surgery on the "good" muscles in my other eye, so that the two sets of muscles operate the same. Instead, I plan to visit another ophthalmologist in Los Angeles, who has a history of removing scar tissue from the damaged eye muscles. (Wish me luck.)

My point is - as many on this forum have found out the hard way - one needs to take personal control of and responsibility for one's own medical care and treatment. The same sorts of problems we hear about daily here, involving apnea diagnosis and treatment, are rampant in other areas of health care as well.

I wish the best of health care to all.

Regards,
Bill

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