Baseline

[mamadeb]

Good thing I'm a touch-typist, because I can barely see at the moment. I have the font for my browser cranked up to 10 - not quite 11. That's because I just came from the opthamalogist and they dilated my eyes.

So forgive any typos - I can't see them.

I went because 1. I't's been a couple of years since my last exam and 2, wiith my diabetes kicking in like this, I need to get a baseline exam before things go wrong. And it needed to be done by an opthalmologist, not an optometrist.

My eyes are basically fine - no sign of diabetic retinapathy or macular degeneration, no sign of cataracts or glaucoma. I *am* a bit more nearsighted, but not enough to get a new prescription. Also, he believe that as my blood sugar levels improve, so will my eyesight. Thus, no need to get new glasses. Since this change is very recent, I'm inclined to go along with that. I made an appointment for next year.

There was one odd bit - he said my optic nerves looked like I had glaucoma, but I don't. And he took a picture of them for the record because of this. I never got the chance to ask him why - Jonathan called and then I needed the picture.

Does anyone here have any idea what that would mean? My grandmother a"h had glaucoma.

After googling: Okay. My optic nerves apparently have a larger than normal "cup" at the ends, which would indicate glaucoma if there was also other indications - being very thin or sloped - but not in my case. However, he took the pictures for future reference, in case it changes. Okay. That makes sense. Human variation vs. diagnosis.

Comments

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Given that he doesn't want to see me again until NEXT May, I'm guessing that the pressure was well within normal range.

So I'm not terribly worried.

[odogoddess.livejournal.com]

You shouldn't worry in gen'l, as even if it is glaucoma, it's treatable. It does sound like your doc is a lot less conservative than the ones I've seen, though. :)

The pressure reading depends on what time of day your appointment was. If your appointment was in the early morning or the late afternoon (the times the readings are highest in most glaucoma patients), then the readings are of less concern. However, just because the pressure was in normal range at the time does not mean the pressures are *always* normal. If they were, you wouldn't have signs of cupping which is caused by high intraocular or intracranial pressure. There are other things besides glaucoma that can cause high intracranial or intraocular pressure and which can cause that cupping, such as ocular histoplasmosis or, as with our joint-friend, Liv in MS, pseudo-tumour cerebri. The most common cause, though, is glaucoma.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

I got the impression from the websites I've seen that someone can have cupping without it meaning anything besides normal human variation - that there are other signs besides pressure that the doctor will look for to confirm this. However, he did take those images, so I assume that next year, he'll compare things. He also didn't specify a time of day.

[odogoddess.livejournal.com]

Yeah, even doctors differ in re: how to best approach things. Get six doctors in a room with one patient who has one specific thing wrong and each will likely have different meds to prescribe or tests to run, some won't run any tests and some won't prescribe and each will also likely read the tests results differently, too.

Your doctor sounds a lot more relaxed about the issue than mine would be. My current glaucoma specialist has fits when he hears other eye docs have 'wait and see' attitudes about pressures & signs of cupping. He has new stories to tell almost each time we go in for our eye exams.