Joined: Nov '09
Location: Canada
Age: 57 (M)
Posts: 2387
Having good vision is not something to take for granted, and if I help one person with this post then it was worth the time.
I started wearing glasses at six, and by the time I finished college at 23 my myopia was fairly severe. In the ensuing 19 years my vision has remained stable but still very poor. I had never come across an optometrist or ophthalmologist who I felt was really good until two years ago when I took my kids to see an ophthalmologist who was recommended to me. I was so impressed by her professionalism and expertise that I had an eye exam for the first time in five years and was shocked: the pressure in my eyes was so high it was almost off the charts and placed me at a very elevated risk for developing glaucoma (blindness). I was prescribed Xalatan eye drops, one drop every night in each eye and to return in two months. After two months the pressure in my eyes was well within the normal range and I breathed a big sigh of relief, and the eye drops need to be taken every day for the rest of my life.
Sometimes we can take our vision for granted, especially if you don't wear glasses, however loss of vision is a serious and life changing event. Please get your eyes checked regularly and request an eye pressure exam (some call it a test for glaucoma). Even if you do not wear glasses glaucoma can hit you an any age without you ever knowing it.
Joined: Mar '10
Location: Greece
Age: 56 (M)
Posts: 505
Thanx mahdrof for the tip, yeah this is some serious sh*t you're talkin' here. Everybody needs to check the eye pressure apart from the myopia routine check. If you ask your doctor to do this check to you, he puts you on a specific machine and does the pressure test. I remember it only took about 10 minutes.
Remember - do 5-10 minutes long breaks after playing one hour You get only one vision during lifetime, you can fix it by glasses or something, but you'll never get it back and that's the bottom line.
Yeah true! Nowadays a lot of people don't "produce" enough tears too. And we don't blink often enough when we're focusing on a screen. So as LooseKiddie said, breaks are very important. Most people know about it but don't do it... =/
But I have a question for you Mahdrof, you didn't feel the pressure in your eyes? I mean, you didn't feel any discomfort or maybe you tought it was normal?
Thanks for the tip tough, I have a 20/20 view in each of my pretty clear blue eyes ( ) and I tend to neglect them because I take them for granted! Last time I've seen an ophthalmologist is like 3-4 years ago, I definetly should go this year.
Joined: Nov '09
Location: Canada
Age: 57 (M)
Posts: 2387
Posted by TheMachineQC: But I have a question for you Mahdrof, you didn't feel the pressure in your eyes? I mean, you didn't feel any discomfort or maybe you tought it was normal?
I did not feel any discomfort at all, and no loss of vision. According to the image of my retinal nerve my right eye was coping with the pressure just fine, while my left eye was starting to feel the effects. My ophthalmologist told me it would take about 6 weeks for the drops to take effect, and at the 6 week point my eyes ached for about a week. Not a sharp pain but a definite ache. At the time I thought "Holy sh*t, this stuff isn't working, it's getting worse and now they will have to cut my eyes open to relieve the pressure!" BTW this is what is done in extreme cases. After 8 weeks at the follow up visit everything was back to normal and I felt very relieved.
People like me with severe myopia are at greater risk, but it can happen to anybody at any time without warning and without any sensation that something is wrong. It is caused because your body is constantly changing the fluid in your eyes, and when they do not drain properly the pressure increases.
Damn, good timing for you, you got "lucky"! I didn't know that the liquid inside the eyes was constantly changing. It's a bit scary to know that something like that could be happening inside our eyes without noticing it at all...
Joined: May '09
Location: India
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 4873
Posted by TheMachineQC: I didn't know that the liquid inside the eyes was constantly changing. It's a bit scary to know that something like that could be happening inside our eyes without noticing it at all...
maybe i shud give u more scary news, about 99% of things in body are changing constantly
Joined: Jun '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 54 (M)
Posts: 1343
most do take eye sight for granted,i got specs at 18,needed them long before that though,i wear them everyday and contacts when im going out,i dont mind wearing them and would not consider laser surgery,it seems laser treatment lasts 10 years and imo is not guaranteed not to make you blind in the long run,glad you caught this early......would rather lose my hearing than my sight...
Joined: May '11
Location: Belgium
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 117
Ye your eyes aren't for granted indeed. ofc i mean the vision. I recently been in a car accident and the pressure in my eye increased enormously due to the airbag shock. This was real real bad. a vain in my sprung and it got me running scared aswell as there was literally blood in the front of my eye.
Wouldn't want anything to happen to these eyes. So beware everyone
Joined: Nov '09
Location: Canada
Age: 57 (M)
Posts: 2387
BUMP!
A year and a half later we have a lot of new members - and seem to have lost some old timers too so I thought I would bump this one up to make the newcomers aware and hopefully get some people who haven't had their eyes checked to do so. Personally my vision has not degraded any further, my eye pressures are normal as long as I keep using the Xalatan, and I have a visit with one of Montreal's top eye doctors every six months. Think about it, going blind is something I never considered could happen to me until a year and a half ago.
Joined: Nov '09
Location: Canada
Age: 57 (M)
Posts: 2387
BUMP AGAIN!
Sorry BRM, this one is important to me so every year I will bump it for our new members to be aware of the importance of eye exams, and what can happen if you don't get them checked.
Joined: Nov '12
Location: Canada
Age: 58 (M)
Posts: 4758
G'day mate
Well I just read your post and I realize that I have not an eye doctor since 2009. So thanks to your story I have decided to call mine and set up an appointment in 2014. Thanks man for waking me up. best wishes to you. merry xmas be cool
Joined: May '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 61 (M)
Posts: 1372
Me too. I've not had mine checked in 20 years. I was thinking of doing it anyway as my vision is definitely deteriorating (can't easily read normal text on laptop at distance of 1.5 meter). This post was the decider. Thanks mahdrof.
Joined: Dec '12
Location: Bulgaria
Age: 49 (M)
Posts: 1022
Mahdrof, thanks for the tips. This sounds very scary. I don't have an eye doctor, but in January I will go to a prophylactic eye examination. Sometimes when I sleep less than usual or when I am tired or sitting many hours in fronf of my laptop I have eye aches.
After reading that serious thread, I got scared I must admit and I decided to buy computer glasses to protect my eyes.
mahdrof, if you know some good computer glasses, I will be glad if you post a link here.
) and I tend to neglect them because I take them for granted! Last time I've seen an ophthalmologist is like 3-4 years ago, I definetly should go this year.
so I thought I would bump this one up to make the newcomers aware and hopefully get some people who haven't had their eyes checked to do so. Personally my vision has not degraded any further, my eye pressures are normal as long as I keep using the Xalatan, and I have a visit with one of Montreal's top eye doctors every six months. Think about it, going blind is something I never considered could happen to me until a year and a half ago.
