How to login to FitEyes.com's new website
When we transferred all FitEyes.com content from the old website, we were not able to transfer passwords (because your password is one-way encrypted to protect your privacy).
If you are an existing FitEyes.com user, log in to the new website with these steps:
1. Go to http://fiteyes.com/user/password to request a new password.
2. Enter your existing username or the email address (the one you have used for FitEyes.com previously).
3. Click the button to "Email new password"
Weight Lifting Lowers My Eye Pressure
As little as 5 or 10 minutes of weight lifting gives me a post-exercise effect that results in reduced eye pressure after the workout.
The weight lifting doesn't have to be super intense, but it can't be too easy either. There have been a few studies that have looked at this effect in the past. Here are some (but not all) of the links:
Effects of Different Intensities of Exercise on Intraocular Pressure
The effect of continuous strenuous exercise on intraocular pressure
The effect of exercise on intraocular pressure (pdf)
In my experience, a short weight lifting program often brings my eye pressure down to around 14 or 15 (or less). Sometimes the effect is not very dramatic. For example, if my eye pressure is around 17, the workout might bring it down to 15. Other times, the post workout effect is fairly impressive. Here are some examples:
Ocular dynamics of systemic aqueous extracts of Xylopia aethiopica
More 'eye stuff' from the plant kingdom..
The ocular dynamics of bolus consumption of 300 mg total dose was undertaken on visually active volunteers with a view to finding its ocular effects or complications. Results showed that the aqueous extract of X. aethiopica was neither a miotic nor a mydriatic, but lowered the intraocular pressure (17.48%)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T8D-48F5SRS-2...
Diurnal IOP variations and stress hormones
I have recently acquired and been using a Reichert AT555 and getting familiar with it. So far it has confirmed what I have suspected since getting a diagnoses of ocular hypertension 10 years ago - and that is that my pressures vary widely throughout the day. Fortunately, I do not have any optic nerve damage or visual field impairment, but my pressures can vary as much as 16 points from the time I get up till later in the evening (31mm Hg (AM) - 16mm Hg (PM) without drops. Because the Reichert has seemingly confirmed this in my case, it started me to thinking that there must be some widely varying hormones or endocrine parameters with certain people. Anyhow, I read a Q&A with Dr.
Does Licorice Increase Intraocular Pressure?
Does Licorice Increase Intraocular Pressure? I attempted to answer this question for a friend today.
Here is the information I have so far:
1. Glycyrrhizin is the main sweet tasting compound from liquorice root.
2. A derivative of glycyrrhizin is glycyrrhetinic acid.
3. Glycyrrhetinic acid inhibits 11β-HSD1 (11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1; 11βHSD1 is an NADPH-
dependent enzyme highly expressed in the liver and adipose tissue).
4. Selective and topical inhibitors of 11ß-HSD1 could provide a novel treatment for patients with glaucoma due to their ability to lower intraocular pressure. (See below.)
Drugs That May Reduce Intraocular Pressure
This may be of interest to some. In no way am I recommending the use of any item on this list!
Nutritional Supplements: Too Much of a Good Thing by Dr. Reader
The information in the Review of Ophthalmology article by August L. Reader III, MD, FACS, San Francisco, is very interesting. However, as you read it keep in mind that what is presented is a mix of strongly supported evidence and speculation. For example, section on carrot-family herbs contains a lot of pure speculation. It is still interesting and I have presented a portion of the article here.
Click this link to read the whole article: http://www.revophth.com/index.asp?page=1_479.htm
The God Choice (Article From USA Today)
The God choice
Armed with new technology, scientists are peering into the brain to better understand human spirituality. What if, they say, God isn’t some figment of our imagination? Instead, perhaps brain chemistry simply reflects an encounter with the divine.
By Barbara Bradley Hagerty
Omega-3 Fatty Acids Slow Vision Loss
See this article:
http://www.newsmax.com/health/omega_3_slow_vision_loss/2009/06/19/227012...
"Taken together, these data indicate that consuming a diet with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and low glycemic-index foods may delay compromised vision due to AMD," says Taylor.
Taking Down the Corporate Food System Is Simple
By Joel Salatin, Public Affairs Books
Posted on June 20, 2009, Printed on June 21, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/story/140477/
Excerpted by permission from "Declare Your Independence" by Joel Salatin, part of the book Food, Inc., available now from PublicAffairs. Copyright 2009.
glaucoma and the risk of stroke development
From: Open-Angle Glaucoma and the Risk of Stroke Development. A 5-year Population-Based Follow-up Study. by Ho JD, Hu CC, Lin HC, 21 May 2009.
Data were collected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database which is comprised of 1 million random subjects from among Taiwan's 23 million residents. The study cohort comprised all patients with a diagnosis of OAG. The comparison cohort was comprised of randomly selected patients matched with the study group in terms of age, gender, geographic location, and comorbid medical disorders.
Lowering of intraocular pressure by wild carrot seed extract in rabbits
In normotensive rabbits topical application of Daucus carota seed extract at the concentration of 0.3, 0.6 and 1.2% resulted in mean IOP reduction of 19.33. 23.20 and 25.61% respectively from baseline.
As no significant difference was observed between the change in IOP in 0.6 and 1.2% extract treated groups, 0.6% concentration was chosen for further evaluation in rabbits with experimentally elevated IOP.
In water loaded rabbits, maximum mean IOP reduction with 0.6% extract was 29.39%, which was comparable to pilocarpine. In steroid pretreated rabbits, maximum mean IOP reduction was 30.27% from baseline, which was significantly higher than pilocarpine.
Are Humans Natural Vegetarians?
Here is an interesting article on HuffingtonPost
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/shattering-the-meat-myth_b_2...
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine President Dr. Neal Barnard says in his book, The Power of Your Plate, in which he explains that "early humans had diets very much like other great apes, which is to say a largely plant-based diet, drawing on foods we can pick with our hands. Research suggests that meat-eating probably began by scavenging--eating the leftovers that carnivores had left behind. However, our bodies have never adapted to it. To this day, meat-eaters have a higher incidence of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other problems."
Fast food hamburgers: what are we really eating?
Americans consume about 5 billion hamburgers a year. It is presumed that most hamburgers are Abstract composed primarily of meat. The purpose of this study is to assess the content of 8 fast food hamburger brands using histologic methods. Eight different brands of hamburgers were evaluated for water content by weight and microscopically for recognizable tissue types.
Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) staining was used to evaluate for brain tissue. Water content by weight ranged from 37.7% to 62.4% (mean, 49%).
Increased IOP while exercising using rebounder (mini-trampoline)
Does anyone know of any research done on the effect on IOP when doing rebounding type exercise (i.e.
my approach to glaucoma (blood tests, nutrition, lifestyle)
Hello everybody, my first post here, hope you will find it interesting.
BTW many thanks to David for maintaining and keeping up this website !
About myself: male, 36 years old, myopic and with pigmentary glaucoma.
It happened quite recently, this January with IOP at 40/34. I suspect the unusual stress in my life which had affected me greatly, had contributed to this happening (I had previously the pigment dispersion). The doctors say it is due to the anatomical rubbing, suggested laser therapy which (iridoplasty) i did on 1/4 of my right eye. Changed the angle a bit and lowered IOP a bit, but not that much.
Drink Coffee? Have Glaucoma or Elevated Eye Pressure? Read this.
Avisar R, Avisar E, Weinberger D: Effect of coffee consumption on IOP. Ann Pharmacother 2002;36:992-995.
BACKGROUND: Many ophthalmologists instruct patients with glaucoma to avoid coffee, although data supporting this practice are insufficient.
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the effect of drinking coffee on IOP.
The Comfort That Comes From Monitoring Your Eye Pressure
With the recent website upgrade to FitEyes.com, I decided to send an email to all registered member. While writing the email I was inspired to discuss more of my experiences with self-tonometry, the process of monitoring my own eye pressure. After I wrote and sent the email, I realized that we have a lot of visitors to FitEyes.com who are not registered and who would not be able to see the experiences and thoughts I shared with the registered members. Therefore, because I feel very passionate about the benefits of self-tonometry, I decided to post the entire email on my blog. Here it is (and now it is updated to reflect recent events such as my grandmother's most recent birthday).
