hello, i'm a new member in not so quiet desperation.
first a short history. my normal iop's were around 21 in both eyes, told i have thick corneas (trying to get the numbers from the records). in the past ten years, took so many peripheral vision exams (they were normal) and had so many pictures of my eyes taken (i apologize, i don't know all the appropriate terms yet) (the "pictures" were "normal"), worried so much and then the research came out that corneal thickness impacted the iop readings. i just became relieved and discouraged in the same instant. relieved that my eyes may be "ok" and discouraged about all the wasted worry because medicine is still an "art" (usually don't use so many quotes).
fast forward 4 years. i hurt my arms and knees. at first took full dose of naproxen with ok from primary doctor. water retention, so severe, but i didn't know it was from the naproxen. rheumologist put me on prednisone, the steroid. developed red eye along the way (blanches, so episcleritis?) was on prednisone 7 weeks, 5 mg in the AM. went to the opthamologist, iop were 29 and 31. stopped the prednisone and went back to otc nsaid's and a lot of cold packs for the pain in my arms and legs.
it has been 4 weeks since i stopped the prednisone. a peripheral vision field test was normal 3 weeks ago, and i was told the "nerve" looks ok. alphagan irritates my eyes to the extreme and does not lower the pressure. timolol lowered my pulse to 45 and i became non-functioning. it did not lower the iop. i have xalatan sitting in front of me now and i am very hesitant to try it. the doctor said it would make my eyes redder.
tried proview, didn't work for me. 15 16 all the time
this is what i think is part of the problem. i have white coat hypertension. when i go to the primary care doctor, my b.p. goes to 180 and keeps going up into the exam. about 6 years ago, i bought 2 reliable b.p. monitors and established that my b.p. is below 120 at home. by the way, white coat hypertension is a familial problem, so not unexpected. so now, one issue re my iop is stress in the opthamologist's office. i wonder if the same thing is happening and stress is one component of the rise in iop in addition to the steroid effect. last week, at my last appt, the doctor was talking laser, and i was in a state of shock.
i see no alternative other than to try to educate myself and invest in a machine, if i can, so i can take my iop's at home. the b.p. situation scared me until i could monitor it myself. and now the iop situation is scarring me to the max.
there is so much info on this site (thank goodness) so i haven't waded through all of it yet. has anyone had experience with steroids and iop? and measuring my own iop - i read the info that you posted in 2007, dave, and started assimilating all the terms and device names. but what do i do to enable myself to measure my own iop's at home. i would be willing to be part of a research project, more than willing. and i can get an rx. what's next?
and thank you, i am very glad that this website is here.