Current Style: Standard
Hello fellow Glaucomians,
I was diagnosed this year on April 19 with Glaucoma, after visiting an eye clinic noticing that the vision in my left eye was a bit fuzzy. I had always had 20/20 vision - and still do (well, 20/25 now), but never was an eyeglass-wearer and, shamefully, my last visit to the eye doctor was circa 1997.
When thinking about the fundamental principles of health, I have to wonder how effective any pill (homeopathic or vitamin or other) can be for a chronic disease like glaucoma that takes decades to develop.
In another thread on glaucoma, emotions, stress and NTG, Dr. Ritch said:
Pigmentary dispersion syndrome is associated with perfectionistic, detail-oriented, high stress people.
No herb or vitamin pill is going to change those traits. (Even psychiatric medicines won't fundamentally change them -- only suppress them, at best.) The research from psychoneuroimmunology (see Dr. Candace Pert's work) shows that these personality traits turn into biochemical molecules in the body -- powerful chemicals that are more potent and more abundant than most pharmaceutical medicines --- and that come in a endless supply day after day. We wake up every morning and never forget to put on our personality. When we do so, our body is flooded with the biochemical signature of that personality. Any pill we take does little more than put a small dent in that massive stream of internally manufactured biochemical compounds.
Think about that while reading this quote from a book by respected neurosurgeon Norman Shealy, M.D.**
Perhaps the best work in this field has been done by Dr. Caroline Thomas of Johns Hopkins Medical School. Her prospective studies of medical students have shown a high correlation with personality. Relatively specific personality quirks or defects predispose one to high blood pressure, tuberculosis, heart attack, cancer or suicide. These traits are present twenty to thirty or more years before the onset of disease. It appears that our “life script,” meaning our unconscious decisions regarding how our life will play itself out, provides a long-term attitudinal precursor of illness.
I wasn't familiar with that research in any detail, and I'm not relying upon it -- but this is essentially the same conclusion my own personal research on intraocular pressure led me to, and it is a core message of FitEyes because it conforms to time-tested principles of more than one traditional system of healing.
Here's the succinct way I like to state it (based on Ayurveda):
Consciousness structures the physiology.
Our habitual thought patterns, emotional patterns and lifestyle habits shape the form and function of the material structure of the body over time. We become physically who we are emotionally and psychologically. This is the most fundamental and powerful force shaping the development of any condition in the human body. Given that fact, how can we expect some little pill that we take to radically alter these long term trends?
In a recent discussion on the FitEyes email discussion list we had an interesting exchange about allergies to the glaucoma eye drops. If you want to see how serious this can be, one picture is worth a lot of words:
On Fri, May 20, 2011 at 7:39 PM, a FitEyes member wrote to the discussion list:
For those of us with glaucoma or ocular hypertension, our goal is for the fluid in the eye (aqeous humor) to be able to flow freely out the two exit pathways from the eye. In this context, we had a recent discussion on the benefits of fish oil and DHA for glaucoma. In this discussion, someone raised this point:
Quote: "fish oil can improve membrane permeability"
That's a useful fact on its own. But that got me thinking about what I have learned from teaching and practicing Serene Impulse (and doing so as both a glaucoma patient and a personal self-tonometry researcher).
Fish oils (including DHA) may have a small effect on IOP -- but much less of an effect than other things I have identifed as a result of mixing self-tonometry and Serene Impulse -- and also as a result of interacting with other tonometer owners in the FitEyes community.
In pursuing knowledge that will help me manage glaucoma, I have a guiding principle: don't waste your time going after the small change. Go for the stuff with the big payoff. Mental and emotional tension, which always lead to tissue contraction, are a key area where we can find that big payoff. For some background, please see this link:
http://fiteyes.com/blog/dave/the-two-most-important-facts-you-should-know-about-glaucoma
And here's another related post by Bailey:
And I will expand on all of this in the present article and tie it together into an (informal) theory of elevated intraocular pressure.
Attached is an interesting study regarding "Astaxanthin" in the neuro protection of retinal cells (which could have implications for glaucoma). This was forwarded to me by a fiteyes member. A little research shows that there are some micro algae based supplements for obtaining this - In light of modern toxins, I am a little hesitant with consuming the amount of seafood that is probably necessary for getting this naturally in the diet.
Looking for feedback.
I had trabeculectomies done on both eyes (2 weeks apart) about 5 months ago. My surgery was a success according to the surgeon (no infection, IOP 10). The only problem is that I am now left with very severe astigmatism (3.75 in one eye, 5.75 in the other). My opthamoligist seems clueless (i am looking for a new one). I have heard that this clears up with time but that is not my experience so far. Any feedback, suggestions would be appreciated.
Here is a very interesting discussion which took place on the Fiteyes google newsgroup. The actual title was "glaucoma, emotions and stress as major factors for NTG."
Am currently reading the book "Born to Run" - http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307266303.
This book mentions chia seeds eaten by Mexico's ancient running tribe to increase strength. They seem to be a good source of Omega 3 and other vitamins. Does anyone have any first hand experience with this?
I got a pack today from Wegmans - just made a drink - its called Chia Fresca. Instructions here
I have been using Xalatan for the last 10 years and the mail order sent me Latanoprost instead of Xalatan. I requested Xalatan when I ordered but the sent me Latanoprost (made by Apotex corp. I wonder if the generic version is as good as Xalatan? Has anyone here compared it. I have had zero problems with xalatan.
i can't really prove it but i think that since eating thryoids regularly i have moved out of the danger sphere!
“ In Graves disease, IOP may be raised as a result of contraction of the extraocular muscles against intraorbital adhesions or orbital congestion due to increased tissue volumes. In the case of hypothyroidism, excessive mucopolysaccharide accumulation within the trabecular meshwork acts like a surfactant, sticking together adjacent endothelial membranes. ”
Hello,
My mother has had glaucoma for several years now, unfortunately detected in an already advanced state (current vision loss of about 75%).
Her doctor has tryed a number of different drops over the years, but average iop has never dropped below 19-21 (it varies from one visit to the next). She is followed by our oftalmologist every 60 days.
Her medications are azopt in the morning, duotrav in the afternoon and xalacom at night.
I have yet to see anything onlline that speaks to those of us who may have borderline glaucoma and effective treatment to slow its progression. What am I missing??, so after my 3rd visual field test I'm waiting for the doc to call me back after he reviews previous visual field tests.
http://www.eurotimes.org/08october/Valueoflow.pdf
...Having been diagnosed with glaucoma 2 years ago, only recently I started to to follow ayurvedic health practices to improve generally an aggravated pita/vata condition which is mainly responsible for neurological and vision problems, among others. After just a week of feet and head massage with ghee and using ghee drops in eyes and nose, I already notice general improvement not only in my eye pressure but also in terms of general well being, calmness and softness in the eyes...
Hi
I'm a pharmacy student, and has gotten a task of doing a presentation about vitamin C eye drops. After some internet searching, I've found that the use of it is for glaucoma, but finding any other information is not too easy. It has been helpfull looking a little around here, though.
What I want to ask is if anyone can give me examples of actual eye drops containing vitamin C? We are supposed to "make" these ourselves, but also compare our "product" to existing products on the market. I think maybe you here on this web page are the best resource I might find.
Is anyone familiar with a device capable of monitoring blood pressure during sleep? I'm looking for such a thing.
Dear All,
I am 53 year old woman and I was underwent to a surgery. Some kind of valve was put in my eye because in my right eye the eye pressure was very high - 48 :(
Now I use drops additionally to be able to control it. I would like to ask if it is recommended to use a tonometer (still do not have such) and does it work in my case?
BR
Silviq
I decided to test out my theory re: calcium and magnesium and I can say with certainty if I take a calcium supplement prior to bed, my IOP will spike the next morning.
Going on the theory that calcium and magnesium act as opposites in the body, I have been taking magnesium supplements prior to bed.
I am using Peter Gillham's Natural Calm. He offers products with calcium and magnesium blended as well as magnesium alone.
Login or Create an Account to start interacting with the FitEyes community.