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A research study presented as a "poster" at ARVO 2010 indicated that the position of one's head (and body) during sleep can have an effect on intraocular pressure. For example, your eye pressure may be lower if you sleep on your back compared to sleeping on your side. (Furthermore, in my own experience, sleeping on your stomach may be the worst for IOP.)

Not discussed in this particular study was any difference in intraocular pressure between eyes. There is some evidence that if you sleep on your left side, intraocular pressure in the left eye could be higher.

I went to the eye doctor for a check up last week. Well before I went I drank two cups of coffee on a empty stomach, and the night before was up all night feeding my newborn. Anyway I went to the doctor and he said my eye pressure was 26 in the left and 21 in the right. He check my optic nerve and said it was fine. After I left the doctor I stopped drinking caffeine and also started taking a multi vit for eyes and began a weight loss plan. Well three days later I went to get new Pres Glasses, and the guy at the shop checked my eye pressure, it was 17 on the left and 18 on the right.

Dear Sir/s,

                   My daughter is 5 years old and suffering from low vision.She also having photophobia.what best Indian foods would be suitable for her?please give suggestion.

Warm Regards,

Mr.Debajyoti Sengupta.

debajyoti1972@yahoo.co.in

I have been recently diagnosed with high IOP. The initial 3 measurements taken 3-4 weeks apart have given a LE IOP of 25-30 and a RE IOP of 21-24. The ophthalmologist prescribed Xalatan but it didn't take much research (including on this site of course) to make me very hesitant to start taking it without first trying some less invasive alternatives.

Hi there

Just wondered whether any one knew of any natural/alternative glaucoma eye drops please?   Thanks

My opth. recently added Trusopt (dorzolamide) to my standard regime of Lumigan.  The Rx says 2x/day, however the tiny print insert explicitly states that the FDA testing was done with 3x/day (not 2x/day) dosage.

A week ago I called my ophthalmologist's office to speak with her. I was told she would be out of the office till today. The lady on the phone asked me why I needed to speak with her; I explained that I wanted to buy a tonometer, and that if she was not in the office to have one of the other ophthalmologists call me. I didn't hear back from her the rest of the week; I was simply ignored.

It has come to my attention that a number of people are reading the headline from our discussion about eggplant and intraocular pressure and coming to a conclusion without actually reading the article. That's not a good idea in this case.

Please read the article and the comments. Here's the link: Eating eggplant reduces eye pressure

Chris said:

I know for a fact that drinking a pitcher of water at one sitting causes a HUGE spike in my IOP.
 
I used to drink like 1 gallon of water immediately after running. Then I started checking my IOP with a Reichert 7CR tonometer and i realized the water consumption after exercise was causing huge pressure spikes.
 
I've since modified that behavior ...:)

David said:

My new glaucoma specialist has me on a complete drug washout period for the next few weeks. I am guessing that she wants to establish a baseline for diagnoses and treatment. Anyhow, because my ocular hypertension can run pretty high pressures, this process is a bit unnerving. But my main point here is to point out some interesting observations concerning weaning off of xalatan (the main med I take regularly).

 http://health.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20100313-204343.html

Are computers to blame? I am a computer programmer and totally believe that sitting in front of the computer for

10-12 hours everyday is against nature. 

I am copying below part of a message I wrote under the CSF subject earlier. Some might have missed it.  Yawning, as practiced by Olympic champion Apollo Ohno before competing, has a very practical and powerful neurological benefit, as it turns out. The brain and/or CSF response to yawning may be very good re: lowering IOP.  I am hoping that several of you with tonometers will give it a thorough test.  Here is the earlier message I wrote, and then I will describe the procedure for the conscious yawning exercise, which is not just one simple yawn:

When I went to get my eyes examined for a new prescription, the Dr. told me I had glaucoma. I couldn't believe it. I had so many health problems already due to stress, that I cried and cried. He said my eyes were dry and right away I figured it was from the adrenal exhaustion I suffered a couple years back, which I am on the mend from... but it is taking time. My nails, skin, hair, mouth and now eyes were dry. It is a good thing I know I am not a body. ~g~ I am a huge fan of Byron Katie and Gary Renard's contributions to the world.

Here's what one well-respected ophthalmologist told his patient in response to her inquiry about starting home eye pressure monitoring.

About a year or so ago, there was a research finding that I think is most interesting: cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) pressure was found to be inversely related to IOP.  I can't imagine how one would change CSF pressure, and it might be a bad thing to do so.  But I have wondered if CSF pressure changes when an epidural or other spinal is administered pre-surgery, and if there is a change (ie. a drop in CSF pressure) and if so, if the lower CSF change would remain afterwards along with higher IOP?  I cannot find anything about CSF/IOP and administration of an epidural.

Feb 19, 2010

MedWire News: Presence of the metabolic syndrome increases the risk for high-ocular tension (HOT), a major cause of primary open angle glaucoma, report researchers. 

Previous research has shown that mean intra-ocular pressure (IOP) has a tendency to increase in a linear fashion in the presence of increasing numbers of metabolic syndrome components.

On our discussion list someone mentioned problems when whatching the fluorescent lamp light. I went further into that direction when I discovered that such lamps are behind almost every LCD screen. Interesting article is here: The Effects of Fluorescent Light on the Ocular Health of Persons with Pre-Existing Eye Pathologies

I am reading this study now. I like the fact that they did investigate ocular perfusion pressure (OPP) while monitoring the intraocular pressure (IOP) during this study, and that they checked IOP in the sleeping position (rather than sitting the patient up). So, with a quick glance, the methodology looks acceptable to me.

Purpose: To determine whether a 30-degree head-up sleeping position decreases nocturnal intraocular pressure (IOP) compared with lying flat in patients with glaucoma.

According to new research, the early stages of glaucoma are not centralized in the eye or retina BUT the brain. Therefore the current emphasis on IOP tonometry may not be as relevant in the management of this disease as was presumed because the focus of intervention is on the brain itself which will lead to new treatments aimed towards specific parts of the brain rather than the eye!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100301151919.htm

Has anyone tried Can-C eye drops (N-acetylcarnosine, or NAC) for cataract, and, if so, did it help?  The Russian scientist who developed the drops also hints that  NAC is also beneficial for glaucoma (results not yet published), and I read one testimonial claim that floaters went away along with the cataract.  Dr. Ritch discusses NAC in his complementary medicine article, and provides footnotes for the Russian research. ???

Richelle