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Yesterday I saw some discussions that reminded me of the profound discovery I made several years ago in my own intraocular pressure data. I observed, time and time again, that simply disagreeing with another individual in an online forum would raise my intraocular pressure. (This effect does not require arguing -- simply disagreeing in a polite manner is often enough.) This is a universal phenomenon.

Low blood pressure can be a problem for glaucoma patients because it results in insufficient blood supply to the optic nerve.

A lot of glaucoma patients suffer from anxiety, stress, panic attacks and other similar issues. Those issues lead to adrenal fatigue and adrenal exhaustion. And adrenal fatigue/exhaustion can lead to low blood pressure (hypotension).

Eggplant has some interesting properties, including reducing intraocular pressure and ... reducing cholesterol!

http://www.nigeriagalleria.com/Health_Lifestyle/Health_Diet/Garden_Egg_a...

I found several articles by researchers in Nigeria that describe eggplant's effects.  What we call eggplant, they call garden egg ... same vegetable, though. 

For the past several months I have increased my consumption of eggplant but I don't measure my intraocular pressure as many of you here do.  I wonder if someone might want to try a plate of eggplant for lunch and then measure your IOP and report back to the rest of us. 

I suspect that the effect lasts 3-4 hours, but perhaps longer???  I take three different eyedrops: two in the morning, one in mid-afternoon, and three at bedtime.  I figured that eating the eggplant at lunchtime would possibly fill the gap at that time of day, but perhaps dinnertime would be best since IOP rises during the night for most of us.  Having actual measurement results would be useful.

Richelle

EDIT:

See the abstract here: Effects of Solanum melongena (garden egg) on some visual functio

Also, be sure to see this comment: Some News: My Eye Pressure Results After Eating Eggplant

I am 50 years old from India and diagnosed with IOP of 30. Thanks for this site. Looking actually for alternative treatment like acupuncture and ayurveda.

Someone just emailed this question to my inbox. I'm replying here on the FitEyes forum.
 

I was wondering if coffee enemas for detoxification and liver support raise IOP?

Dave's exact method of using eye drops and applying ghee lamp technique to alleviate allergic reaction to glaucoma drops.

For several months I have been consuming coconut oil as an experiment to see if it can energize stressed retinal ganglion cells.  My vision has improved, and the improvement came about very quickly.  The impetus for my experiment was the success experienced by Dr.

For normal tension glaucoma, one of the theories is that most of the damage occurs while sleeping.  While looking into this I came across a book which got quite positive reader feedback on amazon.com:  "Sound Sleep, Sound Mind - 7 Keys to Sleeping through the Night" , 2007, Barry Krakow, MD,   www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471650641/ref=oss_T15_product )

Let me know whether the cod liver oil tablets are good for improving vision? Whether i can give this to a child who is already suffering eye vision and having specs.

For those of you who have been life-long side sleepers:  is your glaucoma and hearing (for those of you who suffer from tinnitus or are hard-of-hearing in one ear) worse on the side on which you sleep?

By the same token, for those of you who sleep on your backs; is there a large or small IOP differential between your eyes?

Nothing scientific about this query; just simple curiosity.

Here's what happens when I go to the movies.

I can experience a similar, though lesser, effect after driving at night for a prolonged period of time. 

Glaucoma study

Curious to know if anyone has consistently experienced what I have with relation to dietary amines (particularly histamine and tyramine) and/or free glutamates:  namely, a marked increase in IOP approximately three hours after eating foods with these properties.

EDIT: see the follow up here: Effect of Diet and Other Environmental Factors on IOP

Hi everyone, this is a quick update of what I have been doing and exploring in the recent months:

1. I continue with the healthy diet (no fried foods, not too much meat, limit gluten and milk, no processed food, not too much of juicing - proved not so good for me)

2. I continue with the Chinese herbs or other herbal equivalents - they improve digestion and hopefully liver and spleen functionality, however the usual  TCM symptoms (i.e. heat and qi stagnation in liver and dampnesss in spleen) still persist.

How we sleep can raise or lower IOP

Patients with glaucoma often ask what they can do to favorably impact their disease. These patients are eager to engage in beneficial activities and to avoid detrimental activities to save their optic nerve from glaucoma. Unfortunately, most of glaucoma’s known risk factors are not modifiable—such as age, race, and family history. In glaucoma management, there is little credible data supporting any role of nutritional supplements, avoidance of certain exposures such as caffeine or smoking, or alternative interventions such as acupuncture. Doctors’ standard answer is usually to encourage patients to continue using their medications as prescribed and to keep their follow-up appointments faithfully.
Some new research presented at the May 2009 annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., suggests that there may be a new modifiable risk factor within the patient’s ability to control: sleeping position.

Read more: http://www.eyeworld.org/article-sleeping-position-alters-intraocular-pre...

Caveat: this article ignores ocular perfusion pressure. It is quite possible that the conclusions discussed in this article are incorrect. Sleeping with the head elevated may reduce IOP but it may also reduce blood flow to the optic nerve (and brain) and thereby reduce ocular perfusion pressure. It is quite possible that sleeping with the head elevated may do a glaucoma patient more harm than good. But read the article for one perspective.

From MDLinx Ophthal Newsletter. See number 27 on the list.

Hello,

Can anyone recommend an ophthalmologist (or other type of doctor/practitioner) in the Los Angeles area who embraces self-tonometry, and is open to treating glaucoma by means that may include things other than medication and surgery exclusively?  I would appreciate any information.

Thank you very much,

Beth

For many glaucoma patients, a vacation can present an opportunity to do some good thinking, maybe reflect on our direction in life or mentally solve some important questions that have been in the back of our mind but ignored because of our busy schedules.

 I have noted since about mid November that my pressures start jumping up right after sundown (6ish?) and then mysteriously drop around 8:45-9ish.  For example, they can be in the mid teens in late afternoon, and then after this time start up to an average of low 20's (with occasional higher spikes) during this time. Afterwards, they can drop to lower teens. Last night, for example, they went from about 16 pre sun down, got as high as 22 and then were 11 by 10pm! During the high period, even exercise won't bring them down.

Any thoughts on the safety (IOP-wise) of riding a roller coaster, or bungee jumping, or sky diving?  I've been googling but so far have only come across relatively anecdotal comments, such as this: www.willsglaucoma.org/supportgroup/chat06072000.html

Some of the newer roller coasters pull significant g's (and look quite fun!), but I'm wondering if that could raise IOP's to a dangerous level.  Either from the direct physical g force, or from the adrenalin rush (excitement) of riding the roller coaster...?