Here are my GDx-VCC test results:

GDx

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These are the numbers from the above GDx report: 

Glaucoma Today published an article titled "An Update on Tonometry". It's interesting reading, and I highly recommend it.

I normally use Xalatan first, wait 10 minutes and then use Timoptic XE.

This is the first time I have tried anything like this so advance apologies if it turns out to be rubbish!

I'm currently using xalatan in both eyes at nighttime.

This morning, after a bad night due to thunder storms and hail, my IOP's were up as expected

9.42am R 21.3  L18.3

Effects of Valsalva's manoeuvre on intraocular pressure

Increased intraocular pressure and visual field defects in high resistance wind instrument players

Joel S. Schuman MD, Emma Craig Massicotte MD, Shannon Connolly BA, Ellen Hertzmark MS, Bhaskar Mukherji MD and Mandi Z. Kunen MD

New England Eye Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts., USA 

Received 23 March 1999; accepted 30 August 1999 Manuscript no. 99154. Available online 10 January 2000. 

Make sure your GDx tests are performed under similar conditions in regard to any medications that affect your pupil size.

Influence of Pupillary Diameter, Ciliary Muscle Tone, and Ambient Light on Nerve Fiber Layer Measurements With Scanning Laser Polarimetry

Paranhos A Jr, Silvestre AM, Passerotti CC, Martins EM, Mello PA, Prata JA Jr, Shields MB.

As I understand this study, the researchers had subjects with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) breathe through their right nostril only (by closing off their left nostril). There is a common breathing technique in Yoga know as "alternate nostril breathing" or Nadi Shodhana in sanskrit. The aim of alternating the open nostrils is to create balance in the physiology. The idea behind the method used in this study is to correct a (perceived) imbalance by breathing through the right nostril only.

 Today I compared several eye pressure measurements on the basis of a normal measurement vs. a measurement after 1-2 minutes of relaxed breathing. I wanted to see if my eye pressure is lower when I do simple deep breathing as a form of relaxation.

 A whole new approach to thinking about glaucoma therapy, says Joan Miller, MD, chief of Ophthalmology at the MEEI ...

Blocking TNF-alpha function may have a benefit as a neuroprotective treatment ... 

Tue Dec 5 2006

I was told, "Nice photos. I would like to use them in a lecture. Your left disc has some thinning of the rim superiorly. You could get a GDx-VCC and see what it shows."

I did get the GDx-VCC and I posted the  GDx-VCC test results here. I also have Heidelberg Retina Tomograph test results posted and you can find them by using the HRT tag.

This is some very scary news from MedIndia.com:

The Assam government Friday ordered a judicial probe to investigate a botched cataract surgery camp at the Guwahati Medical College in which 38 people were blinded.

Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the enquiry would be conducted by a retired judge of the Gauhati High Court and was expected to submit the report in three months.

Records of 93 consecutive glaucoma patients (185 eyes) who underwent sequential office intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements (every hour from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on a single day) were evaluated to determine the usefulness of day-long sequential office measurements of IOP to make therapeutic decisions in patients with progressive glaucomatous damage despite apparently "controlled" IOP.

 A friend referred me to a new ophthalmologist who lives in another city. I corresponded with this new ophthalmologist via email. I am not replacing my current ophthalmologists, merely seeking additional input on specific issues where experts are few and far between.

However, I guess many facts did not get communicated clearly in my various emails to the doctor. The doctor sent me this email reply today (and I edited what is posted here):

Probably the most interesting thing about today's data is the series of measurements behind the IOP value at 19:20 (7:20 PM) for my right eye.                                                                           &nbsp

I had certain expectations for my IOP values today. I expected the values to be lower in my right eye. I thought I had done the same things I did around the period of November 10th or 11th. On those days (and some preceding days), my IOP in my right eye was closer to 15. It may be that the difference in IOP is related to my schedule for using Timoptic in my right eye, or it may be due to something else I have not noticed. What I am sure of is that I can adjust things to get my IOP back down to 15 without too much difficulty.

Today's Lesson: It requires both medication and lifestyle to fully control my IOP. Either one alone is not enough right now. This is the middle way. I would like to control my IOP without medication (or even without Timoptic), but attempting that right now would be too extreme. (I have a tendency to go to the extreme, and that's most likely a subtle personality factor underlying my glaucoma.)

 Today was not a typical day! For one thing, we took 200 IOP measurements today! For another thing, my IOP values were not well controlled. It was like my emotions were directly connected to my IOP today, and my emotions were varied. Consequently, today's data shows a large range from the maximum value to the minimum value. That range is 16.7, way above yesterday's value of 11 (which itself was above previous values of 9-10).