My Eye Pressure Scare

This story has a positive end, but I did have a stressful situation yesterday in regards to my intraocular pressure. In the early afternoon I used the Tiolat iCare tonometer to measure my intraocular pressure, as I have been doing every day for a long time. I obtained seven intraocular pressure measurements (each the average of 6 probe contacts, so this was a total of 42 individual measurements) in the range of 3mmHg to 5mmHg in my left eye. (My right eye was a bit higher, in the range of 8 mmHg.)

The low intraocular pressure reading shocked me! Obviously, this is too low!

I realized that similar measurements I had obtained on July 11th, which were in the range of 4 mmHg to 6 mmHg, and which I thought were simply erroneous readings, were most likely accurate readings too. Back on July 11th I dismissed the data because I had never seen readings that low. But I did not delete the data because I keep every single IOP measurement, even the one that look like errors, as part of my scientific approach to this research. In light of what has happened since then, it is becoming clear that my intraocular pressure has dramatically changed for the better in recent weeks. See my prior post: Eye Pressure Miracle from July 22nd. Something truly miraculous is happening to me, and it is clearly the result of Serene Impulse. Everything I'm doing is part of this too, but the dramatic change in my intraocular pressure clearly coincides with greater number of minutes per day of Serene Impulse practice.

It is also starting to look like I will not be able to continue using glaucoma medication in my left eye as this trend of lower IOP continues. Readings in the range of 3 to 5 mmHg are too low. Since I was diagnosed with glaucoma I have been using one drop of Xalatan in my left eye each night. My medication routine has virtually never changed. I am not sure what the next step is until I consult with my doctors, but I do see the day coming when I will no longer need any glaucoma medication for my left eye. My right eye isn't far behind, and it's IOP is dropping as well. I expect that I'll be down to medication in only one eye, then eventually no medication in either eye. I do not know how much longer that may take, but I am not planning to stop or reduce any of my glaucoma medications until my intraocular pressure becomes too low.

As yesterday's measurements show, I am probably at that critical point for my left eye. But as all of us who perform self-tonometry regularly can attest, intraocular pressure fluctuates a lot. Therefore, I'll be watching to see how consistently those really, really low intraocular pressure values start showing up in my data.

Obviously, it is a good thing to see how much my intraocular pressure has reduced over time as I have incorporated new practices (such as Serene Impulse) into my life. But the magnitude of the recent declines -- especially what I saw yesterday -- was almost too much of a surprise. Because it was so unexpected, it scared me for a few minutes. Then I realized that this is the sign I have been waiting for which indicates that I may soon be able to discontinue (or reduce) my glaucoma medications. And that is certainly not a stressful thought.