intraocular pressure

Mental, emotional and lifestyle factors are the powerful IOP influencers

Submitted by bstruss on Fri, 08/13/2010 - 10:15pm

I am learning so much more about these patterns and their effect on my IOP all the time. Recently, I had a major emotional crises with my family concerning a simple misunderstanding and lack of communication. Interestingly, my eye pressures did not rise in the first couple of days (though the stress was off the charts). However, after a couple of days, my eye pressures went crazy, and even with lumigan, I could hardly get them below 20s.

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Why guess about your eye pressure when you can know?

Submitted by belann on Fri, 08/13/2010 - 3:05pm

I have had my tonometer for almost 6 months.  It has answered a multitude of questions about how my daily routine affects my health.  I didn't know, for example, that just taking a walk outside for a half hour or so would reduce my eye pressure, sometimes by as much as 50%.  I also didn't know that I wasn't one of the people whose pressures are higher at night--in fact my lowest pressures are at night.  (That was good news.  I was tired of sleeping with my head elevated).  

I have found no supplements that had any effect on lowering my IOP, but I have found that some supplements will raise my IOP quite significantly.  I know that out of control thoughts and periods of stress significantly raise my IOP in spite of the two drops I am using or any other healthy lifestyle choices I am making. 

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I love my new tonometer

Submitted by Maurice Dubois on Mon, 04/26/2010 - 11:38pm

First of all, from the bottom of my heart, I have to thank Dave for leading me to my purchase of my tonometer; what a fantastic instrument!

Several years ago, my ophthalmologist said that I probably had what is called "normal pressure" glaucoma; my pressure was usually 15-16 whenever he checked me, and the highest he ever recorded was 19 on my right eye. He told me to find a glaucoma specialist, so I did.

I went to the specialist for a couple of years, but several things discouraged me from continuing to see him. I found another ophthalmologist; she was somewhat younger and, I thought, perhaps less apt to be running a Speede Oil Change type of service, to see how many people she could get through her clinic in a day. She was a bit better at the latter, but she refused to give me a prescription for a tonometer. I left her and quickly acquired a tonometer prescription; and by the way, the requirement for a prescription for a non-contact tonometer is as silly as the need for me to have a real estate broker's license to sell real estate, or for a city to have building inspectors.

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Home Eye Pressure Monitoring Recommended

Submitted by FitEyesAdmin on Sat, 09/12/2009 - 3:38pm

Millions of people around the world should be monitoring their eye pressure (intraocular pressure) at home, according to health organizations (such as  International Society for Self-Tonometry (ISST)) that are issuing recommendations on what to do and how to do it. Many experts, such as Dr.

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Oral Omega-3 Supplementation Lowers Eye Pressure

Oral Omega-3 Supplementation Lowers Intraocular Pressure in Normotensive Adults

Elevated intraocular pressure (abbreviated IOP, and also called eye pressure) is the only medically treatable risk factor for the sight-threatening eye disease, glaucoma. In this study, researchers investigated whether oral omega-3 fish oil supplements affect intraocular pressure in normotensive adults.

The conclusion of the study states, "Oral omega-3 supplementation for 3 months significantly reduced IOP in normotensive adults."

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Will cholesterol-lowering drugs prevent glaucoma progression?

I received this question today:
Hi David,
I would like to ask a question about a new medication that my glaucoma specialist has recommended to my GP. The glaucoma specialist has recommended that I start taking Lipitor, the old cholesterol drug. My glaucoma specialist said there is a 30% to 40% chance Lipitor will prevent further progression of my glaucoma.Is it a common thing for people to take Lipitor, as I'm not keen at all to start taking a statin if i don't have to. And i don't know any other people with elevated eye pressure or glaucoma.

For background, I'm also taking Travatan eye drops in the evening.  I have have no damage yet from slightly elevated pressure in my eyes and I'm a 44yr old insulin-dependant diabetic. My cholesterol is in the acceptable range also.  Id rather go with more natural ways, if possible. Would you have any opinion?

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Can Grounding Lower IOP?

Submitted by dave on Mon, 06/17/2013 - 1:49pm

Dr. Kondrot recently enticed FitEyes members with some interesting observations about what he called grounding and its effects on intraocular pressure. He also wrote about earthing and shared this video of his patient, Peter Abilogu, a professor of African Dance, performing in his office.

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Glaucoma, elevated intraocular pressure, membrane permeability and emotions

Submitted by dave on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 4:07pm

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:

http://fiteyes.com/blog/bstruss/mental-emotional-and-lifestyle-factors-are-the-powerful-iop-influencers

And I will expand on all of this in the present article and tie it together into an (informal) theory of elevated intraocular pressure.

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The effect of measurement order between right and left eyes

Submitted by Bailey on Sun, 04/03/2011 - 7:14am

Effect of Measurement Order Between Right and Left Eyes on Intraocular Pressure Measurement

http://archopht.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/129/3/276

Melike Pekmezci, MD; Sidney T. Chang, MD; Bradley S. Wilson, MA; Mae O. Gordon, PhD; Anjali M. Bhorade, MD, MSCI

Arch Ophthalmol. 2011;129(3):276-281. doi:10.1001/archophthalmol.2011.33

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