Type Two with Glaucoma

cold ethyl said:

I don't have glaucoma ( yet) but my mum and grandmother both have it so it is important to have regular eye tests on top of the retinal scans at the hospital. The only advice my mum was given was to keep weight and BP down and to quit smoking which she did. I believe walking is good exercise for both glaucoma and diabetes so I try and include that in my daily routine.

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Lazybones said:

I suffered a central retinal occlusion way back in 1997 which left me virtually blind in the left eye. At my initial examination the problem was further worsened where it was also found that I had been suffering from open angle Glaucoma which had obviously been present for some time prior to the retinal occlusion occurring and had slowly been robbing me of a fair amount of my sight without my being aware of it.
Unfortunately there if often little that the medical profession can do to repair visual damage due to the unforeseen and silent advancement of Glaucoma, very often the best that can be achieved is to stabilise the condition and prevent further damage from occurring.
For this reason it is vital to take any prescribed eye-drops and attend regular hospital eye clinics for a detailed eye examination. I'm not talking here about the yearly eye check that we diabetics attend where our 'Retina' is photographed and then examined for any damage as a direct result of having diabetes. These tests are only partial, and are not intended as a full diagnostic test that would cover the majority of possible eye problems, so for that reason alone you must attend the eye-clinic or hospital.
Over the years my sight hasn't worsened, though I am in effect now registered as blind, so taking your prescribed eye drop medications is essential if you want to preserve your sight.
I found that getting the drops into my eyes was a dreaded torture, until I eventually discovered a device known as the 'Autodrop' which consists of a plastic eye drop bottle holder that positions the eye drop bottle over the eye so that a drop can be released accurately into the correct position and not wasted by it's being lost over the forehead, cheeks or nose.
I would advise you to not rush out and obtain any new glasses until both your diabetes and eye pressures are under good control.

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Lazybones said:

Dear Val45.
Further to your recent posting, an occlusion is the medical name given to a blockage within a minute vein or capillary, which in my case occurred completely without warning in the central cluster of my optic nerve fibres in my left eye. The blockage was put down to something floating within my bloodstream (possible a small cholesterol particle) which became lodged and blocked one of the minute veins within my left eye. Since this occurrence in 1997 when diabetes was suspected but not proven and I have been ordered to take 'Aspirin' 2x 75 mg daily to help keep my blood platelets thinned and help in reducing any likely further occurrence.
I'm pleased that you have found a source for the 'Autodrop' for as I've mentioned to you, I would be totally lost without mine. They are a little expensive for what they are, but the cost is well outweighed by the advantage of getting the eye-drop on target and into the eye without wasting any eye-drops.
The only disadvantage and problem is with the eye-drop bottle sizes, which until recently were standardised and fitted the 'Autodrop' easily, and also with the thickness of the plastic eye-drop bottles which makes them much more difficult to squeeze so as to release a single eye-drop.

Hope this is of benefit - Good luck with your 'Autodrop'

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