Use of optic hypertension meds during pregnancy?

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone can advise me on this subject please. Just to confirm I am NOT currently pregnant. I am a 34 year old female and have had Type 1 Diabetes for almost 22 years. I've been taking medication for Optic Hypertension in both my eyes (raised pressures in eyes) over the past couple of months (there is no history of Glaucoma in my family). My eyes are in perfect condition otherwise and are completely healthy other than this problem thankfully.

I have been attending the antenatal diabetes clinic for the past few months as my husband and I are hoping to try for a baby so I have been working on getting my HBA1c results down. I have explained this to the Opthamologist at my last visit as the drops he prescribed (Travatan) stated they were not suitable for use during pregnancy and he has prescribed me a new eye drop called Timoptol-LA 0.25%. He has told me to read the instructions in the box and if they state not to use during pregnancy then I should contact him again to discuss further. I have today picked up my prescription, looked at the instructions and again it states that you should not use Timoptol-LA during pregnancy!!

Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue?

Does anybody know if there is a safe eye drop out there that can be taken during pregnancy for optic hypertension?

Any help or advice really appreciated, thanks.

Andrea

Just an update on this as it seems that nobody else has had any experience of this problem. I have been back to the consultant who has told me to continue taking the Timoptol-LA 0.25% eye drops until we are ready to start trying for a baby, he has told me to come off the eye drops at this point and not to take them during pregnancy. I feel a lot better now he has given me this advice and feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders!

Thank you anyway.

Another update on my eyes! I saw another consultant who has changed my meds to a lower dosage (Tiopex eye gel 1mg Timolol drops) as the other ones can mask hypos! I got a phone call from my GP advising me to stop taking the other drops immediately! Quite scary really! So the consultant has told me that if I get pregnant I am to continue to take these new Tiopex drops throughout the pregnancy! I have to admit I am still a little worried about doing this but I suppose for the good of my eyes I will have to take them. I am surprised there is nobody else who has experienced this on here.

Ahh thanks for the heads up Abbie, I just thought it was a problem that other ladies may have experience with whilst trying for a baby, obviously not. Even the consultant said it was unusual to put somebody so young on these meds and he really didn't want to start me on them until he was absolutely sure I needed them. The drops can make my eyes feel a bit sensitive/dry and can also get a shooting type pain now and again behind the eye but not usually too bad now the dosage has been reduced.

And yes, it was a worry that they left me on them for months before they realised that I shouldn't be taking it!! And it was my GP who picked up on it which is even more of a worry!!! :-/

A little update (if anyone is interested), I went to have my check-up with the Ophalmologist today. My pressures have come down considerably to 21 in one eye and 22 in the other (they were around 26/28 previously). I have been on LOTS of different drops, none of which actually helped to bring the pressures down and most irritated my eyes. Plus I was unable to wear my contact lenses as the drops contain a preservative which interferes with soft contact lenses. So I decided to stop taking my eye drops MONTHS ago and started taking Omega 3 and Forskohlin herb, along with some Ginko and Eyebright tablets. Seems they are doing the trick nicely!! I am SO happy!! I didn't tell the consultant but if they've gone down even further at my next appointment I will tell her that I actually haven't taken any drops since December 2014!! ;-) I know it's a bit naughty of me but I did quite a bit of research into the more natural remedies and decided to give it a go and see if it did actually help. So far the natural approach is helping WAY more than the nasty chemical drops.

Thanks, I am made up!! I have also started taking Evening Primrose too (not sure if that has any effect on eye pressures but supposed to be good for other things! ).

Another update on my eyes (again, sorry if nobody else interested in this topic). I had the pressures checked again today and they were down to 18 in one eye and 20 in the other!!! I haven't taken a single eye drop for well over a year now so he's told me to just continue what I'm doing with the Coleus Forskohlin root herb. I had to write the name of it down for him as he was quite impressed with how much the pressures had been reduced!! Yay!

He also dilated my pupils and had a look at the back of my eye and said all was well so am very happy!!