what do you think of when you hear the word “glaucoma”?
i think of people going blind. no treatment, no questions, just losing their sight. forever.
yesterday, a doctor told me he thinks i have glaucoma. but, he’s not sure. what i’m not sure of is whether that’s a good thing, his uncertainty, or not.
christopher will tell you that the doctor’s über-casual diagnosis and lackadaisical “come see me in six months” means there’s nothing for me to worry about.
that’s what i do, though. i worry.
i’m very worried.
i can’t think of anything but that word. glaucoma.
things are going to change. they have to. i’m terrified, but i’m also determined. maybe this is what i needed. the universe must be very unhappy with me.
i’m so very scared.
Oh, Heather :(
First of all, never assume the worst. It’ll just consume you during the next six months, possibly for nothing. Get a proper diagnosis first.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/glaucoma/DS00283/DSECTION=7
The Mayo Clinic’s website (for what it’s worth) says that although there is no cure per se, it can be controlled with treatment. Even a glaucoma diagnosis by no means implies vision loss.
Whatever happens, do let me know if you need support. ‘S why I’m here.
*hugs so much*
awww, hugs.
Damn the doctor! I HATE it when they do that! “Oh, you might have something terribly wrong with you… but maybe not… try not to worry about it.”
Unfair!
Get thee to a second opinion, and don’t leave until you feel a little more in control of the situation.
And don’t forget to be kind to yourself in the meantime!
*hugs*
*hug* If I can do anything to help in terms of finding information, etc. let me know, and of course if there’s anything else I can do. Take care of you :)
*hug*
I don’t think you should feel like it’s something that might consume your life or anything. My manager says he has glaucoma that could get quite bad, but he just goes about living his life and not worrying too much about it.
I do think that if your doctor wasn’t worried, you shouldn’t be, either.
glaucoma is totally controllable, even the worst of it. You are still pretty young to have much or any damage. All he is saying is that the pressure in your eye is higher than the norm, but that might just be the norm for you. Only time will tell. When he thinks its time he will send you for peripheral tests (they are fun) and keep track of any progression. If you do end up with g, you just have to put drops in yours eyes every day and that stops the progression. Nothing to lose even one moments sleep over.
*hug*
Don’t worry, everything’s going to be fine!
i agree with the above, get a second opinion! and let yourself worry for a bit…then try to put it out of your mind!
I sympathize with your reaction–I would totally be freaking out over what the doctor said.
However, the above responses are correct, from what I have heard/read. It is treatable and by no means an end-all-life-as-I-love-it sentence.
If it’s any consolation, that annoying test they use for glaucoma? The eye puff? I hate that thing. I mean H.A.T.E. it with a passion. Why? Because my eyes are so sensitive that as my head is in the little harness thingy and that stupid device inches closer and closer to my eyeball, my instinctual reaction is the blink, tear up, or jerk my head back, or all three, thereby disturbing the reading. I can’t sit still for it and I literally beg the assistant to skip it this year. I probably hate this thing as much as some people hate the dentist.
I bring this up b/c my eye doctor knows my sensitivity to this torture device and has said that my readings are a little high for my age group, but he recognizes the contributing factor of squinting and tearing as building up pressure. If my readings ever creep up into the ‘you might have glaucoma’ range, he will know to take this into account and run other tests.
It really could be anything. But even if it is glaucoma, it’s been caught very early and you can take the appropriate measures now and learn how to live with it. As it’s been said, many people do live with diseases and we’d never know it; they just learn how to manage it.
Educate yourself, wait for tests, and breathe deeply.
If I might interject a tiny bit of levity into the gloom, the first thing I thought of with the word “glaucoma” was “medical marijuana.” I guess the hippy in me will never die.
You’ll be fine, sweetie. Have faith. *hugs*
You know what’s weird, the first thing *I* think of when I hear glaucoma is guacamole. I’m such a gringo.
Anyhow, that totally sucks, doctors are the worst for doing that sort of thing! I’m generally not much of a worrier, but sometimes they make it hard not to be! (My boss does this too, “I have to talk to you about somethign tomorrow.” So of course you spend all night worrying she’s going to fire you, and usually it’s totally stupid stuff.)
Anyhow, if you need any vision resources, let me know, I’d be glad to hook you up with Julie (remember, her specialty is adaptive technology for the blind, so she has tons of vision info available. When we were trying to figure out what was up with Rowan’s non-turning eye, she was a wealth of info).