Blogs

 Today's values seem to show that when I stop thinking about business (or other financial issues), my IOP is lower.

Today's overall averages are:

Left 15.2; Right 15.2 (differential 0)

The differential is going in the opposite direction from what I have seen in the past. Normally, it increases slightly with each extra day since the last time I used Timoptic in my right eye. It has now been 6 days since I used Timoptic and things are looking good.

Sometimes I like to think that my blog will be useful in some small way and that it might spur researchers to look at intraocular pressure in new ways. However, I also understand that I'm biased -- and that it's impossible to remove all this bias from the IOP data we're collecting because of the design of this project. This bias probably limits the conclusions that can be drawn from the data. Experienced researchers understand the issue completely, so I'm not writing this to explain it to them.

I didn't sleep enough last night, and I felt a little dull today. Consequently, I just went through the motions in most of my activities today without pushing myself very hard -- and without putting much effort into the positive habits I've been developing, either. For example, I did not do any weight training today, nor did I  accomplish anything  extraordinary at work. I didn't get to cross off many items on my ToDo list.

Today my eye pressure was about perfect. Here are the overall averages:

Left 15.1; Right 13.7 (differential -1.4)

Something changed between yesterday and today...

In recent weeks my eye pressure has been higher, on average. I presume that situation coincides with the meetings and discussions about my new business venture. We had casual conversations for a while, but the beginning of serious meetings and we financial negotiations, correlates closely with the increased average eye pressure values. (Of course, there could be something else that changed around this time that I'm overlooking, so I'll try to keep an open mind.)

As I write this, my blog is not online. I expect that by the time you are reading this, there will be entries preceding this one as well as following this one. However, I do not expect to have posted daily IOP reports for every day since July 7, 2006 when we began this project.

There are a few interesting comments I can make about today's IOP data. First, the weight-lifting effect is present once again. Second, notice how watching "The Amazing Race" on TV raised my IOP. I can't really explain that, but I have seen the same thing happen so many times that I don't believe it is a coincidence. Watching the news, particularly when there is a lot of bad news, has a similar IOP-raising effect on me.

Today's overall average IOP values are:

Left 16.7; Right 19.4 (differential 2.7)

As little as 5 or 10 minutes of weight lifting gives me a post-exercise effect that results in reduced eye pressure after the workout.

The weight lifting doesn't have to be super intense, but it can't be too easy either. There have been a few studies that have looked at this effect in the past. Here are some (but not all) of the links:

Effects of Different Intensities of Exercise on Intraocular Pressure

The effect of continuous strenuous exercise on intraocular pressure

The effect of exercise on intraocular pressure (pdf)

In my experience, a short weight lifting program often brings my eye pressure down to around 14 or 15 (or less). Sometimes the effect is not very dramatic. For example, if my eye pressure is around 17, the workout might bring it down to 15. Other times, the post workout effect is fairly impressive. Here are some examples:

This has to be one of the most unexpected questions that has come out of collecting all this IOP data: is there a connection between oral care and IOP?

In other words, can brushing your teeth lower your IOP?

My daily average IOP has been higher recently. Prior to starting serious talks about this new business venture, my average IOP values for a given day were often 15-16 for each eye. Today's means were:

Left 17.6; Right 20.8 (differential 3.1; days since Timoptic 1) 

This data represents a departure from prior trends. Within 1 day after Timoptic in my right eye, the IOP differential would normally be around 0.

As usual, the data seem to indicate that not only does stress raise my mean IOP values, it also raises the standard deviation of the measurements.

Our discussions and planning for a new business venture have been getting progressively more intense during the last week. Today represents a peak in that "stress".

Today's IOP values include an interesting exam in the middle of the night (4:15 AM, which is the middle of the night for me). They also include data for 2:36 AM the following morning, when I was awake and working late. I have seen some indication that my IOP can reach the high twenties (or more) in my right eye when laying down or sleeping.

My overall daily averages for today are:

Left 16.1; Right 18.3 (differential 2.2)

Here are today's individual IOP values. Unfortunately, not all the comments are available. This was a typical day where I worked at the computer and took some breaks to play with my dog for about 10 minutes each time. When the original comments are not available (which is not often), I am not going to insert comments after the fact. The data I present is not filter or touched up in any way.

When I started this IOP data collection project, I expected stress management tools like meditation and pranayama (yoga breathing exercises) to lower my IOP. Immediately after starting the project, I was surprised to find that my IOP was much higher after meditation when we measured it. Those initial meditation sessions consisted of several elements, including pranayama. Today I tested a 10 minute session of pranayama alone, without any meditation.

We began using a new tonometer today: the Reichert AT555.

The overall averages for today are:

Left 13.9; Right 20.9 (differential 7.1) 

Here are today's IOP values:

Today we used two different Reichert NCT II (model 12415) non-contact tonometers to collect IOP measurements. This is just early stage data collection. I'll comment once we have more data.

Today was an important stage in the Tour de France. I am very excited for Floyd Landis. Of course, what also interests me at  the moment is whether the excitement of watching the Tour de France has any impact on my IOP. Here are today's numbers. The usual trend I'm seeing is that my IOP is highest in the morning and lowest late at night.