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Value of low-target IOP in glaucoma patients open to question

http://www.eurotimes.org/08october/Valueoflow.pdf

...Having been diagnosed with glaucoma 2 years ago, only recently I started to to follow ayurvedic health practices to improve generally an aggravated pita/vata condition which is mainly responsible for neurological and vision problems, among others. After just a week of feet and head massage with ghee and using ghee drops in eyes and nose, I already notice general improvement not only in my eye pressure but also in terms of general well being, calmness and softness in the eyes...

 Hi

I'm a pharmacy student, and has gotten a task of doing a presentation about vitamin C eye drops. After some internet searching, I've found that the use of it is for glaucoma, but finding any other information is not too easy. It has been helpfull looking a little around here, though.

What I want to ask is if anyone can give me examples of actual eye drops containing vitamin C? We are supposed to "make" these ourselves, but also compare our "product" to existing products on the market. I think maybe you here on this web page are the best resource I might find.

Is anyone familiar with a device capable of monitoring blood pressure during sleep? I'm looking for such a thing.

Dear All,

I am 53 year old woman and I was underwent to a surgery. Some kind of valve was put in my eye because in my right eye the eye pressure was very high - 48 :(

Now I use drops additionally to be able to control it. I would like to ask if it is recommended to use a tonometer (still do not have such) and does it work in my case?

BR

Silviq

I decided to test out my theory re: calcium and magnesium and I can say with certainty if I take a calcium supplement prior to bed, my IOP will spike the next morning.  

Going on the theory that calcium and magnesium act as opposites in the body, I have been taking magnesium supplements prior to bed. 

I am using Peter Gillham's Natural Calm.  He offers products with calcium and magnesium blended as well as magnesium alone. 

Has anyone tried a 10% solution of vitamin c to use as drops?

Tanya: tanya3x3@yahoo.com

I understand that one can get a solution of 10% vitamin c plus some other ingredients from a compound pharmacy to reduce the iop. Has anyone tried that? if one has self-tonometer, then it would be easy to test the iop before and after the vitamin c drops. What are your thoughts?

Tanya

tanya3x3@yahoo.com

Can you please explain or give some information on the damage rate of glaucoma over a span of time ?

For eg:- if today my loss is 70% and if i maintain my IOP below 20 or even below 15, how much time will it take for the damage to go to 75%.

i mean i want to know that if i control my IOP how long can i save my eyesight, just a general idea, exact figure not necessary.

I am posting this from the Fiteyes google group.

Lita wrote,

(I am posting an exerpt to link because medscape requires a login)

 http://cme.medscape.com/viewarticle/587626:

Are there vascular risk factors for glaucoma, such as vascular disease, hypertension, vasospasm, and ocular perfusion pressure (OPP, the difference between systolic, diastolic, or mean arterial blood pressure and ocular pressure)?

Discussions about low blood pressure provoked me to think about atrial fibrilation. It's a condition in which heart sometimes beats too frequently and inefficiently which effects in lowering of the blood pressure. The lowering is so significant that it makes some direct dangers to peoples' lifes. And in many cases it's happening without being diagnosed or even noticed.

This is very interesting. It seems like vitamin D is proving to be important in preventing a number of diseases.

For Women Under 75, Extra Vitamin D Could Ward Off Macular Degeneration 

I thought this might be an interesting article for all.

20 years ago a doctor declared my IOP to be uncontrollable and I would go blind (I had a penetrating injury to my eye). He told me that eventually I would lose my eye. As a 20 year old I baulked at the idea and told him that I wanted to keep my eye even as painful as it was because one day they might be able to restore my sight. His response was,"the day they can restore your vision will be the day that they can product a race of human clones and that is way beyond your lifetime". Hmmm...

We have an excellent phone conferencing provider that we plan on using for phone based interactive meetings.

There are many ways around having to pay long distance charges to our conference call in number:

1) There is a list of  toll free access numbers for some major cities, and they can be found here (sorry, we are not setup for the main toll free 800 number).. http://turbobridge.com/local_toll.html.

• TOPIC: "Dealing with a Glaucoma Diagnosis." I will be the moderator for the first meeting, and this may end up being the first part of a two part topic. This meeting will be a phone conference.
• DATE AND TIME:  8:15 - 9:15 pm EDT (Miami time) Thursday  April 14, 2011. The main part of the meeting is planned for an hour, but for those who wish to hang around, we plan to have an approximate ½ hour informal sharing time afterward.

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

These days I am going very slowly with my glaucoma quest. Lots of other work and stress. Nonetheless I seem to have found what I think is a promising approach. The only one so far where a direct cause and relationship (higher or lower IOP) appears to exist. Here it is in a nutshell:

Ionized calcium and pH is the key I think. First about ionized calcium:

- acidosis increases ionized calcium

- IOP is usually higher in acidosis

- ionized calcium is higher in hypothermia (low body temperature)

Recently we had a discussion on the FitEyes email list about experimenting with glaucoma medications. As part of that discussion, people expressed that they were horrified or fearful. At least one person responded by advocating a prudent stance. I certainly do not disagree with the advice given. In fact, I think everyone who responded to the original post was in agreement that the thing the original questioner contemplated was totally inappropriate for the person's skill level. So that was the end of that discussion, rightly so.

This captures a lot of what glaucoma means to me. Iti captures my experience of the initial bitterness of glaucoma eventually becoming sweet. Glaucoma positively changed me to my core. Glaucoma has enriched my life beyond anything I could ever have imagined. By the way, Joanna Macy is worth reading.