Glaucoma

Several years ago when my husband Pat was having his usual two year eye test, which included since he was over thirty-five a test for glaucoma. The test came back showing that the pressures in his eyes were extremely high. Up until this time my husband was one who kept pretty healthy and didn’t even think about going to his doctors even for a yearly check-up. This discovery sent him for the next few years to visit the eye specialist for field tests, eye examinations every three months and eye drops daily. As long as he takes these drops his eye pressures do stay at an acceptable levels.

Everything was fine until about seven or eight years ago when at one of these eye appointments he was told that he should perhaps be checked for diabetes and high blood pressure. The eye doctors are able to tell from the eyes when there are other health problems.

Pat now attends both the eye specialist and our family doctor appointments on a regular basis and both his blood pressure and diabetes are now at acceptable readings.

Last year the blood vessels in his eyes ruptured and he had to have laser surgery to seal the ends of the blood vessels, he was in and out in a few minutes and now they are fine.

Recently regular eye tests have also found another problem and in July he will have cataract surgery. He is thankful that the eye specialist had spotted these other health problems and now realizes how stupid it was to go without having his annual check-ups.