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[Health] CPAP and eye pressure
#21
RE: CPAP and eye pressure
When I see my eye doc next (in march) I'll ask if there is anything I can do to bring it down and if it is related to fluid retention elsewhere in the body. Not that he knows everything.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#22
RE: CPAP and eye pressure
(01-26-2014, 11:52 AM)Lukie Wrote: So what if my pressures are up. I'll just live with it and if I have to use drops I will use drops. At least I am alive.


What do the drops do?

If the drops only slow down further damage (if drops do not heal damaged eyes) then if your IOP is too high perhaps you should start using the drops right away, BEFORE your vision becomes affected?
The Advisory Member group provides advice and suggestions to Apnea Board administrators and staff on matters concerning Apnea Board operation and administrative policies.  Membership in the Advisory Member group should not be understood as in any way implying medical expertise or qualification for advising Sleep Apnea patients concerning their treatment.
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#23
RE: CPAP and eye pressure
The eye drops to control glaucoma are complicated and are only started once damage has occurred (which is when the actual glaucoma diagnosis is given). There's really not much to do before that because the eye pressure changes so much. Some people have to use several different eye drop medications, even after having the laser surgery done.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#24
RE: CPAP and eye pressure
Hi all; Sorry I've been missing in action for weeks. It's been a rough time lately. I have advanced open angle glaucoma. I've had five surgeries so far. To make a very long story short, CPAP has been recommended to me since the theory is that the optic nerves are more oxygenated by it. It seems to be holding true for me. I have express shunts in my eyes and they've been holding my pressures steady since 2008. The conclusion in my particular case is that CPAP also helps keep my pressures steady, which is very desirable in this situation. As far as getting gunk in the eyes and any relation to glaucoma, the only way that could be is 1) infection in eye 2)allergic reaction to pollen, etc 3) some kind of reaction to an eye drop, some of which can be very irritating. I don't think it would develop from using a CPAP machine only.

I had a checkup last week and have to face yet again another surgery to remove a cataract in my right eye. I need to be put out due to PTSD from previous surgeries. Anyone with questions about open angle, write to me. I've had it for almost twenty years. I've recently heard that having undiagnosed and untreated sleep apnea can worsen glaucoma. I'm tending to believe my apnea has helped cause my glaucoma. No proof, but I had apnea for my entire life and was only diagnosed in 2013. Lack of oxygen is very suspect in causing optic nerve damage.
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#25
RE: CPAP and eye pressure
I'm quite concerned about CPAP therapy and Increased Occular Pressure (IOP) as well. I also take an anti-depressant called Luvox at 100mg a day which can also raise the IOP.

I'm concerned about glaucoma.
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#26
RE: CPAP and eye pressure
Discuss with your doc then about a different anti-depressant.

Maybe go to an eye-doc first and see what the pressure is and discuss this with the eye doc. Consider going to an ophthalmologist vs an optometrist.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#27
RE: CPAP and eye pressure
Edit:
My previous post said Increased Occular Pressure (IOP). I should have written Intraocular Pressure (IOP).

Thanks for your tips Paula. I will discuss these matters with my local Doctor and the Opthamologist. I wonder how are your eyes? I read some of your earlier posts. I hope they are healthy. Another test for glaucoma and optic nerve damage is called a Field Test. I was only reading about it today. There are a number of styles of Field Tests. Basically they're designed to test peripheral vision. Peripheral vision loss, as I understand it, is lost prior to central vision with glaucoma.

I've only been on CPAP since early December 2014 so I'm still learning about it. The studies as mentioned here on apneaboard about sleep apnea, CPAP and glaucoma really freaked me out. I may be one of the few people who actually enjoy CPAP therapy. I think I've only missed 2 nights in almost 5 months. And that's because I either travelled somewhere and forgot my machine or due to an overnight power outage.
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#28
RE: CPAP and eye pressure
I had ocular hypertension prior to using CPAP and the pressure has increased but it's not due to the CPAP use. Or if it is, the benefits far outweigh the risks. The last time I saw the eye doc, my eye pressure had actually dramatically decreased which freaked us a lot. He did several different tests to make sure we got it right.

There are better tests now than the field test (which I hate). The eye imaging available now catch optical nerve damage far faster.

I am getting computer glasses in hopes the eye strain decreases. I am a writer and work/play at my computer far too many hours a day.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#29
RE: CPAP and eye pressure
It would be good to get some authoritative information on this....

What I see in this thread leaves me with the question 'Which is the symptom and which is the cause?'

I always understood that increased IOP was the symptom of Glaucoma... If that is the case then it seems unlikely that pressure on the eye from CPAP would cause Glaucoma - but like I said we need authoritative information.
Disclaimer: The 'Advisory Member' title is a Forum thing that I cannot change. I am not a doctor and my comments are purely my opinion or quote my personal experience. Regardless of my experience other readers mileage may vary.
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#30
RE: CPAP and eye pressure
(04-27-2015, 04:27 PM)PaulaO2 Wrote: I had ocular hypertension prior to using CPAP and the pressure has increased but it's not due to the CPAP use. Or if it is, the benefits far outweigh the risks. The last time I saw the eye doc, my eye pressure had actually dramatically decreased which freaked us a lot. He did several different tests to make sure we got it right.

There are better tests now than the field test (which I hate). The eye imaging available now catch optical nerve damage far faster.

I am getting computer glasses in hopes the eye strain decreases. I am a writer and work/play at my computer far too many hours a day.

Hi Paula,

Personally, as a glaucoma patient with significant blind spots, I find visual field test results to be the most helpful tests of all in showing precisely where my blind areas are located. If you know what you cannot see, you can compensate for it. But if you do not know that one eye tells selective lies about what is around you, you can get yourself into big trouble fast! I am not downplaying the value of the other techniques available for monitoring conditions in the eye, which help doctors understand what is happening and decide how to treat it. But I am saying that there is a good reason to do the visual field tests as well, for your own understanding of any visual limitations you may develop.

As for computer glasses, my relationship with my computer improved considerably when I did two things that I highly recommend if you can afford them:

1. I bought a much bigger, brighter screen, which is so bright I have to adjust its brightness as the room brightness varies, and

2. I had my optician friend prescribe computer bifocals so that my screen is precisely in focus, and so are my keyboard and papers on my desk.
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