Pigment dispersion syndrome

[furrycat]

I have pigment dispersion syndrome.  I am a 31 yr old woman and I am short sighted.

I go to the hospital to see the opthalmologist every 18 months where they check my iop, visual field, and generally look into my eyes etc.  My pressures are usually about 26.  I'm not undergoing any treatment, just this monitoring.

I was just wondering if anyone else has this condition and does this sound ok or should I be getting treatment?  The hospital said last time I was there that the optic nerve looks healthy in both eyes.

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

The pressure of 26 also depends on your corneal thickness.  Thicker corneas measure higher pressure but not in real terms.

We do not treat elevated pressure until there is the beginning of changes to the optic nerve usually  by a OCT scan of the optic nerve (GDX, HRT, Optivue, etc).

Dr. O.

[furrycat]

Thanks for your reply.  So I seem to be going too long in between check-ups then?  The doctors at the hospital don't seem at all concerned about me hence the long time between appointments.  I live in the UK so things are probably different here, as this is all under the NHS so I guess they do the minimum necessary.

Does pressure of 26 sound really high to you?  My mother has raised pressures in her eyes (not due to PDS though) and she has drops for her eyes, xalatan I think.

Do you normally prescribe treatment for PDS sufferers?

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

We follow patients like you every 6 months to a year. Yearly, a complete exam is done and a scan of the optic nerve (change occur here before visual field changes) and visual fields.  Initially, the visual field and nerve scans  may be done more frequently.  Also, you should have the thickness of your cornea measured.

The scan of the optic nerve will detect the earliest changes of glaucoma before they show up on visual field testing.

Dr. O.