pressure

[sarah43]

hi im a suspected very high steroid respnder. i have stopped taking pressure lowerinfg drops for a month and pressure was 19 and 17 at last visit. I have been now discharged and told will no longer need any appointments to see optholmogist.But to see my optometrist every year. Isnt 19 stil quite high???

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

No I don't think that's very good advise. I would see an Ophthalmologist for all my care. Find one near you at www.aao.org

JCH MD

[sarah43]

Not much i can do about seeing an optholmogist regularly as i live in the uk. But would you say pressure levels of 17 and19 are ok after having pressure of  50mgh 6 months ago. Misdiagnosed as having plateau iris but then told pressure rise due to steroid drops.
would you say yearly checks are ok for me with optmetristswho do check eye pressure.I think pressure measurments arestill quite high what do you think??

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

No I would say that is not enough and not idea.  I have enough UK patients post here that I understand what is good care and what NHS provides are two entirely different things. Hopefully the USA will not go the way of nationalized health care.

In my opinion you should see an ophthalmologist with special glaucoma testing at least each 6 months. I cannot answer what is a safe IOP for you. It depends on how much damage there is to your eye, how thick your cornea is, your family history and numerous other factors.

JCH MD