Optic Nerve Head Drusen

[seldan]

I am 32 and have been diagnosed with Optic Nerve Head Drusen (ONHD).  I was sent to a specialist who tested my peripheral vision, but it seems to be fine.  I do wear glasses for near-sightedness, but see fine as long as they're on, not too bad with them off, and don't seem to have any noticeable vision issues.

The eye doctor seemed to think it was fairly benign, but honestly, I'm terrified.  I work as a computer programmer, my livelihood and hobbies are based around that.  My understanding is that ONHD may cause peripheral vision loss as I get older.  That doesn't sound so bad; as long as I can still see something.  However, after surfing through various forums on the internet, the condition seems to be viewed as mostly harmless to something contributing to severe vision loss.  None of the 'facts' seem to match up.

If someone could help with some basic questions, I'd appreciate it:

1) Just how bad is peripheral vision loss?  Can it get so bad that I become blind?  Are there any corrective measures that can be taken, i.e. special glasses, surgery, etc.
2) At 32, this doesn't appear to have affected me yet.  Is that good news in that I've gotten this far with no complications?  Or is that irrelevant.
3) My understanding is that there is no treatment.  Does anyone know of something in the works?  Any sort of surgery to remove the drusen?  I've heard that some doctors prescribe eye drops to reduce the pressure; but am not sure I would need that until I really start to lose my peripheral vision.
4) Is there anything I can do, other than get yearly examinations to monitor this?  I feel powerless to the whole thing right now.
5) Any good resources on ONHD that are trustworthy and objective available?  For some reason, this almost seems like an ignored condition.

Thanks for any assistance.  I'm just worried sick over this.  I can live with gradual peripheral vision loss.  It is life.  But I'm terrified of being completely blind.

Best Regards,
Seldan

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

No pregnancy is not likely to cause problems with OND. If you desire children I would not let the ODN dictate your life.

JCH MD

[jessieInPgh]

I also have OND, and was told 10 years ago that getting pregnant might cause me to hemoorhage and go blind.  Is there any truth to this?  Is there info out there on the effects of pregnancy on OND? I have significant peripheral vision loss in my left eye but function normally.

[seldan]

Thank you for the link.  It is reassuring to know that this is not so serious as I feared.  The specialist that I went to did a bunch of tests, including on my peripheral vision and did not see anything wrong.  It looks like, even if my peripheral vision starts to go, I'll most likely be expired before it reaches a critical point and effects central acuity.

I'm getting ready for a follow-up visit with the specialist, which is going to become a routine, yearly event so that should keep track of the condition, just in case any complications develop.

Best Regards,
Seldan

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

This is very good reference on optic nerve drusen:

http://www.emedicine.com/OPH/topic615.htm

Also use the search feature on this page as OND has been discussed many times before.

OND is NOT unusal. It IS unusual to cause peripheral vision loss that a person even notices. In a very large practice, with hundreds of patients with OND I only have one person that is aware of any field loss and they function fine.

There is no treatment. Your other physicians should know that OND can make your optic nerve look swollen and it interfers with normal tests for glaucoma so see an Eye MD ophthalmologist physician yearly.

JCH  III MD