general ophthalmologist, not glaucoma specialist. you have glaucoma?

I was getting a bit of eye irritation and itchiness at the inner
bottom corner of my right eye.


So when I was in Sri Hartamas Shopping Center last night, I dropped
by at Optique Eyeworks optometrist on the ground floor, where they
had one of these ''puffer'' machines.

The reading on the right eye came out to ..... 20 !

The two optometrists there, however, said this was normal, and
they usually referred their customers to eye specialists only above 25.

It was one of those newer improved models, Reichert 7CR, which
accounted for the cornea's curvature in its computations :

http://www.reichert.com/product_details.cf...kuTk=1035455555



This was the reading :

IOP cc -
Right 20.0, Left 13.8

IOP g -
Right 18.6, Left 15.5


'' IOP cc '' compensates for the corneal curvature.

'' IOP g '' is the Goldman standard with the older machines, such as
their Reichert 7, or the readings usually done by an opthalmologist.

http://www.reichert.com/product_details.cf...kuTk=1035259555


Now I'm wondering if I should get this checked out at an opthalmologist.

You should. As puff can be quite inaccurate. Glaucoma symptoms can be silent until it is too late. With opthalmologist check, they can check the the retina, something the shop cannot check.

Bro, you stated the one that you tested with is the never model. So, I guess it should be more "accurate" than the older models that I was tested with.

And what qualification the so called 2 optometrists have? Only recommend to go see specialist if reading is 25 and above!!!

FYI, my daughter at age 14, while in Melbourne went to an optometrist (who obtained a Doctor of Optometry from Uni of Melbourne) and had her eyes' pressure tested with the puff machine ( Ramjade - you taught me an easier way to described the machines, haha) and got readings of 24 and the Optometrist was so worried that she insisted that my wife takes my daughter to a specialist and was willing to refer my daughter to one! And when my daughter revisited the optometrist to get another pair of specs a few months later, she reminded my wife to make sure that my daughter go seek an specialist's opinion in respect to her high eyes pressure readings. Of course, my daughter have since then visited a specialist.

Bro, if any family member (auntie or uncle included) of yours have Glaucoma, I strongly recommend that you go a specialist to have your eyes pressure test taken. And if you feel your vision has deteriorated, even slightly, I suggest to go take a vision test too for your records so that in the future you have some reference to check if you vision deteriorates any future.

Seeing a specialist and taking the vision test here in Malaysia is cheap compared to what I pay in SG (afer conversion). But, if you are ever told you need to go for an operation, best you get a second opinion from SG. I have been seeing my SG specialist for 5 years (after being told here by a so called top Glaucoma specialist in KL that I need to go for an operation) and my pressure has maintained and I'm still using the same medication she prescribed to me when I first met her.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Jan 6 2016, 04:04 PM

If you want to save money, just get the generic name of the drug (they have generic glaucoma eyedrop). Generic and branded are the same. Difference is one got brand and marketing behind it and cost min 100% more

Take panadol (brand). It contains paracetamol. Both generic and panadol contains the same amount of paracetamol in one tablet.

Air puff non contact tonometry and anterior chamber angle are not accurate, its best to check the optic cup disc ratio and compare between the 2 eyes.

normotensive open angle glaucoma will give false negative on tonometry and angle.

If CDR is abnormal or asymmetrical, then do visual field test to check how much vision is preserved.

if you live in subang area, you can go to my optometrist friends shop (usj optometrist in taipan) for screening, they do non mydriatic fundus photography and check angle for free. they can help you check all eye disease and monitor it yearly.

Yes, I am aware that those puffer machines in optical shops
are not very precise. However, the one in this particular shop
was an advanced model which took into account the corneal
curvature.

True, raised intraocular pressure is just a risk factor, and glaucoma
can occur in people with normal pressures, even children.

Conversely, there are also people who have higher than normal IOP
but who do not have glaucoma or other problems.

The optometrists there did mention that I could do a visual field
test to confirm at an opthalmologist, or other optometrists who
have the machine.

Thanks. I will get it checked out at Dr Harris Loo in Sentosa Medical
Center next week.

I was examined by him a few years ago. If I remember correctly,
I believe he actually measured the IOP in the same eye at about
19 or 20 at that time, but found no problems with my fundus or
retina, or any visual problems, so he said I did not need treatment.

Regarding your daughter who tested 24 on the puffer, what did
the eye specialist find out when she saw him ?

On calling the optometrists at that place today to enquire whether
a reading of 20 was common and normal with their other customers,
they replied correct - many in fact, and they did not have glaucoma !

The surgery which the glaucoma specialist advised you to do -
trabeculotomy - does not last very long, typically 5 years.

My late mum had glaucoma. She had a trabeculotomy done by
Hardeep Singh in Ipoh Road in the early 80s. Results were not
very good and did not last anyway.

Hardeep and Shukri Eye Center was one of the more well-known
eye specialists in Ipoh Road in those days, if you check around.

While waiting for the surgery in his ward, Hardeep gave her
indomethacin, knowing very well she was a gastric ulce patient.
Needless to say, she went into severe gastric pain and complications,
and we nearly had to transfer her to a better equipped hospital
for treatment.

Hardeep's place was just a small ward on the upper floors for
eye surgery.

Common sense would tell anyone, even a layman like me, that
indomethacin would be the last drug you give to a gastric ulcer patient.

Indomethacin must have been the strongest NSAID at that time.
They didn't have COX-2 selective drugs like Celebrex or even
meloxicam in those days.

It's like giving strong steroid eye drops to a glaucoma patient.

(That is why you read so often of iatrogenic deaths being causd
by doctors.)

They didn't have the newer prostaglandin drops which you are likely
on now, nor the newer carbonic anydrase inhibitors like dorzolamide
- all she has was Timoptol and Propine (dipivefrin), a prodrug
of adrenalin.

Before that, one hopeless elderly Singh opthalmologist in Campbell
Road placed her on antique pilocarpine eye drops, which caused spasms
in her eyes.




This post has been edited by Tham: Jan 7 2016, 09:15 AM

Nope, my f&f do not have glaucoma, it's just recently that my eyesight dropping significantly so thought of getting some test.

Is the testing performed by your friend accurate?

Thanks

This post has been edited by busyman: Jan 7 2016, 10:25 AM

Yes, will get it checked out at Dr Harris Loo, ophalmologist in
Sentosa a bit later.

I called my GP schoolmate yesterday, told him about this, and he
asked if I saw rainbow halos, had headaches, visual disturbances.

I replied no, and he said it was unlikely I had glaucoma.

Yes they are trained in hospitals like HKL, hosp sg buloh and one of them was trained in india hosp. Fundus camera is to look at the optic nerve head for cup disc ratio and also checking retinal health. They dont dilate your eyes so that is good, you wont see blur or glare after the test. They will examine with slit lamps to check cataract and etc. all that tests are free! They will refer to the correct specialist for specific disease if they found any abnormality.

Basically my daughter is still young and we just have to monitor. I was actually warned that I will have Glaucoma more than 25 years ago by an Optometrist while I was doing my undergraduate in USA. I then returned to KL and went to Husein Onn Eye Center and the doctor told me not too worry... fast forward 20 years, one of my eyes 70% damaged.

Actually my eldest son also has high eyes pressure readings and took him to see my specialist in SG. She said that some people are more tolerant that others, and having reading of 20 and above does not necessarily means one will have Glaucoma. So for the last few years my son have been performing vision tests to monitor.

Yeah, like I said, always get a second opinion. The so called top specialist in Glaucoma here said I needed to go for an operation where as the specialist in SG just changed on of the eye drops (I use 2 types daily) that was prescribed by the KL doctor. With the new eye drop ( that can be bought from any Pharmacy in Malaysia) prescribed by the SG specialist, the pressure in my eyes drop and has been maintaining for the last 5 years. However, FYI, I did do a Laser Treatment by the SG specialist about 2 years ago on my right eye and it only took 5 minutes and within 1/2 hour I can walk to the train station to be on the way to the airport to go catch my flight back to KL. And since my pressure has been stabilizing within 14 to 17 in the last 5 years, and no further deterioration to my vision since the first day I saw her, the SG doctor told me to only visit her every 6 to 8 months!!

The first eye doctor I went to here in Malaysia, worst still, the eye drop he prescribed caused my eyes to turn red and damn freaking sensitive to light. He said it was normal and I will get use to it. And he did not even ask me to go for a vision test... so I had no idea how bad my eyes were damaged!!!

Had to suffer for about 1 year before I finally switch to the so called top Glaucoma Specialist in KL where he changed the eye drop and the suffering stopped; but after about a year he said I got to go for an operation (the pressure in my eyes less than 20)!! I asked him about Laser Treatment and he gave me some excuse that we Asians are not suitable for it!!! I was not going to do any operation and therefore seek another opinion... in SG.

Anyway Bro, since your mum has Glaucoma, just check your eyes every other year and your children's (if you have any) too. Better to be safe than sorry.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Jan 7 2016, 01:40 PM

sounds good, can hook me up with your friend?
pm me his/her contact no./shop, will make an appointment with them

Thanks alot

just go straight to the shop, usj optometrist. they are doing for the public, u can add them in fb to make appointment.

Haha no
Chance liao
I live in penang

Any place where i can get my eye tested for glaucoma in Penang ?

This post has been edited by busyman: Jan 7 2016, 06:50 PM

I am very sure you can get referral letter to see opthalmologist at government hospital.

Dont worry, penang i also got friend to help you check for free. Look for vantage optometry in tanjung tokong. Tell them you want to check for eye disease. Its all free too!

Pm me your name then i arrange for u.

Obviously one can't expect miracles, and your optic nerve damage
is already quite old, but have you ever considered homeopathy ?

I do not know If he can treat adult vision loss, but Dr Zuhairni,
well-known and experienced homeopathic doctor in Jalan Gurney,
related to me years ago that he attempted to treat a case of
congenital blindness, one of many he had treated in his practice.

http://zuhairnihomeopathy.com/


Obviously both the physician and the infant's mother did not
exactly have high hopes in such a difficult condition.

I do not know how long the treatment went, but apparently one day,
the mother was stunned out of her daylights when she realized that
her child could actually SEE.

The overjoyed mother quickly took her baby to show Dr Zuhairni,
probably the happiest woman in the world.

When I met him a few months ago at his daughter's wedding and
asked him again about this case, Dr Zuhairni said that the vision recovery
was not perfect, but the infant managed to regain about 70 to 80 percent
of his sight.



Role of homoeopathy in ophthalmological conditions.

Optic Atrophy

'' From the usual stand point, this should be an irreversible change.
Please do not ask what is the mechanism of the reversal, but I have
seen considerable clinical improvement in a number of such patients.
The remedies most used are Phosphorus and Tabacum. ''


http://www.ijo.in/article.asp?issn=0301-47...48;aulast=Chand

Bro, if you really free and got nothing to do - click here and read my freaking long article titled - The Secret To Eternal Happiness where I mentioned I do not want to be cured, hahaha.

I haven't read that and it is immaterial anyway - but do I understand
that you do not want to recover your eyesight ?