I met my old Doctor, Dr Soeharnila SpM, who is very glad to meet me after three years. I complained to her the first time I met her again, because the eye drop make my eyes feel a bit weird and explained to her about what I worry about but she ensured that everything is fine and my eyes are very good indeed since the degree of my minus is stable enough since 2015.
Since I did a regular check up, she suggested me to take OCT scan because it seems the pressures in my eyes are a bit high, but she thought maybe it was because of high degree of myopia (minus lenses needed) . Because I have never taken one, I had my right eyes to be scanned and checked on the Pachymetry (thickness of the cornea) and Ophthalmoscopy (shape and color of the optic nerve). After they run a test, my Doctor found the pressures is indeed is high but can be compensated with the thickness of the cornea, but then she would like me to visit another Doctor who is specialized for glaucoma to be more specific and precise.
I was very lazy to make an appointment for the other time so I had the second appointment straight away with Dr Martin Sondak, SpM. He is a very friendly doctor who is good at explaining about glaucoma. Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases which result in damage to the optic nerve and permanent vision loss and is also categorized as a slow progressing disease. He said that based on my OCT scan, the first impression is that there is a little bit of suspicion for glaucoma. But there were so many tests to be run first before concluding it.
Risk factors for glaucoma include increased pressure in the eye, a family history of the condition, and high blood pressure. But I had no family history for glaucoma and I have a low blood pressure. Usually, he explained for eye pressures a value of greater than 21 mmHg or 2.8 kPa is often used with higher pressures leading to a greater risk. However, some may have high eye pressure for years and never develop damage. Conversely, optic nerve damage may occur with normal pressure, known as normal-tension glaucoma.
So, he ran few tests on me, which is Tonometry (to check inner eye pressure through pressure applied by a puff of warm air or a tiny tool). Fyi, eye drops may be used to numb the eye. Gonioscopy (a hand-held contact lens with a mirror is placed gently on the eye to allow the examiner to see the angle between the cornea and the iris). He then put all together the pieces, saying the normal pressures for normal eyes is about 10-21 mmHg, which mine is around 14 and 15 for both eyes.
But, since glaucoma is a slow progressing disease without any symptoms, so it is very difficult to say at this moment because we need to observe it for another 3-7 years from now. He suggested to take another OCT scan test for the left eye and also Perimetry (Visual Field Test) as the base data to observe in the coming years. And so after his suggestion, I took those tests (which is very tiring of course) and come back to him again.
With those results in his hand, he said that the result for mine is very good, even better than normal eyes, which indicate very low risk for glaucoma, even though my OCT scan test has a suspicious shape to indicate the risk of glaucoma. But, it may be because the shape of my eyes normally is like that. He then checked on the thickness of my cornea and adjust the pressures in the eye, saying that after an adjustment compared with my cornea's thickness, the pressures is only 10 and 12 mmHg for both eyes, which lower number is even better. It is not a 100% free from the risk of glaucoma to be honest he said, but it is at least 99,...% is sure enough I had low risk for that. But, to be more precise, he suggested to take another check up a year after this check up.
To be honest, I am pretty shocked to run those tests for glaucoma because I never thought there is a risk for that. I don't even know what Glaucoma is in the first place. The modern goals of glaucoma management are to avoid glaucomatous damage and nerve damage, and preserve visual field and total quality of life for patients, with minimal side-effects. Intraocular pressure can be lowered with medication, usually eye drops and medication. There are also alternatives like laser and surgery to minimize the intraocular pressures. But in my case, there is no treatment needed as of now.
Thinking about that, I mean, I know this is just a saying, and hopefully everything is gonna be fine, but what if I had a vision loss, what would I do? Would someone even be there to accompany me later on when I got older? It is scary just to think about that. If I lost my vision, it would be like losing my life, no meaning when you couldn't even see anything. You can't even enjoy the beauty of this world. I had never imagine about me taking a screening for glaucoma, but those tests open my eyes, that precaution and early screening is very important.
Glaucoma is very common disease after Cataract but does not have any cured. It can only be prevented so far and usually accounts for Asian & African. I just want to share about it, take a regular check up at the Doctor. We may think if we do not have any problems with our eyes, why is there a need to see ophthalmologists?
But in cases like Glaucoma, there is no symptoms with daily activities because Glaucoma has been called the "silent thief of sight" because the loss of vision usually occurs slowly over a long period of time. Glaucoma can only be detected with screening (tests I've mentioned above) and check on the intraocular pressures as an indication in the first place. But, if treated early it is possible to slow or stop the progression of disease with medication, laser treatment, or surgery.
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