Side topic

We all get distracted in our daily lives - if it's not something as simple as the weather, it's worrying about a certain North Korean guy and what he might do in a fit of stupidity.  All in all, life itself is pretty distracting.

But this is not the time to forget to take care of ourselves.  

A few years ago I was in Arizona and scheduled for cataract surgery - I was one of the lucky few who have "fast acting cataracts" - they seemed to come out of nowhere and over a span of just a few months, viola!  They were operable.

Strangely enough I now count those cataracts as one of my more fortunate afflictions because if I hadn't had cataracts, I wouldn't have known I had glaucoma!

A little information about glaucoma:

Visual loss from glaucoma results from characteristic deterioration of the optic nerve leading to progressing loss of the field of vision.  Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of adult blindness and it is also the leading cause of preventable blindness.

Most people who go blind from glaucoma are blind in at least one eye at the time of original detection, which points to the need for better early diagnosis.  Because it usually does not manifest any symptoms until extensive peripheral visual loss becomes apparent  in the final states of the disease it is often likened to the "sneak thief of sight".  Unlike most eye diseases, most varieties of glaucoma are chronic - virtually lifelong disorders that can be controlled but not cured.  Like diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma or arthritis, glaucoma requires some modification in lifestyle, such as compliance with medical regimens, regular physician visits and acknowledgment of the disease to achieve successful treatment.

Since my glaucoma was only found coincidentally while dealing with other issues I cannot stress enough to have your eye pressure checked yearly!  High inter-ocular eye pressure is the condition which damages that optic nerve and, believe me, you CANNOT tell when your eye pressures are up.  And furthermore, apparently most of those who lose their vision (that's right: go blind!) do so from a failure to adhere to their treatment schedule.

I've been dealing with glaucoma for about 4 years how and I still keep a log of every time I use my eye drops - I'm fortunate in that mine is controlled with just two different drops on a complimentary schedule.  The only way to be sure I've really done what I'm supposed to is to keep track on that form.  When you do something every day (twice a day in my case) you soon become unable to remember if you actually did it or not.

So I slavishly make my little check marks every time I "do" eye drops and also faithfully show up at my eye specialist's appointments no matter what.

I totally admit that I have never been as frightened in my entire life as I was when I got the initial diagnosis and was told that without pretty radical surgery that I was sure to go blind.   I drove back across the country sure that I was doomed and was incredibly fortunate to find a specialist nearby who was knowledgeable and who soon found the combination of drops to lower my eye pressure - no resorting to fast surgery for that doc!  

So along with making sure you get your eye pressure checked, be sure to get at least one additional treatment option if you get a glaucoma diagnosis.  Sometimes, yes, it requires some rather drastic measures to ensure keeping your sight - other times?  Not so much.

So off my soap box for the time being but, as I always say,

Do NOT be "that guy"!