I have been using eyedrops for glaucoma for 6 years or so, and my eye pressures don't go down much.?

Question

Should I keep them up? They don't seem to be working much, and they are expensive. I use 3 different types.

Answer 1

well, if you don't alter your diet to one low in salt, then all the drops in the world aren't going to be as effective.  So you have to decide is eating whatever you want more important to you than being unable to see?  Because, untreated, glaucoma WILL blind you.

Answer 2

You need to discuss this with your optomologist/ophthalmologist.  They should be monitoring this about every 6 months.  If you disagree with them greatly, seek a second opinion.

Answer 3

There may be lots of reasons why you might  not be getting the best results from your medicine. I have a hard time getting eye drops in sometimes. When that happens, I don;t get all of the medicine in my eyes. You can talk to the pharmacist where you got your prescription filled for advice on techniques to put eye drops in.

You can also ask the pharmacist about ways to afford your medicine. Some of the drug companies now have discount cards or programs to help patients with the high costs of medicines. It's not always well advertised so you will have to ask the pharmacist.

You also do not say if you have other illnesses or take other medications. If you are taking other medicines or have other health conditions, these might make your eye drops less effective especially if you started these other medicines after you started the glaucome drops.

In the article cited below from WebMD, I think that you will find this information helpful.

"How is it treated?

Glaucoma is usually treated with medicine such as eyedrops. Be sure to follow a daily schedule for your eyedrops so that they work the way they should. You will likely need to take medicine for the rest of your life. You may also need laser treatment or surgery."

"In adults, treatment can't bring back vision that has been lost, but it can keep your vision from getting worse. Treatment aims to stop more damage to the optic nerve by lowering the pressure in the eyes."- Web MD

I would not recommend that you stop taking the medications because the glaucoma and your vision could get worse.

Be sure to talk to your doctor about your concerns about your medications. As it says above, you may get better results if you have laser treatments or surgery. Don't just stop taking the eye drops.

Hope this helps !

Let me know if you have other questions