Darian R
I feel privileged to get to share this with other glaucoma patients. I hope that my testimony will awaken anyone who takes the disease of glaucoma lightly. I went in for an eye exam when I was 18 years old. They discovered my glaucoma then with the 'air blow' technique. I wasn't alarmed at the time. It wasn't anything a young male couldn't handle. I was ready to conquer the world, what was there I couldn't handle? I don't think I could of understood as well as I do today even if they hit me over the head with a hammer. I was diagnosed with pigmentary glaucoma. It is very rare, at least that's what they told me. That just busted my ego higher, because I had an extra reason to feel different and special. It was adversely ironic that a incurable disease was going to make me feel like I was on top of the world. Nevertheless, I went on with my life taking my drops only how I saw fit. I was never regular. There were countless days and nights that I didn't take my drops. There was always a good reason to say 'I'll take them later'. The years went by so fast I don't even remember half of them. I do remember that the doctors would get upset with me because I wouldn't regulate my drops. I have actually had a doctor tell me never to come back to his clinic. He later apologized for being unprofessional. I got to hand it to the doctors though, they were very concerned with my eyesight. Now, 10 years later, I know why. I have had laser surgery. It was a failure because my type of glaucoma clogs the eye up. I have been on almost every type of eye drop that can be subscribed... Timoptic, Azopt, Trusopt, Pilocarpine, Xalatan, Alphagan.. now I am currently on Timoptic, Pilocarpine, and Xalatan. I am scheduled for trabecular surgery 04-26-00. It is a last chance operation to control my pressure. My left eye has so much worse that in a 10 year period my eye went from a 4 to an 8 1/2 on a scale from 1-10. If I could do anything to let a newcomer know how serious glaucoma is, I would. It is something that without regulation and constant maintenance will indefinitely make you go blind. I can only hope that the pigment in my eye will not block the passage of fluid in my left eye after this trabecularoctomy. If you have glaucoma, PLEASE DON'T TAKE IT LIGHTLY! It won't take you lightly. Sincerely. Darian M Ross.
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