Does anyone know anything about high eye pressure, When i had my check up yesterday my pressure was a little bit up at 22.
I guess this is due to the steroids i am taking and guess it will go down as i reduce the steroids every other day.
What does high eye pressure mean (damage to the eye / graft etc?
And will i know if it gets worse any signs i should be looking out for?
Thanks Anne
Eye Pressure
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GarethB
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Hi Anne,
No idea of how high your eye pressure would need to be to cause concern.
I do know that high eye pressure can cause damage to the eye. If you think of the eye as a fluid filled ball there is a limit to how much liquid can be pumped in before it breaks. My understanding is that as far as a graft is concerned the new cornea/sutures to your own cornea is the weak point. High eye pressure could cause this to rupture just like lifting heavy loads.
Hydrops can be painful so perhaps a sudden bout of eye pain may indicate problems. You are quite right in saynig it is the steroid eye drops as this is a side effect and with rejection the optoms pay particular attention to eye pressure which can be just as problematic. So as you say, eye pressure should drop as you reduce the steroids.
From the talk we had in Birmingham on Intacs, the surgeon did say that eye pressure measurement equipment is designed for a normal thickness cornea not a KC one and not a cornea that has been operated on so he questions how accurate is the measurement? I got the view that his thoughts are that the changes in successive readings up or down are more important and how the cornea looks.
No idea of how high your eye pressure would need to be to cause concern.
I do know that high eye pressure can cause damage to the eye. If you think of the eye as a fluid filled ball there is a limit to how much liquid can be pumped in before it breaks. My understanding is that as far as a graft is concerned the new cornea/sutures to your own cornea is the weak point. High eye pressure could cause this to rupture just like lifting heavy loads.
Hydrops can be painful so perhaps a sudden bout of eye pain may indicate problems. You are quite right in saynig it is the steroid eye drops as this is a side effect and with rejection the optoms pay particular attention to eye pressure which can be just as problematic. So as you say, eye pressure should drop as you reduce the steroids.
From the talk we had in Birmingham on Intacs, the surgeon did say that eye pressure measurement equipment is designed for a normal thickness cornea not a KC one and not a cornea that has been operated on so he questions how accurate is the measurement? I got the view that his thoughts are that the changes in successive readings up or down are more important and how the cornea looks.
Gareth
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jayuk
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Anne
A pressure reading of 22 post graft would prbably be expected to be honest.....from memory I was told that anything above 30+ which was sustained for more than 2 weeks was cause for concern...
There is medication which is given to reduce thiis, but as Gareth pointed out, high pressure can cause damage to the Optic Nerve and im sure other things......but I wouldnt be alarmed if your consultant isnt.
In terms of measuring the pressure, it really does depend on what equipment they use....some arent as good or as sophisticated as others...
HTH
J
A pressure reading of 22 post graft would prbably be expected to be honest.....from memory I was told that anything above 30+ which was sustained for more than 2 weeks was cause for concern...
There is medication which is given to reduce thiis, but as Gareth pointed out, high pressure can cause damage to the Optic Nerve and im sure other things......but I wouldnt be alarmed if your consultant isnt.
In terms of measuring the pressure, it really does depend on what equipment they use....some arent as good or as sophisticated as others...
HTH
J
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John Smith
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Hi Anne,
I'd second what the others say. I had pressure problems after my first graft. I first noticed problems of losing vision and feeling giddy for a few seconds on standing up after resting for a while. It seemed that the high eye pressure was making it more difficult for blood to be pumped to the retina causing the problems.
Once I was given timolol drops though, all was fine for a while.
Beware though that continued use of steroids can cause a sudden increase in pressure as in my case I became sensitive to dexamethasone about 16-20 weeks post-graft. I was then switched to FML and have largely been fine since.
I'm sure that your consultant will be keeping an eye on your pressure, and that you'll have nothing to worry about. Do tell him though of any other medical problems - even if they don't seem relevant, as I discovered that a chest problem was caused by eye drops, and then medication (more steroids!) caused further eye complications.
I'd second what the others say. I had pressure problems after my first graft. I first noticed problems of losing vision and feeling giddy for a few seconds on standing up after resting for a while. It seemed that the high eye pressure was making it more difficult for blood to be pumped to the retina causing the problems.
Once I was given timolol drops though, all was fine for a while.
Beware though that continued use of steroids can cause a sudden increase in pressure as in my case I became sensitive to dexamethasone about 16-20 weeks post-graft. I was then switched to FML and have largely been fine since.
I'm sure that your consultant will be keeping an eye on your pressure, and that you'll have nothing to worry about. Do tell him though of any other medical problems - even if they don't seem relevant, as I discovered that a chest problem was caused by eye drops, and then medication (more steroids!) caused further eye complications.
John
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Andrew MacLean
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Sweet and Anne
I guess the question is "What is the normal range for Intraocular Pressure?" I looked it up and found this:
I then looked a little harder and found a very helpful article at
http://www.eyemdlink.com/Test.asp?TestID=16
Anne, on this basis your IOP is only just outside the "normal" range, and is prpobably not the occasion for alarm bells ringing. They will check your IOP at each hospital visit, and will take action if they think that your optic nerve is at risk.
Sweet, if they have never done anything to pump up your pressure then I guess they're not worried that it is low. Your "normal" is just different from the middle 95% normal range for the whole population.
Andrew
I guess the question is "What is the normal range for Intraocular Pressure?" I looked it up and found this:
"The normal range of intraocular pressure (IOP) is 10 mm Hg to 21 mm Hg, with an average of about 16 mm Hg."
I then looked a little harder and found a very helpful article at
http://www.eyemdlink.com/Test.asp?TestID=16
Anne, on this basis your IOP is only just outside the "normal" range, and is prpobably not the occasion for alarm bells ringing. They will check your IOP at each hospital visit, and will take action if they think that your optic nerve is at risk.
Sweet, if they have never done anything to pump up your pressure then I guess they're not worried that it is low. Your "normal" is just different from the middle 95% normal range for the whole population.
Andrew
Andrew MacLean
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Andrew MacLean
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