What To Know If You’ve Been Newly Diagnosed With Glaucoma
If you’ve recently been diagnosed with glaucoma, you may be feeling uncertain about what the diagnosis means for the future of your ocular health. Your first question may be: what exactly should I do now?
TRES VISION Group is here for you during this challenging time full of unknowns. Read on as our team shares information that may answer some of your initial questions about your diagnosis.
Glaucoma At a Glance
Glaucoma is a group of disorders affecting the optic nerve, which communicates information from the retina to the brain. The optic nerve is usually damaged because of increased pressure inside the eye. Pressure levels spike when the eye produces fluid but cannot pump out enough of it through its drainage pathway known as the drainage angle.
The increase in intraocular pressure can happen gradually, as it does with open-angle glaucoma cases; or, it can happen quickly, as it does with angle-closure glaucoma. In either type of case, the pressure spike can cause optic nerve damage and subsequent vision loss. (The first type of vision to be affected is peripheral, or side, vision.)
Finding the Right Care Team Is Crucial
After being diagnosed with glaucoma, one of your first steps should be to establish care with an ophthalmologist whose specialties include the care and management of glaucoma. Your doctor will be able to tell you what type of glaucoma you have, how severe it is and how you can best manage it.
Glaucoma is a chronic disease that requires ongoing monitoring. If you are not regularly seen by an experienced doctor, your eyesight could deteriorate significantly and you could become legally blind. But by forming a professional relationship with a knowledgeable expert, you are putting yourself in the best position to keep glaucoma under control.
Treatment Options Continue to Improve
As experts’ understanding of glaucoma develops, treatment options continually evolve. The team at TRES VISION Group is proud to offer an advanced solution for open-angle glaucoma: the iStent. This tiny tube-like implant, which cannot be seen or felt, is placed in the eye to improve fluid drainage. In our experience, the placement of the iStent can reduce or eliminate dependency on glaucoma medication and corrective lenses, which are commonly regarded as inconvenient and expensive. Dr. Tres was the first ophthalmologist in Central Florida to place the iStent. Visit our glaucoma page on our website to learn about all of the options TRES VISION Group provides their patients.
Book a Consultation with Our Team Today
Hopefully this post has helped you learn a little more about your glaucoma in the wake of your diagnosis. Our knowledgeable glaucoma specialists at TRES VISION Group are happy to share more during a consultation at one of our offices. Please call or email us today to request an appointment.