Weinies*

@ADKSparky This is something that runs in both sides of my family, so it's genetic. Good thing there are treatments for it now. At some point, there will be nerve regeneration meds which can reverse lost vision. Not yet, though. Unfortunately, some people get glaucoma in their teens or twenties, or are even born with it. I'm glad I'm not one of those.

It's a small tube that allows fluid to drain out of the eye, so it relieves the pressure. I'm not sure what it means to have a cataract go nuclear! I'm glad it wasn't serious, whatever it was.

@Organist1 If there's a tube in one's eye isn't it uncomfortable to move the eye? The lens is held in a sack. Muscles are connected to the sack and the lens is free floating, the muscles contract and stretch which changes the shape of the lens in order to focus. I had an artificial lens (hard plastic) for cataract surgery. Sometimes (like in my case) the lens rubs against the back of the sack and causes a clouding. A laser zaps the cloudy part leaving a hole (it's smaller than the lens so it stays in place). Without 21st century medicine few of us would be able to function. Too bad the anti-vaxxers haven't figured that out yet (if they ever will).

@JackPedigo That's a good question, but people I've talked to who have had it, say they can't feel it. I had the same kind of laser surgery you had -a yag capsulotomy- done earlier this year, because of results from cataract surgery. It made a big difference in my vision, and only took 5 minutes!

@Organist1 The cataract surgery also mad a big difference in my vision. I went from off the charts (was told it was measured in the distance I could count fingers - 3' to 20/20 in one eye and 20/15 in the other.

@JackPedigo It's great, isn't it? I went from not being able to read the "E" on the eye chart to 20/20 in one eye, and 20/25 in the other. It's really life-changing.

It's always a good idea to do that, ev en if you think you are at low risk. Glaucoma is often genetic, and I have it on both sides of my family -so many of us! My father's sister went totally blind from it, but that was in the 1980s, and there are better treatments for it now. I was going to an incompetent opthalmologist who missed the signs until I'd already lost some vision. Now I see the director of the glaucoma dept. at Wills Eye Hosp. He's great!

I already had laser surgery twice. It only can lower pressure for so long until it starts rising again. The next step is a shunt.

In order to keep my pressure down, I would have to be high 100% of the time. I'm one of those people who gets really anxious when smoking, so not good for me. Plus, the munchies... The shunt is probably the best option, as I can avoid all meds afterward. It's not fun to think about, but it should work.

Are you getting annual visual fields tests? Is your ophthalmologist examining your optic nerve? That's really important, and it's how my former eye doctor missed the damage -by not doing the appropriate tests.