Suspect Open Angle Glaucoma after seven months on prednisone

I was diagnosed with a cataract and glaucoma in one eye for my 60th birthday so I get it. My doctor was very clear that he thought it was related to prednisone. The good news is that I could see an improvement very quickly in my vision and the doctor confirmed it at my follow-up. I'm not sure why your doctor chose an older med. But it's good that you caught it early and are taking care of it.

Thanks for the response. It had actually been 10 1/2 years since my last check up.
If I had gone in March when I had planned to, I would have had normal eye pressure results because I hadn’t started prednisone at that point. So who knows what kind of damage might have occurred by the time it was discovered. It’s hard to feel lucky about something like this, but maybe I should.

I thought I would answer my own question here. I had a chance to talk to an optometrist family member over Thanksgiving. He reassured me about the safety of Timolol. especially since I'm just using it once a day. He thought my eye pressure was at the lower end for glaucoma, as he frequent see patients with much higher initial pressure. Though Timolol would not be safe for people with heart conditions. He mentioned that cataract surgery could be years away, and has become so easy that I really shouldn't worry about it. My optometrist had said that as well. So I feel reassured about the whole thing. I still wish the eyedrops were less annoying to apply though.

I’ve taken Timolol for years now. There are several eye medication‘s for glaucoma and you need to take it seriously as your age. Someone here said they hadn’t been to the eye doctor for 10 years. My mouth dropped open. I go To the eye doctor four times a year. With glaucoma, you have to stay on top of it. You have to learn how to stay in line. (i.e. a low sugar diet and learn about the other things that contribute to glaucoma getting worse.) And it will get worse as you age. I had to change eye medicines at one point because I was getting dry eyes. I’ve had cataract surgery eight years ago and it was the most amazing thing! It was like ripping a film off my vision that I didn’t even know was there. There are other things that can be done in addition to medication like having the mesh in your tear ducts Enlarged through painless, laser therapy in the doctors office. That will also take the eye pressure down also eye pressure can change over the course of the day over the time of year, so it’s important to take The average numbers over the course of the year. Medicare pays for the multiple visits if you have glaucoma, so there’s no reason not to do it. Our eyes and our sight and our iHealth and vision deteriorate as we age and for me as a Artist, I must be super vigilant with my eyes. You might wanna consider if your ophthalmologist is a cataract or glaucoma specialist and not the run of the mill person at a Popular chain store.

Thank you for your response. I am an artist myself, though I haven't done anything since PMR started to become debilitating at the end of last year. After working all day, almost every day for decades. There is no question that I will be keeping on top of exams from now on. Currently the only thing that seems different with my vision is that it feels like everyone else is driving with their brights on at night. And I can't tell if I just typed a comma or a period on this screen without retyping- though that may have already started before all of this. I'm happy enough with the Optometrist I just saw, I have a follow up in a couple of weeks, and will stay on the meds till I get off of prednisone. There is a very good Ophthalmologist/cataract specialist in the same practice, and I know of a few other good people around here. This is a well known and respected practice locally, which has expanded to a few other locations over the years, but is by no means a cookie cutter chain store. My nephew in law, who I consulted at Thanksgiving, is very good, but too far away for convenience. But I could certainly ask him for advice if I feel that I need it. If I had known what was coming I would most likely have chosen an opthamologist first though.
Thanks for the good advice! You've been really helpful.