Ophthalmology Appointment - What To Expect?

IWasWondering...

:hello: Hi,
I had an eye test in December and because of differences in the pressure test results the Optician has asked my Doctor to refer me to the Eye Hospital.

It had been 12 months since my last eye test but I had noticed some deterioration in my eyesight (when reading) so I decided to have a check up and I was right - got a new prescription and new glasses.

My Ophthalmology Appointment has arrived (11/2) and the letter says do not drive as you may be given drops which will cause blurred vision. Not worried about that - spoke to my Mum 'cos she's had it done a couple of times and she said will be OK after a couple of hours and don't worry.

But it also says "Due to certain clinical procedures which may occur during your visit, there could be a delay of 30 minutes to 3 hours."
Apart from I may have eye drops and won't be able to drive home I've no idea what to expect.
Does anyone have any idea what may happen when I get there?
Can anyone enlighten me as to possibilities? Please?

The Optician said I was not to worry, he got my old eye test records and the very first one was similar to the last one on pressure difference. The next showed similar pressures. Then this one varied again. He said if he hadn't seen the old test results then his first thought would have been glaucoma (but it would be several years before I noticed any appreciable difference in my sight) BUT because he has seen all the test results he said it could be 'normal' for me to have these pressure differences.
What I don't understand is if the 1st test results were similar to the last ones, and I'm being referred this time, why wasn't I referred 1st time round?

lolly5648

It never hurts to have a second opinion on these things - eyes are one of the most precious things we have.

When they put certain drops in your eyes it can take up to 30 minutes for them to work, if you look in a mirror after about 10 minutes you will see your pupils enlarge. Don't worry, it is all painless, although it takes me about 4 hours before my eyes are completely back to normal.

finc

Also take some sunglasses, when I had this done my eyes were super sensitive to light for a few hours afterwards which resulted in a headache..

Mojisola

IWasWondering... wrote: »

:
My Ophthalmology Appointment has arrived (11/2) and the letter says do not drive as you may be given drops which will cause blurred vision. Not worried about that - spoke to my Mum 'cos she's had it done a couple of times and she said will be OK after a couple of hours and don't worry.

I may have misunderstood this - but it sounds to me as if you are thinking about driving yourself home. Please don't! Some of the eyedrops make you blurry for a long time and your insurance company would not pay out on a claim if you had an accident.

Valley's_girl

Hope all goes well for you, my dad has glaucoma, I have to be checked regularly.
Let us know how it all goes.
Ally xx

Horace

I have to go to the eye hospital fortnightly at the mo - I have glaucoma. They warn you about not driving because they may use dilating drops in your eye and these can take a long time to wear off. If you can get a lift to the hospital or go by bus then that is easier, take some sunglasses with you and a peaked cap (just in case it is really sunny).

Dont be afraid, they will add some fluorescing drops to your eye and take the pressure by resting a thing on it (dunno what its called). You might get prescribed steroid drops or if the pressure is too high then you may be operated upon (this can be done under local or general anaesthetic).

I have been going to the eye hospital now since 1998 and have had 4 ops on my left eye and one op on my right eye. I no longer have high eye pressure - I suffer from extremely low eye pressure which is just as bad if not worse (my current pressures are 3 in left eye and 4 in right:eek: ) but my pressures have been as high as 32 and 53:eek: :eek:

One thing with the eye hospital is never be afraid to ask questions. On arrival after you have checked in you are usually taken away by a nurse who will test your vision whilst you are wearing your specs, you are then taken to the clinic where you sit and wait to be called.

I have been going to the eye hospital in Birmingham since 1998 so if you have any questions feel free to PM me.

Regards
Horace

wishiwasarichgirl

IWasWondering... wrote: »

:hello:
But it also says "Due to certain clinical procedures which may occur during your visit, there could be a delay of 30 minutes to 3 hours."
Apart from I may have eye drops and won't be able to drive home I've no idea what to expect.
Does anyone have any idea what may happen when I get there?
Can anyone enlighten me as to possibilities? Please?

I'm an optician, so I'll try to answer your questions.
I'm basing my answers on my local eye dept, other hospitals may have slightly different procedures.

Normally when you arrive a nurse will check your vision on the chart and put eye drops in to dilate your pupils (makes them bigger so the ophthalmologist can get a good view of the inside of the eye). The drops can take a few hours to wear off. You will be more sensitive to light until they do, and your vision may be blurry, hence why they warn you not to drive.

The ophthalmologist will get you to put your chin on a rest and will put some yellow drops in your eyes (Fluorescein & local anaesthetic). They will then bring a little probe with a blue light (tonometer) very close to the front surface of the eye (don't worry, you won't feel it, the drops will numb the eye). This will tell him the pressure in the eye.

He will look at the inside of the eye with quite a bright light and by holding a lens in front of your eye, he may also use a goniolens which sits right on the surface of the eye like a big contact lens (again, you will have had a local anaesthetic but it can be a little uncomfortable).

They may do perimetry (visual field test) where you look at a light and indicate when you see other lights flashing, sometimes they do this on a different day as it can be quite time-consuming. This tells them if you have any "blind spots" in your vision (other than the normal one which everyone has)

The outcome of all these tests will determine what happens next. They may decide everything is normal and discharge you, they may monitor you by asking you to come back in say 6 - 12 months, or they may decide to try to lower the pressure (usually by using eye drops, sometimes by surgery)

What I don't understand is if the 1st test results were similar to the last ones, and I'm being referred this time, why wasn't I referred 1st time round?

the optician looks at more than just the pressure in the eyes. This measurement on its own is generally pretty meaningless. More important is the appearance of the optic nerve head (optic disc) at the back of the eye. If this appears healthy and the visual field test gives normal results then most opticians would not refer you unless the pressure is sky-high. They also take into consideration other risk factors such as any family history of glaucoma/ocular hypertension, your age, sex & ethnicity.

Hope this helps and don't worry, you will more than likely be told that everything is fine, and even if it is not, it is better to have picked it up early than later when it has started to affect your vision!

IWasWondering...

Mojisola wrote: »

I may have misunderstood this - but it sounds to me as if you are thinking about driving yourself home. Please don't! Some of the eyedrops make you blurry for a long time and your insurance company would not pay out on a claim if you had an accident.

Yes - you misunderstood. No way will I drive if I have the drops in.
Just to put your mind at rest - I am driving to work AM. Then having a lift to the hospital. So my car will not be there. Thank you for your concern.

Horace

Good luck at the hospital - I am sure you will be fine.

WishIwasarichgirl - thanks for the explanation - that is exactly what I have when I visit the eye hospital but I couldn't remember all the technical words. BTW fluorescin is fab - it makes my eyes glow when I go into places that have UV light on display and it can look quite scarey (not for me though).

wishiwasarichgirl

Horace wrote: »

Good luck at the hospital - I am sure you will be fine.

WishIwasarichgirl - thanks for the explanation - that is exactly what I have when I visit the eye hospital but I couldn't remember all the technical words. BTW fluorescin is fab - it makes my eyes glow when I go into places that have UV light on display and it can look quite scarey (not for me though).

I know, we used to pinch it from the optometry dept at uni when we were students and soak some daily disposable contacts in it before going clubbing - makes your eyes look proper freaky

Found out later that this is pretty bad for your eyes though! oops I'm way more sensible now...

wishiwasarichgirl

Horace wrote: »

...You might get prescribed steroid drops...

Regards
Horace

just so you know steroid drops actually raise the intraocular pressure... you may have been prescribed them if your IOP dropped too low, or if you had another eye condition of some kind.

slightly off topic but I was sent this justin timberlake remix recently... wonder when he became a registered ophthalmologist

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OJMEfGFbFMI