Talk me down... ophthalmologist appt

[niccig]

I went to a new optometrist yesterday as it’s been 2 years since last check. She’s sending me to ophthalmologist for enlarged optic nerve and wants me to see the glaucoma specialists. I’ve worn glasses since I was 12 so I’ve had regular eye checks every 1-2 years. I haven’t had my eyes dilated in several years though as you can’t drive after and I always forget and drive myself to the appointment. They’ve done the air puff test or other tests where look at back of eye.

I’m very near sighted so losing vision is a fear of mine. And of course my eyes have been feeling tired for the last few days, but I put that down to not getting enough sleep. I slept plenty last night, but my eyes still feel funny.

Why did I have the appointment on a Friday... can’t do anything now until Monday




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[jgenie]

Each time I’ve changed eye doctors the new doctors concerned about glaucoma. I can’t remember what the issue is but all is fine. Fingers crossed yours is nothing to worry about!!!


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[niccig]

Each time I’ve changed eye doctors the new doctors concerned about glaucoma. I can’t remember what the issue is but all is fine. Fingers crossed yours is nothing to worry about!!!


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Good to know. No one’s ever mentioned this to me before. I offered to go back on another day and do the dilation test, but she said she wanted ophthalmologist to do the tests.


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[specialp]

I'm allowed to drive after having my eyes dilated.

I remember having to see one years ago (I think I was 23) after I changed eye drs. I swear it was because I had vision insurance that covered it and he clearly thought it was overkill. I do not even remember the issue, but haven't had to go since then.

[NCGrandma]

Good to know. No one’s ever mentioned this to me before. I offered to go back on another day and do the dilation test, but she said she wanted ophthalmologist to do the tests.


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No personal experience with optometrists (my eyes have always been weird...) but I know that typical practice varies by region, state law, and the practitioner's own preference.
—in some cases, optometrists prescribe glasses/contacts and do the basic screenings for common eye conditions but refer if there are any concerns; they do not typically treat any eye diseases
—in other cases, optometrists do the full gamut of advanced testing and treat some eye diseases, only referring more complex patients or if surgery is needed

It sounds to me as if your new optometrist may prefer to focus on prescribing glasses and to refer anything else to an ophthalmologist. If that’s the case, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your eyes have suddenly developed a problem, just that she wants someone else to take a look, too.

In any case, you will probably need to have a dilated exam (yeah, I really dislike those, too, but they give enough more information that they’re worth doing).


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[candaceb]

I went through a glaucoma scare about 5 years ago. My dr. sent me off to the specialist who did a whole bunch of tests, and then had me come back some time (6-12 months?) later and there was no big change. I saw the specialist another year or so after that then he said I was fine and to go back to my regular ophthalmologist.
I remember having a ton of anxiety and it was all for nothing. I hope yours turns out the same way.
The good thing is that with early detection, glaucoma is manageable so even if it does turn out to be something it's not the end of the world.

[MommyAllison]

I know it's hard not to worry, especially over the weekend! My grandmother had glaucoma for years and years, she had special eye drops for it but otherwise it didn't seem to affect her life at all. Odds are that everything is fine, but even a glaucoma diagnosis isn't likely to be really life altering!

[MMMommy]

I am allowed to drive after eye dilation, and I have terrible nearsightedness. With my contacts back in after, I'm fine to drive. It's just bright after dilation, so just be sure to have good sunglasses. It's the near vision that is difficult after dilation, not far vision.

So am I correct to assume you didn't dilate on Friday? And you will dilate and do the complete eye health check at the opthalmologist? Don't worry unnecessarily now. Hopefully a complete exam with dilation will check out that all is actually ok.

[PZMommy]

It will be fine!

I had an issue earlier last year where I started losing vision in my left eye. I thought I just needed stronger contacts. I saw my regular eye doctor as I didn’t think it was a big deal. This was on a Saturday afternoon. My vision in that eye was so bad she managed to get me into an opthamologist two hours later on a Saturday afternoon. I had several hours of testing done. Some were annoying, but nothing painful. Turns out my tear duct had been inflamed and my eye got so dried out that a layer formed over my cornea which was causing the vision lost. Much better news as they were afraid my retina was detaching. If your eye doctor thought it was something serious they would have had you into a specialist right away vs waiting. I didn’t drive home from that original appointment, but I had many follow up appointments where they dialated my eyes and I was able to drive myself home.

[Globetrotter]

My previous optometrist had mentioned I have an enlarged optic nerve and had me monitored annually using this big expensive machine. I transferred to a new optometrist and this one said that it’s very common for people of my ethnicity to have an enlarged optic nerve and he didn’t seem concerned. Another optometrist Told me the same thing.
If anything, it might be something to just monitor for changes, but some people just have enlarged optic nerves. And it sounds Like glaucoma tx have greatly improved so early diagnosis is useful. But most likely it’ll turn out to be nothing.