The Glaucoma Support Center

Every person is unique, but when you face a challenge like glaucoma, you are never alone. Countless people have faced exactly same diagnosis and have survived and thrived. The following guide is designed to help you navigate your journey with the best information and resources that helped other survivors when they faced the same challenge.

TSC has scoured the Web to assemble links to the very best glaucoma resources: articles, blogs, forums, and tools that can help you make better decisions and take action to overcome the range of physical, emotional, and other challenges that you're facing now.

As you’ll see, we always welcome your ideas and suggestions to make this glaucoma guide even more helpful to survivors like you.

JUST FOUND OUT

Survivors Say: Best Resources for Glaucoma

Survivors say these are the best resources for those who have just been diagnosed with glaucoma; check them out to learn more about your options:

• Glaucoma Research Foundation The definitive source for glaucoma information and resources, the Foundation's site also includes advice on living with glaucoma and news on research.
• Medline Plus: Glaucoma A complete guide for treatment options and types of glaucoma, from the National Library of Medicine/National Institutes of Health.
• Mayoclinic.com - Glaucoma The Mayo Clinic's guide for living with and treating glaucoma, written in easy-to-follow language. A good starting place if you're just learning about glaucoma or want to educate family and friends about your condition.

The Big Picture

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that damage the eye's optic nerve. It is a leading cause of blindness in the United States and usually occurs when the pressure inside the eyes increases, which in turn damages the optic nerve. Often there are no symptoms at first, but a comprehensive eye exam can detect glaucoma.

What are the signs of glaucoma? Read this guide to symptoms from the American Health Assistance Foundation:

Symptoms of Glaucoma

Your Glaucoma

There are two main types of glaucoma -- open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure glaucoma -- so you'll need to first find out from your doctor what kind you have. Here's a look at the diagnostic tests for glaucoma, as well as more about each type:

• Glaucoma Research Foundation: Diagnostic Tests
• WebMD: Glaucoma - Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment
  

Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Glaucoma

Glaucoma Research Foundation: Working With Your Doctor

Your World

After being diagnosed with glaucoma, you may feel a range of emotions, from anger to depression to anxiety. Learning to understand these feelings and still move on with your life is a big part of your journey toward becoming a survivor. Sharing your experience with others going through the same situation you are can really help:

Glaucoma Service Foundation to Prevent Blindness: Glaucoma Support Group

Glaucoma Myths

• "Only old people get glaucoma." Enotalone.com: The Glaucoma Myths: What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Glaucoma
• "All people who get glaucoma go blind." Glaucoma.org

Information and Recommended Links for Survivors

Survivors say these are the best guides for dealing with glaucoma; check them out to learn more about your options:

• Living with Glaucoma - Glaucoma Research Foundation This resource offers solid advice on daily living as someone one with glaucoma.
• HealthCentral.com - Glaucoma A complete guide to the diagnosis, treatment, and recovery from glaucoma.
• Glaucoma - Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment of Glaucoma A comprehensive, updated guide on glaucoma from The New York Times

Types of Treatment

Eye Drops and Medications

Drugs are likely to be a mainstay of your treatment. Here's the Glaucoma Research Foundation's guide to commonly prescribed medications:

Glaucoma Research Foundation

Glaucoma Medications

Preventblindness.org: Glaucoma Learning Center - Treating Glaucoma with Medicines

Surgery

Sometimes surgery, such as laser surgery or filtering microsurgery, is advised to relieve pressure in the eye:

Glaucoma Surgery - Glaucoma Research Foundation

Creating a Support Circle

• Set up your TSC survivor profile.
• Join a support groups or start your own.
• Keep those close to you updated on your condition.

Health-care Providers Who Can Help

Eye doctors and eye surgeons treat glaucoma.

Resources to Find Doctors

• Glaucoma Research Foundation: Find a Doctor
• Find an Eye M.D.--Eyesmart.com (American Academy of Ophthalmology)

Books Survivors Recommend

• A Patient's Guide to Glaucoma by Young H. Kwon, John H. Fingert, Emily C. Greenlee
• Glaucoma: A Patient's Guide to the Disease by Graham E. Trope
• What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Glaucoma: The Essential Treatments and Advances That Could Save Your Sight by Gregory K. Harmon, Nancy Intrator, Catherine Wang, Kitty Carlisle Hart

Dealing with Glaucoma: Information for Co-Survivors

How You Can Help

• Share resources and books that helped you or your survivor.
• Share your experiences with others.
• Create a TSC co-survivor profile and join the TSC community.

What to Say

• Be supportive and ask how you can help.
• Help other co-survivors understand that they are not alone.
• Reassure your survivor that there is life beyond having glaucoma.

What Not to Say

• Don't be overly negative.
• Don't trivialize your survivor's concerns.
• Don't focus on having glaucoma as the defining moment of the person's life.

Things You Can Do for a Survivor Every Day

• Lend an ear when your survivor needs one.
• Collect books or articles from reliable sources on glaucoma.
• Empathize and share your own experiences with hardship, and how you got through it.

How to Build a Support Network

• Set up your TSC co-survivor profile.
• Create a support group for your friend or family member.
• Offer updates to friends and family.

Recovery and Recurrence

If your glaucoma worsens, try not to become discouraged. Remember that you have come a long way already. Talk to your doctor about revisiting your treatment plan; it may be time for more extreme measures than you've tried to date.

This PDF brochure from the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, covers what to do if you begin to lose your vision:

What You Should Know About Glaucoma  [PDF File]

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is essential to helping you fight glaucoma

Prevention.com - Glaucoma FAQ

You may wish to pursue a new course of treatment for your glaucoma. If traditional treatments do not work, there are several alternative therapies you can learn more about:

Alternative Medicine - Glaucoma Research Foundation

 Vision loss

 If treatment isn't able to stop your glaucoma from progressing and you continue to lose your vision, or even go blind, you are not alone, and there are organizations and people to help you deal with this overwhelming loss. You will no doubt experience profound emotions and are likely to struggle with the changes to your life that vision loss can bring. Here are some resources to help you and those who love you through this very difficult time:

• Willsglaucoma.org: What are the odds of going blind from glaucoma?
• Glaucoma Research Foundation: What are my chances of going blind if I am diagnosed with glaucoma?
• National Association for Visually Handicapped
• National Federation of the Blind
• WebMD: Coping with Losing Your Vision