Specsavers scared me and now I have a hospital appointment?! Freaking out!

[BownnTown]

So I went to specsavers as I was getting a lot of migraines. Paid for the extra scan thing that they do. All went well, scan looked good. Then I went to the next bit where they have a good look in your eyes and he asked me if I often wake up with a bad headache - I said I do sometimes (though not often). He then told me I have “narrow angles” or something which is a sign of diabetes or high blood pressure. My Bp is always low - he then started going on about glaucoma and mentioned something about going blind overnight?! He arranged for me to have an extra test which checks your points of vision - he checked the results and said all is fine, I just need reading glasses.

Since getting the glasses my headaches seem to have gone - however I’ve now received a hospital appointment for the eye department?! I don’t have diabetes - I’m so worried right now, I have extreme health anxiety so this really isn’t helping

can anyone shed any light?!

Absolutely this.

If overcautiousness saves the sight of just 1 person it’s worth it imo.

I now know what “could” happen and will understand it if it does and most likely that will save my sight.

Don't be scared, it sounds awful but they are very cautious about and catching it before it causes problems. I was referred with the same a couple of years ago, I didn't/don't have diabetes or high blood pressure, or high pressure in my eyes, however after a couple of appointments at the eye clinic they decided I should have laser iridotomy last year to minimise the risk of glaucoma. This was a really straightforward outpatient procedure and they're very happy with the outcome, I now have to have annual checkups (plus my usual optician appointments).
It initially came as a shock as I thought opticians were mainly checking vision! I'm really grateful to them for spotting it and very supportive of keeping your optician appointments now

An optician (not SpecSavers) told me he thought I had MS and told me to go to A&E immediately. Long story short, I had a sinus infection 🙄

If they thought there was anything seriously wrong, you wouldn’t have been given a routine appointment. Hope you’re feeling better soon x

Hi. Recently diagnosed with glaucoma and was terrified when Specsavers referred me. Turns out an elderly relative has had it for 30 years and treated with drops each night.

I have it in one eye and again it will be treated with drops. Apparently at the stage they catch it they can keep it at that level with treatment so try not to worry too much.

Please don't because they correctly caught my glaucoma.

It’s a precaution and better to have an appointment to check out your condition fully.

Do you not have a copy of the referral form they sent to the hospital? If not go into Specsavers and get one. At least you will then know what you have been referred for. And in future, every time and at all appointments ask to be copied in to all correspondence.

WTAF No what's going to happen actually does not have to happen. Specsavers caught my glaucoma. Glaucoma if treated can be halted and you can keep it at the same level, not go blind and can still drive. So this has to be the worst piece of advice ever on MN.

I think they are just a bit cautious. They sent me a few years ago because something looked wrong in the back of my eye. All was fine but the hospital said an optician had missed something serious in a patient recently so they were really overcautious when referring now. Don't know if that was a specsaves issue or a local issue. Wouldn't worry though.

Try not to worry, OP. It's good they caught this and they're being proactive with the follow-up. I'm on the waiting list to get some other things checked out, and I wish my doctors had been as with it as Specsavers

It's to check . I had the same thing nothing wrong . At least going to the eye hospital it took away the worry . I had lots of headaches . Picture lost partner in feb the headache gp said was due to grief. That's me not you .

I have narrow angle glaucoma which was picked up during a routine eye appointment. My eye pressure was high and I was sent to see a consultant fairly urgently. I’m incredibly grateful to the ophthalmologist who found it and the NHS surgeon who treated me.

If there is a problem with your eyes (and there may well not be), it’s always better to know about it and treat it quickly to stop it getting worse.

There should be a referral letter from Specsavers, I would call them and ask for it. I had that when I did a hearing test with them and was referred to audiology at the local hospital.

Medically in no way similar to your symptoms but a couple of years ago an optometrist was found guilty of manslaughter after missing something in a routine eye test – bet that’s made many others even more cautious

Are you sure he didn't say your optic discs were swollen especially with saying do you wake up with migraines?
I have paplideoma because I have raised intracranial pressure because I have congenital ventrigulmegly ( and I'm overweight)
I have severe migraines ( really bad in the morning especially) my vessels are squished at the base of my skull so the fluid can't flow properly overnight when I'm lay down.
Obviously this is different but this is optitions deal with beyond the eyes.

This.

Without going into too much detail, I had the extra test and I ended up with an urgent referral and was seen at the eye hospital a couple of hours later.

If he mentioned glaucoma then maybe that is what the referral is for.

My father in law found out he had diabetes via an eye test. He treats it, he's doing great. Much better than if he didn't know it was there!

Just go to the appointment and let them check everything over.

Don't worry, Specsavers were just doing a belt-and-braces job for you. Their professional organisation probably obliges them to refer you on if they get even the whiff of anything irregular. My father had glaucoma, so when I turned 40, I rocked up at my local Specsavers (where I was already a customer) for my free eye test. I did not pass with flying colours and the next thing I knew, I was spending time with an ophthalmologist. They did the drops, looked behind my eyes and monitored me for a decade, then referred me back to the optician. No glaucoma...but it's a very inheritable condition and it can have serious implications for your sight and your quality of life if it isn't detected and appropriately managed. The good news is that it can be diagnosed, treated and stabilised.

I was there last week. In the 40 or so minutes I was there they sent one lady to hospital and refused to let another lady leave until she agreed to more tests. It was my first time there, my employer only does eye tests through there now. It was not the chilled atmosphere I'm used to. At all. I felt like I needed a lie down when I got home.

When a serious eye condition was discovered during my mum’s eye test, the optician didn’t just make a routine referral - he gave her a letter there and then to take to the emergency eye clinic at the hospital. You wouldn’t have been sent away with a routine follow up appointment if it was urgent.

Please go to the appointment. It will set your mind at rest, or you will stay as an outpatient for your eye health to be monitored. Either way, it is important.

specsavers did notice some bleeding behind eye for my mum and referred her to the eye hospital as a general appointment. Few treatments later they have stopped. No major issues but the did say if left untreated for a long period of time she could have gone blind.

they were taking years rather than weeks/months

please don’t be worried, go and see what they say. Specsavers really shouldn’t have said you’d go blind overnight

Do you mean this? https://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/for-patients/information-hub/narrow-angles

have a read. I think they mean high eye pressure, not blood pressure.

my optician spotted that I had this. I had laser treatment. No problems.

I would have thought it's a really good sign that the glasses made your headaches go away. Suggests it's something fairly minor.

You could call the opticians or the eye hospital to ask why you were referred?

Soecsavers have had my daughter referred to hospital and then had me thinking she had type 1 diabetes (she was fine both tines) after doing the eye health check. They also had my husband thinking he had eye cancer for 3 months