Eye health (specsavers) Random symptoms

[Frownlines]

Hi all, bit of a strange question and wondering if anyone can help or has similar.

So, I'm 43. 4 years ago I booked an eye test at specsavers as I felt my eyesight had changed. I was given a prescription for reading glasses and sent on my way.

I was called back for a check up 12 months later. I went because I again felt my vision had changed. The optometrist couldn't understand why I'd been called back so soon.... but afterwards said it was because the nerves behind my eyes were larger than normal. I was told to continue with my reading glasses but also wear them for distance. I've been called back every year since and have been told that the nerves behind my eyes are too narrow, also that they are too wavy (so, I've no idea). My eyes have deteriorated every year and have had a new prescription each time. On my last check I missed a few of the dots on my left side when completing the field test.

The assistant went to check with an optometrist who said it was within normal range and they'd see me again in 12 months.
I'm completely at a loss of what's actually going on. I understand that they're keeping an eye on me incase it develops into glaucoma - but each person I've seen contradicts the other.

I'm an anxious person and have so many random symptoms going on at the moment. But, I'm just wondering if there is something more neurological going on. Thanks for reading (if you made it this far lol).

Glaucoma occurs due to the loss of nerve fibres in the retina which send signals to your brain of what you're seeing. As we get older, we lose these naturally, but if you lose too many you can get vision loss.

To determine if someone has glaucoma we look at

1. eye pressure - which is measured with that puff test, or putting a probe on your eye.
2. what the optic nerve looks like - the most important thing with this is change as that can indicate nerve fibre loss.
3. Visual fields - so what you see in various points.

The issue is that's it all a bit woolly - you can have glaucoma with normal eye pressure and not have glaucoma with higher eye pressure, some people have big optic nerves with big central excavations, others small ones with subtle signs of retinal nerve fibre loss.
Even visual fields, they are quite a good indicator, but still you can easily have some points of loss on a plot and it be very normal.

So, the main thing is change - you're absolutely doing the right thing by going back to the same practice. Everything else if governed by fairly rigid clinical standards of referral. We refer at certain eye pressures, but we can refer earlier if a certain eye pressure is a accompanied by a change in the appearance of the optic nerve for example.

Anyway, worry enough to go back every year, but not enough to worry about something which probably won't be a problem.
Like every eye condition modifiable risk factors are: smoking and obesity. Eyes also like healthy balanced diets - although there are not actual supplements which can help.

Wow! Thank you for this @theeyeofdoe. This is do reassuring - I'll keep going annually and be thankful that I'm being monitored. Just struck me as odd that I missed some points on the field test and have had some deterioration every year.

Maybe at my next appointment I'll book the OCT test aswell.

I would do that too.