CPAP and Glaucoma

Spoke to my eye doctor and he said unless there was a (genetic) predisposition towards glaucoma he saw no glaucoma risk in using CPAP. If there is a predisposition he felt it might influence it. FWIW, one eye doctor's opinion.

My eye doctor told me he wants to see me every year now instead of 2 years, because of the increased chance of glaucoma, although he said the studies so far were not conclusive.

Was diagnosed with glaucoma last year while on Prednisone - pressures were in the 40s - so can't use steriods for my arthritic back or knees and more. Not sure about the predisposition. My mother had something but not sure it was glaucoma, as her description back then sounded more like macular degeneration. Since my experience, I recommend everyone get checked regularly, as glaucoma is known as the silent thief of sight.

I have borderline glaucoma, in addition to a bunch of other vision problems. I was told that xPAP therapy can improve glaucoma, as other parts of the body 'repair themselves' as a result of good blood oxygen.

My next eye exam should be very interesting.

I spoke with my opthamologist yesterday -- who I see regularly because of a family history of glaucoma.

The response from him was: There is no specific relationship between using CPAP and increased likelihood of glaucoma.

kteague wrote:Was diagnosed with glaucoma last year while on Prednisone -

Prednisone can increase eye pressure.

From PubMed, searching on "sleep apnea glaucoma".
finds many references to a relationship between sleep apnea and glaucoma.

And one study found an increase in IOP with CPAP treatment:
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with OSA demonstrated significant 24-hour IOP fluctuations, with the highest values at night. CPAP therapy causes an additional IOP increase, especially at night. Regular screening of visual fields and the optic disc is warranted for all patients with OSA, especially those treated with CPAP.

At my last eye exam, I was told I have borderline glaucoma.

About the Prednisone and glaucoma - In my mind I had been toying around with the notion that just maybe without the Prednisone my pressures would be normal. (Kinda like losing weight and wondering if it really still matters if a night of cpap is missed). Anyhow, the last few weeks my schedule has been erratic with a friend in hospice, and I was just as erratic with my 2xday eyedrops. Went the other day to my regularly scheduled eye checkup, almost expecting him to tell me I was doing fine even with inconsistent treatment. When first diagnosed my pressures were in the 40's, and then stayed around the low 20s for a while. At the last prior visit they were 14 and 16. Somehow in my mind I was attributing that more to the Prednisone being out of my system than the meds. Wrong! Pressures are back up in the 20s. AAACK! No more denial. Doc says I need to keep mine even lower than is ok for some because of the damage already done to my optic nerves. Ok, need to go use my eyedrops now.