A Tragedy of Sight Averted – Hopefully

By Judi Curry

Seldom do I actually speak about myself.  I have never liked to be the center of attention and even though I may write about my opinions, my personal experiences are kept at bay when possible.  Having Covid in January changed some of that and the continuing saga is still in the forefront of a lot of my thoughts and experiences.

When I am asked how my recovery has gone I tell people I am about 95% recovered.  The extreme fatigue is still there; the muscle tone in my legs is noticeably worse; but I still am able to get around with a minimum amount of difficulty.

Except that the diagnosis I received from my Ophthalmologist last week scared the hell out of me.  Covid related?  Can’t tell, but maybe. And maybe not.

I have never had glaucoma. In December, one month before my Covid diagnosis, my pressure reading in both eyes was 16 – well within the normal range.  In April I went for my 6 month check-up and the pressure had gone up to 28 in the left eye and 31 in the right eye.  A red flag began to fly.  The doctor immediately put me on eye drops to lessen the pressure.  But the first drop she gave me – Timolol – did not work and caused severe headaches.  Too bad, because one of the side effects of the drug was longer eye lashes.  The second drop that she gave me was even worse, and besides the headaches, my voice became very hoarse, and it was difficult to talk.  The doctor then prescribed the third drop and wanted to see me in a month.

She was quite concerned and told me, after viewing all the results of the tests that I had, that there was a very good chance I would lose sight in my right eye; that the damage that had been caused by the pressure was irreversible.  She told me that the left eye had high pressure also, but there was no damage to that eye yet.  And then she threw in one other aspect – that I had no tears – liquid – in either eye and the “dry eye” was contributing to the faulty vision I was experiencing.

Needless to say I was frightened to death and used the drops religiously every day.  Again I asked her if Covid had had anything to do with this situation and she said that she doubted it but just wasn’t sure.  It came on so rapidly.

One month later I went back for another check and just about collapsed when she found that the pressure had gone up again in the eye that I was using the drops in.  She gave me all the possibilities that faced me, including the loss of total vision and said she would like to try two additional drops and see me in 4 days.  (This was Thursday.)  When she discovered that my insurance would not pay for one of the drops, I said it didn’t matter – that if it was a question of losing my vision and keeping it I would not squabble about the price.

I went directly to the pharmacy, only to find out that they did not have the drop – it was relatively new – VYZULTA – there was no generic, and my cost would be $285.  I asked how soon they could get it and was told the following day.  I told them to order it.  I had fully intended to use it in the car after picking it up and was thwarted in my efforts because it was to be taken at night!

I went to bed early that Friday night, and after applying the other two drops, used the miracle drop.  I used it without question Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and on Monday I had an appointment for a Field of Vision Check and the final appointment with the doctor to schedule the surgery for  “Open Angle Glaucoma Trabeculectomy”.  You can imagine how worried I was, and as I kept hitting the button indicating I was seeing the lights of the Field Test, I wondered how many lights I was missing.

At 9:30 am I was meeting with my doctor for the life-altering meeting, and she came in with a smile.  She said that I did quite well on the Field Test – almost the same as I did 5 years ago.  She also said that when the PA tested my distance vision I was 20/20 in the “bad” eye and 20/15 in the other one.  At this point everything was contingent on the pressure check of the right eye.  Once again she went over the possibilities of surgery; loss of vision; infection, etc. – in case I need the surgery so that I was prepared for the worst. She also had me watch a video of the surgery procedures so I could ask questions when we scheduled the surgery.  And then it was time to put the drops in and check the pressure!

It was absolutely unbelievable.  The pressure, with the new expensive drop, registered an eleven (11)! Lowest it had ever been.  Her smile stretched from one side of the mask to the other.  She told me that she ranks her patients as the most needy to the least, and I was at the top of her list, until moments before.  She was so glad to be able to take me off the list entirely.  I am not out of the woods yet – she wants to see me in one week just to make sure that this was not a fluke – but I will keep on using the drop probably for the rest of my life.  I am now using it in both eyes!

So was this caused by Covid? We probably will never know.  But when the article comes out about the Covid vs Glacoma, I will have the eye sight to read about it.  And please, if you haven’t had the vaccination – please have it post haste!