If you are currently under medical treatment for glaucoma you are well aware of the expense of the eye drops.  In addition, there is the hassle with the insurance company/drug store over which brand is available to you under your plan.  Many people find that the month is longer than the drug supply and have no ability to obtain a resupply.  There are folks who can afford their drops but find it an inconvenience and miss instilling the medication.  Then there are patients who are allergic to all drops and might require surgery for pressure control.

Something to consider; laser surgery to reduce the pressure and thus allow you to eliminate all or some of your drops.  ALT, argon laser trabeculoplasty which I began doing in 1982, has long been the standard for low risk laser reduction of eye pressure.  It has more recently been supplanted by SLT or selective laser trabeculoplasty.  Patients with open angle glaucoma are candidates for the procedure.  The laser (Q-swithced Nd:YAG) fires a fine beam in 3 nanoseconds which is much faster than you can blink (1/10th of a second).  The patient is seated in front of the device, the eye is anesthetised with drops and approximately 100 laser spots are made taking about 10 minutes.  You can drive into the office and drive home; there are no restrictions.  There is a delay in effect so patients must use their regular drops for awhile following the procedure.  I have not experienced any serious complications; there might be a temporary rise in pressure or no effect at all.  In general, the pressure is reduced by about 4-5mmHg which may be enough to eliminate some or all of your medications.  In addition, the procedure can be repeated when necessary.

This approach may not be for everybody but with the spiraling cost of drugs and the availability of insurance coverage for SLT, this may be a new way of looking at your glaucoma management.  I might add that in many locales, patients are offered SLT when they are first diagnosed with glaucoma and thus avoid any drops from the get-go.

If you are currently under medical treatment for glaucoma you are well aware of the expense of the eye drops.  In addition, there is the hassle with the insurance company/drug store over which brand is available to you under your plan.  Many people run out of drops before the month end and have no ability to obtain a resupply.  There are folks who can afford their drops but find it an inconvenience and miss instilling the medication.  Then there are patients who are allergic to all drops and might require surgery for pressure control.

Something to consider; laser surgery to reduce the pressure and thus allow you to eliminate all or some of your drops.  ALT, argon laser trabeculoplasty which I began doing in 1982, has long been the standard for low risk laser reduction of eye pressure.  It has more recently been supplanted by SLT or selective laser trabeculoplasty.  Patients with open angle glaucoma are candidates for the procedure.  The laser (Q-swithced Nd:YAG) fires a fine beam in 3 nanoseconds which is much faster than you can blink (1/10th of a second).  The patient is seated in front of the device, the eye is anesthetised with drops and approximately 100 laser spots are made taking about 10 minutes.  You can drive into the office and drive home; there are no restrictions.  There is a delay in effect so patients must use their regular drops for awhile following the procedure.  I have not experienced any serious complications; there might be a temporary rise in pressure or no effect at all.  In general, the pressure is reduced by about 4-5mmHg which may be enough to eliminate some or all of your medications.  In addition, the procedure can be repeated when necessary.

This approach may not be for everybody but with the spiraling cost of drugs and the availability of insurance coverage for SLT, this may be a new way of looking at your glaucoma management.  I might add that in many locales, patients are offered SLT when they are first diagnosed with glaucoma and thus avoid any drops from the get-go.