25 Years Old Glaucoma Diagnosis vs Glaucoma Suspect
Hi! Never posted on reddit before but wanted to get some insight.
A couple months ago I (25 year old M) had migraine headache with flashing in my eyes that made me have an appointment with the eye doctor. At that time, he noticed some weirdness with my optic nerves, cupping. At that point he gave me the glaucoma suspect diagnosis and to followup in 6 months. had the followup today with the visual field test, and a different test where they checked my optic nerves again.
The visual field test showed that my peripheral vision was okay. However, he was concerned that I did have some nerve degeneration. When they checked my eye pressures it was okay 16 in L 20 in R, but it has been slightly high in the past (low to mid 20s). The doctor told me that I had three options wait 6 more months to see if I had more degeneration, go on eye drops to lower pressure, or try surgery (SLT). I decided to opt for 6 months followup to also weigh in on what to do so he left my diagnosis as glaucoma suspect with high risk for progression (high myopia -9 in left eye, -8 in right). I am debating if I should get a second opinion from a Glaucoma specialist to see what my next steps should be.
I am honestly so anxious and scared. I feel like I have barely lived my life and already have a chronic condition. The thought of potentially losing my vision, needing surgery or painful drops (I have terrible eye drop technique) is very overwhelming to me. I am also super anxious about the impact it will have on my job. Frankly, right now I feel super lost and depressed and would love to have some insight, thoughts or just guidance on what the next steps would be. My mind naturally goes to complications with SLT but I am unsure if drops will work with me (chronic dry eye). I appreciate any kind of input! Thank you so much and forgive me if this isn't the proper way to post!