Should I get SLT laser for glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a degenerative eye disease. It has been nicknamed the silent thief of sight because vision loss occurs gradually, and it's often only recognized when the disease is quite advanced. Once vision is lost, it can never be recovered. However, early detection and treatment may prevent that from occurring, and can stop the progression of the disease. Glaucoma develops when a clear fluid that normally circulates freely in the front part of your eye gets blocked, resulting in elevated levels of eye pressure. Eye pressure, also known as intraocular pressure or IOP, describes the pressure inside the eye which also helps maintain the eye's round shape. Every healthy individual has their own eye pressure level that is both unique and normal. Abnormally high eye pressure levels cause damage to the optic nerve and other delicate structures at the back of the eye. If left untreated, it will lead to blindness. The most common form of glaucoma is knows as open angle glaucoma. It results from specific blockage to a natural draining mechanism located in the front part of your eye, which accounts for the increase in eye pressure. Regular eye exams are extremely important in early diagnosis, especially in symptom-free forms of glaucoma. Once detected, glaucoma management is a lifelong process. All existing glaucoma treatments are designed to reduce eye pressure and prevent further damage to the eye. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. Together with your physician, you should decide which glaucoma treatment is right for you, based on your personal medical circumstances and lifestyle. There is currently no cure for glaucoma. There are, however, multiple treatment options including medications such as eye drops, laser therapy, and surgery. These therapies can be combined to help prevent or slow down vision loss for most patients. One basic treatment for glaucoma is eye drops. Although this can be an effective treatment for controlling IOP, it does not work for all patients, and can occasionally cause severe and unpleasant side effects. The use of eye drops is a long term commitment, and requires the application of eye drops once or several times a day. It's very important to apply your eye drops exactly as instructed. Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty, or SLT, is a type of gentle therapy that uses short pulses of light to reduce eye pressure. The flashing green pulses, which are much like the pulses of a digital camera, are directed at the trabecular meshwork of the eye, where primary drainage occurs. Unlike older lasers, Lumenis SLT treats specific cells without causing any thermal damage to surrounding tissue. This improves drainage of fluid, thereby decreasing eye pressure. Lumenis SLT is a convenient, cost effective, in office laser therapy. It's a clinically proven first choice therapy for open angle glaucoma. It's also an excellent alternative for patients who have been unsuccessfully treated with eye drops or other types of treatment. The treatment has minimal side effects, if any. It hardly causes discomfort to the patient, and it's selective action makes it an effective, repeatable, and pain-free option for the treatment of glaucoma. Lumenis SLT is performed in the doctor's office. Eye drops are used to numb the eye, and treatment takes place and an examination chair. The procedure takes a few minutes to complete, and most patients do not report any pain during or after the treatment. You may experience blurred vision for a few hours after the procedure. The doctor will measure your eye pressure shortly afterwards, and you'll need to schedule a follow up appointment so that your doctor can assess the effectiveness of the treatment. There are many reasons to choose Lumenis SLT therapy. Lumenis SLT is clinically proven to provide long-term eye pressure control equivalent to that provided by other therapies, including the number one prescribed glaucoma medication. The results up my ocular pressure tests have been very good since then. It's probably brought it down about 25 percent, so I've been very happy with it. I feel great. Oh, I'm glad. I wish I would have done it sooner. Lumenis SLT is an in-office therapy that does not require a strict and inconvenient prescription schedule or regimen. It also causes minimal, if any, discomfort to the patient. Either taking the eye drops all the time every day, or going for laser treatment. And I opted for the laser treatment. I had great results because I don't have to be on any eye drops at all. It's just terrific because I'm not inconvenienced at all by it. Lumenis SLT does not cause long term redness or irritation of the eye, associated with commonly prescribed glaucoma medications. I wasn't happy with the drops. Were there side effects? Yeah, every morning I woke up with a rather splitting headache, which I didn't like at all. So we decided to go in another direction. He looked at me, he said "You've got glaucoma." He put me on a prescription for drops. And I said, you know, the next time I saw him I said "Come on, this is ridiculous. I can't be doing this every night." I mean, come on. My eyes were turning red. You know, I looked like Dracula after awhile. I feel good. I have no side effects. I golf all the time. I play basketball, work out, there's no side effects whatsoever. In the United States and many other countries, Lumenis SLT is typically reimbursed by Medicare and/or private health insurance. Lumenis SLT therapy may further reduce your cost by minimizing or eliminating the need to take daily medical therapies. Compared to medication or other surgical techniques, Lumenis SLT assures lower treatment costs over a five year period. No more drops. One treatment, that was the end of the drops. And I feel fine. Hey, no drops, no worries, no concerns. Lumenis SLT offers a quick and effective treatment that assures minimal discomfort and reduced costs, potentially eliminating the need for other medications. Consult your eye doctor to learn why Lumenis SLT may be right for you, or your loved ones.