If you are like many people, you may get nervous when you go to the doctor. The anxiety is certainly understandable, especially when it comes to visiting an eye doctor for glaucoma – having a vision problem is very distressing. Worrying about the visit may prevent you from getting all you can out of your time with your eye doctor. Fortunately, you can make the most out of your glaucoma doctor visit with just five simple tips.
1. Preparation
Prepare for your visit to the eye doctor. Write down the appointment date and time, and schedule enough time for your visit. You can find out how long your session will last when you schedule your appointment. Arrive early enough to relax for a few minutes before your appointment.
2. Symptoms
Write down your symptoms, if you are experiencing any – many patients do not experience symptoms, aside from gradual vision loss, when glaucoma is in its earliest stages. Any symptoms you may be experiencing may be the result of glaucoma, or they may be side effects or complications from medications or surgery.
Keeping a written record of your symptoms, along with the date and time they occurred, helps you give your eye doctor accurate information. Because glaucoma does not always cause symptoms, they can be easy to forget, especially if visiting the doctor makes you anxious.
3. Medication
Bring your all your current medications to every doctor visit. Seeing the actual prescription bottles makes it easier for your doctors and nurses to understand your medications. Bringing your medications also gives your doctor a chance to check for dangerous drug interactions.
4. Progress
Ask about the progress of your condition at every visit. It is essential to know whether your glaucoma is stable or getting worse.
Our eye doctor checks the pressure of your eyes and performs a number of other tests to evaluate the state of your glaucoma, and may adjust your treatment according to the results of that evaluation. Listen carefully to the explanation of the test results.
5. Questions
Create a list of questions to ask your eye doctor at every visit. It is quite common to have questions immediately after seeing a doctor, and then forget them before the next visit.
Ask questions while you are at the doctor’s office. Be sure you understand your test results, for example, and double check any changes to your medication. Understanding the state of your glaucoma and your medications gives you the best chances of a good treatment outcome.
Make the most out of your next visit with the glaucoma doctors at Florida Eye Specialists. We provide eye care for glaucoma to patients living in Mandarin, Northside, Ponte Vedra, Riverside, San Marco and Southside. Make an appointment at one any one of these six locations around Jacksonville, FL, by calling 904-564-2020.