Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Diamox is evil!!!

I was on this for 5 days and thought I was dying. Its a sulfa based drug and so is Sulfasalazine. I experienced depression, brain fog and fatigue, among other things. I experienced the same on the Diamox, but it came on faster and more extreme.

I'm grateful for modern chemistry and all and glad my IOP went from 68 to 18. But there has got to be a better way.

Miki - Now that you have got the IOP down to 18, why not give N-Acetyl CarnoSine a try: 'CanCee' is the product in the the USA, and in the UK 'Bright Eyes'. I have been using for a year, and is doing the trick for me. Keeping IOP way down. Can but try. But for heaven's sake, IF it don't work for *you then MUST go a different route pdq. OK?

wow! so sorry to hear that! that does sound intolerable! yes, the trick is to find a drug that does only what its supposed to do and no more than that, the side effects are often worse than the initial problem. sounds like molly has some good personal advice i see!

Molly I will look into CanCee. I'm weaning off the pred drops and hopefully will be off all of it soon and things will go back to "normal" so we can deal with the cataract.

Yes, Sue, that is the trick. It's all about balance, I suppose.

CanCee will help with both cataract and glaucoma. That is get under control. But for cataract will need to have the phacoemulsification done - gets rid of cataract, permanently. Very good op, works like magic in giving back/restoring sight. But need to be extra diligent due to yr IOP and possible glaucoma tendency. (And it all ties nito AS).

Take care of the eyes. Precious.

I can't afford to try those drops, so I will have to rely on allopathic medicine for this.

It is difficult to really appreciate one of the senses until you start losing it.

Oh Micki, I'm so glad it helped. I agree, when the cure hurts that much, there really does have to be a better way. I wish you hadn't had such a hard time with it.

Warm hugs,

My pressure is back up to 40. But I refuse to use the Diamox again, so I hope we find another way.

It was suggested to me that the IOP may also be responding to stress, specifically my ex-husband moved to town and I've had to deal with him and the kids and the holidays and etc.

What is the reason for such a high IOP?
Glaucoma?

Many things can cause IOP to rise.
My grandmother's case study is taught at Texas A&M. She has both open angle and narrow angle glaucoma. Diamox is one of the few drugs that affect her pressure with good results and therefore she had to be on it all the time. She always has to explain when seeing someone new because they always tell her she needs to be taken off it because no one is to be on it for as long as she had been. I see the her doctor because of her Dx and the other grandmother on the other side of the family that actually went blind because of glaucoma. My pressure was on the high end of normal on one visit and I had asked him what could be causing it to rise. He shrugged it off and said "breathing."

Make sure you are seeing an ophthalmologist that has experience with glaucoma if it is glaucoma. No need to be messing around trying out docs when dealing with something that can steal your sight very quickly.