Well, I technically have glaucoma, and am on drops (only once a day, which is good, 'cause my main difficulty is remembering to take them, and more often would be bad.) They've been keeping the pressure at nice low levels, and so far things look good, which is nice, since I was running the highest pressures in my better eye (the one with 20 120 vision, so I didn't want to lose much more.)

I haven't experienced pain from the glaucoma, but as you've gathered, it's a variable condition. I'd basically describe it as a plumbing problem, where something (the angle of the lens in the eye, a traumatic injury, floating junk clogging the drainage system, whatever) messes up the flow of liquids within the eye. The trouble starts when the pressure damages the optic nerve. Lots of us are running around with technical glaucoma which has never gotten to the optic nerve damage part.

I've been on drops for about five or six years now, and don't think about it much. I do remember being pretty shocked when I first heard about the high pressure. I was born with cataracts, and apparrently that's a high risk group for glaucoma. I had never known that, and hadn't had my eyes tested until I was in my early thirties. The pressures were in the mid twenties, with seventeen being the norm. I was more than a little upset. I am now on my second set of drops. Xalatan, the stuff that turns your irises a different color was my first medication, and I'm now on a Timoptic derivative, which is less expensive, and for me, seems to be as effective.

I hope that you can find something theat works as efectively for you, and is as straight forward. It's frightening at first, but if all goes well, it's just another part of the routine, like brushing your teeth.

Good luck.

Susan