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• diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-06 14:05:48 By Nikki s
• wow did i open a whole new can , ok so a while back i posted that i was being treated for my cme , i tried some drops they did not work i went and did the steroid injections and they worked real good at first now my left eye is the worst its ever been before i started seeing this specialist!!! he said the pressure wont come down so he cant inject my left eye and so now there is nothing else he can do for me except try the diamox..oh and now he says within the month i now have a cataract in my left eye soooooo i went to fill my diamox rx 500mg and it was 200 dollars!!! oh goodness so i called and asked for the generic which is 250mg but waaaay cheaper ..the 30count is like 14 bucks..oh good ness i just knew i shoulda never got the shots!!! now i am worse off than i was...and will definately get secong opinion on the cataract..cuz wow that formed quick..
  anyonw else have to pay that much for the diamox??? i sure hope this works its my last resort i guess other than that i live again with the cme and i am right back to where i started thats why i hate the specialists!!!! GRRRR
  sorry had to vent

• Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-06 17:17:28 By Darran Z
• Hey Nikki,
  
  What was the original Rx called for? The dosage between 500mg and 250mg doesn't change whether it's generic or not because generic is also in 500mg dosages. My guess is the Diamox Sequels? That is a brand and not in generic form. Although the acetazolamide (generic) is in 250mg or 500mg. The only difference is that Diamox Sequels are time released.
  
  It would take atleast 3 weeks beofre you will notice that it does anything. So give it some time. Take some potassium supplements or eat LOTS of bananas and drink LOTS of OJ. That will help counteract the fatigue often associated with Diamox until your body is adjusted to it. You'll feel tingling in your fingers, feet and toes but that's harmless and nothing to worry about.
  
  It's possible that the CME has been around for so long that your cones and macula is already damages so you might not see much improvement.
  
  Darran

• Re: Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-06 22:05:21 By Nikki s
• the rx was originally for the 500mg of diamox but i cost too much so i got the 250mg of the ace???mide you wrote. and i am suppose to take 1 at bedtime for 3 days then 1 in the morning and 1 at night for another 3 days then 1 four times a day until i go back to dr. april 4th... my right eye is fine vision wise because of the medicine is still in it although that is whats keping my pressure up , my left eye pressure is good only because the medicine wore off in that eye and the edema is coming back and now the cataract and so he says he cant shott it up again because it will bring pressure back up and we have to find something that works on me that will bring the pressure down..sooooo if he ends up taking the cataract out he cant do it now cuz that will also cause edema and then again the pressure that we have not got to go down yet sooooo i am so confused by all this so do i take the cataract out later or what?? i heard it cause the rp to progress but i think thats a myth and also if i get it done will it exclude me from future treatments if anything is found for rp?? i cant imagine it would seen how its with the lens of the eye but then again you never know....
  as for bananas and oj .of course two things that i cant stand! bananas burn the roof of my mouth hahah dont know why but they do and oj? ew maybe i can find something else like potato? i eat one of those day. sorry this is soooo long

• Re: Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-06 22:07:33 By Nikki s
• oh and the 250mg of acetazolamide only cost me 28 dollars vs. the 500mg of diamox costing 200!!

• Re: Re: Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-06 22:48:06 By Darran Z
• What I'm saying here is that there is no difference between the 250 and 500mg dosages other than dosage. Diamox is acetazolamide. The only difference would be paying brand vs generic.
  
  I'm not sure why he stated to take it as that. That's strange other than he's trying to work you into it so the side effects aren't so overwhelming for you.
  
  But that's why you take potassium supplements or even just eat lots of bananas or drink lots of OJ. Something that has high potassium since Diamox will reduce your electrolyts in your blood. Talk to a pharmacist about the side effects and how to counter them. That's what I was told by a few of them.
  
  

• Re: Re: Re: Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-06 23:26:49 By Nikki s
• oh i see yeah i know there is no difference besides the name... either one is gonna s%ck im sure:) thanx

• Re: Re: Re: Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-06 23:30:31 By Nikki s
• and yes he said to take it like that so that i can ease my way into them..yes i see what you say to eat bananas and drink oj but what i am saying is yuk i dont like them i will find another source...thanx for the info tho

• Re: Re: Re: Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-06 23:51:00 By Nikki s
• i just looked up foods high in potassium and alot of what i eat is on that list so hopefully not eating bananas or drinking oj will be ok if not i guess i will have to choke them down:)

• Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-07 09:31:47 By Darran Z
• That's good you found other food sources. I only stated bananas and OJ because of those two being high in potassium. The Diamox really takes that out of you. That is one of the reasons you feel fatigued so much. Perhaps a potassium supplementation pill will help as well? I did that and the bananas and OJ.
  
  I remember when I first took it, wife got up for work and left, but dang I slept in til noon and my first born was only 18 months or so at the time and man...he woke me up! Good thing nothing happened to him. It freaked me out which is why I went to find out what the heck this is all about and learned about the potassium. I never had a problem as long as I had adaquate amounts of potassium.
  
  Hopefully this will work or at least control the CME for you.
  
  Darran

• Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-07 14:58:22 By Nikki s
• CRIPES

• Re: Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-06 22:08:26 By Nikki s
• oh and the 250mg of acetazolamide only cost me 28 dollars vs. the 500mg of diamox costing 200!!

• Re: Re: Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-07 10:03:28 By andrew b
• Question. When you say pressure in your eyes, what does it feel like. For the past 6 months I hvae felt a lot of pressure behind my eyes, sorta like my sinuses are trying to eject my eyes from their sockets. Because I've had some colds and drainage at night, I've thought its some kind of virus or something. I'm taking an anti-histamine at the moment, but it's not helping. Sinus meds don't really work either (just w/ the drainage).
  
  Thoughts?

• Re: Re: Re: Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-07 15:02:23 By Darran Z
• Dru,
  
  I think she's referring to eyeball pressure. You know, they swipe that thing across your eye to measure the pressure? It should read normal between 10 to 12mm I think is the range. Anything higher than 15 can lead to glaucoma and pressure inside the eye can be very damaging to the retina. Thats the reason of trying to get that down.
  
  It's not the same as you feelig pressure from a cold or sinus infection.
  
  Darran

• Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-07 15:23:25 By Nikki s
• hey darran how many bananas should i eat a day and how much oj should i drink a day? thanx again

• Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-07 15:26:44 By Darran Z
• Enough that it will counteract the depletion of potassium. It may vary from individual to individual. I think I had a couple of bananas a day plus quite a bit ofOJ. But if you can't spend that much on it, then potassium supplement pills (will find it with the vitamin section of the store) and try those as well.
  
  Darran

• Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: diamox and cme
• Posted: 2008-03-07 18:34:46 By Nikki s
• k just got back from store got the bananas and oj..i will drink the tainted stuff tomorrow:)- i would rather do this than take another pill like vitamins..hope it helps