Diabetes & Retinal Screening
Discussion
Ten weeks ago I was diagnosed Type II diabetic.
Nice trip to A&E and a weekend in hospital, marvellous.
Anyways, blood sugar was 25.8.
Been precribed Metformin and Gliclazide.
Sugar now averaging 7ish.
Been for my first retinal screen today.
Was shown the pictures and was told there are two small bleeds, one in each eye.
But no further information was given only that they would be in touch.
Am I going blind?
I haven't noticed any difference in my eyesight.
Eyes were last tested in November and there was no change in my prescription since my previous test two years before.
Have worn glasses and contact lenses since I was eight.
I have myopia and astigmatism in both eyes.
Nice trip to A&E and a weekend in hospital, marvellous.
Anyways, blood sugar was 25.8.
Been precribed Metformin and Gliclazide.
Sugar now averaging 7ish.
Been for my first retinal screen today.
Was shown the pictures and was told there are two small bleeds, one in each eye.
But no further information was given only that they would be in touch.
Am I going blind?
I haven't noticed any difference in my eyesight.
Eyes were last tested in November and there was no change in my prescription since my previous test two years before.
Have worn glasses and contact lenses since I was eight.
I have myopia and astigmatism in both eyes.
would not say ur going blind, but if the diabetes had not been diagnosed, then you might well have become so more quickly
check out these health videos, made me sit up and think WTF !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUSAbEROVlU&fea...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeB8Yg6mWxY
etc
book - diabetes for dummies, go and read it
check out these health videos, made me sit up and think WTF !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUSAbEROVlU&fea...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeB8Yg6mWxY
etc
book - diabetes for dummies, go and read it
Been type 11 for almost nine years now.
Also had a couple of small patches at my last screening and they simply keep an eye on it (excuse the pun) unless it becomes a problem.
Don't worry but just try to keep control of your sugar levels etc.
Lots of people have these small bleeds too but don't know about it.
The beauty of the screening is that they can keep track of it and compare results with previous years. If attention is needed, you've got much more chance of keeping your sight.
Just keep to your six-montly checks at the diabetic clinic and annual sight checks.
Also had a couple of small patches at my last screening and they simply keep an eye on it (excuse the pun) unless it becomes a problem.
Don't worry but just try to keep control of your sugar levels etc.
Lots of people have these small bleeds too but don't know about it.
The beauty of the screening is that they can keep track of it and compare results with previous years. If attention is needed, you've got much more chance of keeping your sight.
Just keep to your six-montly checks at the diabetic clinic and annual sight checks.
I'm a type II too, and have been for about 15 years. It is more than likely that If they thought that there was a serious issue, they would have done something right away.
I had laser surgery to treat an area in my right eye, close to the macula, which was why they did it. Had it been further away from the macula, I was told, they probably wouldn't have lasered it. It's left me with a little fuzzy area in my right eye, which isn't really a problem as my left eye 'fills' in the missing pixels as it were.
So don't worry. Take your pills, take some exercise, watch your weight and get on with living a normal life. Also, if you have been told to measure your sugar levels yourself, don't get too discouraged by the readings. Mine tend to be all over the place if I measure them myself, but the only one that really matters is your HbA1C, which measures your average sugar levels over a about the last 3 months. If you get this under 7, the medics will be happy I think.
I had laser surgery to treat an area in my right eye, close to the macula, which was why they did it. Had it been further away from the macula, I was told, they probably wouldn't have lasered it. It's left me with a little fuzzy area in my right eye, which isn't really a problem as my left eye 'fills' in the missing pixels as it were.
So don't worry. Take your pills, take some exercise, watch your weight and get on with living a normal life. Also, if you have been told to measure your sugar levels yourself, don't get too discouraged by the readings. Mine tend to be all over the place if I measure them myself, but the only one that really matters is your HbA1C, which measures your average sugar levels over a about the last 3 months. If you get this under 7, the medics will be happy I think.
Davel said:
Been type 11 for almost nine years now.
Also had a couple of small patches at my last screening and they simply keep an eye on it (excuse the pun) unless it becomes a problem.
Don't worry but just try to keep control of your sugar levels etc.
Lots of people have these small bleeds too but don't know about it.
The beauty of the screening is that they can keep track of it and compare results with previous years. If attention is needed, you've got much more chance of keeping your sight.
Just keep to your six-montly checks at the diabetic clinic and annual sight checks.
Much the same for me. I do get the odd blurred patch now and again when my sugars peak and trough too much (I think) but on the whole it is no problem, just annoying.Also had a couple of small patches at my last screening and they simply keep an eye on it (excuse the pun) unless it becomes a problem.
Don't worry but just try to keep control of your sugar levels etc.
Lots of people have these small bleeds too but don't know about it.
The beauty of the screening is that they can keep track of it and compare results with previous years. If attention is needed, you've got much more chance of keeping your sight.
Just keep to your six-montly checks at the diabetic clinic and annual sight checks.
As above, keep your appointments and try and keep sugars level. I'm on stitaglipin instead of gliclazide now as I didn't get on with it, but both bring sugars down quite well
Good luck!
I was diagnosed with T2 Nov 2007.
I found http://www.diabetesdaily.com/forum a very useful and informative site.
A lot of very helpful people on there.
Good luck.
I found http://www.diabetesdaily.com/forum a very useful and informative site.
A lot of very helpful people on there.
Good luck.
diagnosed 2001, few years ago, got dropped by the surgeon as he could see was taking fairly good care of myself, unlike some others who were insulin adjusting to go out on the piss - knew a guy like that and he is legally blind, but can see maybe 5% of his 2 kids....
eating a lot more vegetables than I used to
eating a lot more vegetables than I used to
HA51EMT said:
Ten weeks ago I was diagnosed Type II diabetic.
Nice trip to A&E and a weekend in hospital, marvellous.
Anyways, blood sugar was 25.8.
Been precribed Metformin and Gliclazide.
Sugar now averaging 7ish.
Been for my first retinal screen today.
Was shown the pictures and was told there are two small bleeds, one in each eye.
But no further information was given only that they would be in touch.
Am I going blind?
I haven't noticed any difference in my eyesight.
Eyes were last tested in November and there was no change in my prescription since my previous test two years before.
Have worn glasses and contact lenses since I was eight.
I have myopia and astigmatism in both eyes.
No, you're not going to go blind. Two small bleeds could mean something but most likely means you need retinal screening regularly and you need to ensure that your blood glucose and blood pressure remain SCRUPULOUSLY under control. Nice trip to A&E and a weekend in hospital, marvellous.
Anyways, blood sugar was 25.8.
Been precribed Metformin and Gliclazide.
Sugar now averaging 7ish.
Been for my first retinal screen today.
Was shown the pictures and was told there are two small bleeds, one in each eye.
But no further information was given only that they would be in touch.
Am I going blind?
I haven't noticed any difference in my eyesight.
Eyes were last tested in November and there was no change in my prescription since my previous test two years before.
Have worn glasses and contact lenses since I was eight.
I have myopia and astigmatism in both eyes.
The optom will send the images to a local screening service and if they are graded as requiring attention of an Ophthalmologist, like myself, we will have a look. If not you can be reassured that your retina is ok, despite the diabetic changes. The optoms in the screening service have a pretty low threshold for sending people to the Ophthalmologists, so don't worry if you are sent. It just means we'll have a more detailed look and assess whether you would benefit from any treatment options.
Your contact lenses/glasses/myopia will have little effect on the course of the diabetic disease. However, I can't emphasise enough the importance of you controlling your diet/bp and glucose levels. Make sure that your GP gives you regular measurements of your HBA1c (%) reading. You want to aim for an HBA1c of around 7 of less.
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