I was lasered many times to treat proliferative diabetic retinopathy in both eyes during the late 80’s & early 90s. My eyes have been stable since that time. I visit that eye doctor on an annual basis for follow-up exam. I visit a regular eye doctor (offset by 6 months from the laser doc) for prescription glasses and regular eye exam.
The heavy laser treatment left me with no peripheral and little night vision to speak of, but it allows me to see.
My son was diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy almost 2 years ago. He had the necessary laser in both eyes. Had 2 surgeries in each eye. His left eye was the worse. He lost his sight in that eye. His condition is stable now. In fact I have to take him for a check up today with his eye specialist.
I’m glad you are stable now too. Eye exams are so important as well as keeping your diabetes in check.
Steve,
I am glad you still have some vision. I guess I have a question about the laser surgeries. My last trip to the eye doctor was not a happy one. I had to have the laser surgery right before Christmas. for retinal detachments. Okay we went in and got it done and I went home. My husband had the same procedure last year. He came home and did fine and his pupil returned to normal size in about three hours with no problems. My eye was distinctly uncomfortable when I came home but got progressively worse as my eye and eyelid became swollen as time went by. After calling the doctor’s office and being told to use Tylenol in a couple of hours and use wet compresses to my eye, I was a little scared. I ultimately had to use a narcotic and the swelling and pupil size didn’t return to normal until late Sunday night when the swelling started coming down. My question is this, was that just a diabetic thing type reaction? Does this type of thing happen every time we have something done? I can’t seem to find any fault with the doctor. He has been in this business for many years and has done this surgery many thousands of times. Is it just me? I lost all vision in that eye until the swelling went down. When that was gone, some of it came back. I will see the doctor again in another month and feel sure I will have to have more done. I am definitely not looking forward to more of the same.
Thanks for listening.
Saundra.
Hi Saundra,
I have had a lot of laser over the last 12 years and the reaction you describe is not familiar to me. I have had pain in my eye when I had a bleed… the pressure in my eye had raised so high it felt like I had electricity shooting from it and I did lose the vision in the eye temporarily.
This is a late reply to your post, but I hope your eye is back to normal, and I would make sure your ophthalmologist/retina specialist knows all your symptoms following your last laser before you undergo the next procedure.
Oh, and a quick p.s.
It’s been nearly 5 years since I have had laser, and I have 20/20 with glasses. So your eyes can stabilize, and I hope that you get there.
Sometimes I would get a headache afterward which I used to guess was caused by my lasered eye swelling?
So far I haven’t a problem such as you described. I hope your appt is easier on you.
Thanks so much Bill and Steve for the support and encouragement. I was pretty nervous about my next appointment which was scheduled for the seventh of February. Now I think I had just better calm me down and stop worrying about something I can’t change right now. You guys have been through this before and not come up with the same reaction. Hopefully this was just a one time deal for me.
My doctor’s office has called to reschedule me for the later part of March. Did your doctors put you all on supplements for your eyes?
Hi Saundra,
I am currently on Alphagan, but that is for the Glaucoma.
Back when I had Laser on a regular basis I was on a host of eye drops, but unfortunately I can’t recall what they were. I do remember that it gets a bit tough when you have 4 different kinds of eye drops, have to take them a different number of times per day, and have to wait 5 minutes between putting each type of eye drop in… like we don’t have enough to do health-wise everyday.
Once they get enough of your peripheral blood vessels zapped, I think your eyes wil stabilize, and the drops you have to take will decrease and then stop.
-Bill