I have been diabetic for 46 years and this past November got my first bad eye exam. MD was not too concerned, he said it was a small dot (whatever that means).
In April I developed floaters in the same eye, out of my mind with fear. Went to eye MD again and he said nice to see you Karen but you are here too soon and what name did you give this. I said floaters, he said boring name (I thought how about WTF, floaters.)
He dilated my eyes and said nothing had changed, then he laid me down and really examined my retina, putting this crochet type hook in my lower lid to look even better. He said no retinal detachment, and he could not see my floaters (not always possible). Once again he seemed not worried and said see ya in a year.
Went to endo recently, voiced my concerns and he had someone in his office take some pictures of my eyes, quick and fast, then had a retinologist read them, never heard boo, called today and nurse responded with no pathology, cataracts, and NO diabetic retinopathy, so NOW WHAT??
That sounds great! It's not totally out of the question to have visual things that aren't related to diabetes and may just be wear and tear or whatever. I got MrsAcidRock an iPad for mother's day b/c it seemed so alarming the way she'd sit with her phone like 2" from her eyes all the time, I figured a bigger screen might help that a bit? When I finally gave in to reading glasses, my eyes went to hell. When I went to the eye doc, he checked and goes "your eyes are shot..." which I *immediately* redlined as "diabetes! blind!!" but he said "yup, you need reading glasses". When I started with those, they seemed to sort of fry out the vision "software" in my brain and it's a lot harder to read, etc.
I think you're in very good shape too. I'm 65 and been diabetic for 56 years this month. In 1997 I had cataracts removed and in 2011 floaters started appearing again in my left eye so my retinologist performed out-patient laser surgery and that eye is perfect again. Since the cataract surgery I only see a retinologist, no ophthalmologist (except for the optician for reading glasses), because he has the latest and greatest equipment for my annual eye exam. As a diabetic, perhaps seeing a retinologist for your eye exams would be more reassuring.
Sorry for the eye floater situation, Karen. I am glad to read that it is likely age related, not something wrong. If they are really bad and your vision is impaired then the options include:
Using a laser to dissolve floaters. During laser therapy, an ophthalmologist aims a special laser at the floaters in the vitreous. The laser may break up the floaters and make them less noticeable. Some people who undergo laser therapy for their floaters report improved vision, while others notice little or no difference. Risks of laser therapy include damage to your retina that can occur if the laser is pointed incorrectly. Laser surgery to treat floaters is considered experimental and isn't widely used.
Using surgery to remove the vitreous. During a vitrectomy procedure, an ophthalmologist makes a small incision in your eye and removes the gel-like vitreous. A solution is placed in the eye to help it maintain its shape. Eventually, your body makes and fills your eye with fluid that will replace the solution. Vitrectomy may not remove all the floaters in your vision, and new floaters can develop after surgery. Risks of vitrectomy include bleeding and retinal tears.
I hope that the annoying floaters can be tolerated and no need of invasive action is chosen. I need to get my eyes checked, thanks for the reminder.
It sounds like you have competent doctors, and confirmation from your endo and pictures taken and confirmed by a retinologist. But if you really think something is being missed, then get another opinion.
Just do your best at keeping your BG in range, and enjoy !
I know several people without diabetes, who get floaters. They say they come and go, sometimes visible for a few days/weeks, and sometimes more.
I still get floaters, and if they are small and not interfering with vision, then I don't worry, and they usually go away. 1 year ago, I had very large floaters in left eye, which blocked my vision. In that case, my retinologist could see there was some active bleeding, and did a minor laser treatment. Had a followup 6 months ago, and again last week, and he said all is fine.
Art Spiegleman wrote in "In the Shadow of No Towers" about "Waiting for the other shoe to fall". When we were diagnosed as kids they told us that some year we would go blind and have our limbs amputated. But that doesn't mean that this will ever actually happen, especially with today's great control of bg's compared to the mid-20th century.
46 years... hundreds of doctors appointments... hundreds of eye dilations... a zillion bloodworks... a zillion foot sensation tests... and we have specialists checking you out every which way. Don't sweat it. Waiting for something bad to happen for a good chunk of a century... it gets to be a habit doesn't it?
Tim it so sucks and thanks to all for getting it. I guess I was wondering why my eye MD saw diabetic retinopathy in the right eye, but the pictures did not show it. Just like the Chicago Cubs, wait until next year.
I guess I was wondering why my eye MD saw diabetic retinopathy in the right eye, but the pictures did not show it.
Having talked with a lot of eye docs over the years... I get the impression that a good slit-lamp exam by the eye doc (you know, they have the really bright light and they look into your eye from all sorts of different angles) is superior to the camera pictures for detecting the earliest signs of retinopathy.
And where the camera pictures shine, is to detect the progression of retinopathy after it reaches the point where the camera can see it.
I think the camera pictures are there to fill in for the not-so-good opthamologists or maybe a profit generator for the practice.
Isn't it interesting, having this since being a kid, but being older than most the docs now?
The way I understand it, is that the doctors can begin to see 'changes' earlier than when treatment is actually required. I'm not sure what technically merits the 'diagnosis' of diabetic retinopathy, but in the earliest stages, the only 'treatment' is to keep good blood sugars.
The common test for active bleeding is to have pictures taken after they have injected a special dye into your arm. Sounds like they may be seeing 'some changes', but not to the point that warrants this.
BTW - last time I had pictures taken, there was a new tech, and they had a hard time getting pictures in focus. Turns out there was a smudge on the camera lens ! They took about 10x the number of pics usually taken.
The pictures are also good to show history, and it was very helpful to my new doctor to see pictures from my previous one.
46 years with diabetes and you had some floaters and then had two doctors look at your eyes and say they look great. I would do the happy dance for joy. Floaters are a common occurrence, even in non diabetics and often occur as we age. You can read more about them at WebMD. Most typically, you will have no symptoms of diabetic retinopathy until the symptoms are severe. At the earliest stages of retinopathy, abnormalities in blood vessel growth become visible, usually well before the condition becomes severe and symptoms appear. The early stages are actually much more treatable and many think that it is fully reversible at the early stage.
So my assessment is that you probably just had a floater from aging and you have been given a "gift." We all age, stuff starts to break. That is life. But you have had 46 years with D without retinopathy. That is actually really great.
he's a member here, and has answered a couple of concerns I've had. I had my peripheral vision "burned out" by lasers 20 years ago as a result of hemorrages in both eyes (peripheral diabetic retinopathy). today, I can still drive, sew, read, etc. I go every year to the retina guy here, and he said he sees no progression of the disease for me as long as I keep my a1cs in the 6s.
