Hi everybody, I recently had my annual eye exam and the results have left me a little confused/freaking out. It says and I quote a review of your recent eye photographs revealed minor changes to the back of the eye which are not sight threatening and do not require treatment. We shall invite you back for screening in one year. After only being diagnosed a year ago this has thrown me, I have good control and am active and healthy. I just don’t know where to go from here, do I carry on as I have been doing or overhaul my lifestyle. Its so confusing it seems to day something is wrong but don’t worry about it just now. Which inevitably I AM doing. Any advice or shared experiences would be massively appreciated.
There are very early stages of diabetic eye disease that do only require watching. Sometimes treatments can make things worse. I had a lousy eye doc and went from early stages when I was 14 to advanced middle stages when I was 22. Back in those days there wasn't anything to be done in the early stages anyway. Nowadays they may wait for a while. It may also go into remission (this can happen too). Going too low can make it worse though, so beware of lows. Don't run too high either. Sorry, but it's a delicate balance. Best of luck. It does take time to progress though, so there is no urgency to be seen very soon again.
Cbeers for the reply, wow I didn’t know lows could affect the eyes. I think it’s the yeah we’ve found something minor but come back in a year and we’ll assess it again attitude that has got me a little annoyed.
When BG is quite high, it's lowered slowly because a rapid lowering adversely effects the eyes since high BG causes optical changes. That's entirely different than simply having hypos. I've not read that low BG is dangerous for the eyes.
Ophthalmologists (the kind of eye doctor you want to see) use a variety of imaging systems to help identify any emerging issues. My doctor has used a retinal imaging system (from Optos) to take images of my retina for a number of years. The instrument identifies areas of concern and compares images over time. From the very start, the system found "issues" all of which turned out to be nothing. So the system is far from perfect and most ophthalmologists still depend on a slit eye exam to look for problems. My doctor always sits me down in the chair and does this exam. A slit eye exam will reveal retinopathy at an early stage. If you had a slit eye exam and your doctor is competent, you can have significant confidence that you don't have any identifiable retinopathy issues.
That being said, as Cora indicated, with early detection, proper management of blood sugars and early treatment you really don't have to fear losing your eyesight like the old days. I also read, like Gerri indicates that rapid blood sugar drops can aggravate retinopathy. And while I had found support for acute hypoglycemia causing retina problems, those conditions are so harmful to the brain that your eyesight is a secondary concern.
The fact that your doctors told you to come back in a year (mine had me returning in three months at first when "issues" were found) suggests that the anomaly is actually minor and not a real concern. If it is there and bigger next visit, you still have plenty of time to figure out what it is and deal with it.
Thanks Brian mate that’s put my mind at ease a bit, I really appreciate the comment
A bad low can cause the proliferation of the bad blood vessels in your eye, if you have them. That's what my endo told me. Also, when I had my pancreas transplant, they warned me that lower blood sugar levels could cause a recurrence of my retinopathy. So you are right in that levels going down can be also dangerous.
One of the guests interviewed on DSMA Live this week was a retinal opthalmologist/surgeon. (The other guest was a pediatric endo). Dr. Kitchens, the eye doctor, was very informative and very encouraging, so I think you would enjoy listening to it.
If you want to listen on your computer, go to this link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/diabetessocmed/2013/05/31/dsma-live
You can also download the podcast from iTunes. In podcasts, search for DSMA Live and download the Thursday, May 30 episode.