Pre-Proliferative Retinopathy

Dragonflye

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Hey guys... I'm back... I usually come back to this forum when something goes wrong... and there's been a few occasions from problematic pregnancies, unpredictable 12-15hour hypo's (still on going), issues with my work place and needing to take sick days (now sorted)...

Now its a new 1 for me... I received a letter about 30mins ago telling me my test results showed I have pre-proliferative retinopathy :( Got to admit its my own fault, been a few years since I had my last screening... When your pregnant they get (or got) fussy with the screening so I was removed from the annual invite and due to not receiving letters for whatever reason I had only just got round to booking an appointment...

However the reason for this post (other than feeling sorry for myself) is to try and get more information!!! My HBA1c isnt brilliant (61?) and I have had high blood pressure and having had diabetes for 25 years I can figure out how and why I have got this. I do struggle sometimes, running around after 3 kids, working full time and doing a degree and I know this shouldn't be an excuse for poor control but hey thats whats happened with me!!!

I am currently waiting for the specialist at my local hospital to get in touch with me, but can anyone tell me what to expect? Is laser treatment essential or does it depend (I know background retinopathy may not need treating but monitoring) however as this is the next bit to it I'm not sure :)

I know I need to change to get a tighter grip on things, I've actually been saying this for a while, I just hope I can actually do something about it :)
 

noblehead

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Hi dragonfly and sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Try having a good read around the following site, it has just about everything you need to know about diabetic retinopathy:

http://www.diabeticretinopathy.org.uk/pre-proliferative.html


Certainly getting better bg control is important as is getting on top of your bp and cholesterol levels, if you do decide to tighten your control up do speak with your diabetes team or ophthalmologist first, it's said that sudden tightening of bg control can make retinopathy worse. Good luck!!!!
 
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Hooked

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It's a huge kick up the a$$ getting a letter like that, isn't it?
I got one at the start of 2013 saying I had proliferative retinopathy. Was told by the specialist when I seen them that without treatment I'd be blind within a year.

One of my eyes was proliferative and one was pre proliferative (boarder line proliferative). I've had laser on both of them a few times now. Last few appointments no laser needed. It hasn't been easy, more from a physiological point of view tbh, but I've got through it and got on top of my diabetes much better than before.

As Noblehead points out, don't tighten things up too quickly, gradual improvement is much better for complications such as retinopathy. Good luck and keep us posted. x
 
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Dragonflye

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235
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Type 1
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I have an appointment in a few weeks with my nurse and have a few things I have to bring up now... because of my on going issues with the night-time hypos they have massively reduced my night-time insulin (so that I usually run around 11) however it is not working and its not ideal for my HBA1c so I'll need to discuss about allowing me to get it back where I was a year or so back and averaging around 6 or 7... then I just need to get my head round the day time and changing my lifestyle :)
Thanks Noblehead, I have had a read :) Just need to wait now for the appointment to come through from the eye specialist to find out exactly how bad it is, strange thing is my dad is actually seeing the specialist today for his eye issues... may get him to hurry it along ;) lol
 
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Caesar

Active Member
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Hi Dragonflye,

Have a look at this non-invasive treatment too: http://noctura.com/

The treatment is a specific green light delivered by a sleeping mask during the night hours in order to prevent oxygen deprivation in the retina. I’m using it and other people are with fantastic results: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/thr...etinopathy-treatment.67768/page-2#post-718657

Unfortunately, it’s not yet free through the NHS but has the advantage of being non-invasive and does not compromise peripheral vision as repeated laser sessions will do.
 

zebs

Active Member
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Type 1
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I was.told they start laser when the blood vessels become prolific. I have been under eye hosp for about 5 or 6 years for background but they seem to be expecting them to proliferate soon as they stepped up frequency of appointments. Very worried about losing my sight and laser treatment.
 

Dark Horse

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I was.told they start laser when the blood vessels become prolific. I have been under eye hosp for about 5 or 6 years for background but they seem to be expecting them to proliferate soon as they stepped up frequency of appointments. Very worried about losing my sight and laser treatment.
Yes, laser is the treatment for proliferative retinopathy. There's plenty of people on here who will tell you about their experiences of it but it might be better to start a new thread (the previous post was 44 weeks ago). The best way to reduce your chance of needing laser is to maintain good control of your diabetes (good HbA1c) and blood pressure.
 

zebs

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Fair enough I am new to this and so not noticed the time lag