Digital retinal photography

[WackyJacky64]

Hi, My husband was diagnosed last Wednesday with type 2 and will control with diet and exercise, he has received an appointment for Digital retinal photography at a local GP surgery , is this the same test as our own opticians do because he only had one done in April this year ?

 

[DeejayR]

Not the same. It's part of the package we're supposed to get with diabetes "treatment." It's a valuable test. Your husband will be asked to take sunglasses and not to drive for a while afterwards. (It doesn't hurt!).

 

[WackyJacky64]

He said he isn't going to attend he doesn't want any procedures because he believes once they start labelling him with things the list will go on and on .

 

[WackyJacky64]

Not the same. It's part of the package we're supposed to get with diabetes "treatment." It's a valuable test. Your husband will be asked to take sunglasses and not to drive for a while afterwards. (It doesn't hurt!).

is your vision blurry for hours afterwards ? this is what he is concerned about

 

[DeejayR]

Yes. And sensitive to sunlight, but only for a couple of hours as I recall. If he has neurological damage and doesn't deal with it his eyesight could be blurry all the time.

 

[WackyJacky64]

Yes. And sensitive to sunlight, but only for a couple of hours as I recall. If he has neurological damage and doesn't deal with it his eyesight could be blurry all the time.

He said he isn't going he feels its all just to make the doctors money and he is suspicious as when he first went last Wednesday he had sugar in his water and had his blood pressure taken , she immediately said that's a little high for a diabetic person so she already decided he was diabetic ,and he needed tablets to reduce it but he refused, then on the Monday he had blood pressure taken again and it was the same reading and the nurse said that's good so what is he to think ?then his blood work came back this Wednesday , they can't rely on the blood reading for blood sugar which converts to 7.2 said its unreliable as he is border line anaemic , his cholesterol reading well we can't make any sense of that but she immediately started writing out a prescription for statins which he bluntly refused and she was very shaken by his refusal lol

 

[DeejayR]

It all sounds very vague. It's difficult to assess what's really going on when hearing about it through a third party. Will your husband not register himself on the forum? I suppose not if he's in denial.
My personal view is that if he's not sure what he's being told, he did the right thing by refusing any meds for now.

they can't rely on the blood reading for blood sugar which converts to 7.2 said its unreliable as he is border line anaemic , his cholesterol reading well we can't make any sense of that

Perhaps someone else can explain this bit. What was the cholesterol result? Did you get the breakdown or just an overall figure?

 

[Emilyprice]

Either way he should go and have the retinal exam, it's painless and photographs the back of his eye. No harm can come of it, however if there are any issues with the eyes and it's not treated the complications are endless!

 

[Robbity]

How much does he value his eyes? A retinal test and the minor inconvenience of short term blurry eyes are a small price to pay for a rather important check up.. I would far rather be safe than sorry where my eyes are concerned.

Robbity

 

[Indy51]

I can understand his reluctance to take medication, but having a non-invasive test on his eyes? The eyes are very prone to damage from high blood glucose, so I'm very glad to have the reassurance of the all-clear when I have my eye checkup. Likewise for the feet.

 

[WackyJacky64]

It all sounds very vague. It's difficult to assess what's really going on when hearing about it through a third party. Will your husband not register himself on the forum? I suppose not if he's in denial.
My personal view is that if he's not sure what he's being told, he did the right thing by refusing any meds for now.

Perhaps someone else can explain this bit. What was the cholesterol result? Did you get the breakdown or just an overall figure?

We got a copy of the results and showed them to a friend who is a GP , his cholesterol is 4.8 and another figure says 5.9 . His T2 will improve with diet and exercise , BP is normal according to our friend . All in all he said 'that's not a bad test result' .

 

[WackyJacky64]

How much does he value his eyes? A retinal test and the minor inconvenience of short term blurry eyes are a small price to pay for a rather important check up.. I would far rather be safe than sorry where my eyes are concerned.

Robbity

I know this , i am trying to find out if the screening is the same that i had done at my opticians in April, my optician was concerned about something and did the screening , she put drops in my eyes which made my vision look like i was wearing sunglasses then she did the screening and said it was all fine .I didn't have blurry vision and wasn't told to wear sunglasses afterwards

 

[Croc]

Then you didn't have the same test.

Your vision will be blurry after, lasting several hours and very sensitive to light.

 

[WackyJacky64]

Then you didn't have the same test.

Your vision will be blurry after, lasting several hours and very sensitive to light.

wow and then he is expected to willingly go and let the NHS mess with his sight .

 

[Mrsass]

Hi @WackyJacky64 I know I'm just repeating what the others have said but it's very important to go to the retino appt I really would urge your husband to go, I didn't go for a long time and had damage to my eyes (but didn't know) until I finally decided to go, it was a massive shock and I had been making it worse not being aware of it and carrying on as I was. Eyes are very important (to me anyway) so taking literally 15 mins to attend this appt makes total sense to me for the peace of mind of knowing how things are going on from a test that isn't done with your normal eye test.

Abbie

 

[Indy51]

wow and then he is expected to willingly go and let the NHS mess with his sight .

Or he'll be reassured that nothing is wrong - it's always a vast relief to me. Or he could just go blind.

 

[WackyJacky64]

Hi @WackyJacky64 I know I'm just repeating what the others have said but it's very important to go to the retino appt I really would urge your husband to go, I didn't go for a long time and had damage to my eyes (but didn't know) until I finally decided to go, it was a massive shock and I had been making it worse not being aware of it and carrying on as I was. Eyes are very important (to me anyway) so taking literally 15 mins to attend this appt makes total sense to me for the peace of mind of knowing how things are going on from a test that isn't done with your normal eye test.

Abbie

He won't go he doesn't trust the NHS , he says they are just prodding about and he has nothing wrong with his eyes but would probably have if he let them mess around with them .
why would anyone want blurry vision for hours on end and sensitive to light , it makes no sense and who knows what damage is being done to your healthy eyes .

 

[Croc]

Ok. Tell him not to go.

 

[WackyJacky64]

Or he'll be reassured that nothing is wrong - it's always a vast relief to me. Or he could just go blind.

I think its all dramatized to be honest , and if Type 2 is reversible which it is then what's the point in messing with your eyesight ?

 

[noblehead]

I think its all dramatized to be honest , and if Type 2 is reversible which it is then what's the point in messing with your eyesight ?

Type 2 diabetes can go undetected for a a long time and you just don't know if some damage has occurred already, that is why regular eye screening tests for diabetic retinopathy is important (for all diabetics I must add).