Laser and driving license

[FantomPoet]

Hi all

I have been diagnosed with retinopathy in August a month after finding
I was T2 and had an appointment at the local eye hospital in September
where I was told that I would probably need laser in the next 12 months.

In eleven days I am due back to the hospital for more scans and possibly
the laser treatment although I am not sure.

If I need laser on both eyes I am aware that this means issues with my driving
license but cannot see anywhere mentioned the practicalities of what happens.

I guess I inform the DVLA of the procedure but then what happens? How long
before I get to test to see if I am able to drive? What actually happens?

Thanks for your help the procedure itself is scarey enough which never leaves
my thoughts for long but as it nears I realise there is more to this than just the day.

My Hba1C was 9.7% in July but is now last month down to 5.6% I have lost 26Kg in that
time and excercising more I just hope it has not been to quick.

I have also been taking 750mg bilberry extract along with 200mg Alpha Lipoic Acid to
hedge my bets. I keep to around 20g carbs a day and also keep my calories below 1500
a day as I still have another 10Kgs to go.

I have built up my daily cycling to 12 miles a day so I could ride to work if I have no license
which has been a struggle, but it is the only way I could realy still get to work.

Now its a case of sitting and worrying :-(

 

[noblehead]

You do need to inform the DVLA if you have laser surgery and they may request some information from you and/or the Ophthalmology clinic who treat you. They will probably ask you to attend a Field Vision test at your local opticians and they will send a report back to the DVLA, the field vision test is to check your peripheral vision, depending on the outcome they will decide on your suitability to drive and may offer you a 1,2 or 3 year licence.

I've had laser treatment and have to attend a field vision test each time they renew my licence, so far I've been fine and passed the test and the DVLA have issued me with a 3 year licence.

 

[FantomPoet]

Is it a case of immediately losing your ability to drive until
you can prove through a field vision test that you have suffecient
peripheral vision to be able to drive? How long after the procedure
was it until you felt fit to drive / take the test?

Thanks for your help

 

[noblehead]

No I continued to drive but wrote to them to inform them of the treatment I was receiving, I can't recall how long after it was before they requested the field vision test but they insist on I take one each time they renew my licence.

Obviously it's not safe to drive on the day of the surgery as the eyes can take some time to settle down, they use dilating drops beforehand so your vision is also effected by this, what I did was to give it a day or two before getting back behind the wheel and only when my vision had returned to normal.

 

[FantomPoet]

Thanks for the info noblehead you have settled my mind somewhat.
I have taken a weeks leave off after the procedure as I have to use up
last years leave allowance so I was planning not to touch a car for at least that
so hopefully my eyes will have settle back down by then.

Thanks again

 

[ivinghoe]

I've been a type one since 1977 and I have just had my eyes checked for fitness to drive after hving had both eyes lasered.
If you do have both lasered then you will need to contact the dvla to download a form to fill in and return it
Its the medical form V1...
http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg ... 065620.pdf

It took about 2 weeks from posting the form to them replying with instructions on whom to see about getting the fields test done. In my case it wasnt my eye clinic but a dvla approved optician.
It`s not quite the same as the normal fields tests done in clinic in that dvla test is done with both eyes open and the test is concerned with your peripheral vision rather than your central vision as per a normal eye clinic test. No drops are used. It took about 15 minutes which included a normal eye test
My test was done on 17th december and I havent heard back from the DVLA yet but the optician who did the test did say all was ok and there shouldnt be any problems. I have the standard (for diabetics) 3 yr licence.
So its virtually the same as for noblehead.
The lasering itself does affect your vision for me the first session had the most noticable effect in reducing my peripheral night vision slightly but now I`ve probably had 5 or 6 sessions since the first one last August and not noticed any further changes.
Next session due next week on the 3rd roblem:

 

[FantomPoet]

Thank you ivinghoe good luck on the 3rd