Stressed! Please help!

[madfish69]

Hi all,

here's the quick story and why I'm feeling stressed right now....hopefully you can ease my mind:

I'm 32 and have type 2 for about a year now. I've already had my eye check when I was diagnosed and it was fine. My sugar control from my recent blood report is HBA1c 6.1% which I believe isn't bad right? And from my own monitoring of my levels...I'm pretty good with fasting hovering around 5-5.5. As in it's pretty well controlled.

Anyway, I went last week for my annual diabetic eye check. I just got home to a letter from them saying that there are some minor changes to my eyes...to get a detailed report to contact my doctor. Today is friday...I called and spoke to the receptionist at my doc's and she said that my report says both my retina has "abnormal" next to it. She then went on to say that usually if there's urgency when a report comes back the doc would have booked an appointment for me...kind of indicating that it's not super urgent.

Needless to say I booked an appointment myself...I mean surely if the results for retina says the word "abnormal" is cause for friggin concern right? Regarding Diabetes I stress most about my eyes.

Can you folks with experience tell me what this report means...and whether I can be calm about it...or are my eyes going to get screwed??

I mean even in the letter I got from the hospital where I did my eye test...the wording doesn't show any urgency...it says "minor changes" and that I will be called back in 12 months.

And as I said...the doc hasn't thought it of urgent importance to call me in....but hearing the word "abnormal" to a layman like myself does only one thing....stress me out...and all this before our long weekend...GREAT! I can't see the doc till tuesday...and I really don't want to spend my days in anxiety.

I'm hoping you all throw some light on this.

Wish all of you a good long weekend. Just calm me down will ya

Thanks

 

[sugarless sue]

Madfish,I think this will be one of those times when you will just have to be patient! I don't think any of us can second guess on this one! I hope when you see the doctor he will put your mind at rest about this.I don't suppose you can actually get a telephone consult with him any earlier can you?

 

[madfish69]

Hi

thanks for your reply. No I can't get any tel consult earlier. But I presume that it can't be a problem so severe as I would be called in surely. I guess I'll just have to wait. Horrible having to wait...but I have to keep myself calm about it. From what I read nowadays if problems are caught early they can be sorted out or prevent any further damage right?

I'm living alone...doesn't help with my stress either. Anyway, such is life. It seems I go from one sadness to the other for the last year or so.

Anyway, this is not a sob story forum Thank you for responding Sugarless Sue.

 

[sugarless sue]

I hope Tuesday sorts everything out for you.Try and keep busy to take your mind off it.I know that's not easy,I've had to wait for tests as well for a while.

 

[hanadr]

I have had this one too and my eyes do have changes. I have seen the imaging and understand that stuff. In the 5 years since my diagnosis, There has been no deterioration. I keep my numbers about where yours are and it's protecting my eyes. In my case and possibly in yours, the damage occured before the diagnosis. You are very young and it's possible to improve the eyes with good control. Give up worrying and set that as your goal

 

[wiflib]

...and why the hell is a b****y receptionist giving out any sort of results when it is impossible to back up any bad news with an appointment.

I work part time for a company and it is our policy to clearly state we do NOT give out any results on a Friday, because if we need to refer back into the NHS, it can't be done on a Friday and we don't want anybody being sick with worry over the weekend.

I would love to reassure you but my experience of this is nil. I'm just sending you lots of virtual hugs.

wiflib

 

[rjordanl]

i had my eyes screened in june and was seen by a junior opthalmic doctor . during my examination she said all seemed fine in conjuction with my previous examinations but i did have a little marking behind my right eye. however she called in the consultant as is required i believe just 2 check the junior doctor had examined me correctly and had recorded the results accordingly. when he checked my eyes they hadnt got any worse but he thought it was time to photograph the rear of my eyes for future reference as to change . i was panic stricken thinking my god what have they found . but the consultant assured me this was a preventative measure and my eyes hadnt deteriorated but he just wanted to protect my eyes in future. so try not 2 panic all sum times isnt bad but i do agree the way things are handled sometimes could be improved. remember you are in the best possible hands and the nhs is finally taking diabetes care very seriously .

 

[ChocFish]

Madfish I asked in our self-help group this evening about your problem, some have been in a similar situation to yours.
The general consensus is that you probably have slight changes that dont warrant laser treatment yet, but need to be monitored, the eye specialist (<<< me is a thicko who doesnt know how to spell ophta...ophtha oh never mind) will most likely write to your diabetologist/diabetic nurse and/or your GP and ask them to look at your bg and how well you manage to control your diabetes.
What have your readings been like?
So anyway it doesnt seem to be an absolute emergency and you can relax because listen, stress does play havoc with your bg so stay calm, do LOW CARB if your readings are high, consider taking supplements eg cinnamon, ALA, Flaxseed oil or Udo's oil, a good vitamin/mineral supplement, CUT OUT TRANSFATS, and eat plenty of really healthy vegetables.

All the best

Karen

 

[Buachaille]

Relax! Have a large glass of red. If there was any problems they would most likely have asked top see you again at shortish notice.

I had my retinopathy appointment about a month ago. Two days later I had the same style of letter which noted that there were some small changes which were attributed to being diabetic but I would be called for an appointment in 12 months. If I had any concerns the option to telephone the consultant who examined the computer images was offered and his number provided. Alternatively, a report had been sent to my GP and I could contact him. I chose not to contact either on the basis that I expected some changes to my eyes to have taken place given that I had all the symptoms of being diabetic for 4 years before I decided to go to the GP - and I only went because I was having pains in the area of my left kidney. Hopefully next years images will not show significant changes.

My other half, on the other hand, received a letter a fews days after her retinopathy appointment and it was accompanied by a follow-up to see the Consultant. In her case there is damage but the Consultant wants to wait for 6 months before considering taking any action.

I also went to Specsavers about 4 months ago and they did the retinopathy images as part of the standard eye test at no extra cost (some other opticians charge £10.00 per eye). These images will be available when i next get tested so if there is any significant change I should know about it before my next diabetic related check.

 

[madfish69]

Thank you all SO much for your replies. Especially Karen and Buachaille...as it was right on point. It is a relief to hear from others and what they've gone through. Again thank you very much, I appreciate it

This is a great forum...I'll be checking in frequently. I also have other questions in general about Diabetes and will post new threads for those.

Wish you all a very good carnival weekend!

Cheers!