Hi Everyone
I am 23, have had T1 for 11 years and recently had my annual eye screening. I have never had any problems with my eyes before and was always asked to come back in 12 months. This time I went to a different opticians to usual, he didnt put drops in my eyes (he said that it wasn't necessary this time and that the pictures of my eye should come out fine), he then checked over them quickly and said "at first glance all it looks like is that you have background retinopathy, but nothing to worry about" he went on to say that he would have a closer look and I'd receive the results in the next 6 weeks.
I AM TERRIFIED. I have never been told I have had background retinopathy before but when I told him this he said that almost all diabetics have it to some degree and that the treatment is to continue taking insulin and managing diet. Is this the case? Is it likely that I would have had background retinopathy previously but it wasn't considered worth mentioning?
I am concerned that this will continue to deteriorate and that I could be left blind. I am looking for reassurance really but also tips as to how I can prevent the background retinopathy getting worse or is a decline inevitable?
Any advice would be much appreciated
I am 23, have had T1 for 11 years and recently had my annual eye screening. I have never had any problems with my eyes before and was always asked to come back in 12 months. This time I went to a different opticians to usual, he didnt put drops in my eyes (he said that it wasn't necessary this time and that the pictures of my eye should come out fine), he then checked over them quickly and said "at first glance all it looks like is that you have background retinopathy, but nothing to worry about" he went on to say that he would have a closer look and I'd receive the results in the next 6 weeks.
I AM TERRIFIED. I have never been told I have had background retinopathy before but when I told him this he said that almost all diabetics have it to some degree and that the treatment is to continue taking insulin and managing diet. Is this the case? Is it likely that I would have had background retinopathy previously but it wasn't considered worth mentioning?
I am concerned that this will continue to deteriorate and that I could be left blind. I am looking for reassurance really but also tips as to how I can prevent the background retinopathy getting worse or is a decline inevitable?
Any advice would be much appreciated