Argon Laser Treatment

[TraceyW]

Hello,

I hope its OK to post on here. I am not a diabetic but my husband is. He is a Type II diabetic, aged 56, has had diabetes for 25 years and injects insulin before every meal plus a daily slow acting dose. His control wasn't great for a few years and it kept going up and then when he went for his eye test a year ago and there was deterioration. I made him sort himself out, go to hospital diabetic clinic etc and they put him on this new regime of insulin. His control is better now I think his last long term blood sugar test was about 8, although he has just gone for another test so don't know the result of that one yet. He has just gone for his annual eye examination and he has been told he has to have Argon Laser treatment. I am really worried. Has anyone on the forum had this treatment? I am frightened he will go blind. Also, there is a the risk that the laser treatement could damage your peripheral vision which would mean he could no longer drive and therefore could no longer work.

Also, he has started having hypos his blood sugar was less than 3 but there was no reason for having them i.e. he had eaten, used correct insulin dose, hadn't done any strenuous exercise. He was feeling a bit run down and the GP said he probably had a "virus". Can a virus cause hypos? He hasn't had one for a week thankfully and feels a bit better.

Appreciate any advice. Hubby is not a forum poster, hence why I am posting.

 

[ShyGirl]

Hi,

I know how worried you must feel as when first diagnosed I was confused , scared and worried about waking up blind.
Laser therapy sounds intense but is used to stop further damage although in some cases you can lose peripheral vision.
My consultant told me it's a less common side effect now as in the past they'd laser a bit more freely.

Sadly it's the type of condition on-one can really predict but i've seen posters who could continue driving post laser therapy and other types of eye operations.

Hopefully someone with personal experience will answer Here are some sites that go into more detail-

http://www.nwkec.org/005dr160.htm

http://medweb.bham.ac.uk/easdec/

 

[TraceyW]

Hi Shygirl,

Thanks for responding and sending those links. They are certainly more informative than the leaflet provided to him by the clinic which seem to be written for a 10 year old(!)

Your comments have given me some hope that the side effects are less common than I feared.

Cheers

TraceyW