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Advice needed from those who have had laser treatment

Jemmalee

Jemmalee

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi everyone,
Last week I had my first bout of panretinal laser treatment for proliferative retinopathy(yay). I am awaiting my next session after Christmas but I just wondered if people could tell me any initial visual effects they experienced? I have an irritating 'shimmering' all around my peripheral vision. I have been to the optician to check the retina and nothing scary is going into, so is this just a temporary side effect? Does it go away?!
Thank you for any help- it really will be appreciated. I have googled so much my thumbs are hurting
 
This can happen @Jemmalee but it goes without saying that you should contact your Ophthalmology Clinic if matters don't improve, I experienced flashing lights post-laser and my eyes were extremely sensitive to bright lights;

Don't know if you seen the following when Googling but it has some great information and advice on diabetic retinopathy:

http://www.diabeticretinopathy.org.uk/laserdiabetic_retinopathy.html
 
Thank you @noblehead , I most certainly will contact them if things don't improve soon but it is somewhat comforting to know it could just be the after effects of laser! I have read that site already, very useful, I have seen many people mention 'seeing' the spots after laser for a while but I didn't expect them to be so twinkly/shimmery. Do you remember if yours settled quite quickly?

And again, thank you for replying!
 
Yes I seen the spots too.

I just forget how long it took to settle down as my last treatment was around 11 years ago, but my Ophthalmologist did say at the time that if I was ever concerned about my eyes I had to ring the Ophthalmology Clinic up and speak with someone, if it was out of hours I'd have to go to A & E where they'd bleep the on-call Ophthalmologist, he said I wasn't to worry if it turned out to be nothing serious but said it was always better to be safe than sorry.

Wishing you well and hope the laser treatment works.
 
Hi Jemmalee,

As noblehead has correctly stated, this "shimmering" effect DOES tend to be a temporary situation and it doesn't normally affect someone undergoing laser therapy on every occasion. I've been receiving laser therapy for nigh on 30 years now and can probably count on one hand the number of times it's affected my vision in this way.

The good news, from my personal experience, is that it does tend to go away within a few days ... sometimes within hours of receiving the laser.

As noblehead states, ma'am, ANY concern that you have with your eyes should be checked. You MAY find a telephone number for the clinic where you saw the opthalmologist on the letter that was sent to you. You probably won't be able to speak directly to the ophthalmologist, but there will be other useful people from the clinic that will be able to reassure you and tell you if you need to get back to see them.

The website that noblehead provides a link for is a very useful one to keep in your favorites/bookmarks. That way you'll be able to return to it if you need to check up on things related to your eyesight.

I wish you well, ma'am, and truly do hope that you find the side-effect to be a short-lived one.

Lots of Love and Light.

Mick
x x x x
x x x

P.S. Please don't be offended, or alarmed, at the 'x's'. It's merely a logo, of sorts, that I've used for some 30-odd years now.
 
Thank you @micksmixxx , your experience in the matter has comforted me. I did in fact go back to my ophthalmologist a few days ago regarding the shimmering and on further inspection I have been told it is vitreous detachment. Very irritating but nothing to worry too much about, thankfully! Hopefully the 'shimmering' will settle down soon. Thank you so much for all your replies, very kind.

Here's to a healthier eye future for us all!
 
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