Diabetes has affected the retina.

[Lisa5]

Hi all.
I’m only 48 yes old and I’ve now been referred to the hospital with a view to discuss treatment. I have no idea how bad things are but it is causing a lot of anxiety. I’m so concerned about going blind.
Has anyone had treatment that was successful?
Thank you in advance

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi all.
I’m only 48 yes old and I’ve now been referred to the hospital with a view to discuss treatment. I have no idea how bad things are but it is causing a lot of anxiety. I’m so concerned about going blind.
Has anyone had treatment that was successful?
Thank you in advance

Hi Lisa, I'm sorry you are going through the mill.
In terms of treatment, I can't comment upon that, but in terms of "how bad it is", you should be able to get a bit of clarification on that from your GP. They recieve a slightly different letter to we do, after eye screening, if something is picked up.
You may also find this link informative. https://www.yorkhospitals.nhs.uk/ou...anding-national-grading-results-and-outcomes/

On the upside, if something is a bit awry, at least it has been spotted and can be monitored or treated.

 

[Adeeb]

Diabetes effect on retina goes through many stages, risk factors include duration of the diabetes and the level of the sugar all over that period, with all satges you have to control the sugar and any other risk factor. Early stages will need follow up, where as more advanced stages will require laser and /or injections.

 

[Lisa5]

It diabetic Maculopathy and I need treatment so have been referred. 13 week wait. Apologises I wasn’t very clear in my initial post.

 

[lovinglife]

Thanks Lisa.

My suggestion would be to get yourself on a plan that involves very low carbohydrates combined with some sort of eating window/fasting.

While nerves cannot regenerate, if you're able to take the sugar out of the blood this will take pressure off the nerves that are connected to the eye, as a result you may see some improvements in your eyesight.

I am not familiar with the treatment you have been offered, so am unable to comment on that.

Hi @harvinder25,

Do you have any links to support your statement that nerves cannot regenerate? This is the NHS information sheet for retinopathy and moculopathy

https://www.wwl.nhs.uk/media/.leaflets/63bd801ab77961.76603552.pdf

 

[Antje77]

are you referring to the diagnose of diabetic retinopathy?

If so this is caused because of nerve damage

Retinopathy is not caused by nerve damage but by damaged and abnormal blood vessels.

My suggestion would be to get yourself on a plan that involves very low carbohydrates combined with some sort of eating window/fasting.

Without knowing what type of diabetes someone has, and what type of medications someone uses, your suggestion could lead to dangerous situations if followed without adjusting medication.
Please be careful with what you write on a forum like this one!

My apologies for going off topic on your thread, @Lisa5 .
13 Weeks is a long time to wait when you're nervous. I hope all will be well and you'll only need some light treatment!

 

[Grandma Misti]

Hi all.
I’m only 48 yes old and I’ve now been referred to the hospital with a view to discuss treatment. I have no idea how bad things are but it is causing a lot of anxiety. I’m so concerned about going blind.
Has anyone had treatment that was successful?
Thank you in advance

Hi, Lisa!
I am so sorry to hear that diabetes has effected your eyes! That is scary!

I read in a later post that you have been diagnosed with diabetic Maculopathy rather than retinopathy, but I wanted to answer your original question here just in case someone with the same question comes along later.

Last October I was diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy and was told that it was not something that could heal, but that if I got my blood sugar under control, I could limit further damage. I have had type 2 diabetes for 25 years and it is my first complication because I had always kept my blood sugar low by eating to my meter - until Long Covid kicked me in the adrenals a couple of years ago, anyway.

Around the same time as that diagnosis, I finally figured out how to control my blood sugar again and started doing so again. After six months of tight control (started with 8s and 9s, by the time of the test I was seeing 5s and 6s with the occasional dips into the 4s) the new test a few weeks ago found no signs of diabetic retinopathy at all. Miracle? Mis-diagnosis back in October? No idea. Just a datapoint.

 

[MissMuffett]

I had a letter on Thursday to say after my diabetic retinopathy examination the results show Diabetic Maculopathy and they want to see me every 3 months. They haven’t indicated any treatment but this has made me more determined to keep carbs as low as I can You’re right @Lisa5 it is very worrying.

 

[Jordi77]

Think yourself lucky because late on last year due to my diabetes I lost the sight in my right eye and that is when the hospital found out that the retina had been detected from the back of my eye and it was like that for over a couple of years before they said anything about it so it was to late to try to reattach it so now I'm blind in one eye and they have to look after the other eye now and that is what I am doing every day and night and I have to be careful with the lights around on the road on cars as well as they can blind me slightly and so can the sun but that's life it can change things in seconds for you

 

[mr.mick]

Hi everyone I have diabetic retinopathy and I have been treated for this. It is a condition that develops from high blood glucose levels. It causes the blood vessel's in your eyes to bleed. This is treated by Lazer and or eye injections. I have both treatments. This is an ongoing treatment that glucose levels will solve if carefully managed. It is very important as blindness could occur if it is not treated. I hope this helps.