• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Diabetic maculopathy??

Dalejordan_

Member
Messages
17
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi im 23 and was just looking for some help, ive just had aletter back about my eyes saying that my eyes show early signs of
Diabetic maculopathy? but i wont find out anymore until February so my questions are.

is there anything i can do to make it better or even go away?

are the treatments effective?

i have read online that it can be caused by blood sugars being up and down? which mine have been.

will i go blind? some days my eyes are blurry and other days they are super hd.

thank you.
 
hi @dalejordan

it probably wont help too much to tell you to try and not worry...............

i have been a t1d for 46 years , had retinopathy for 28 of those years , and maculopathy for the last 5 years

a long time ago we couldnt test blood so will never know how much up and down was going on

but...........i have tried to look after myself for the last 28 years and my eyes are in pretty good shape overall.

I have had laser ( in 2002 and 2012 ) injections in my eye in 2014 and since then have been stable with the maculopathy shrinking slightly

i believe that looking after yourself is the key , and although i know it is hard sometimes, doing this gives us the best chance of keeping our sight.......I think if you commit to doing your best your eyesight will be safe for many many years to come
 
Thank you, so would you say that the treatment has helped? and do you get good days and bad days with your eye sight?.

my blood sugar was on average between 14-16mmoll and i knocked it down to around 8-10 and then had a eye test and this popped up, also how bad is laser treatment? sounds awfully worrying to me
 

Hi @Dalejordan_ ,

I'll stick my neck out & suggest that the treatment for diabetic maculopathy will be the simalar to the condition I have under control. "Macula edema." Which could be anti-VEGF injections.
That's if they feel the treatment is applicable regarding test scan results.?
If you are a driver? Don't take the car for the tests...

Good BG control certainly helps.

Best of luck!
 
Hi @Dalejordan_ I know just how you feel as the following account of my time at university shows. I had both eyes lasered more than once between 1979 and 1983. I still only wear glasses for reading, despite having been Type 1 from 1959 - 2013:
Both my eyes had haemorrhaged more than once, and I experienced several sessions of photocoagulation. On the first occasion, in 1979, I was admitted as an in-patient. It was decided that I should be in full control of my faculties. My head was placed in a stirrup and grease was applied to my eye, so that a lens could be applied for a magnified view of my retina. I was petrified. When the first laser burn made its mark, I was surprised that I wasn’t in agony. It was comparable to somebody flicking their finger-tip against the side of my hand, therefore uncomfortable and irritating. After 860 of these burns I lost consciousness. It was assumed that I was experiencing a hypo, but I managed to persuade the lady that I had passed out due to lack of manliness. She informed me that at least another 400 burns would be necessary and therefore I would need to be readmitted. This duly took place and I experienced my first general anaesthetic. Later on two nurses appeared at the bed side and I said “Has it happened yet?”
“Yes dear. You should have heard your language as you were being wheeled into the theatre!”
Certainly, as mentioned above, good glucose control is key. Once the chief ophthalmologist at King's College Hospital had rammed this into my conscience, I have had no further problem. I wish you the very best of luck
 
in my opinion laser treatment is much worse psychologically than phsically.............when i had laser done it was the thought of me either blinking or just moving slightly and the consultant burning a hole all the way through my head that freaked me out

the actual laser treatment doesnt hurt but is uncomfortable because your eyes are fully dilated and the bright light shining in to them makes mine water ( alot )
 
Hello @Dalejordan_ Please excuse a T2 posting here but I have an epiretinal membrane and cystoid macular oedema (discovered back in November when my right-eye central vision went blurry). This is not diabetes-related but more due to the fact that I am spectacularly short-sighted and have had PVDs: us Mr Magoos are at risk of all sorts of 'stuff' including macular degeneration. I've just come back from a follow-up and both problems have not worsened, thankfully. I was on 6 weeks of bromfenac twice a day but (and the reason for the post) I also started to take macular supplements straight after diagnosis. Of course I don't know which or whether both worked but it may be worth having a look at such supplements? They are recommended by various eye clinics and opticians - make sure you get the AREDS formula. I realise that not everyone can or wishes to take supplements (please please read the ingredients!) but as you are young it may be worth thinking about them.
 
I had retinopathy/maculopathy in both eyes upon diagnosis. It got worse as my control improved. I had to have bilateral laser treatment which then led to macular edema and requisite anti-VEGF injections. My central vision was very bad, and a few times I thought I was going blind in my right eye. Very distressing, but now almost completely fixed and still getting better.

The only thing you can do is keep your glucose under tight control and trust in modern medicine to help repair the damage already done. Best of luck and keep us updated!
 
Early diabetic maculopathy can sometimes clear up without treatment. This is more likely if you work on maintaining good control of your blood glucose and blood pressure.

If you have been referred to hospital from the diabetic eye screening service in the UK, you will usually be given an OCT scan to confirm the degree of maculopathy and whether there is sufficient swelling (oedema) to warrant treatment. If the maculopathy is very mild, you may be discharged back to the eye screening service where you will be monitored by having eye screenings more frequently than annually. If the maculopathy is mild to moderate, you may be monitored within the hospital eye service, but if it is worse than that you will be offered treatment. Treatment is usually anti-VEGF injections into the eye, but could be mild laser (not the same as PRP laser given for proliferative retinopathy), depending on the location of the oedema. If treatment is offered, the medical staff should explain to you what exactly is involved and what the potential risks and benefits are.

More information here:-
http://diabeticretinopathy.org.uk/diabetic_maculopathy.html
http://www.uhs.nhs.uk/Media/Control...F-injection-treatment-patient-information.pdf
https://www.hey.nhs.uk/patient-leaflet/laser-treatment-macular-oedema/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…