Are you clear about the actual words that were used to describe your situation?
Background Retinopathy is usually where the problems start for most people and basically manifests as blurred vision. Many of us including myself have had this around the time of diagnosis. Obtaining good control of blood glucose may let your vision return to normal. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-complications/background-retinopathy.html
Diabetic Retinopathy is a more severe condition that usually means permanent damage has been done. From my understanding, people with this type of damage often have dark areas in their field of vision but there are other symptoms. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-complications/diabetic-retinopathy.html