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Diabetic Retinopathy

chard

Active Member
Messages
31
Hi all
This is an update on a thread that I posted regarding a bleed at the back of my left eye 2 weeks after being given the all clear at a routine visit to the eye clinic.
The bleed came as a bit of a shock because after being type 1 for 39 years I was told that I had mild diabetic changes but nothing to serious and I was told that I didn't need to see the eye specialist for 12 months.
I have since had 2 sessions of laser treatment and 1 in the right eye as they also detected very faint new vessels in the right disc.
The medical terminology used is; Bilateral Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy with Vitreous Haemorrhage ( in the left eye ) not sure if that's mild or severe... or Greek!!
I have seen no improvement in my vision after 7 weeks since it started bleeding in fact im sure my sight has deteriorated as, apart from the black squiggly lines in my sight, it has also become very blurred but fingers crossed the sight is ok in the right eye so I can still function in my daily routine (although it is frustrating )

I haven't had a lot of information or reassurance from the clinic with regards to the outcome so ive been looking on the internet for help.

I would appreciate any advise from anyone who has this condition and has gone through similar treatment. I am trying to keep my sugar levels well controlled but I think that because I am stressed it sometimes shoots up. that said I can usually keep the levels between 4-8.
The ironic thing about all of this is that I was thinking about taking up target shooting a few days before the bleeding. this hobby is now on hold !!!!
 
A good point you raised about the shock to the eye from rifle fire. I don't know how much would transfer from the cheek butt and shoulder
Statins are suppose to help with veins

Your brain blocks out seeing the veins, so maybe time will fix that
 
Hi chard

I'm sorry to hear about your sight problems.

Bilateral means both eyes and proliferative is the stage of retinopathy where new fragile vessel start to grown on the retina. These fragile vessels bleed easily which lead to retinal bleeds -vitreous haemorhages. This stage requires laser treatment to try and seal off the new vessels.

I have had bilateral proliferative retinopathy and my problems started off like yours. I suffered from vitreous haemorrhages which are bleeds from the retina into the vitreous(jelly) in the eye. As the vitreous -although mainly water -has a jelly texture the bleeds cannot disperse quickly hence the black squiggles you are seeing. The smudgy marks will eventually disperse but really affect your seeing vision whilst this is happening. If further bleeds occur then a vitrectomy operation is often done to remove the jelly from inside the eye and replace it with a saline solution. The positive thing about this is,as a liquid, any further bleeds can disperse quickly.

Unfortunately a lot time has to be spent waiting to see if the laser treatment slows down the new vessel growth even though as the sufferer you want an instant solution. Each laser treatment takes time for the area treated to settle after having laser burns put on it, this can cause temporary blurring. I hope this helps. It is a very frightening complication and I wish you well.
 
 
I've proliferative retinopathy in both eyes and had a few laser sessions on both. Over the months following the pan retinal laser my eyesight became less blurred and sharper, though I still do have those squiggles and marks on my eyesight to deal with (due back for next treatment end of this month). For awhile my depth perception was also effected, though this seems to be an unusual side effect and thankfully has improved too. My peripheral and night vision is slightly effected.

I'll be honest, I've had tough stressful times dealing with it all, but it does get easier and you will get through it. Your eyesight should improve from what you currently have now. There was a stage I was panicking that that was it, but it does slowly improve.
 
Thanks for putting it into plain English, Flowerpot and thanks for sharing your experiences.
You are right im wishing it would be an instant cure but I have been advised by other members of the forum, when it first happened, that it could take months to clear.
Just got to be patient and hope for the best
 
Best of luck with your treatment let us know how you get on .. Ive got session no.3 at the end of July. Do you know if there is an average amount of laser treatment or does it depend on each case?
 
chard said:
Best of luck with your treatment let us know how you get on .. Ive got session no.3 at the end of July. Do you know if there is an average amount of laser treatment or does it depend on each case?
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I've no idea, but often wondered the same! I'm sure someone on here will know.
 
It depends completely on each person and how aggressive the retinopathy and new vessel growth is. As it is a destructive treatment they only do what is absolutely necessary to protect the retina.They add up the total number of burns that are put on each retina. I needed the maximum number of burns on each retina and must have had at least 20 sessions. It does get quite painful when there isn't much retina left to treat as they laser nearer to the optic nerve, not nice.
 
over what period of time did you have 20 sessions and how is your vision? ive been told that it can effect your peripheral vision if you have laser treatment in both eyes
 
Hooked said:
Do you know what that maximum number is roughly?
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Don't quote me but I believe its around 2000 shots, I've probably given you all this link before but it's still the best place to read up on diabetic retinopathy:

http://www.diabeticretinopathy.org.uk/Information_for_patients.html

Chard, It can effect peripheral vision, the DVLA may ask you to have a field vision test when you next renew your licence, I've had to do this test but when they renewed my licence just recently they didn't request it, perhaps as I've had no treatment for 9 years now might be the reason why.
 
chard said:
over what period of time did you have 20 sessions and how is your vision? ive been told that it can effect your peripheral vision if you have laser treatment in both eyes
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I ended up with a lot of complications including two cataracts,a retinal tear and a film that grew across my retina as a protective mechanism due to all the damage. I have got no sight in my most damaged eye and only some central vision in my other eye. I lost my driving licence, can't tell colours, judge distance or perspective. All this was about 10 years back so I can't remember precisely how many sessions of laser I had although it was easily over 20 but sadly however often the sessions took place they couldn't keep up with the aggressive nature of my retinopathy.

Don't be alarmed by my outcome, laser treatment is a very successful way to halt proliferative retinopathy and preserve sight. My consultant said I had very fast growing vessels and very aggressive retinopathy and I just ran out of treatment options and healthy retina. I hope very much your treatment will stabilise the changes in your eyes and the laser will not impact on your vision.
 
Thanks for the link. Ive spoken to a few doctors now and some are positive about the outcome and one in particular was quite negative. I guess the worst part is, as pointed out in this thread. its not a quick fix and only time will tell.
I am due to have surgery on my shoulder which will keep me off work for 6-8 weeks which is a blessing as my job involves heavy lifting and bending down pulling cable (all the things ive been told to avoid) im hoping the lay off will help
 

Yes they do say to avoid strenuous activity when the retinopathy is active, so the timing is great for you Chard..............although not ideal having a shoulder operation
 
Thank you for your replies and advise im sorry to hear about your condition. Ive had diabetes for almost 40 years so ive been lucky not to have had any severe complications until now. still got 8 years till I pay the mortgage off so I hope it doesn't effect my ability to do my job. best of luck to you
 
noblehead said:
Yes they do say to avoid strenuous activity when the retinopathy is active, so the timing is great for you Chard..............although not ideal having a shoulder operation
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its my own fault for saying that I was felling positive about 2014, since that statement ive had a cancer scare,2 other surgeries a trapped nerve in my back and the shoulder and eye thing.note to self, ''keep mouth shut in future!!''
 
chard said:
its my own fault for saying that I was felling positive about 2014, since that statement ive had a cancer scare,2 other surgeries a trapped nerve in my back and the shoulder and eye thing.note to self, ''keep mouth shut in future!!''
Click to expand...

blimey Chard, they say things come in two's & three's but hells bells

Hope everything works out well for you, keep us informed on your progress.
 
Wishing you well chard for a positive outcome. Your lay off from work after shoulder surgery is a timely reason to avoid strenuous work - which can only be beneficial to your retinopathy. Good luck with it all.
 
Hi Chard sorry to hear you are having problems with your eyes. I had a lot of problems in both my eyes recently, in my case it was undoubtedly linked to two pregnancies on top of a history of poor control in my youth. what I can say about the bleeds is, at the time they occur they are terrible, extremely frustrating, like a visual form of tinnitus really - but they do fade. Unless you are unlucky enough to have recurrent bleeds, in which case you may need a vitrectomy, the blood sort of fades in intensity within a week or two I found. That's not to say it goes completely, there will still be a fair amount - but it will lessen - and lessen. I am now nearly one year since my last bleed and I still have some very very faint spots of blood in my periphery, I can only really notice them when I think about it or look into the sky on a clear day. The doctor thinks they will go away completely eventually

Ironically laser can make them worse at first. I had laser after my second bleed and I got a repeat bleed a few days later, the vessels shrinking must have caused it. But you need the laser to shrink the vessels to prevent the bleeds happening any more, so it may be a case of 'short term pain long term gain.'

I remember how bleak I felt the first time I experienced a bleed and how frustrating it is to have black gunk in your eye. Unfortunately IME I have found that even the consultants are very vague with this disease as to how it is likely to progress. I've had about 5 laser sessions to each eye and a vitrectomy in my left eye. Unfortunately I had a small retinal tear from the vitrectomy so with my left eye there is a tiny patch of field loss but this is quite peripheral. With both eyes open I have a perfect visual field and my vision's pretty much how it's always been. And I was convinced I was going blind! This is all after many years as a young diabetic not controlling my condition due to an eating disorder so it could have been a lot lot worse - there is hope. Best of luck.
 
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