Type 1 Eyesight

[emmawhit32]

Ok so I know I’ve asked a lot today but I was just wondering about the effect on eyesight diabetes has. What are the chances of me keeping my eyesight.. I’ve been diabetic 24 years and I get my eyes tested every year and each year comes back as slight background retinopathy but no action needed! How long can this stay that’s way? Will it get worse even if my levels are ok? Can I keep me sight another 24 years or will I end up blind! This absolutely terrifies me

Thanks

 

[Juicyj]

Hi @emmawhit32 Losing my sight also terrifies me, I was diagnosed with background retinopathy a few years after diagnosis and this helped me to think seriously about stabilising my blood glucose levels, the next year my results came back as 'normal' and have done since. Attend your annual reviews because any changes will be picked up then, I am tagging @himtoo for advice regarding eye changes, but my personal view is that as long as you maintain your control, any changes will get picked up and there is treatment available if this progresses and gets worse, so don't worry about what may not happen in the future, use this as your catalyst to keep good control

 

[emmawhit32]

Aww thanks I do find all the help here very reassuring! I’m no newbie to diabetes but having people to ask advise and find out how other people like me cope with the condition is so useful! Yes I will be attending my appointment every year so hopefully if any changes do occur they will be picked up and treated!
Thanks again

 

[kevinfitzgerald]

As @Juicyj just posted. I have had background retinopathy throughout my 37 years Type 1. Sometimes worse and other times better than my last visit to the eye consultant.

My last appointment was about four / five months ago and I was told after they had the photos of the back of my eyes that I actually had no background retinopathy.

If there is anything good about having this chronic condition it's the fact that with good management a lot of potential complications can be slowed down or even stopped.

 

[NoKindOfSusie]

If there's anything that scares me silly it's this, I go to sleep thinking about it, ten seconds after I wake up I'm thinking about it, and sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it.

 

[samowen268]

We’re all the same! I’ve been begging for answers about eyesight loss in this forum too, I’ve had some awful problems with my eyes this year, they were so bad I was convinced I’d be blind by now.
Coincidentally (not!), I’d been neglecting my blood sugars for at least a year because I was going through that teenage phase of “rebelling”, and the eyesight is eventually sorting itself out bit by bit, I went to the eye doctor and the results said I had signs of maculopathy, the stage before background retinopathy.. which although I’m only 19 I’m very grateful not to have severe sight damage after the amount of sugar I was consuming, I’d say if I can drink and eat sugary things for months and only have tiny eye issues, your sight should be fine as long as your control is! And even if in the future they go a bit messed up, just get laser surgery or one of the many options done, it’s amazing how much they can do for our eyes now.. hope this somehow helped, sorry for rambling, try not to worry! X

 

[CarbsRok]

Ok so I know I’ve asked a lot today but I was just wondering about the effect on eyesight diabetes has. What are the chances of me keeping my eyesight.. I’ve been diabetic 24 years and I get my eyes tested every year and each year comes back as slight background retinopathy but no action needed! How long can this stay that’s way? Will it get worse even if my levels are ok? Can I keep me sight another 24 years or will I end up blind! This absolutely terrifies me

Thanks

53 years on insulin and I still have my sight. It's very hard not to worry as you hear so many horror stories and not enough success stories. There's no guarantee with anything in life but in this day and age there is no reason for anyone to go blind due to diabetes as long as they blood sugar and BP is kept well controlled.

 

[emmawhit32]

53 years on insulin and I still have my sight. It's very hard not to worry as you hear so many horror stories and not enough success stories. There's no guarantee with anything in life but in this day and age there is no reason for anyone to go blind due to diabetes as long as they blood sugar and BP is kept well controlled.

Thanks that’s good to know

 

[Jkoko56]

Another long term diabetic here who still has good eyesight although with glasses. I was diabetic for about 35 years before I needed glasses for reading. I've now graduated to varifocals and my sight is still good enough to drive despite having fairly heavy laser treatment in both eyes. I think if you can control your levels reasonably well and attend regular eye clinics (I'm called six monthly) then you have a very good chance of retaining your eyesight, in my case into my seventies.

 

[Gabrielle_Tai]

Hi, i been trying to ask the same question myself. At least now i know as long as i control my high and low the risk of losing my eyesight is low.