noblehead said:
I can't in all honesty call my Ophthalmology team as they have always provided first class service, the consultant I have seen for the last 5 years is the most senior in the department and he is very thorough in everything he does, my only gripe would be the waiting time in the clinic but appreciate emergency cases must come first.
Yes the right consultant is the key. Alhough I have monthly or sometimes more frequent appointments I never begrudge the time spent waiting so long as I eventually see the right person. Otherwise it truly is a waste of time and can even be detrimental.
I realise that others have to get back to work etec but just seeing anyone for the sake of it means that your condition will deteriorate and you will need far more treatment and many more visits to the cliniic.
It is quite true that every cloud MAY have a silver lining although I thought myself very unfortunate to begin with.
I was referred to the eye clinc by my doctor who "thought he could see something on the macular. Almost a year and several visits to the clinic and there were only a few minor signs of retinopathy. When I turned up for what should have been my discharge appt I saw a visiting consultant who told me I had suffered a massive bleed. I was totally unaware of it but it coincided eactly with my bg suddenly taking a dip because of new medication.
I then had too extensive and intensive laser which were not only totally useless but which badly scarred my retina.
Fortunately I was then referred to my present consultant s as i said - "Every cloud".
I am convinced I would have beeen blind by now had i not been treated with a combinaion of injections and laser.
In fact I have been legally blind at times {according to the eye tests} and know exactly how fortunate i am.
To begin with no one has anything else to compare theur treatment with and we all have to believe what we are told .
I learnt at an early stage I suppose that the only person who really knows whether something is working or not is myself.
I now know what the signs of damage are. Although there is no way of reversing it i would have refusd to have the second session of laser.
After that and after it was established that medication was responsible for my macular oedema I think I changed my personality.
I became much more assertive and much lessinclined to take anything on trust. If Drs can't handle this then that tells me a great deal about them. The very best are happy to learn from patients.
I think you have to make them respect you too by doing your bit to keep diabetes under control and by striving to understand the limitations of the treatment and their inability to make a prognosis most of the time.
I think it is very necessary to inform yourself , particularly for this condition . trying to keep calm helps a lot because it is a very emotional subject and not all drs are good at coping with emotions. They are sometimes pushed into appearing vague and cold.
had i not been so fortunate in my consulytant i am sure i would have given up on the reatment a long time ago. That would have been a very bad mistake.
I have been helped to control my diabetes because of the effect on my eyes and working with them a strategy for coping was worked out. If f you are unfortunate to need continuous treatment it is really necessary to be proactive. To offer feedback
and ask questions and let them know you want to be involved.
There is also the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping others by helping the Drs.
I could very easily have given up a couple of years ago. I am glad I didn't because now I still have the opportunity to benefit from new treatments and have learnt a great deal about the condition and how o keep it as stable as possible
Although it may not seem so at first it is just as necessary and possible to take an active part in dealing with retinopathy etc as it is with diabetes.
