Has anyone ever had Ocular Coherence Tomography?

Just had a quick read of OCT and it sounds very technical and should give a detailed image of the retina, not something my Ophthalmology department has to my knowledge.

have this every time i visit the hospital so on average once every 6 weeks. Absoluely nothing o worry about .
Takes a few seconds. After you have had -probably an eye test and definitely dilating drops you will be asked to sit in front of a camera at the usual sort of desk at which you have your eye exms . You will be asked o put your chin on the res same as usual.

then you will be asked if you can see the cross in the middle of the screen then asked to blink and then say as still as possible without blinking or moving for another few seconds . You usually see a falsh at he begining and end. Its a scan .

Much quicker procedure than the angogram and no injections. It will probablly be showing on the screen by he time you ge to see the Dr. very quick , totally painless - just a photo. I have learnt to read mine now i have had so many. Shows where the leaks are occurring. If you see two almos parallel lines - thats good. if you see something looking like a peak along the lines or maybe a few that is where the fluid is leaking into your reina and where i needs o be sealed.

very routine test. if you have treatmen they will do it again to compare results.
After a while you can work out from your performance on the visual acuiy chart [eye test} where the bleed is and when you see the OCT results you learn to relate them to problems in your vision.
or maybe thats just me and he countless scans I have had!

SouthernGeneral6512 said:

Just as well we don't have to pay you for all the advice you offer in here unbeliever because you are a real wealth of information :clap:.

As I said above hopefully the tools to do something about what we can now see with the scanners aren't far behind :thumbup:

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If my experiences can be of any help to anyone I will feel that they have not been in vain. The information is out there but
most patients want to know initially how they will be affected personally .and there is not so much of that
So much is now routine to me but I will never forget how i felt at first.
I have seen huge changes since I first started to receive treatment. All of them improvements so this is how i am able to remain optimistic . I am sure improved treatments are just around the corner .
Unfortunately it is still seems to be a question of individual battles having to be fought and experience coming at a cost..
I sometimes have well meaning people telling me just to keep doing as the doctors tell me and the occcasonal HCP saing that the "Consultant knows best" My consultant rarely takes that atitude .Because there are no absolutes in this area he always says he "THINKS" he can help and what do i think? Do I want to "try" a particular procedure . he knows he can't promise success or - it is often the case that the procedure can have been performed correcly but doesn't improve vision. there is always the underlying condtion - the diabetes to contend with too.
I a m fine with this - I prefer to be told the truth and treated as an adult but some demand certainties.
If you need a great deal of treatment you have to be able to accept that you are working with the surgeon. The surgeon?consultant is not dicating to you. Some find his very diffcul t to accept.

SouthernGeneral6512 said:

I think it's modern attitude in my parents time and even in my time it was always a case of the doctors know best but I'm glad to say that is changing.

That's intereting that you are saying that threatments have improved in only 5 years. I do think in terms of technology we really are at a cusp point and many new inovations are very close now :clap:

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I just wish I could feel that the same is true of diabetes care. It is just the opposite . If I had to have retinopathy I would rather have had it diagnosed now than five years ago. The poopsite is true of my T2.

SouthernGeneral6512 said:

I noticed in another thread that unlike the advice given in Sweden the advice here hasn't changed in 30 years :sick:

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What has changed for T2s is who dispenses the advice. There were definitely fewer options in treatments for T2s but as they were not relegated to the "care" of the practice nurse and there was not the same regimentation of treament - most sufferers being seen by their GP and sill treated as incdividuals and not statistics - I wonder if they were much worse off?

They may well have been given dubious dietary advice [with hindsight ] but those i knew at least, were not subjected to any pressure about it - and certainly no blame. It was just considered to be a disease of the elderly - as it was mostly they, who were diagnosed .
There was none of the hyseria about obesity etc. That coincided with the incresasing size of the general population which suddenly appeared to be a problem. Don't understand it. All those nice ,healthy, starchy carbs!

SouthernGeneral6512 said:

I ended up getting OCT and the Fluorescein angiography ... never felt any ill effects from dye being injected although I am peeing bright yellow water :lol:

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That's good news General, did they discuss your results afterwards?

noblehead said:

SouthernGeneral6512 said:

I ended up getting OCT and the Fluorescein angiography ... never felt any ill effects from dye being injected although I am peeing bright yellow water :lol:

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That's good news General, did they discuss your results afterwards?

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And you lived to tell the tale!Did your skin change too? I am very pale and always look as if I am wearing a particularly awful shade of fake tan. All these effecs soon pass.

Pity there isn't some way of making these procedures sound less terrifing to patients. Someimes you have to wait for weeks worrying about these hings unneceassarily.

They are in effect , wonderful diagnostic tools not medieval torture but how are new patients to know? Many hospitals have explanatory handouts but it is not standard and they could be improved.
I can undersand the difficulties. My hospital had some really good information on cataracts surgery. I suspect it is because many people pay privately for this operation.

Yes , I have OCTs every time I go to the hospital but the angiograms are always done on a separae visit. It is more a quesion of pinpointing the problem areas rather than telling them anything new. They are then used as a basis for comparison and to check the progress of any treatment. The "before" pictures.
I have blueberries for breakfast every day. I HOPE mine are low tech :lol:

Glad it went ok.

Checking your own eye pressure sound s a bit dangerous . Do you check your BP at home? My BP is not supposed o be an issue with my eye condition - but it was when was given increased medicaion which made my BP sand still for ove r 24 hrs. I sukkereda major bleed.

My GPP has recently assured me that any BP issues are immediately obvious to an opthalmologist.

For anyone who has an OCT you will probably not be aware that {I only found out through a fluke} that it is possible o click on the picture of a scn and measure the eye pressure. I saw his done and then had the pressure checked in the ususla way and the two measurements were identical.

The wonder sof modern science!

SouthernGeneral6512 said:

A bit of a one from left field here unbeliever do you ever try to visualise healing on your retina to help it? Sort of like giving your immune system a tug and reminding it of work needing done :thumbup:

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No I haven't SG. I have tried it on other things and didn' have much success. Might ry i wih my pancreas which is the source of all he rouble. I hink my retina is well and truly damaged by allt he reament now. Suppose I could think of the images of the scans on the consultants computer screen which pinpoin the exact place which needs healing .

Truth is, I don't really hink about it much in beween appointments - I have just learned o live wih it.

The silly time wasting shennaningans with the self -important but stupid nurses in my practice boher me more. I can cope wih logical things , however unpleasant, but don't see why I should have o put up with that.
Fighting the same unnecessary bales is wearing. At leas the hospital and I are on the same side.
I think stress could be my worst enemy. Staying away from the Dr's surgery might be he answer!

Have you found visualiasation o help SG -orhas anyone else?