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how often do you attend a diabetic clinic

L

louiseb

Well-Known Member
Messages
427
just wondered i have been type 2 for about 10 months.
when i was diagnosed I had an appointment at the clinic within a few weeks of diagnosis.
this followed up by another appointment 3 months later as i was newly diagnosed i was told I owuld have another appointment 6 months later which would be due inabout 2 weeks from now.
I have not recieved an appointment letter yet so I phoned my practice and said they are running behind and it will now be closer to 9 months instead of 6!
I dont mind this just wondered is 9 months too long between appointments? or will it eventually become once very 12 month now tht my bgs are realtively stable.
just one more thing that has been bugging me is that I havenot yet had a diabetic eye check on my first appointment at the daibetic clinic the dsn asked when I last had an eye check at the opticians and I told her only a few months ago so she said there was no need for an eye check with her is this correct?
 
I have a check up every six months, with HB1AC and an annual check of my feet etc.
I get a letter from my GP about a month before telling me to ring to make the appointments.
I am a diet only T2, my last HB1AC was a not too bad 6.4.
 
I went once, then was given a 6 month appointment but they have nagged me continuously to get an eye check ( I was having difficulties getting through to my local optician so had kind of put it off ), even tho' my first hbac1 was good and I have no problems with my eyes so far. Perhaps you need to push to be referred.
 
Attend the diabetes clinic every 6 months (my choice as I could attend 12 monthly) and get feet checked at the same time, my eyes are every 6-9 months.

Nigel
 
noblehead said:
Attend the diabetes clinic every 6 months (my choice as I could attend 12 monthly) and get feet checked at the same time, my eyes are every 6-9 months.

Nigel
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do you know if I you have eye test at the optician does this mean you dont need an eye test at daibetic clinic?
just worried as recently I have had blurred vision.
my DSN thinks its not necesarry if you have your eyes tested at the optician.
I have never had a diabetic eye test however my twin sister had a eye test upon diagnosis and once per year there after, even though she had a test at the optician also regularly I must add me and my twin are registered at seperate doctors practices
 
If your Optician does Retinal Screening as well then you may not need it done by a separate clinic.

If they do not do it then it needs to be done at least once a year usually at a special clinic or hospital depending on your area.
 
sugarless sue said:
If your Optician does Retinal Screening as well then you may not need it done by a separate clinic.

If they do not do it then it needs to be done at least once a year usually at a special clinic or hospital depending on your area.
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thanks sue imnot sure i think it was just a normal eye test I had at the optician as they did not take a picture of the back of my eye.
I think i will ask the doctor at my next diabetic clinic for an eye test.
thanks again for the reply
 
Not sure of the answer louise as I attend my hospital eye clinic after having diabetic retinopathy over 12 years ago, there settled now and have been over the last 5 years but I still prefer to attend the out-patients clinic as I normally get seen by the top consultant in the clinic. Perhaps someone else may chip in here.

Nigel
 
The eye test I'm due to have in February is the one where they put drops in the eye to enlarge the pupils. I guess you'd remember THAT one! 8)
 
jaykay said:
The eye test I'm due to have in February is the one where they put drops in the eye to enlarge the pupils. I guess you'd remember THAT one! 8)
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thanks I have never had drops put into my eyes at optician so I guess I have not had the proper dibetic eye test thanks jaykay for the info :D
 
Hi Louise,

re eye tests and opticians.

Not the clinical answer I am afraid, but do they put drops in your eyes, that make your pupils dilate? If they do, then they may be screening you retina...if not, then I think it is difficult to do a proper screen.

My optician is fabulous, and spends ages staring at the back of my eyes...and I think he does a fabulous job, and notes changes etc...but this does not count as a proper retinal screening exam Even in the vans, where they take photographs, they still send the photos off to an expert to be assessed.
 
When first diagnosed I had 2 appointments one month apart also an eye check, dietitian, my feet checked all within the first month.

Went onto 3 monthly checks and they were good results so on to 6 monthly - I don't get my appointments through the post - My surgery has a monthly clinic and my DSN tells me when she wants to see me next and then it's up to me to make the appointment nearer the time.

I get a letter once a year about my retinal screening asking me to make an appointment - just thought I would add here that my optician does do retinal screening but the girl who my first one at the local hospital said that though they were good they are not as thorough as ones done in clinic as they put the pictures on great big screens and do various other things to check out for changes that the optitians don't do.

I just get my feet checked out once a year by my nurse, though she will refer you back to foot clinic if she has any concerns.

Reading this back I think apart from the "no strips" rules I have pretty good care compared to others.
 
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