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Retinopathy question

M

Meg2009Arm

Well-Known Member
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Today I had my second ever retinopathy check. After my last one being clear I was expecting the same only to be told there is some slight damage to my left eye. The nurse told me I had to be extra careful with my BS and she wanted to see the damaged area gone in a years time. I am on Metformin and Sitagliptin and I'm pretty careful with my diet. I'm worried what this result means, if I can't bring my BS down by adjusting my diet even more will my doctor advise me to go on insulin or try different drugs (if there are any)? My last HBA1c was 6.7 and my doctor said I didn't need to adjust my medication because of this and yet the result of the eye test would suggest different wouldn't it?

I was diagnosed at 28 weeks pregnant with my daughter, it didn't go away after the birth a year and a half ago. When I was pregnant I was on insulin four times aday and it took awhile to get the amount of insulin right.

Any advice would be helpful please.
Meg
 
Hi Meg

There are other options other than insulin and your doctor may choose to use one of them our adjust your current medication. I don't know what your weight is like but Byetta (or Bydureon - its once a week form), which I use, helps reduce weight as well as BS.

Regards

Doug
 
Thanks for the reply Doug. My weight is good. I am 5'11" and weigh about 10 stone. I've never been over weight (well maybe a few pounds!) Unfotunatley diabetes is in my family, both my father and his father have it so thats what the doctors put my diabetes down to. Although I don't have a exercise routine I am very active with a young child to run around after. Do you know anything about the use of cinnamon to control BS?
Thanks
 
Which Nurse told you this?

Even with very good control you can shows signs of background retinopathy over a period of time, it's extremely difficult to avoid any changes to the eyes..

But things like mainatining good stable control, keeping blood pressure down all help to ensuring that you keep any changes to an minium level as possible.. Stable control is when your BG SD (standard deviation) is tight.. As if this is high the more likely what ever HbA1c you've got you will get damage to the eyes..

Raised blood pressure can also have an impact on eyes, as well as the kidneys hence why docs tend to be pretty swift in treating a slight raise in BP when they would even consider it in an non-diabetic

As to the Cinnamon, well its something that isn't going to hurt to try, but personally myself I don't buy into supplements etc.

Perhaps having a word with your DSN to review your medication and a chat with a dietitian to see if/how you may improve your diet etc..
 
be careful with cinnamon - it can be harmful if you use too much - even half a teaspoon a day some say is harmful - google large doses of cinnamon and you will get loads of info to help you decide if its the way to go - I do sprinkle it on stuff from time to time but haven't noticed it doing anything spectaular! - but then I do it for taste/flavour not to help with BS as such
 
Thanks for the info. I haven't had my Blood pressure checked for a while and my doctor said there was little or no need for me to keep monitoring my BS as the hba1c is all they need to go on to check I'm doing OK or not. I do check my BS occasionally and it is often above 7, this morning 10.5 2 hrs after a smallish bowl of Special K with semi skimmed milk and a cup of tea (no sugar or sweetners). I am worried they aren't monitoring me correctly. I spoke to a doctor this morning who said there was no need to worry from what I told them and that I'm doing very well with my hba1c results so any eye damage is either very unlucky or not worth worrying about because it is so minor! Doesn't sound minor to me.
I will be carefull with the cinnamon, thanks.
 
Meg,

The following site offers some useful information regarding diabetic retinopathy:

http://medweb.bham.ac.uk/easdec/Informa ... ients.html

As mentioned already tight bg and bp is beneficial, also keeping a close eye on your cholesterol is important together with eating a good diet of ample fruit and vegetables, my own Opthamologist says the darker the fruit/veg the better it is for eye health.

Nigel
 
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