Retinopathy

[jinstone]

Hi there
Had laser surgery for retinopathy in January 2014 on one eye. Thought everything was going OK but now need laser surgery on both eyes. Apparently the leakages are creeping towards the retina and if they can't stop the creeping there is the prospect of damage to my central vision. I think my sugar levels are pretty well under control but just awaiting latest test.

Any one else experience of this, positive or negative where they can offer guidance / solace etc.?

Kind regards
Jeremy

 

[noblehead]

Hi Jeremy,

Have a look at the following which has a wealth of information on diabetic retinopathy:

http://www.diabeticretinopathy.org.uk/Information_for_patients.html

 

[Caesar]

Jeremy, good glucose control is always the key but development and progress of retinopathy are very subjective. This means that an HbA1c average of 7% may not be good enough for some people to prevent retinal damage as other factors contribute as well (e.g., intraocular pressure, vessel elasticity, frequent blood glucose spikes, etc.). Production of growth factors such as VEGF and FGFb play anyway an important role as pointed in the link from noblehead. There is an innovative non-invasive light treatment that is giving positive results by acting directly on reducing VEGF production. The anti-VEGF principle is also at the core of drugs like Luncentis but they involve the pain and fear of eye injections to let the active ingredients reach the retina. Other people have been talking about the non-invasive light treatment it in this other page of the forum: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/thr...etinopathy-treatment.67768/page-2#post-718657
I'm personally experiencing it on myself and the peace of mind it has been giving to me worth well the price.