taking meds

Hi Paul,welcome to the forum.Can you tell us which medication your partner is on and if possible what your partners current blood sugar levels are?

They will be trying to get his sugar level down below 7 to get good control over his levels.If he can lower his levels even more by a controlled diet then he may not need to take so much medication.It depends on how well he can control his blood sugar levels.

He will probably stay on that dose for a while to see just how stable he is.

Some optitions can do it, they might be able to give you a list of places that do it at the doctors. It's to check for diabetic retinopathy (damage to the veins in the eyes I think).

I'm going for that on Wednesday.I'm not sure that a normal optician does these,maybe to big ones do.They can certainly look at the back of the eyes but the equipment that they use for retinal screening is different I think.

I had this test done at boots along with a normal test and it was all for free. They gave me the results in minutes, better than the 6 weeks the NHS test took.

What I've done in the past is make a list of things when I think of them then take the list to the doctor, or else I always end up forgetting to mention something!

There are some good people on this site, never be afraid to ask a question, there will be someone willing to help you both.

When I got my new glasses at Specsavers,The checked retina and visual field. they told me I have "background " retinopathy. the hospital,last time I went there,over a year ago( sore point. they keep shifting my appointments) said I have "mild" retinopathy. I have cut my carbs back hard since last hospital vissit. Next one is due in May if they don't move it again. Specsavers said my visual field is 100% and that's not very common. even for non-diabetics of my age. However, my age got me 30% off my glasses.
1 eyetest at the optitian's per year is free for diabetics.

I think there is a difference between the tests that an optician can do to check for 'basic' retinopathy - a simple dilation of the eye plus a good look around - and that done by a hospital - dilation, big white flash, immediate result (at least at my hospital) and computer scan/analysis. My last hospital check (with another coming up soon) disclosed that I had a mole on my retina...pesky little creatures get everywhere...!! :shock:

Hi Hana,

I had the same experience at my local Specsavers. When I went for my last checkup in November they had just upgraded their equipment and can now do the full retinopathy photography as the hospitals do. I imagine that most of the smaller independent opticians wouldn't be able to afford that level of equipment.

Hi
Re: the eye test. I think it depends on where you live. I was given a list of local opticians from the Doctors. Made the appointment and had the full check, eye drops , photos of the retina etc. He showed me the results/pics there and then. These were then posted onto a shared site where other opticians checked his results. My eyes had changed due to fluctuating BS levels at diagnosis so the optician gave me a new prescription but rightly recommended not to buy an expensive pair of glasses because my eyesight would return to "normal" once my BS was under better control. Because I wasn't at work at the time I hung fire and didn't even get an off the peg pair from Boots. Eventually my eyesight settled down but it was a bit scarey for a few days not being able to read the small print! All this was free of charge , as was the appontment I had last week. The optician said he could justify this as he needed to check how the fluctuations where. I did end up with a new prescription but it was old age rather than BS levels!

Do have a look around the forum, especially the dietary info on lowering BS levels. I believe that diet as well the meds will have the real significant effect on lowering BS levels. The meds alone less so,

Good Luck

Mike

Metformin is usually started at a low dose and gradually increased to prevent brown trouser events

They shouldn't be in too much hurry to reduce it again as it's comparatively cheap and effective if it works for you and appears to have some cardiovascular protective benefits

The eye test thing seems to vary widely, my local optician is a first class guy and trained with and knows most of the local opthalmologists. I think he could have been one only he took over the family business instead.

He has a camera with a very powerful flash and reckons it doesn't require dilation - the instant results mean he can see if it's a poor photo and will only use the drops if he can't get a good pic without them. This means I can walk there and back (and have a good chat) without all the hassle of going to the hospital, hanging around for hours, paying an arm and a leg for the car park and having to wait until I can see before coming home again, quite a bargain! Plus he talks me through the pictures, and knows which specialist to refer to if he sees something. And he keeps the pictures on file to check for changes.

In other places even the opthalmologists don't have such sophisticated kit, and in yet other places the opticians are **** (I'm remembering a Two Ronnies sketch here!)