pre-proliferative retinopathy - very worried :(

[LucyLoo]

So I got the dreaded letter on the mat yesterday......my latest eye screening has shown signs of the above (pasted from Google - no idea how to spell or pronounce it!) and I have to be honest I am terrified

The letter doesn't say much, just that the hospital will contact me with an appointment so I have no idea what to expect.....can anyone reassure me please? 🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

You should wait to hear at yourt appointment really, as they will know the details of your case and be able to talk you through it, but it has to do with changes in the back of the eyes.

High blood glucose levels can put strain on the tiny blood vessels in the back of your eye, and over time damage can be caused. The changes happen quite slowly, and begin with very minor blemishes called 'background retinopathy' which are usually mentioned as something to be aware of, but not too worried about. Pre-proliferative retinopathy is the next stage along, and suggests slightly more damage has occured. Following that proliferative retinopahy is more serious and can threaten sight over time.

It may be that you can reverse the changes in your eyes my reducing your BG levels and variability, or is may be that some laser treatment will help sort you out.

I know someone (with T1) who has returned from pre-proliferative into 'background' by gradually improving their blood glucose management. They write about it here: http://www.insulinindependent.com/2014/01/keeping-my-eye-on-theermmy-eyeball.html

Hope that helps, but try not to worry until you've had your appointment (easier said than done!).

 

[LucyLoo]

Thank you 🙂 I am managing it at the moment so I am hoping that over time, this will help as you say.

I'm also waiting for the results of my review so that I can check my numbers and I am really hoping to see an improvement.....my own monitoring is showing improvement but I need the numbers to be confirmed and I know I have lost weight - 2 stones since February this year so I am happy with that 🙂

My worry is that I have tried really hard so if things haven't improved, that will be a big blow for my confidence and motivation......wait and see I guess!

 

[Ditto]

Two stones since February! That's wonderful and every impressive. They will have improved, just think if you hadn't tried how much worse things could be. Keep on keeping on.

 

[LucyLoo]

Awww thank you Ditto 🙂 I have to confess, it's not strictly 2 stones.....I'm 2lbs short 😳 and I can't shift it 😡 ....but I'm calling it 2 stones LOL!! Just trying desperately to keep my spirits up at the moment 🙂

 

[trophywench]

Hey Lucy - sometimes - if your BG (and hence your HbA1c result) come down fairly rapidly - this can actually cause 'transient' damage to your retinopathy. It's only 'transient' though if you continue to keep it down to the better level - in which case - it often disappears again 'by itself'. I don't want to raise your hopes too much in case it isn't that, but if they say it isn't without mentioning the changes you've made - I think you should say eg Oh - I WAS hoping it might be a temporary change, seeing as I've improved my control so much, very recently. - And then see what their reaction/reply to that bit of info is.

Good luck !!

 

[LucyLoo]

Thank you Jenny I won't get my hopes up but that's reassuring to know and I will certainly point that out 🙂