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Black Dots/Smudges in my left eye

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T1Life

T1Life

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi...I'm really worried :(

Yesterday I noticed black dots or maybe tiny smudges in my left eye vision. the smudges move with my pupil...hope that made sense! I've tried washing my eyes, rubbing them and looked at mirrors for hours trying to find something.

I have no idea what it is, has anyone else experience this? Shall I call my DSN or shall I wait for my eye screening test (I don't know when it is as they had to cancel an appointment recently and I am now awaiting a reschedule letter in the post)
 
Not wanting to alarm you but it does sound like you have had a small bleed in the eye, when it disperses it scatters into tiny dots like you have witnessed and then disappears to the bottom of the eye over time. Ask to be seen by a Ophthalmologist to check the back of your eyes to see if any treatment is necessary.
 
I'm sorry to hear that you have these problems. It may be worth seeing if you can get an urgent appointment with an optician - I did this one day when I had problems with my vision and they were very helpful - although it did lead to me being sent to eye casualty. If you can't get an optician's appointment you can go straight to eye casualty, the wait can be long but it is worth while if they find that something needs to be dealt with quickly. Let us know how you get on with the eye
 
I have similar with my eyes and, as suggested by Steffie, with me it's just floaters and nothing to worry about. Bit annoying to begin with, though, and takes a while to get used to!

However, I would definitely advise getting it checked out to be on the safe side - it could be floaters, but could easily be something else, too. Hope you get some reassurances soon.
 
Thank you so much for the replies. I spoke to my DSN, she suggested that I go to see the Opticians and in the mean time if I see any flashing I should go to Eye Casualty asap.

Currently I'm trying to sort the Opticians out.

Yesterday I just thought it was because I was tired, however today it totally freaked me out.

Will update with the Opticians thoughts as soon as I can.

Thanks again!
 
If you are in/near London go to Moorfields A&E or ring their helpline on 020 7566 2345. A friend was treated within 18 hours for a detached retina!
 
Hate to have to say this but I agree with Toby, it does sound like what I get when I've had a bleed (& I've had plenty!!). Honestly, if I were you I wouldn't wait for the optician appt, I'd go to eye casualty in the morning, explain what you're seeing & get them to dilate your pupil & take a look - if it's nothing you'll be reassured 🙂 and if it does turn out to be a bleed, it will get you in the system for treatment, which is really really important. If it does turn out to be retinopathy the earlier it is treated the better outcome - it's too serious to ignore or leave though. Nothing lost by being cautious & getting it checked out at the hospital where they'll have the best equipment to take a really good look. 🙂

All the best,

Twitchy x
 
Twitchy said:
Hate to have to say this but I agree with Toby, it does sound like what I get when I've had a bleed (& I've had plenty!!). Honestly, if I were you I wouldn't wait for the optician appt, I'd go to eye casualty in the morning, explain what you're seeing & get them to dilate your pupil & take a look - if it's nothing you'll be reassured 🙂 and if it does turn out to be a bleed, it will get you in the system for treatment, which is really really important. If it does turn out to be retinopathy the earlier it is treated the better outcome - it's too serious to ignore or leave though. Nothing lost by being cautious & getting it checked out at the hospital where they'll have the best equipment to take a really good look. 🙂

All the best,

Twitchy x
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I'll agree with you Twitchy and the hospital would have been my first port of call rather than a Optician. Hope the eye is better today and all is well T1 Life.
 
I have black dots :/ This is due to background retinopathy apparently although I am due for another checkup which I'm arranging for as soon as possible.

I do freak out about my eyes though I must admit.

I notice my dots more in bright light. No wierd smudges as yet other than when I'm super tired, but I think that speaks for itself
 
Just read all the messages, thanks for the replies!

I went to see my opticians today, he noticed that both my eyes are bleeding, my left in particular (one with the spots) does have some clumped up blood in my retina. So he has referred me to the Hospital, he mentioned that I should now qualify for laser treatment as the bleeding needs to be stopped. He has requested that the appointment should be ASAP hopefully within the next 2 weeks, I just need to go to my GP and give the GP my opticians letter.

A waiting game now... 🙂
 
I hope that they sort out your appointment quickly and that the laser sorts out all of your problems. If there is a delay with your appointment I would sugest that you go to eye casualty because there can be a delay with having eye appointments if it is a busy eye department.
 
Hi T1 life, good to see the optician has referred you - on the positive side at least you know what it was causing the dots etc now. 🙂 If you have any questions about lasering etc feel free to pm me - if your hospital's anything like mine it can be a bit of a mushroom experience (kept in the dark, etc... 🙄)

Meanwhile try not to get too worried or stressed, just look after yourself & concentrate on maintaining good control. (good blood pressure & cholesterol are good to aim for too in this situation apparently!) I know I freaked out a bit inside when I was first told I'd need lasering, but the good news is that if they laser good & early in theory at least they don't have to do loads... my main worry was re my driving licence etc but I've had quite a bit of laser to both eyes now & passed the visual field test last year 100%, phew! It's not what you'd call a fun experience, but it's not as bad as you'd think, honest!

All the best, take care,

Twitchy x
 
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