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First eye check

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Mark C

Mark C

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Booked for my first eye screening on Tuesday. I've been told to bring sunglasses and not to drive for 6 hours.

What is it they do? Is it unpleasant?
 
Mark C said:
Booked for my first eye screening on Tuesday. I've been told to bring sunglasses and not to drive for 6 hours.
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They give you eye drops to dilate your pupils. So your vision will be blurry and it'll seem very bright (since your pupils won't adjust normally until the drops wear off).

Not particularly unpleasant, but don't plan on reading a lot or driving for a few hours afterwards.
 
Before they bung the drops in, they usually check your sight, usual eye chart, but just to make sure you have fairly ordinary eyesight and aren't already blind in one eye or something. Then they bung the drops in, and you wait until they take effect. (Take a hanky - always make my nose run!)

Then take you into a darkened room - not pitch black, just not bright daylight. You will be asked to rest your head on a chin support of a frame thingy, which also has a rest for the forehead, and they adjust this frame until your eyes are in the right place for them to see the backs of your eyes clearly though the camera - so the technician will sit the other side to the desk smack opposite you. There's an adjustable light which they ask you to look at and they move it around until they've had a good look and then take a photo - if they get a decent pic, they then move to the other eye and do the same again with that one.

That's all there is to it and you get the results in the post say 10 days to a fortnight later. The tech's do not assess if you have a problem or not cos they usually aren't opthalmologists - however the photos are looked at by at least 2 different opthalmologists back at base, before they send you the results.
 
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I don't wear sunglasses as I wear reactions in my prescription glasses, but a have a pair of cheap sunglasses to wear over them just for screening. Even on a bright day in winter I have needed following screening.
 
They may give you drops. They may not have to. It depends on how far your pupils dilate without them. Most folks have them it seems but I’ve not had that pleasure yet.
The test itself is no more unpleasant than any other eye test.
 
ColinUK said:
They may give you drops. They may not have to. It depends on how far your pupils dilate without them. Most folks have them it seems but I’ve not had that pleasure yet.
The test itself is no more unpleasant than any other eye test.
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I have mine done through my screening service and they do not check your pupils first the technician calls people in one by one given the drops and then sent to waiting area/room for them to work then back for photos.
 
grovesy said:
I have mine done through my screening service and they do not check your pupils first the technician calls people in one by one given the drops and then sent to waiting area/room for them to work then back for photos.
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I’ve only had the one retinopathy check (was only diagnosed this year don’t forget) and the specialist commented that my pupils were already nice and responsive and that there was no need for drops.

I didn’t argue!
 
Thanks all. I was originally diagnosed as a result of Specsavers seeing microaneurysms on my routine eye test so I'm nervous about what they'll find!
 
Well done your optician! If you reduced your BG and it's staying there, early damage is very frequently reversed - so don't torture yourself - if they find anything that requires treatment now, it will be treated! Not test - and irreparable damage could be wrought by nobody knowing!
 
Just out of interest, would an ophthalmologist be able to tell if you had diabetes if you didn’t have a diagnosis at the time? I had a posterior vitreous detachment last year and had a couple of appointments with an ophthalmologist in hospital. I had not had any blood tests so had no idea I may be at risk of diabetes at this point. Anyway I was told the PVD was due to me being very shortsighted, that it was fairly common although usually happens to people who area bit older and my eyes were very healthy. Have had a follow up retinopathy a couple of months before HbA1c test this year and again no problems.
 
Perfect10 said:
Just out of interest, would an ophthalmologist be able to tell if you had diabetes if you didn’t have a diagnosis at the time?
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I think that sometimes happens, yes. But it's more that they see signs of retinopathy and suspect diabetes so suggest strongly that you go to your doctor. I doubt they could be very sure.
 
Bruce Stephens said:
I think that sometimes happens, yes. But it's more that they see signs of retinopathy and suspect diabetes so suggest strongly that you go to your doctor. I doubt they could be very sure.
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They didn’t suspect anything, they said my eyes were healthy, I have only recently had the HbA1c and found I am pre diabetic just wondered how long i have been pre diabetic for? If an ophthalmologist would have been able to recognise this then this may mean that I have become pre diabetic more recently - if that makes sense?
 
Perfect10 said:
They didn’t suspect anything, they said my eyes were healthy,
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Retinopathy is a long term complication, not something that happens as soon as your blood glucose is a bit high. So (as far as I remember) the cases where it triggers a diagnosis are people who had type 2 for many years and just didn't really notice (presumably because their blood glucose was a bit high but not very high).
 
Bruce Stephens said:
Retinopathy is a long term complication, not something that happens as soon as your blood glucose is a bit high. So (as far as I remember) the cases where it triggers a diagnosis are people who had type 2 for many years and just didn't really notice (presumably because their blood glucose was a bit high but not very high).
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Ok thanks for helping me understand, it’s all very new to me!
 
don't want to hijack the post but i have of today just received a eye screening appointment, not till next month but this will also be my first since been diagnosed. it is an in person appointment and at least it is only a 10 minute drive away although going by taxi.
 
The optician told me the microaneurysms could be caused by high blood pressure, diabetes or a range of other health issues. But more often than not, it was poorly controlled diabetes.

Turns out she was right!
 
trophywench said:
Well done your optician! If you reduced your BG and it's staying there, early damage is very frequently reversed - so don't torture yourself - if they find anything that requires treatment now, it will be treated! Not test - and irreparable damage could be wrought by nobody knowing!
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Very reassuring, thanks. My BG usually stays in the 7s, rarely gets as high as 9 after food and even had one day when it was in the 5s all day. First check I ever did, it was 16. Looking forward to my next HBA1C so I can see what progress has been made.
 
Hope you don’t find the drops sting too much @Mark C

But do remember your sunglasses. It can take a few hours for the pupil dilation to wear off and no matter how cloudy it might be when you go into the appointment, the sun will ALWAYS be shining when you come out! o_O

The blurry vision can be a bit unnerving too, but that will fade as the drops wear off 🙂
 
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