retinopathy

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LisaLQ

LisaLQ

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Can I be nosey and ask those who suffer from this (symptomatically rather than pre-symptoms) what were their first signs that something was wrong?

I've got my retinopathy screening next week, I was R1 (background) in one eye last year, but recently (last week or two) have been seeing things in my peripheral vision, they aren't there permanently - just black dots (I keep thinking there's a spider on me, on my bed etc and being an arachnophobe given a scream LOL!).

I'm short sighted and wear specs, I've been doing lots of coursework/reading/computer recently too, and have been really stressed/tired this week (having another bout of trouble sleeping), so it's possible it's not related, I just wondered if it's something I should mention?
 
Sounds like 'floaters' to me Lisa, rather than anything to do with retinopathy.

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/floaters/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Retinopathy, as I understand it, does not affect your eyesight until it starts to affect the macula, a small region on the retina that can become affected by the abnormal growth of blood vessels that can result from poor BG control. Might be worth mentioning though.
 
Are they the little things you can see floating over your eye in certain lights? If so, it's not the same as those, these are purely momentary black spots that make me jump - not the floating organisms you can see in the sunlight (do you know what I mean?). 😱

I just get scared because I've done a lot of reading into macular degeneration as my brother in law has Stargadts. Mind you, in that instance his eyesight is perfect peripherally, it's his central vision that's gone, so I am just worrying over nothing lol.
 
Sounds more like astigma, I have the same problem. Do you find it more pronounced in very bright conditions? Do you struggle to see properly in dawn/dusk situations? If so, I think that might be the problem, but get it checked just to be sure at your opticians.
 
I did have astigmatism in one eye a couple of years ago (although at my most recent eye test it wasn't mentionned), but as far as I know they dont cause black dots? :confused:

I'm sure it's just tiredness/stress, I'm just worrying over nothing because I'm scared about next week.
 
I've got background retinopathy and never had problems but I did struggle when I had maculopathy so Northerners comment sounds right to me. Much better after laser treatment though.
 
The first symptom I had was a haemorrhage in my right eye. Nothing in advance of it at all that I can remember.
 
Black dots in the vision can either be floaters or a small eye bleed that has dispersed in the vitreous gel of the eye. As we get older the vitreous gel of the eye becomes more sticky and this is when floaters are seen, its quite common and even those without diabetes can suffer from floaters. Also the sticky vitreous gel can pull on small blood vessels and cause minor eye bleeds, they look like spiders legs in your vision but break down and become tiny black spots eventually settling at the bottom of the eye. Hope all goes well on your check-up next week Lisal and do mention this to them.
 
When I first started running again after diagnosis it really felt like I was running through a cloud of midges - I was totally convinced they were real! 😱
 
The midgets description is great. I'm rubbish at explaining things and always said to people it was like looking through a net curtain. Noons really understood what I meant. Perhaps noone has net curtains anymore and the midgets are in the middle of a population explosion. Heheh!

The 1st time I had the floaters I was convinced there was a bit of sleep stuck on my eyelid and made it really sore trying to wipe it off.
 
I have proliferative retinopathy accelerated by 2 pregnancies & have had several bleeds now. Before the bleeds I had no visible clue to initially the background or latterly the proliferative retinopathy, I understand this is quite normal & is why the regular eye checks / photos are so important - they can pick up on problems early enough that treatment is more likely to preserve vision.

The worst to date was nearly a year ago, last jan, when I woke up the only way to describe the vision in one eye was as though someone had taken a big paint brush of dark red paint & splodged it diagonally across my vision - like something out of a horror movie! 😱 More 'normal' bleeds are like seeing (or rather suddenly noticing) lots of black spots. Then as these start to disperse the vision goes kind of 'oily' (think soft focus vaseline smeared type camera lens lol!). Often I have black blogs with spidery streaks that track with my vision but sometimes lag it slightly. I think these are usually from a pool of blood the doc has noted between the back of hte eye & the jelly - it's periodically seeping into the jelly as it drains. If I 'swish' my eye for example left to right the splodges try to keep up (as it were!) but I guess as the blood's probably in the jelly they take a while (split second really) to catch up, which can be annoying. There is a video clip or two on utube of what retinopathy vision 'looks like' but I'm not sure if it is supposed to represent damage from having had tons of lasering treatment or these blood splotches. One thing it doesn't get across is that what you 'see' changes throughout the day as the blood shifts & drains, meaning lots of headaches as your eye(s) try to focus! :(

All good fun...

Not sure if that's the kind of info you were after, sorry if it's a bit grim! 😱
 
My test result came back saying I had some background retinopathy. DSN checked the images and said that the abnormality was very very minor and may not even be present on the next test I have.

I was a bit concerned that I was unable to read all the letters on the bottom row of the sight test. As a child I could always see all of them, no problem. Even though I could see them perfectly well I used to intentionally get them wrong as I was desperate to wear glasses! Never worked though, they always said my eyesight was fine.
 
Lisa,

May I suggest you raise your concerns at the appointment?

I hope whatever it is can be treated quickly.
 
Thanks folks - had my screening today and all looks ok, no significant change but they'll send out proper results in a week.

So it was just me being stressed. I had a huge assignment due in, my first paying guinea pig/client at college yesterday, and the pressure over the last few weeks with half term, various pet shows to go to etc, must just have been stress. Also the insomnia's not helped.

I didnt get a chance to raise it with the lady, I was in and out in two minutes (no eye drops needed) and she didnt chat or ask if I'd had any symptoms.
 
Glad to hear things went well with the scan Lisa 🙂 I think you would be better off asking your GP or optician, as I think the people who take the scans are technicians rather than medical people, if you get what I mean!
 
Quick update - I got my written results today - and whereas last year (a week after diabetes diagnosis) I had R1 background retinopathy - this year......it's gone!

I officially have no retinopathy at all :D

Black spots haven't returned this week, so I suspect stress of my assignment and the half term 😱
 
Excellent news🙂

I am going for my first appointment on Tuesday
 
That's great news Lisa! After my visit to the hospital yesterday I still have 'slight changes', but that's much better than I feared! You have achieved excellent control since diagnosis so hopefully this little monster won't rear its head again! 🙂
 
Im so chuffed for you hun, great news xx
 
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