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Scared of losing my license

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stabberwocky

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I have had retinopathy in both eyes but much worse in my left eye. I don't know how many burns, but I had four heavy sessions which did not stop the progression,then a vitrectomy with endo laser. The surgeon said he would need to go closer to the centre but he would try and space the burns out.
The right eye has had three shorter sessions and stabilised.
I know I have to do the field test and am dreading it.
Have people with a similar amount of laser to me still kept their license?
I don't notice any change in my peripheral vision, could I still lose my license?
If one eye is better than the other, can that eye's field compensate for the other eye? To me this would make sense as you can drive with one eye, but wasn't sure how it works if you still have two eyes.

Thanks
 
Here you go
have a look at this page
http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/medical/ataglance.aspx click on the download at a glance then read sec 3 (visual. There is an appendix bit to click on for field of vision.
hope it helps you.

Ps welcome to the forum.
 
Welcome stabberwocky - great name!

Pumper Sue has given the best information available on the web. Hope you have retained enough periferal vision to keep your driving licence. Hope the field test goes well for you.
 
Copepod said:
Welcome stabberwocky - great name!

Pumper Sue has given the best information available on the web. Hope you have retained enough periferal vision to keep your driving licence. Hope the field test goes well for you.
Click to expand...



Thanks. Can any members on here who've had laser in both eyes and kept their license tell me how much laser they had apx? Was one eye better than the other? Do you need to have a great deal of laser in both eyes to lose your license?

I will lose my job if I lose my license, and I only just got it, so whilst it's a small price to pay to avoid going blind, it's still a big price to pay in its own way.
 
Hi Stabber

I do know what it's like to have the DVLA sword of Damocles hanging over you - have had it myself more than once (hypos not eyes though; once 20-ish years ago and recently too) and I agree it's all very well being intelligent enough to realise exactly why it's all necessary - but that doesn't do anything to reduce the feelings of impending doom. So {{{Hugs}}} - cos it isn't a nice place to be .....

It depends on where in your eyes you have the laser, how big the scars are, your eyes anyway to start with (visual acuity to begin with, shape, size, astygmatism, squint, whatever) so even if another person had exactly the same laser in the same positions, their eyesight might be totally different to yours .......

It's just a case of you definitely need to do the tests and see what they reveal. And don't try and second guess them or make assumptions about them. Cos you can't .... and your eyesight might be a lot BETTER than you think it is! At the end of it you'll know.

Then is the time to cross the next bridge. At the moment you don't even know if there is a bridge at all, or just a structure on a bend in the road that looks remarkably like a bridge from where you are currently standing.

So - courage Camille! Good luck.
 
Thanks. I am definitely going to get the test done privately as soon as I've healed from the vitrectomy, just so that I will have some idea of whether I'm likely to pass or not. That way at least I have some time to plan and get my head round it if its a fail (and look for a new job).

I hate retinopathy, not only is it a vicious and nasty eye disease that threatens your sight, but the cure for it involves the potential loss of your driving license. So to stop from going blind I may have to give up driving - how mad is that.

I have also heard that even if you pass after the laser, over the years the burns can enlarge and their are cases where people have had their licenses taken off them 20 years after stabilisation because of the burn creep. So even if I pass the first time it will always be hanging over me every renewal.

I wish now I had not just taken a job which involves a lot of driving, as the stress of losing my licence is compounded by the stress of losing my job, I know for future next time I get a job to get one nearby that doesn't require a license to do the work. Too late now though.
 
Perhaps most importantly Stabber - have you got your BGs battened down, and also your BP ? - to ensure that your eyes have the best environment in which to stabilise?

If not - then ask for help! - here or by banging down your doctor's/consultant's door - probably both in fact, until you receive the correct help.
 
trophywench said:
Perhaps most importantly Stabber - have you got your BGs battened down, and also your BP ? - to ensure that your eyes have the best environment in which to stabilise?

If not - then ask for help! - here or by banging down your doctor's/consultant's door - probably both in fact, until you receive the correct help.
Click to expand...

Hi yes, that is all under control now, about 20 years too late but hey you can't go back in time can you. I just hope I can keep my driving license now and the condition stabilises.

Still would like to hear from anyone who's been through this and kept their license - also what is the test like?
 
Field vision test involves sitting in front of a dome, in a designated opticians or opthalmology department. Each eye is tested individually, with the other covered by an eye patch. Looking straight ahead, a series of lights are flashed, at varying intervals, locations and brightnesses. Each time you see one, you press a button on a handpiece. The test records both successful sightings and "false" sightings - when you press the button, but no light was shown, to try to eliminate guessing. Each eye takes a few minutes.
 
Thanks. Do you know if you have to pass in both eyes, or if one eye is good but the other bad would you still pass?
 
stabberwocky said:
Thanks. Do you know if you have to pass in both eyes, or if one eye is good but the other bad would you still pass?
Click to expand...

Have a look at the link I gave you all the info is contained in that 🙂
 
stabberwocky said:
I did thank you Sue but it wasn't explicit
Click to expand...
:confused:

It does say that you can drive with the required standared in one eye. IE, you can have no sight in the other.

Your best best is to ring dvla and ask them. Then you know for certain what you are dealing with. 🙂
 
Pumper_Sue said:
:confused:

It does say that you can drive with the required standared in one eye. IE, you can have no sight in the other.

Your best best is to ring dvla and ask them. Then you know for certain what you are dealing with. 🙂
Click to expand...

Thanks, I don't want to speak to the dvla yet as they will probably instruct me not to drive until I do the test, and my sugeon said not to tell them for three months to allow my eye to heal as if I do the test before three months it may affect the results. I am hopeful that my good(ish) eye will compensate and I will have no further deterioration in that eye, or my bad eye for that matter. But there's a chance my bad eye is already too bad, so i need the better one to save the day.
Although I know I would eventually adapt if I lost my license, I could really do without it as I need my car to do my job, perhaps I need to consider this next time I am job hunting!
 
You can ring dvla medical section with a general enquiry. All you do is ask what is for the vission test.
 
I have just received my new three year licence. Now I am 65 the check on my diabetic condition will be every year and every three years a new licence will be issued providing I am OK. I have now sold my Mini and have bought my wife a Ford Ka, which she loves, and I am the second driver. Being retired and as we are both pensioners I thought this the best thing to do as you just don't know whats around the corner (ha haaa) plus only one car to road tax / insure / fix etc. Stabberwocky I hope everything goes well for you and you continue to drive for many years to come. AM.
 
Isn't the yearly thing only because you have the C1 on your licence Austin?
 
No. According to the letter from DVLA its because I am now over 65yrs. Every year now they will contact my diabetic nurse and ask for the results of my half-hour consultation.
 
Oh great, I have THAT to look foward to at next renewal then.
 
Austin Mini said:
No. According to the letter from DVLA its because I am now over 65yrs. Every year now they will contact my diabetic nurse and ask for the results of my half-hour consultation.
Click to expand...

Lol that's almost funny.😱
I see no nurse and have no intention of seeing one. Mind you I'm not as old as you :D 😛🙂
 
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