Hi. My hubby has been diabetic for years. He’s never taken it seriously so is now paying the price. He’s only 50 but has had bleeds in both eyes. One which he can’t see out of at all (he’s waiting on a follow up appointment as they thought it may clear itself-5weeks ago) Now his *good eye is playing up. Is this something likely to lead to him going totally blind or can he recover from this, the nhs has been very good with his treatment to date but were worried for the future...
Support needed
- Thread starter Samv
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stephknits
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- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Sorry to hear of your husband's eye problems. Must be a scary time for you both. I'm afraid I don't know anything about this, but just wanted to say hello. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will be along soon.
Hi. Thank you. Yes it’s very scary. I’m not even sure where to go for support or information, he’s a typical man and doesn’t ask and under current situation I can’t go in with him, He’s now got an appointment next Tuesday. Hopefully I can get him to ask more, I really appreciate your acknowledging my message xxx
Flower
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- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hello @Samv and welcome
I'm sorry to hear about the problems your husband is facing. It is an incredibly frightening time and the waiting between appointments for something to improve is really tough to deal with. I have been there with retinal haemorrhages in both eyes and my vision obscured by bleeds trapped in my eyeball jelly.
Has your husband had laser treatment to try and stop the fragile new vessels which cause the bleeds from growing on his retina? This can take many sessions to try and preserve as much healthy retina as possible.
In order to see the back of the eye you do need to give the blood time to clear but because the eyeball has jelly in it the blood becomes trapped and is very slow to disperse. The bleeds may clear over the following weeks or they may require an operation called a vitrectomy where the eyeball jelly and all the trapped blood is removed under general anaesthetic and clear saline is put in place of the jelly. Any further bleeds disperse a lot quicker in liquid so should there be further bleeds the waiting time to see again drastically improves. The eye still looks exactly the same from the outside. I've had vitrectomies in both eyes.
There is a lot that can be done so although it is an awful thing to deal with don't despair. The retina specialists will do all they can to keep his sight as good as is possible. Does he have a diabetes team helping him with his control and all the other things we nee to deal with - blood pressure, HbA1c etc. If his HbA1c is high then discuss lowering it with the team as perversely a rapid lowering of HbA1c can temporarily accelerate retinopathy which is the last thing anyone needs.
I find the information on this site really useful for all things retinopathy , it's worth a read http://www.diabeticretinopathy.org.uk/vitreous_hemorrhage.html
Follow the advice of the diabetes and retina clinics and please let us know how things go and if there are any questions that you want to ask. Best Wishes.
I'm sorry to hear about the problems your husband is facing. It is an incredibly frightening time and the waiting between appointments for something to improve is really tough to deal with. I have been there with retinal haemorrhages in both eyes and my vision obscured by bleeds trapped in my eyeball jelly.
Has your husband had laser treatment to try and stop the fragile new vessels which cause the bleeds from growing on his retina? This can take many sessions to try and preserve as much healthy retina as possible.
In order to see the back of the eye you do need to give the blood time to clear but because the eyeball has jelly in it the blood becomes trapped and is very slow to disperse. The bleeds may clear over the following weeks or they may require an operation called a vitrectomy where the eyeball jelly and all the trapped blood is removed under general anaesthetic and clear saline is put in place of the jelly. Any further bleeds disperse a lot quicker in liquid so should there be further bleeds the waiting time to see again drastically improves. The eye still looks exactly the same from the outside. I've had vitrectomies in both eyes.
There is a lot that can be done so although it is an awful thing to deal with don't despair. The retina specialists will do all they can to keep his sight as good as is possible. Does he have a diabetes team helping him with his control and all the other things we nee to deal with - blood pressure, HbA1c etc. If his HbA1c is high then discuss lowering it with the team as perversely a rapid lowering of HbA1c can temporarily accelerate retinopathy which is the last thing anyone needs.
I find the information on this site really useful for all things retinopathy , it's worth a read http://www.diabeticretinopathy.org.uk/vitreous_hemorrhage.html
Follow the advice of the diabetes and retina clinics and please let us know how things go and if there are any questions that you want to ask. Best Wishes.
Thank you for your reply. Yes he’s had a vitrectomy last November, then a couple of mini strokes in December his hba1c used to be real high but in less than a year we managed to half it which if you say this can cause issues could be the reason. He’s been having lazer treatment in both eyes every other month for almost a year he feels it’s getting worse - but I think it is more so in the mornings- thank you for the link. I will definitely be having a look xxx
Flower
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi @Samv , I'm sorry it's been such a tough time for your husband and you also. My sight used to settle overnight and for a few moments each morning I thought things had improved before all the blood and problems reappeared as I stood up. It felt like nothing was working for me, the laser couldn't keep up with the new vessels and bleeds and I'd reached the maximum amount of laser that could be applied to my retinas. I had numerous wash out operations after I'd had the vitrectomies as my eyes had filled with blood again causing my sight to disappear, the saline was replaced with a clear liquid oil solution. Eventually things did start to slow down although it did take a long time. It is a very difficult and horrible complication to deal with. I wish you both well.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Sorry to hear about your husband's eye troubles @Samv, but glad @Flower has been able to respond.
We have a number of other members who have had successful eye procedures including @Northerner and @Kaylz - hopefully they can offer some reassurance.
Has he been able to get his blood glucose a little more in range recently? Does he check his levels at home to see how he is responding to different foods?
We have a number of other members who have had successful eye procedures including @Northerner and @Kaylz - hopefully they can offer some reassurance.
Has he been able to get his blood glucose a little more in range recently? Does he check his levels at home to see how he is responding to different foods?
