The one thing that I really hate............

[AJL]

.................is having my check ups at the eye department. Fingers crossed I have never needed any treatment so far but I am always worried about what will happen particularly as this will be my third hospital eye appointment in 12 months..............I'm keeping my fingers crossed but keep getting irrationally worried because they are now checking for three things a) whether the background retinoapathy has progressed (although fortunately it still has not gone beyond background b) glaucoma (the drops keep getting strongly and it is probably diabetes realted) c) early stages of cataracts developing (again probably diabetes related) plus I've had two previous scares with regard to bleeds near the macular both times they called me back within 3-6 months although each time it had fortunately settled down.

I keep trying to remind myself that it will be ok and hopefully it will just be a come back in 6/9 months but I can't wait for the appointment next Monday to be over and done with.

 

[Anthony Neve]

try not to let it worry you, stressing over these things definately doesnt help! good luck and let us know how you get on.

 

[Copepod]

The eye clinic is probably working on the principle that if there's any problem(s) to be discovered, the earlier the better, as treatment for early stages is usually simpler, and will preserve more sight than if problems are detected at later stages. Hope it'll be a while before they need to do anything, but it any treatment is needed, then the sooner the better.

 

[AJL]

Thanks for your replies. Yes they are working on the idea that treatment in the early stages it is usually simpler to treat - but for me with two of the conditions this will mean (in the longer term) that the next course of treatment will be operations on my eyes. I'm afraid that I freak at the thought of a needle coming near my eyes (or my mouth when it comes to dentists). Rather ironic given how many injections I've had over the years.

The good news is that I'm ok for at least another six months (fingers crossed) although they are still keeping a close eye as the latest (stronger) eye drops that I was put on for the glaucoma risks losing effectiveness and the cataracts are developing. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the September appointment will also be ok.

 

[kojack]

......

The good news is that I'm ok for at least another six months (fingers crossed) although they are still keeping a close eye as the latest (stronger) eye drops that I was put on for the glaucoma risks losing effectiveness and the cataracts are developing. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the September appointment will also be ok.

Let's hope things are stabilised for a while. You don't always appreciate how precious eyes are until you have probs.

 

[Steff]

Good luck 🙂

 

[Einstein]

Hi AJL,

Like you I fear the appointment at the eye hospital, I've had glaucoma in my left eye for years and it's now spread to my right, only my consultant isn't so sure it is glaucoma afterall

So I'm now down for yet another set of MRI scans, it would have been quicker and cheaper just to do one scan from head to toe so they could pick over the whole image for the bit they needed - certainly would have been less time for me..

My greatest fear is meeting the standards for the DVLA to have my license renewed in October, last time they wanted a specialist peripheral vision test to monitor my 120 degree field. I passed - just.

So I found the optician they sent me to and booked a private appointment, just to give me a heads up, luckily I got a pass mark again, so I hope in 6 months time when I renew my license I only need to tell them about the glaucoma in my right eye and that I can repeat the test again.

On the matter of dentists, I am with you there, I am soooo petrified it must be 10 years since I last went. Daft I know, but...

Hope all is well at the hospital for you!

 

[AJL]

Thanks for your recent replies as you will see from another posting after all of my worring about my eyes the irony is that it is the frozen shoulder that is causing me grief!

Einstein I really hope that they find out for you what is wrong i.e. whether it is glaucoma or not and hope that it can be easily treated. I completely agree with you about the fear of the DVLA checks - I dread that time coming round every 3 years, I wouldn't know what I would do with myself if I couldn't drive. But at least many of the eye treatments have improved over the past few years e.g. when I was first diagnosed with glaucoma ten years ago I was told that there was an extremely high chance that they would need to be operated on within 5 years, but thanks to the eye drops being improved that hasn't needed to happen yet.

One thing with diabetes is that I've never taken my eyes for granted so guess that has kept me good on top of all of the regular check ups which I'm sure has helped.

 

[Einstein]

Hi AJL,

Glad the eyes are ok, know nothing of frozen shoulders, except they are/can be painful. Hope it thaws soon, if thats what they do to ease and recover?

Yep, I had similar news, gosh, must be around 10 years ago I was diagnosed! And recall the discussions of surgery, however, I had a spell a couple of years ago where there was something within a lot of the eye drops that irritated my eyes. As such now its looking like some intervention with the knife is going to be an option, even if not glaucoma they are considering the problem to be damage/pressure on the optic nerve and that too may require some surgery to reduce future damage.

I am desperate to keep as much of my eye sight as possible, I lost my hearing over 6 months two years ago, thats enough of a challenge, to loose my sight as well, lets not go there!