Saw the ophthalmologist. My diabetes can still take my eyesight away.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I went to my ophthalmologist a few days ago. I last saw him a few years ago, which is bad because as a diabetic I should see him every year. What prompted me to go was that my current glasses needed to be updated. When I saw him a few years ago, I needed to change my lenses but was too lazy to do it. Since then my eyesight had gone down a bit more.

This additional change freaked me out - although I didn’t tell anyone (except my parents a few days before my appointment) - because I got paranoid I might have diabetic retinopathy.

Fortunately, the good doctor reassured me. No retinopathy. But he did say I needed to keep my blood sugars under control. He said he’s seen a lot of people come in with retinopathy after only 20 years of being diabetic. In 2006, it will be ten years for me. So close to 20.

I can’t lose my eyesight. I can lose hearing, speaking, walking, but I can’t lose my eyesight. I need to see. I need to be able to read. Books are my passion. Reading gives me so much pleasure, so much to look forward to - things to learn, things to experience, things to apprehend. If I can’t read, I might as well be dead. I don’t think I could ever express in words just how precious to me the ability to read is.

sigh So, the good doctor found something that has finally given me the motivation to keep myself in good health - eat healthy, exercise, lose weight, keep blood sugar under control. This motivation is something neither my regular doctor nor my parents nor my friends, in short, no one has been able to give me, until now.

WRS - We shall conquer and We shall dominate this aspect of Ourself, to save Our preciousssssss - Our sight.

2

I know how you feel.

I went in last year for an eye exam and was relieved when the DR. told me that the blurred vision was just presbyopia, and that I should get reading glasses.

I’m keeping my blood glucose levels down, but I’m always concerned about the effect on my eyesight. I have some neuropathy already, in my hands and feet, and I know that it may just be a matter of time.

Hang in there!

3

Good luck.

GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER NOW. My mom has had diabetes for years, and never really took it all that seriously, aside from the insulin injections. As a result, she’s almost totally blind now. She used to be the most prolific reader I’ve ever known. It has now been, what, 4 years since she’s read a word? I feel so awful for her, because she had a stroke as well that left her left side paralyzed. If she could at least read, she could fight the terrible boredom she lives with. But she can’t because she let diabetic retinopathy catch up to her.

Do not fuck around with this. Get healthy. Eat right. Exercise. Start RIGHT NOW.

4

Hey WRS,
I went as an undiagnosed diabetic for a long time. Long enough I developed retinopathy. It usually manifests as “floaters” or blind spots that move when you look in different directions. It scared the crap outta me, but luckily things can be done about it. It can be treated by laser surgery. But if you keep your sugars down, this problem won’t develop. You’re right it’s good motivation. I haven’t had any more problems in this area since I got the sugars under control. There’s no reason you can’t keep them that way.