Beginning of diabetic retinopathy
in [Diabetes]
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From: Ricavito on 8 Mar 2006 22:46 I had my diabetic eye test last week, and was told that I have a very small hematoma in one eye. I asked the significance of that and was told that it represents the beginning of diabetic retinopathy and that I probably would need laser treatment in a few years. He asked my A1C, and I told him my latest score (6.3). He said that was excellent (hah, but maybe it's not so bad compared with the range he sees in his practice) and that I should work hard to keep my blood sugar under control. I asked if it was important to control the spikes as well, and he admitted not knowing the answer to that. He didn't bring up blood pressure, but I think I'm gathering from the reading here that that is also important to control. My last white coat test was 117/70. I take an ARB, as well as HCTZ. IMHO, this totally sucks. I think loss of vision scares me more than just about anything else. I should mention that this is pretty different from Chris J's situation. I was diagnosed with an A1C of 6.9 a couple of years ago and in all that time I've only gotten it down to 6.3. There's a boatload of info out there on diabetic retinopathy, and I got hundreds of hits just googling in this newsgroup. So it partly from information overload and partly from sheer laziness that I'm posting to ask if there anything else I can do to delay/avoid progression other than try to keep BG and BP low as possible? Any magic bullets out there? Thanks, ricavito
From: Alexander Arnakis on 9 Mar 2006 02:20 On 8 Mar 2006 19:46:21 -0800, "Ricavito" <newsgroupreader(a)frontiernet.net> wrote: > >There's a boatload of info out there on diabetic retinopathy, and I got >hundreds of hits just googling in this newsgroup. So it partly from >information overload and partly from sheer laziness that I'm posting to >ask if there anything else I can do to delay/avoid progression other >than try to keep BG and BP low as possible? Any magic bullets out >there? > You've got to stay on top of it with regular checkups, not just by a regular ophthalmologist, but preferably by a retinal specialist. Retinopathy is probably the single most common complication of diabetes. If you have diabetes long enough, it's almost certain that you'll get it. My retinopathy appeared some 20 years after I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. But the good news is that if it's caught early, there are very effective treatments. I had "panretinal photocoagulation," which involved some 2,000 small laser burns in the back of each eye. Going through this was no picnic, and one result was that I lost much of my peripheral vision. But the retinopathy was stopped dead in its tracks, and my vision has been stable now for 20 years. No further treatments were required.
From: W. Baker on 9 Mar 2006 12:51 Ricavito <newsgroupreader(a)frontiernet.net> wrote: : I had my diabetic eye test last week, and was told that I have a very : small hematoma in one eye. I asked the significance of that and was : told that it represents the beginning of diabetic retinopathy and that : I probably would need laser treatment in a few years. He asked my A1C, : and I told him my latest score (6.3). He said that was excellent (hah, : but maybe it's not so bad compared with the range he sees in his : practice) and that I should work hard to keep my blood sugar under : control. I asked if it was important to control the spikes as well, : and he admitted not knowing the answer to that. : He didn't bring up blood pressure, but I think I'm gathering from the : reading here that that is also important to control. My last white : coat test was 117/70. I take an ARB, as well as HCTZ. : IMHO, this totally sucks. I think loss of vision scares me more than : just about anything else. : I should mention that this is pretty different from Chris J's : situation. I was diagnosed with an A1C of 6.9 a couple of years ago : and in all that time I've only gotten it down to 6.3. : There's a boatload of info out there on diabetic retinopathy, and I got : hundreds of hits just googling in this newsgroup. So it partly from : information overload and partly from sheer laziness that I'm posting to : ask if there anything else I can do to delay/avoid progression other : than try to keep BG and BP low as possible? Any magic bullets out : there? : Thanks, : ricavito Keep those bgs down and get that A1c below 6 and keep it there. Watch your carbs and follow jennifer's advice to detirmine what you can eat without big spikes. Hold yourself to hight standard for low bgs adn you MAY(no promises here) not need laser down the road. Your retinopathy may well not progress fruther is yu take charge. Well, tht's my pep talk for today. Wendy
From: Nicky on 9 Mar 2006 14:30 "Ricavito" <newsgroupreader(a)frontiernet.net> wrote in message news:1141875981.240402.139880(a)z34g2000cwc.googlegroups.com... > IMHO, this totally sucks. I think loss of vision scares me more than > just about anything else. Yeah : ( {{{{{{{{{{Ricavito}}}}}}}}} > There's a boatload of info out there on diabetic retinopathy, and I got > hundreds of hits just googling in this newsgroup. So it partly from > information overload and partly from sheer laziness that I'm posting to > ask if there anything else I can do to delay/avoid progression other > than try to keep BG and BP low as possible? Any magic bullets out > there? A Quentin keeper - courtesy of Alan and Annette : ) Nicky. --------------------------- From: "Alan S" <loralweightandcarbs(a)optusnet.com.au> Subject: Re: My Eyes and a Warning Date: 04 June 2005 11:16 On Sat, 04 Jun 2005 21:00:15 +1200, Quentin Grady <quentin(a)paradise,net,nz> wrote: >Annette used to pull out one of my better teaching stories > on the matter. Perhaps some other kind person can. Howdy Quentin I always liked this one pardner. I suspect this may be the one you're after. Thank goodness you don't use x-no archive. Originally you wrote it to: "G'day G'day Fester, Annette et al, (see http://tinyurl.com/7kl8x Nov 26 2003) Avoiding macular degeneration is multifactorial. It pays to tackle the issue as many ways as possible. Not many team sports are won with a single defender. 1. Control blood glucose tightly. The eyes don't have insulin receptors so don't require insulin to transfer glucose into the eyes in the way muscles do. What this means if blood glucose is high then glucose rushes into the eye just as the sea rushes into inlets when the tide is high. 2. Glucose in the eye can be converted to sorbitol by an enzyme called aldose reductase. Picture sorbitol like the bloke with a black hat in a Western. When the bloke on the horse with a black hat rides into town something bad is going to happen. The sombre music tells you so. You can't be sure of which plot the Western will follow ... there are only a few but something real bad is going to happen when the black hatted guy rides in to the theme of "Sorbitol, Sorbitol, Sorbitol who you gunna bowl?" Fortunately is Westerns worthy of the name there are blokes who wear white hats, aldose reductase inhibitors, Ari for short. All good Westerns have a bit of tear jerking but it better be brief so we can get on an enjoy the action. In the shoot out between Sorbitol and Ari, the tear jerking element is onion. Onion is an excellent source of biologically available Quercetin. (Any resemblance to my own name is entirely coincidental.) Quercetin is an excellent antioxidant great for curing hay fever ... told you this was a tear jerker. It doesn't matter if you fry up the onion in a pan on a camp fire, Quercetin can take it just don't pour it down the drain. Whatever, Quercetin saves the day and stops aldose reductase from converting glucose to Sorbitol and your eyes are saved from numerous fates worse than death. 3. If you can't stop Sorbitol from riding around shooting up things the next best thing is having him corralled in a box canyon. Enter stage left to great applause ... Taurine. Taurine keeps sorbitol boxed up with osmotic pressure. Taurine is an amino acid found in fish especially shellfish and fish hearts etc, meat that hasn't been over cooked. Eat some green lipped mussels or sardines. Steak that gallops onto your plate has more taurine than one grilled to death. 4. OK, Westerns were black and white but the audience demanded more. They wanted colour. Now at first the colours weren't very good. People got a bit confused with their colours and thought beta carotene from carrots were good for eyes. Bugs Bunny got a lot of good press when the real hero was Olive Oil who no doubt nagged Popeye just a little bit to eat his spinach. Spinach looks green but it hides some good yellow stuff called lutein (yellow) that protects the peripheral regions of the eye from the ravages of blue and ultraviolet light. Lutein does a wonderful job in providing sunglasses INSIDE the eye. Young people need the sunglasses effect of lutein because their eyes are clear. Older people need the antioxidant effects of lutein because ... they are old. The clock of ages gallops for T2 diabetics who don't take care. Wait don't send money. There is more. Spinach has a special bonus offer ... orange centres. The central foveal regions of the eyes NEED ORANGE ... a very special orange. Nah, not beta carotene. Beta carotene is a wannabe. THE orange is zeaxanthin. Now it is kind of special. While lutein is in most things green or yellow zeaxanthin is less widely distributed. Spinach is often a good source though it varies. So is open leaf cabbage ie collards. Orange capsicums are the ultimate source. Persimmons are excellent. In some countries the likely sources are going to be the green culinary herbs eg dill, coriander, parsley. The Mexicans have it nailed with marigold petals. 4. Some general antioxidants help; bilberries, blue berries, Vit E, astaxanthin (the pink stuff in salmon and prawns.) Lowering oxidative stress is smart thinking. BUT remember there are no substitutes for lutein and zeaxanthin for the sunscreen effects. Other bioflavanoids will not do. >Do things like carrots and stuff carry them, or do you need stronger >colourings such as beetroot? Carrots are great for lungs, its mostly the alpha carotene. Beetroot has its benefits elsewhere but the post is already long. Adios Amigo." Thanks Quentin Cheers Alan, T2, Australia. -- Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.
From: Ricavito on 10 Mar 2006 19:05 Alexander Arnakis wrote: > On 8 Mar 2006 19:46:21 -0800, "Ricavito" > <newsgroupreader(a)frontiernet.net> wrote: > > > >There's a boatload of info out there on diabetic retinopathy, and I got > >hundreds of hits just googling in this newsgroup. So it partly from > >information overload and partly from sheer laziness that I'm posting to > >ask if there anything else I can do to delay/avoid progression other > >than try to keep BG and BP low as possible? Any magic bullets out > >there? > > > You've got to stay on top of it with regular checkups, not just by a > regular ophthalmologist, but preferably by a retinal specialist. > > Retinopathy is probably the single most common complication of > diabetes. If you have diabetes long enough, it's almost certain that > you'll get it. > > My retinopathy appeared some 20 years after I was diagnosed with Type > 1 diabetes. > > But the good news is that if it's caught early, there are very > effective treatments. I had "panretinal photocoagulation," which > involved some 2,000 small laser burns in the back of each eye. > > Going through this was no picnic, and one result was that I lost much > of my peripheral vision. But the retinopathy was stopped dead in its > tracks, and my vision has been stable now for 20 years. No further > treatments were required. Thanks Alexander, you are right. We've got to take those regular check up seriously and have them done by the right specialist. I've gone to an optometrist for years, and only went to a physician (opthamologist) with T2 diagnosis. He didn't find anything on that initial check up and I waited a year and a half to go back--won't do that again! I'm glad to hear of your success, it's comforting :-)
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