please help, I'm getting worried. Has anyone had retinopathy from diabetes?

Question

i've been diabetic for 15 years, during that time it was largely uncontrolled due to misdiagnosis (they thought i was type 2, but i'm actually insulin dependent). im only in my mid 20's and i;'ve already had retinopathy with laser surgery, i have cataracts growing, and recently i had some spot bleeds in my eyes again. i'm also beginning early peripheral neuropathy. a lot of this has happened since my sugars have come under control! can anyone explain this? any advice is welcome.

Answer 1

If you are in your mid-20s and have been a diabetic for 15 years you were diagnosed around age 10. Although it is possible for a 10 year old to be type 2 15 years ago this would have been virtually unknown. It is also rather easy to determine if an individual is type 1 versus type 2 by a simple blood test so it is difficult to understand how a physician could make such an error in diagnosis. By the way all type 1s take insulin and all type 2s will eventually require insulin so the term 'insulin dependent' is no longer in vogue. Nonetheless whether you were diagnosed as type 1 or type 2 the physician should have been able to control your glucose. Today good control would be a glucose in the range of 70 to 150 mg/dL (3.9 to 8.3 mmol/L) during the course of a day irrespective of when you eat and what has been eaten. The first and essential treatment for retinopathy, cataracts, or neuropathy is strict control of the diabetes. If you are indeed a type 1 diabetic you should be taking both a basal and a rapid acting insulin. If these terms are not familiar to you I would suggest asking your physician to refer you to a diabetic nurse educator. The dose of basal insulin needs to be adjusted about weekly while the dose of rapid acting insulin is adjusted about every 3 days (the so-called 'sliding scale' itself) and the sliding scale should take into account the carbohydrate load of the meal that you are going to eat. At this time I only use 'pen delivery' systems of insulin and I only use detemir/Levemir for basal insulin (although glargine/Lantus is just as good) and aspart/Novolog for rapid acting insulin (although lispro/Humalog is just as good). There are a few other choices for both basal and rapid acting insulins although at this time I believe that NPH, Lente, UltraLente, and regular insulin are seriously out-dated and no longer appropriate for use under any circumstances. The reason that retinopathy is developing now when your glucose seems to be better controlled is easily explained. The metabolic changes that led to diabetes may have begun a decade before your glucose was found to be elevated. In a similar fashion the disease process of retinopathy, cataracts, and neuropathy begins long before they are able to be detected. Well designed studies have demonstrated that even with strict control these problems tend to occur and progress over time. I am always distressed that an individual must suffer but if I might offer a word of encouragement it would be that our ability to treat diabetes and its complications has advanced more rapidly over the past 5 years than I would have thought possible. I wish you the best of health and may God bless.

Answer 2

I'm sorry for your misdiagnosis...i honestly can't believe how it could have happened. Type 2 diabetes is increasing in the younger age groups but in anyone under 30 Type 1 would be the first thing to look for.

Unfortunately the years of uncontrolled diabetes have caused damage which is starting to surface now...not because of anything wrong that you're doing but simply because it has accumulated up to this point.

What you can do is keep your glucose under meticulous control...buy a home device and check it regularly at least 3 times a day. Do not skip any appointments with your diabetologist and ophtalmologist.

I would also advice a very strict diet at this point: absolutely no sugary things, limit carbohydrates and fruit, and take a lot of regular exercise. If you are overweight, this is an extremely good reason to lose that weight now.

With the beginnings of peripheral neuropathy make sure you pay a lot of attention to your feet. Buy wide comfortable shoes and check them before wearing them, just in case a little pebble or something of that sort got into the shoes. You could also start going to the podiatrist from now...foot care in diabetes is simply never stressed enough and it is one of the major sources of complications.

Last of all, don't panic! I know it may sound an awful ordeal at this moment, but thousands of people live with your same problem. A good idea would be to join a support group to meet with people with your same problem. That way you'll feel less alone and you'll be able to speak about your problems to people who understand you perfectly. Good luck and God bless

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

I'm a 45 year old woman and was recently diagnosed as being a borderline diabetic. My doctor prescribed some medication, but before filling it I decided to do some research on the internet which led me to the methods. After reading this ebook and applying the methods, my scepticism turned to 100% belief. I noticed that my energy levels increased significantly and I felt more rested in the morning, my symptoms started going away.

I am very happy to tell you that I have been feeling better than I have felt in years and my doctor informed me that he will be taking me off my prescriptions if I keep this up.

I recommend you use the Type 2 Diabetes Destroyer to naturally reverse your diabetes.

Answer 5

Diabetes is a nasty and unfair disease. Some people do everything right and get all sorts of complications, other keep doing everything wrong and die of old age, without a complication in sight.

In my non-medical opinion (and you should really talk to your doctors), your current problems were probably in the "pipeline, when you started taking insulin and were going to be expressed anyway. The positive news is they should not get any worse and you should not get any more,

The trick will be to get into strict control. Talk to your doctors. An insulin pen or pump may be your best bet.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Dear friend you have to take control of your body so diabetes is serious if don't take care for example i looked for internet a solutions for diabetes because i didn't want to use insuline anymore.I found in PERUVIAN NATURISTAS MEDICINES. COM a natural product that was excellent for me Abuta is for people who has diabetes. I use it and i feel better with it so i don't use insuline in my body,

Answer 7

Diabetes is usually treated through a combination of diet (low sugar), exercise and medications/insulin. Read here https://tr.im/osULk
Milder cases can be controlled with just diet an/or exercise while more severe cases require meds or insulin as well.

Answer 8

Shocking New Diabetes Research Revealed - http://Help.DiabetesGoGo.com

Answer 9

"a lot of this has happened since my sugars have come under control! can anyone explain this? any advice is welcome"

Do you drink a lot of diet sodas? Do you consume a lot of artificial sweetners? I have read that the artificial sweetner "Aspartame" can lead to retinopathy. And since it is mostly diabetics, that consume diet drinks, they are more likely to experience retinopathy. But doctors just assume that the retinopathy was caused by their diabetes and by not having their sugar under control.

Please stop consuming artificial sweetners or at least Aspartame.

I have read about this online, somewhere, a long time ago, and will see if I can find the link.

Okay, here are some links:
http://kateben.wordpress.com/2007/04/15/aspartame-and-blindness/
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blasp.htm
http://www.spiritual-endeavors.org/health/aspartame.htm

"The methanol in the aspartame converts to formaldehyde in the retina of the eye. "

"(Remember heat can liberate the methanol from the aspartame at 86 degrees F)."

"Aspartame is especially deadly for diabetics. All physicians know what wood alcohol will do to a diabetic. We find that physicians believe that they have patients with retinopathy, when in fact, it is caused by the aspartame."

Answer 10

My friend John had 5 surgeries for detached retinas (don't know if it was glucose/insulin imbalance, but it would make sense with his high stress and weight issues). He started taking a product made from xanthohumol (scientific name) which gave him the BEST reading for his retinas after surgery than he ever had before. Xanthohumol is known to support cornea and retina health, so it could help you too. You may want to ask your doctor.