Diabetic Retinopathy

My husband is diabetic, fortunately he doesn't have any complications right now, but if we don't get his blood sugar under control, his next exam in a year might tell a different story. He's been diabetic since the early 1980's and was able to control the diabetes with diet. However, that all changed about 1996. His blood sugar spiked up to 394, and he started taking the pills. That worked for a while and his blood sugar was at acceptable levels. In 1999 his blood sugar went out of control and they added another pill to his regimen. It has been in and out of control ever since. He's taking insulin and 2 different pills, but his blood sugar is still close, but under 200.
He is very much at risk for all kinds of nasty conditions that go along with diabetes.

Diabetic Retinopathy is just one of the conditions of the eye diabetics are subject to. Background Diabetic Retinopathy, Clinically Significant Macular Edema, Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy, Cranial Nerve Palsy, Cystoid Macular Edema, Neovascular Glaucoma, Tractional Retinal Detachment, and Vitreous Hemorrhage are or can be caused by diabetes. I don't think this is a definitive list, but these are the conditions we'll be investigating today.

The Diabetes Mall gives information about the complications of diabetes. They have a section on background diabetic retinopathy, and explains what happens to your eye with this condition. They also explain what microaneurisms, hemorrhages, and hard exudates are and how they affect the eye.

eMedicine from WebMD has a lot of information and links packed into the page on clinically significant macular edema, and it'll take a while to process it all. More information about macular edema.

The Angeles Vision Clinic gives a really good overview of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Includes definition of terms, complications, treatment and more. Really good pictures of proliferative diabetic retinopathy from the Southeastern Eye Center.

The North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society has and excellent page discussing cranial nerve palsy. Discusses symptoms, treatment, pictures, and the good news that it should go away in time.

NegrayJahnle.com and The RetinaSource.com are good sources of information on cystoid macular edema. This will also go away up to one year after condition appears.

The National Eye Institute and IU Optometry Clinic have information on neovascular glaucoma. Any glaucoma can cause blindness because it damages the optic nerve.

The Retina Center and Medscape Today supply symptoms, treatments, and prognosis of tractional retinal detatchment.

The Macula Center gives an overview of vitreous hemorrhage, causes, treatment, and prognosis. The Vision Similator gives you an idea of what things look like with vitreous hemorrhage. It also has other simulations for various eye conditions.

These are just a few of the websites available for diabetic retinopathy.

Dale L. Edwards