{"id":29875,"date":"2012-08-08T06:27:49","date_gmt":"2012-08-08T10:27:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=28798"},"modified":"2015-12-28T05:32:42","modified_gmt":"2015-12-28T10:32:42","slug":"the-beginning-of-diabetic-retinopathy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=29875","title":{"rendered":"The Beginning of Diabetic Retinopathy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I went to the eye doctor this morning for my annual check up. I didn\u2019t go to my usual doctor, but to a doctor at the diabetes clinic. I decided to go there since I always end up waiting for at least an hour in my regular doctor\u2019s office. And since I didn\u2019t feel like I had anything to worry about having had no signs of diabetic retinopathy before, I didn\u2019t feel like wasting half my day.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/eye.jpg\" rel=\"mfp\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-28801 lazyload\" title=\" My Dilated Eye - Diabetic Retinopathy?\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/eye.jpg\" alt=\" My Dilated Eye - Diabetic Retinopathy?\" width=\"210\" height=\"254\" \/><\/a>I got to the clinic at 9:00 a.m., on time for my appointment, and had drops put in my eyes. I waited for 20 minutes and then went into the doctor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The doctor was in his early 40\u2019s, tall, thin with a long ponytail. Not at all like my regular doctor. He greeted me, asked me a few questions and told me to sit down in front of the contraption used to look inside my head.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I put my chin in the chinrest and the doctor peered into my eyes, shining a bright light. He looked around for what seemed to be a long time. It felt uncomfortable, almost painful.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">After shining the light into both of my eyes, he examined them one at a time. I really wanted to close my eye. I kept blinking trying to keep it open; looking in the direction the doctor had instructed me to. Then he moved to the other side again shining the light.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cYou have the start of diabetic damage in your eyes,\u201d he said to me as he got up from his chair behind the machine.\u00a0 There was no gentleness about it, no cushioning the blow.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cReally?\u201d I replied (like an idiot).\u00a0 I was stunned by the news, and totally unprepared for it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cHow long have you had diabetes?\u201d the doctor asked.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cA little over 10 years,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cHmm,\u201d he said shaking his head in a knowing way as if I was on schedule for diabetic retinopathy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cYou should come more often, every six months,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cOkay,\u201d I said as I got my stuff and headed towards the door.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As I walked out of the office and down the corridor I felt the pressure in my chest building. I felt like I wanted to cry. I had the feeling of unfairness, the kind my children have when they feel wronged. <em>Diabetic retinopathy, me? I work so hard. I do everything right, well at least I try\u2026 My A1c is good.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>I\u2019ll go to my regular doctor for a second opinion. Just 14 months ago <a href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/michael\/blogs\/diabetes-management-blogs\/going-to-the-eye-doctor-after-two-years\/17381\/\">he told me things were great<\/a> and gave me a clean bill of eye health. Maybe this doctor is wrong.\u00a0 Hopefully.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The decision to get another opinion didn\u2019t make me feel any better. I walked home, a short 10-minute walk, with my pupils dilated, not seeing very clearly, kind of in a daze.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When I got home Jess asked me how it was. \u201cNot the best,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWhy? What happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThe doctor said he can see signs of diabetes damage in my eyes, the beginning of diabetic retinopathy\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make sense,\u201d she said. \u201cLast year the doctor said everything was great. You should get a second opinion. Go to your regular doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I imagine I will get a second opinion. Maybe I\u2019ll go to a retina specialist. But I have a feeling it won\u2019t change much.\u00a0 I mean, what are the chances a doctor would see retinopathy that wasn\u2019t there? Diabetes isn\u2019t fair.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":53098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[263,153],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.9 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Beginning of Diabetic Retinopathy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cHow long have you had diabetes?\u201d the 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