About 2 weeks ago, I posted about some little things that have sprung up for me recently in terms of complications. After my first visit to a retina specialist last week, it turns out my little “eye thing” isn’t exactly little.
I went to see a retina specialist based on the recommendation of my ophthalmologist when I saw him at the end of last month. From the pictures he took, he saw a deposit on my macula and thought it was something I needed to monitor. The retina specialist indeed saw the deposit from his own pictures but he also saw swelling in the same eye. This called for me to have a fluorescein angiogram for further analysis of what is going on in the back of my eye. I will be honest, I was scared. I’ve never had one of those tests before and the way they made me sign a consent form and describe possible side effects, panic set in. Bigtime. If you’ve never had one or don’t know what the test is, it’s when they inject a dye into your bloodstream that makes your blood vessels sort of fluorescent and easier to see in pictures. It actually didn’t turn out to be too bad, thankfully. I think the worst of it may have been the pink vision that followed for about 5-10 minutes afterward or the fluorescent pee I was excreting for the next 2 days! From those pictures, the doctor was able to see that I have some blood vessels that are leaking. That is what is causing the deposit on my macula. Stacey, this is diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy, this is Stacey.
What scares me the most is that all of this began since my last ophthalmologist exam in November. Nothing showed up in the pictures taken then. Just 8 months ago. (I typically have an exam every 6 months however this time around they forgot to remind me so a little more time had passed) This just stressed to me how crucial keeping up with the various doctor appointments is. Even as annoying as they can seem.
As unhappy as I was to receive that news, I am glad that we caught it fairly early. I am scheduled to have an intraviteral injection (medicine being injected into the eye) in the next 2-3 weeks. I’m definitely not looking forward to that but if it’s going to help the leaking situation, hopefully before it gets much worse, I’m all for it.
The Girl with the Portable Pancreas 
I’m so sorry. I hope the treatment is fully effective and painless.
Sorry to hear that, Stacey. It is scary, even the moments of uncertainty leading up to whatever they say and then when that R word is spoken. They tell me it comes down to D management, and that’s all I try to focus on after leaving that office… tears, too. Anyhow, best your way.
Oh Stacey, I am sorry this is happening. I am glad you are proactive and that it was caught early. I just want you to know I am here if you need to rant, cry, or just need someone to drive you to an appointment and/or hold your hand through the procedure. Big time HUGS!
I truly hope this is the one and only procedure you have to endure for your eyes and that your new acquaintance (DR) is not here to stay.
Oh Stacey, how scary!! But you are right – it’s so good that you caught this early! I know they can fix you right up, good as new. Sending happy and healthy eye vibes to you.
Ohhhh, I’m sorry Stacey 😦 I saw your tweets about the fluorescent angiogram…but reading your description, I now realize that I had one many years ago! And yes, they aren’t bad. Glad you survived it 🙂 I had retinopathy then, too. The treatment sucked, I’ll be honest. But it’s for a finite amount of time and then they fix you up so that it won’t keep spreading! Yay!
I will warn you, though, that getting an injection in my eye was one of the most anxious experiences of my life. Okay, I was 17 years old….and they didn’t actually tell me they were doing it until right before, so I was like, “NEEDLE IN EYEBALL OMG WHAT?!?!” But you may want to do some relaxation exercises (or even pop a pill, if you a history of anxiety to begin with) before the intraviteral injection. (I didn’t feel pain, necessarily– it just really freaked me out that there was a needle going in my eye and I could feel *something* there.)
Best of luck, and more hugs to you!