Diabetes and Me Day 140

A picture of a good retina

Yesterday I went for a Retinal Scan at the DRI in Derby. Because of the effect that diabetes can have on your eyesight, you need to have a detailed photo taken of your retina at the back of the eye.

First of all you have to take a rudimentary eye test, something that I will deal with later in the post. After the test the Technician puts a special drop in your eye. She told it would sting a little and then I would have to wait for twenty minutes for the drops to take effect. Well the little stinging sensation turned out to be more like having diced Spanish onions put under my eyelid!

The pain did wear off a couple of minutes and slowly my vision began to get blurry. It turns out that the drops dilated your pupils, when I looked in the mirror it looked like I was in the effects of a morphine trip, very weird. Anyway the picture was taken and I'll know in a few weeks out it as turned out.

Earlier in the day, I had been to Babington Hospital for blood test, the test was one that shows an average for your blood sugar levels over the last three months. The reason why I had to test was that since September 2009 I have been wearing glasses full time, this was when I believe the diabetes started to kick and with the rise in the level of sugar in my blood, your eyes expand and this effects your vision. Once my diabetes had been diagnosed in august this year I went back to the optician because my vision had become worse. I was given stronger glasses and told to monitor the situation. This last few weeks, I've noticed that my eyesight is getting better and I'm currently trying out a new set of contact lenses at a low strength. My reading sight is no better, maybe worse but my distance vision is outstanding. The Doctor as said that this is probably due to my diabetes starting to control itself and that is why I went for a blood test.

I've been a little bit better on the diet and have been out on my bike a couple of times, despite the shocking weather. The pin prick tests are averaging out about 9mmo/l which is still a little high. I really hope that when I get the results it is positive news. I'm still taking 80mg of Ziclazide and 200mg of Metformin a day.