Thought I would contribute my .02.
I am a diabetic (type 1, insulin-dependent since age 10). I am now 55. I have had vision complications, diabetic retinopathy, for several decades. Two kinds, proliferative and background. Proliferative is where your eyes are trying to grow new blood vessels, because eye tissue isn’t getting enough oxygen. However these new blood vessels are brittle and tend to grow out into the vitreous cavity of the eye rather than lay on the surface of the retina. Quick movements can cause them to break in the thick viscous fluid and hemorrhage. I’ve had laser treatment to prevent these new vessels from growing further, and to create little scars so new blood vessels don’t grow in the first place. The downside is a loss of peripheral vision and some night vision issues.
I’ve also had laser surgery for background retinopathy, where the blood vessels hemorrhage, sometimes a little, sometimes a little more, and that little more can be noticeable. Not just the occasional floaters, but what looks like a streak of red accross your vision, that slowly dissipates. The vitreous gel in our eyes if pretty viscous stuff, so it takes a while to dissipate. My ophthalmologist has informed me the blood cells then fall to the bottom of the eye and eventually adhere to the surface at the bottom there. So the advice to sleep with your head propped up is pretty spot on. It does get better, just takes a while. Wear a patch if it helps, you probably won’t need it more than a week or so.
In 2015 at the Jackson Gathering, on my first day, I had one of those hemorrhages. And it was foggy at times. And I had just had cataract surgery in one eye; the other eye was supposed to be done already but my ophthalmologist was recovering from breast cancer. Guess I couldn’t complain. So I had one eye that was impaired due to needing the cataract removed, and the other eye with a hazy red clouds impairing my vision.
I still skied 5 days, and still drove home to Seattle. Had my other cataract done. I’ve had great vision since then, and my retinopathy has stabilized, in part due to extremely careful glucose control.
I am a diabetic (type 1, insulin-dependent since age 10). I am now 55. I have had vision complications, diabetic retinopathy, for several decades. Two kinds, proliferative and background. Proliferative is where your eyes are trying to grow new blood vessels, because eye tissue isn’t getting enough oxygen. However these new blood vessels are brittle and tend to grow out into the vitreous cavity of the eye rather than lay on the surface of the retina. Quick movements can cause them to break in the thick viscous fluid and hemorrhage. I’ve had laser treatment to prevent these new vessels from growing further, and to create little scars so new blood vessels don’t grow in the first place. The downside is a loss of peripheral vision and some night vision issues.
I’ve also had laser surgery for background retinopathy, where the blood vessels hemorrhage, sometimes a little, sometimes a little more, and that little more can be noticeable. Not just the occasional floaters, but what looks like a streak of red accross your vision, that slowly dissipates. The vitreous gel in our eyes if pretty viscous stuff, so it takes a while to dissipate. My ophthalmologist has informed me the blood cells then fall to the bottom of the eye and eventually adhere to the surface at the bottom there. So the advice to sleep with your head propped up is pretty spot on. It does get better, just takes a while. Wear a patch if it helps, you probably won’t need it more than a week or so.
In 2015 at the Jackson Gathering, on my first day, I had one of those hemorrhages. And it was foggy at times. And I had just had cataract surgery in one eye; the other eye was supposed to be done already but my ophthalmologist was recovering from breast cancer. Guess I couldn’t complain. So I had one eye that was impaired due to needing the cataract removed, and the other eye with a hazy red clouds impairing my vision.
I still skied 5 days, and still drove home to Seattle. Had my other cataract done. I’ve had great vision since then, and my retinopathy has stabilized, in part due to extremely careful glucose control.
