Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Randall Wong, M.D. on October 29, 2012 at 12:05am

Dear jwinc,

1. Proliferative diabetic retinopathy is a result of retinal ischemia.

2. As you stated correctly, any ischemic tissue is not receiving sufficient oxygen due to lack of blood supply.

3. Diabetes causes ischemia due to insufficient "plumbing." Diabetes can cause loss of normal blood vessels and therefore decreased blood supply. Examples include neuropathy (loss of normal blood vessels that supply the little nerve endings at the tip of fingers and toes).

4. Anemia is a decrease in the actual concentration of oxygen normally carried in blood.

5. As you now know, having anemia compounds any tendency towards developing PDR as it worsens the lack of oxygenation.

Hope this was helpful. Thanks, too, for you input on the website!

Randy

Permalink Reply by shoshana27 on October 29, 2012 at 1:17am

thanks dr. randall wong ( randy ) for answering jwinc's question.

Permalink Reply by Randall Wong, M.D. on October 29, 2012 at 6:10am

Shoshan27,

You are welcome. I hope it made some sense. Was up late in anticipation of this storm hitting the East coast and was a bit groggy.

r

Permalink Reply by jwinc on October 29, 2012 at 6:33am

Stay safe.

Permalink Reply by jwinc on October 29, 2012 at 6:32am

Thanks for your reply Dr Randy Wong. I wonder why my Drs (internist, endo, regular ophthalmologist, and the 1st retinal ophth. surgeon) had never mentioned the anemia/PDR relationship before. It wasn't until I happened to see "Dr Wonderful" (an associate of the 1st retinal surgeon), that this was even mentioned. And by "Dr Wonderful", I mean this guy is AWESOME (no sarcasm meant at all).

Makes me a bit angry and sad as I have always had a yearly eye exam (stable very minimal non-prolif retinopathy-----with only a few very, very tiny spots until 2 yrs ago), then it was full-blown PDR. I exercise, try to keep my bs under control as best I can (test my bs at least 8-12 times a day, sometimes more), and still eye up with severe eye disease.

Anyone know if repeated Hypoglycemia events has any effect on PDR? BS frequently in the 30's, 40's, and 50's .

Permalink Reply by Josh F on January 18, 2013 at 1:06pm

Yes, Hypogycemia causes hypoxia and reduced blood flow. I was told to avoid lows even more than highs. If you address the Anemia and keep your sugars from going below 70, you should see a improvement in the eyes. I understand it all to well with my NPDR that gets much worse with lows. I think of it as this, the less food ( glucose) the body has, the more it slows down... the eyes are affected easily by this,and the fact we can't regulate the blood flow ( like the handle on the garden hose is busted on on "high" all the time) fluctuations like that matter. Good luck!

Permalink Reply by shoshana27 on January 20, 2013 at 6:54am

i have hypo-unawareness so when my bg is too low the only symptom i have is when i close my eyes i see large white spotin my right eye

so i take glucose & then retest & am still low, then eat food

that's why i need to test 12/14 times a day

to prevent lows

Permalink Reply by shoshana27 on January 20, 2013 at 7:28am

the other day my bed time bg was 49 & i had no symptoms. took glucose + yogurt 20 carb then at 2 am bg was 142 then at 4 am bg was 116 then at 7:30 am was 87...strange for me

Permalink Reply by Josh F on February 3, 2013 at 8:42am

I might suggest a Dexcom CGM if you can get it covered. It took going through hoops to get mine covered but it is a godsend. I used to take 20-30 tests a day but this when calibrated aloows me more peace of mind and can tell you when you are going low. Now I only do 8-10 sugars a day to compare. Good luck.

Permalink Reply by Josh F on February 19, 2013 at 9:24pm

http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/articles/53-diabetes-news/1875-

jwinc: Reduced glucose levels for more than 45 minutes can cause ischemic retinal damage. I got two CWS as a result of low blood sugar at night. I need to avoid lows and keep my nigh time levels more elevated to avoid hypoxia. I also sleep with a night light to cut down on oxygen needs.

Permalink Reply by jwinc on March 31, 2013 at 7:56pm

Josh~ What is CWS?

My CDE recently mentioned that there is a high correlation btwn hypoglycemia and increased strokes. Something about plaque breaking off (can't remember why. possibly spasms within the vessels) causing a stroke.

What is the correlation brwn a night light and oxygen needs?

Permalink Reply by Betty J on March 30, 2013 at 2:52pm

Jwinc, I recently discovered this group and glad I did. You mentioned ischemia, which is is the narrowing of the blood vessels in the eye. I wanted to know if it has affected your vision? I too have been anemic off and on for the 54 years of living with Diabetes and in the last say under 10 years have had a vision problem. I had laser over 30 some years ago and haven't had any problems until the last few years. Eye specialist can't seem to find out what the problem is. I was wondering if you do have problems seeing, is it something you can see but drs can't see from the outside. I know I seem to be babbling but at the moment can't seem to explain it any other way then that. When I read or look at things there always seem to be some type of obstructions in my left eye.

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