Advanced stage (proliferative): In this stage, the retina begins to grow new blood vessels. These new vessels are fragile and often bleed into the vitreous (the clear gel between the lens and retina). With minor bleeding, you may see a few dark spots that float in your vision.
It usually takes between 5 to 10 years to develop a diabetic eye disease. However, that doesn't mean that you're in the clear before then. Uncontrolled blood sugar can result in eye damage long before symptoms appear, and diabetic eye disease can result in severe sight loss or even blindness at any stage.
High blood sugar causes the lens of the eye to swell, which changes your ability to see. To correct this kind of blurred vision, you need to get your blood sugar back into the target range. For many people this is from70 mg/dL to 130 mg/dL before meals and less than 180 mg/dL one to two hours after the start of a meal.
Another potential effect from diabetes is swelling of the eye lens, leading to blurry vision. If your blood sugar levels change quickly from low to normal, the shape of your eye's lens can be affected and your vision can be blurred. Your vision goes back to normal after your blood sugar stabilizes.
Stage four diabetic retinopathy is the most advanced stage of diabetic retinopathy, during which new blood vessels begin to grow on the retina. Unfortunately, these blood vessels are typically both weak and abnormal, which can lead to blood leaking into the eye, vision problems, and potentially blindness.
The early stages of diabetic retinopathy usually don't have any symptoms. Some people notice changes in their vision, like trouble reading or seeing faraway objects. These changes may come and go.
There is no cure for diabetic retinopathy. But treatment works very well to prevent, delay, or reduce vision loss. The sooner the condition is found, the easier it is to treat. And it's more likely that vision will be saved.
Your eye doctor can identify diabetes by looking at the retina's blood vessels. These tiny vessels can leak fluid or blood when you have diabetic retinopathy, which only develops when you have diabetes. Some patients may develop this condition before they're officially diagnosed with diabetes.
Damage caused by diabetic retinopathy is typically permanent. This condition isn't fully reversible, but some treatments may help bring some of your vision back. While treatments aren't likely to return your vision, your eye doctor can help prevent your vision from worsening.
Symptoms can include: Blurry or wavy vision in the center of your field of vision. Floaters. Noticing colors appear faded or washed out.
Over time, high blood sugar not only damages blood vessels in your eyes, it can also affect the shape of your lenses and make your vision blurry. Keep your blood pressure and cholesterol levels in your target range to lower your risk for eye diseases and vision loss.
If your blood sugar levels fall too low, usually below 70 mg/dL, you may experience blurry vision or other visual disturbances.
Protective Against Inflammation
This led the researchers to conclude that metformin had a “protective effect” on the eyes, shielding eyesight from the effects of AMD, such as: Partial loss of vision. Straight lines appearing wavy. Blurry vision.
To diagnose diabetic eye disease while it is treatable, experts currently suggest that people with type 1 diabetes get an eye exam at least once a year starting three to five years after diagnosis.
At first, the screening should be every year, then this can change depending on your results. At your eye screening, your healthcare professional will look for signs of eye disease caused by your diabetes. The aim of your regular eye screening is to catch any issues early on.
Dark, leafy greens such as kale, spinach, romaine lettuce, and collard and turnip greens have a lot of the nutrients lutein and zeaxanthin. These antioxidants help protect cells in your retina and, with vitamin E, may help you avoid cataracts, too. Broccoli, peas, corn, and eggs are also good sources.
You can reduce your risk of developing diabetic retinopathy, or help stop it getting worse, by keeping your blood sugar levels, blood pressure and cholesterol levels under control. This can often be done by making healthy lifestyle choices, although some people will also need to take medication.
You need to tell the DVLA if you have retinopathy or if you've had treatment for it, like laser treatment. That's because even after it's been treated you can still have some missing spots in your vision. If you've had maculopathy or have a scotoma (a blind spot in your field of vision).
Diabetes Onset at 31–45 Years of Age is Associated with an Increased Risk of Diabetic Retinopathy in Type 2 Diabetes.
The first of the diabetic retinopathy stages is characterized by a balloon-like swelling in certain areas of the blood vessels in the retina called microaneurysms. This stage rarely affects vision or needs treatment, but it does signal diabetes damage has occurred and an increased risk of disease progression.
Another commonly misdiagnosed eye injury is central retinal vein occlusion. It's often confused with diabetic retinopathy as both conditions can lead to macular edema. However, central retinal vein occlusion or CRVO differs in spite of sharing similarities with diabetic retinopathy.
Of the 85 deceased diabetics in this series, the average lifespan after the onset of severe blindness due to diabetic retinopathy was 5.8 years. This suggests that the life expectancy of a diabetic is very poor after the onset of blindness due to severe retinopathy. 1.