Cataract Surgery Patient Story at NW Indiana Eye & Laser Center

Let me start off by saying that I don’t like going to doctors.  My vision was failing terribly so I decided to make an appointment.  I knew I had waited a very long time and kept putting it off.  Dr. Buck determined that I needed BOTH CATARACTS taken out.  With a lot of hesitation i scheduled the surgery and i am so happy that I did.  I can see things that I haven’t seen in years. Colors are brighter and I can finally play my weekly bridge game with confidence.  I am very happy with the quality of care I received from Dr. Buck and his staff.  

Diabetic Retinopathy Indicates Cardiovascular Event Risk

The presence and severity of diabetic retinopathy predicts the risk of future cardiovascular (CV) events such as stroke and heart attack.  In fact, there appears to be a close association! Researchers evaluated the relationship between diabetic retinopathy, its 4-year progression and CV outcomes including CV death or nonfatal myocardial infarction or stroke was analyzed in participants in the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) Trial who also participated in the ACCORD Eye Study. The diabetic retinopathy was classified as either none, mild, moderate, or severe and whether it was worsening was also graded. The hazard of CV death or nonfatal myocardial infarction or stroke increased by 38% for every category of change in retinopathy severity and steps of progression further raised the hazard. Thus the researchers believe that both the severity of retinopathy and its progression are determinants of predisposition to CV outcomes.

If you or someone you know has a question about diabetic retinopathy and future risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack or stroke, please feel free to call Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center at 219-464-8223, or visit Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center or facebook.com/nwindianaeyeandlaser.

Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center offices are located at 522 Marquette Street, Valparaiso, Indiana 46383 and 1001 South Edgewood Drive, Knox, Indiana 46354. 

Monitor Diabetic Retinopathy Carefully after Weight Loss Surgery

Diabetic patients having weight loss surgery and who have diabetic retinopathy need to have their eyes monitored carefully after surgery to determine any progression of their diabetic retinopathy-even if their blood sugar is normal! What does weight loss surgery have to do with diabeticretinopathy?

Researchers reporting at the American Diabetes Association on a small pilot study found weight-loss surgery might accelerate progression of diabetic retinopathy in some cases. In the study, seven of the 40 or 17.5% of the diabetes patients screened about a year before and again after bariatric surgery suffered a progression of their diabetic retinopathy as compared with the 2% to 4% of the overall diabetes patients who develop retinopathy each year. The opposite impact might have been expected. If you have a condition such as diabetic retinopathy that is the result of the diabetes and the diabetes is in remission, it makes intuitive sense that the progression of the condition would be arrested. Although a few patients did appear to have regression of their eye disease most remained unchanged after surgery in the study. 

The patients who did progress had higher pre-surgical glucose levels and the greatest reduction in glucose levels afterward. A rapid reduction in blood glucose after the weight loss surgery-which is called “normoglycemic re-entry” or a temporary anemic episode after the weight loss surgery may actually be responsible for in the progression of preexisting diabetic retinopathy, but the mechanism is really unclear and requires a great deal of further investigation.

One fact for sure-even if after weight loss surgery your blood glucose is normal, people with moderate background diabetic retinopathy prior to weight loss surgery should be monitored closely post-surgery for evidence of progression.

If you or someone you know has a question about diabetic retinopathy progression after weight loss surgery and the need for eye exams to monitor diabetic retinopathy progression, please feel free to call Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center at 219-464-8223, or visit Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center or facebook.com/nwindianaeyeandlaser.

Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center offices are located at 522 Marquette Street, Valparaiso, Indiana 46383 and 1001 South Edgewood Drive, Knox, Indiana 46354. 

Eye Exams for Diabetic Problems Help Decrease Vision Loss

Having regular eye exams for diabeticeye problems is an important part of decreasing the risk of vision loss from diabetes. Diabetes affects more than 25 million people in the U.S. with some 8 million people ages 40 and older suffering from diabetic retinopathy- a leading cause of new cases of blindness in adults 20-74 years of age. Although there is no cure for diabetic eye disease, annual eye exams for diabetes patients are essential to help slow the progression of the disease.

November is National Diabetic Eye Disease Awareness Month

There is a dramatic spike in diabetic retinopathy cases which appears to be a consequence of the diabetes epidemic that we are experiencing in the U.S. The vision loss from diabetic retinopathy can be prevented if it's caught early and treated in time with Vascular Endothelial Growth Inhibitor (VEGF) injections such as Lucentis® or Eyelea® and retinal laser treatment. The disturbing situation is that more than 30%of patients diagnosed with diabetes do not adhere to vision care guidelines recommending a dilated eye exam every year. As part of Diabetic Eye DiseaseAwareness Month we are urging people with diabetes to have a dilated eye exam every year. The longer a person has diabetes, the greater his or her risk for developing diabetic retinopathy. However, diabetic retinopathy does not only affect people who have had diabetes for many years, it can also appear within the first year or two after the onset of the disease.

Preventing Vision Loss from Diabetes

In addition to having regular eye examinations and testing at the direction of your eye doctor, patients can help to reduce the risk of developing diabetic eye disease  by not smoking, controlling their cholesterol and lipid profile and blood pressure, as well as working to eat a heart-healthy diet rich in fish, fruit and green leafy vegetables and exercising. 

If you or someone you know has diabetes or even elevated blood sugar levels they should work to prevent diabetic eye disease and problems with regular eye exams by calling Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center at 219-464-8223, or visit Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center or facebook.com/nwindianaeyeandlaser to schedule an appointment for an eye exam.

Northwest Indiana Eye & LaserCenter offices are located at 522 Marquette Street, Valparaiso, Indiana 46383 and 1001 South Edgewood Drive, Knox, Indiana 46354.