My wife's struggle with retinopathy and macular adema.

[strike]

I’m new here and don’t have Diabetes, but my wife does. She was diagnosed in her early teens and is now in her early 30’s. I won’t go details of how well or poorly she’s controlled it, I’ll just give you a little insight as to what she’s been going through for the last few months.

I am posting this in the hopes that it will shed some light on the complications of retinopathy, macular edema and the process involved with “laser therapy”. In other words, don’t let this happen to you! ;)


It was a beautiful summer night (June 24th 2005) as we sat on our deck scanning the sky for satellites; which was a favorite pastime of ours for years. Just after dusk my wife started complaining of black floaters in her right eye and within 20 minutes, the vision in her right eye was a mix of cloudy red and dark squiggles. I jumped online to try and diagnose what she had, while she called our Clinic’s 24 hour help line. It looked like she had some level of Retinopathy, just how bad was yet to be determined. With visions of retinal detachments in our head, we jumped in the car and headed to the emergency room.

As we sat waiting for the Ophthalmologist on call to show up I tried comforting her as best I could, but how do you comfort someone who could be in the process of going blind? Dr. 1 shows up in his scrubs, clearly woken up in the middle of the night, but with a great demeanor for someone in his position. He examined my wife’s eyes and came to the conclusion that both eyes were in the midst of proliferative retinopathy and slight macular edema (retinal swelling). He instructed her to sleep upright and then come in the next day for a closer examination. The next day came and her eye was still a bit cloudy but considerably clearer, which meant she was lucky...it was only a small hemorrhage. After the examination, Dr 1 scheduled another appointment in two days and instructed her to continue sleeping upright.

Appointment #2 and the right eye was fairly clear at this point. Dr 1 realizes that her eyes are a bit worse than they looked at first, so he suggests focal laser treatment as well as “scatter laser”. The focal laser takes care of the small hemorrhages near the center of the eye (towards the macula) while the scatter laser eats away at the oxygen starved portion of the retina around the outside. Unfortunately the scatter laser pretty much destroys a person’s peripheral vision, albeit a small portion at time.

Dr 1 suggests having Dr 2 perform the lasering, and so it begins. After a fluorescein angiogram, Dr 2 checks out the photos and then proceeds to put some focal laser into her right eye. She said it was fairly painless, but, the bright lights were uncomfortable because of the dilation. Dr 2 then hit her with the scatter (peripheral) laser, and according to my wife, he got about half way around before she couldn’t take the pain anymore. They stopped halfway through the peripheral laser of the right eye. The plan was to come back in a week (next Thursday) and put more laser in the right eye again; more focal and finish up the scatter/peripheral. During the week, she noticed that the vision in her right eye was blurrier than normal. Dr 2, said that this was a result of the macular edema (retinal swelling) and a normal occurrence with proliferative retinopathy.

When Wednesday rolled around, Dr 2 called my wife at work and said “your appointment is for tomorrow but we could get you in right now to finish up that right eye”. My wife was swamped at work and she would have had to line up a ride (dilation required) so she declined, knowing that she’d be going in the next day. An hour after that phone call, her right eye hemorrhaged again; only this wasn’t a small bleeder, it eventually took over a month for this one to clear up.

On Thursday, Dr 2 couldn’t see through the blood to get laser in to the right eye, so he then started working on my wife’s left eye with the same procedure; focal laser as well as the scatter/peripheral. Again, she left the laser room crying and in some serious pain from the peripheral laser. Dr 3 (a big wig) sat in on this session, instructing Dr 2 on what to do. Her next appointment was on Thursday of the next week.

Thursday rolled around and she got another dose of focal/peripheral in the left eye. At this point the left eye was finished and the next appointment, in two weeks, would be dependent on the right eye’s hemorrhage clearing up. Dr 3 sat in on this session as well. After this appointment, the retina in her left eye started to swell and everything got quite blurry, but with BS and BP control, we hoped the swelling would subside.

A week and a half later, later my wife’s left eye (the one that was finished) started hemorrhaging. She went in and there was too much new blood in the way to work on the left eye, so they checked out the right eye. The right eye was considerably clearer, so they put as much laser as they could in the right eye, focal only and instructed her to come back in one week. Dr 3 was there observing and giving Dr 2 specific instructions on what and where to laser.

The next appointment rolled around and Dr2 (with Dr 3’s instruction) put more laser into the right eye...focal as well as peripheral. Four days after that appointment, her right eye went completely blurry...worse than it ever had been. Fearing a retinal detachment, she called to see if she could get in right away. Dr 2 was on vacation until late October and Dr 3 was completely booked until Wednesday (10/5) of the next week.

So we went in yesterday and Dr 3 said that the right eye simply has macular edema, no cause for alarm, but he was concerned about her blood pressure which is at 120/88. The lower her BP, the less chance of hemorrhages AND her macular edema will decrease. So, armed with the goal to get her BP as low as possible, we left and she’ll be going back in a month. By that appointment it will be her 5th month of this. If her right eye hasn't cleared up by then, she'll probably just bite the bullet and opt for a vitrectomy.


So, that’s her eye story, from the beginning to now....sorry if it’s wordy and hard to follow in places; so much has happened over the last few months that things tend to blend together. While her vision will never be the same again, we're just glad her retina(s) didn't detach. The Dr's say that it takes about 4 months to see the results of the laser therapy, decent vision for my wife would be a great X-Mas present :santaclau .

[Cinnabon]

Hello...
If you read up on my story it is much like your wife's. I am scheduled for a little more treatment just on the left eye, the eye that was in worst shape. I know EXACTLY how your wife felt. It is EXTREMELY uncomfortable and it is painful. One thing I did notice that your wife never recieved was a KENELOG shot. This helped me out greatly, expecially with the macular edema. My right eye's process, that was the 1st thing they did and the improvement was incredible and the hemmorages did stop. I think you will have that Xmas gift you so much want.

[am1977]

Wow, sounds like a rough experience! I'm sorry that your wife and yourself had to go through all that, but I'm glad you decided to share your story with us. It could help some of us who are struggling with managing our diabetes work a little harder to get control. The rough thing about this disease is it's very easy to live in denial, b/c complications usually aren't seen til down the line. THe unfortunate thing is by the time there are complications, it's too late. The damage can't be reversed.

I give you and your wife a lot of credit...this kind of experience can be very hard, but you are both giving your all to get through it. Your wife is very lucky to have you supporting her, I can tell you care very much about her. I'm sure with your continued support, she will get through this.

Again, thanks for reminding us how important taking care of our health is and please feel free to drop in anytime. We're all interested in hearing how she is doing.

Keep fighting!

[strike]

A crazy update...my wife drove to work yesterday! :driver: According to her latest vision test during the opthamology appointment on Wednesday she has 20/60 vision in her left/good eye and it’s getting better/clearer every day.

Because I was VERY skeptical that she could see that well, I gave her a makeshift vision test while we were in the car (I was driving at the time). I would say ”what does that street sign say?”, “what does that billboard say?”, “what kind of car is that?”. Since they doubled her dose of BP meds to a whole pill instead of a half, her vision in her left eye has cleared up considerably. They upped her BP dosage about two weeks ago, so hopefully things will continue to improve in that department.

The roads she drives to work on don’t exceed 35mph, but just out of curiosity (and fear of insurance issues), I looked up the MN vision requirements for driving and found the following:

Minnesota
Visual Acuity:
20/40 in the better eye, with/without corrective lenses.
20/70 in the better eye with restrictions on speed limit.
When visual acuity is 20/80 or up to, but not including 20/100, applicant referred to driver evaluation unit.
20/100 in the better eye: license denied.
Visual Field:
Horizontal field of vision 105 degrees.
Horizontal field of vision of less than 105 degrees: possible with restrictions.

While her horizontal field of vision is less than 180, it is much wider than the required 105 degrees, so luckily that’s not a problem. Now we're hoping that the right eye starts clearing up soon. :captain:


Cinnabon - Your threads are what prompted me to start this particular thread, in the hopes that others will realize just how important BS and BP control are to Diabetics. In regards to the KENELOG shot, we’ll have to ask the Dr. about this...it makes me curious as to why they didn’t give this to us as an option/treatment?


am1977 – Thanks for the kind words. I’m just glad there are forums like this, where people can come to ask questions and receive knowledgeable and straight forward answers.

[Cinnabon]

Thank you for that early smile!!!
I am VERY happy for bothe of you and her improvement sounds tremendous!!!
:congrats:
Keep us updated!!

Bog hugs to both of you!

[strike]

An update...

Well, it appears as if the edema (swelling) in her right is has gone down quite a bit over the last week or so and things aren't nearly as blurry...so, of course, that's good news.

She has another appointment at the end of the month, so we'll just keep our fingers crossed that nothing happens before then. Pending any new bleeding, they'll want to do more lasering during that appointment, so she has that to look forward to LOL.

[Cinnabon]

THat sounds GREAT!

I feel for her on the upcoming Lasers :eek: , I'm headed for that in a few weeks. Tomorrow I will get a Kenalog in the Left eye which will help w/ the swelling. I wish you both luck and it sounds like things are turning our GREAT!!! :top:

[KickStart101]

An update...
Well, it appears as if the edema (swelling) in her right is has gone down quite a bit over the last week or so and things aren't nearly as blurry...so, of course, that's good news.
She has another appointment at the end of the month, so we'll just keep our fingers crossed that nothing happens before then. Pending any new bleeding, they'll want to do more lasering during that appointment, so she has that to look forward to LOL.

Well, that is Welcome news. :) Good to hear. We will Definitely keep our
fingers crossed for her and a couple prayers for good results won't hurt
any either. Wishing the best for her and you also. :flowers:

[strike]

It's been a while since I last posted, so here's a short update.

She finally got a complete check up two weeks ago, :nurse: multiple fasting blood tests, 24-hr urine test, 24-hr blood pressure test, sonograms on multiple organs (heart, kidneys etc) and other tests that I can't recall at this moment. It turns out that she has an underactive thyroid, should not be eating foods high in phosporous or potassium, needs to control her blood pressure better (different meds) and who knows what else. Needless to say, she's starting to feel much better with her new meds.

Now on to the eyes...

LEFT EYE:
Her left eye had been getting better, fewer vessels bursting and on top of that, she had a Kenalog (http://www.retinadoc.com/admin/display_whats_new_distinct.asp?ID=257) shot in her left eye which reduced the retinal swelling greatly! Her vision was up to 20/40 in her left eye, but, unfortunately she had a small vessel burst a month ago. Luckily it's been slowly clearing up and has she has since received additional laser since the burst.

RIGHT EYE:
This was the original "bad eye" and has been the major problem from the middle of Summer up until present. Since early November, it seems like vessels have been constantly bursting and her eye hasn't cleared up at all.

That being said, she goes in for a vitrectomy (http://www.vrmny.com/vitrectomy.htm) on her right eye tomorrow (Wednesday). They plan on doing the vitrectomy (http://www.vrmny.com/vitrectomy.htm), lasering and giving her a Kenalog (http://www.retinadoc.com/admin/display_whats_new_distinct.asp?ID=257) shot in the retina, all while she's under general anesthesia.

Her retina isn't detached (http://www.eyemdlink.com/EyeProcedure.asp?EyeProcedureID=52), so hopefully it will stay intact through the surgery. If not, they'll have to add a retinal attachment to the list above LOL.

I'll try to keep you posted on how things go.:smile:

[am1977]

Hope the procedure goes well and is over before she knows it. Do keep us posted with how things go. :)

All the best :)

[Cinnabon]

Strike thanks for the update. I also am having the problem in my right eye again, I just had another Kenalog last Friday and soon to come, the Lasers. Keep us updated and we wish you both the best!! (Big hugs to u both!)

[KickStart101]

Hey Strike: Wow, you and your Wife have surely been going through
a scary and frustrating time. As you say at least the retina didn't detach.
We do hope and pray that the Doctors are successful in in your Wife's
procedure tomorrow. Geez, they can afford to put people on the moon
but they can't afford to find ways that are less barbaric(sp) in treating
people during procedures and operations.
Yes, I have underactive thyroid also but I have low potassium. Many
people on here have Hyper or Hypothyroidism.
Please come back with Good News. :top: :)

[strike]

She had the surgery on Wednesday and everything went well, especially, no detached retina. We went in to see the Dr. on Thursday morning (the day after), she said that everything looked great. She prescribed a few different drops and an ointment to be put directly on the eye a few times per day. Aside from some intense stinging, which is apparently a result of the sutures), the pain doesn’t seem too bad.

Her right eye (the one they “vitrectomized”) is at 20/150, much better than not being able to see any light at all. It’s my understanding that they put a lot of laser into her right eye while she was under, so her retina has been pretty traumatized. Combine that with the fact that there’s a big glob of steroids sliding down the back of her eye and 20/150 sounds pretty darn good LOL. Now comes the real test; trying to keep her BS and BP on an even keel.

The thing she’s having the hardest time with right now is the after effects of the anesthesia. More than twenty-four hours later and she’s still really groggy/lethargic, having a hard time walking normally. I’m hoping that tomorrow she’ll start coming out of that, I plan on getting her out walking as soon as she can.

Hmm, what else.

The surgery took a total of 1.5 hours. She believes that they had to give her ether because she wasn’t responding to the normal anesthesia. That would probably explain why she’s having a hard time with it now. I don’t think I could have surgery like that with only a local. People sticking things into my eyeball, me having to hold my eye still for 1.5 hours? Ugh, that’s not for me.

Her left eye is up to 20/40, so the steroids (injected into the side of her eye, not directly inside it) are apparently doing a great job.

She goes back in a week to have her right eye looked at. Hopefully I’ll have some more good news then.

[Cinnabon]

AWESOME NEWS!!!!
That is REALLY good to here Strike. I hope your wife gets back to feeling soon. You are one GREAT hubby!!!!

Thanks for sharing your wife's story! It really means a lot.

[strike]

Thanks Cinn, it helps knowing that people are reading my posts. I'm so glad I could make a little contribution to the forum.

I have a few reasons for posting my wife's story on here.

1. To show everyone just how important it is to keep your BS & BP under control. Type 1 isn't a joke, it can happen to you!

2. For those facing the long path that is diabetic retinopathy, I'm hoping to give them an idea of what to expect from the process. To try and provide a real life account of the process from start to...well...to the present. Cinn, you've done a fantastic job of this as well, hopefully more people who undergo the process will create threads.

3. As a non-diabetic, this is a way for me to get it all off my chest I guess. As a spouse, I know I have it easy compared to my wife, but things can get a bit tense around the house. Working nights, I sometimes have to stay up most of the day, driving my dilated wife around to her appointments, picking up the kid from school, catching sleep when I can. This is a nice way to unload everything I know about it and just leave it here.

Anyway, I'll report as I get more info.

[am1977]

I'm also thrilled to hear that things are going well for your wife :top:... I'm sure it wasn't easy to go through for both her and yourself. She's lucky to have such a supportive spouse :smile:

Please continue to keep us updated...

Best wishes :ciao:

[KickStart101]

Hey Strike. Thanks alot for keeping us up-dated. I'm glad that's done
and she seems to be coming out of it with decent results. I'm glad the
steroids are working good for her. I was on steroids for RA, but I couldn't
stay on them long due to my sugars going too high and hard to get back
down. Is this the same case for her? Thanks much for being there for her.
I know it's hard on all of you. Keep up the Good Job. :top:

[strike]

Well, things have taken a turn for the worst I fear.

We went into her Doc appt. on Thursday morning and everything looked great, he eye pressure was good, but she was a bit groggy. Thursday night she started getting nauseous. Friday morning she started vomiting every 2 hours or so. I called her Dr/Surgeon's office but the Doc was in the middle of a surgery. She called back 45 minutes later and I told her what was happening. She said that it could be caused by high pressure in her eye and that she would suggest going to the emergency room to have it checked. My wife is stubborn and hates doctors, so we didn't go in.

Eventually the vomiting subsided and diahrrea took over.

By Saturday morning the diahrrea stopped and she started feeling better.

Saturday night, she started feeling nauseous again.

At 3AM this morning (Sunday morning) we were debating whether or not she should go into the Emergency room, she declined and decided that she wanted to try to sleep. Seeing as how she hasn't slept for more than 1 hour at a crack, I agreed.

Now she's sleeping and hopefully starting to feel better.

I don't know if this was caused by the pressure in her eye, or if she caught a flu bug while in for her surgery. Either way it sucks.

One thing that really sucks...while she was violently vomiting, a blood vessel burst in her left eye. She has an appt next Thursday, so we'll see.

[Cinnabon]

Strike I am so sorry you are going through this w/ your wife. Hopefully nothing worsened her eye. How has her blood sugar been through this naseau and vomiting/diarrhea?


PLEASE keep us posted.

[strike]

Well after the nausea and a mild headache (5 on a scale of 1-10) became too much, I finally convinced my wife to go to the emergency room later Sunday morning and oh boy, what fun that was. All we wanted to know was...is the vomiting/nausea caused by high pressure in the eye or not. After talking to three or four different nurses, all asking the same questions, the ERoom doctor finally showed up. I’m not sure if he read any of the information that my wife gave the nurses because he stuck his head in and said, kind of arrogantly in my opinion “sounds like a migraine...”. If looks could kill, my wife would have thrown a thousand daggers at his head when she said “ummm...no...I had a vitrectomy on Wednesday, I’m nauseated with a slight headache and I want the on call ophthalmologist to check the pressure in my eye. He then grabbed her file and said...”ok I’ll check this out and be back in a few minutes.” He came back and was very sympathetic, doing the “oh where does it hurt” and “we need to get you on an I.V. and run some tests. My wife said “no, I don’t want an IV, I just want to see the ophthalmologist and have the pressure in my eyes checked.” He was pretty taken aback at this and apparently wasn’t prepared to have a patient tell him what to do. Another, much nicer doctor came in, trying to convince her to have tests and an IV but she again refused. I admit that she was pretty dehydrated and could have used the IV, I even encouraged her to have one, but she didn't want anything to do with it.

One thing that made the trip to the emergency room much more bearable was the fact that the on call ophthalmologist was again, none other than Dr. #1 (from my first post in this thread). I have to say that Dr. 1 is the best doctor I have ever encountered. Other than a great bedside manner (I hate that term, but it fits), he tells us exactly what’s happening. He doesn’t mince words, doesn’t keep information from us, he’s open, honest and the doesn’t let you walk out the door wondering “what did he say?”. When he types his notes regarding what has transpired during the appointment, he speaks exactly what he is typing. What I’m trying to say is, he’s a nice guy and doesn’t fill you full of BS.

After all was said and done, the pressure in her right eye was normal and Dr 1. said that he couldn’t see any blood in her left eye anymore. Dr. 1 even went so far as to call the surgeon that did the Vitrectomy...on a Sunday morning, just to let her know that my wife was in the ER! It’s nice to know that people like that still exist in this day and age.

Anyway, I took a picture of my wife’s eye tonight. It’s actually better than it was a few days ago, but let me warn you, it’s not for the faint of heart!

Vitrectomy Image (http://quadrajet.smugmug.com/photos/53672359-O.jpg)

[strike]

Strike I am so sorry you are going through this w/ your wife. Hopefully nothing worsened her eye. How has her blood sugar been through this naseau and vomiting/diarrhea?


PLEASE keep us posted.

Thanks for the support Cinn. Her blood sugar has been running between 150 and 70, which I think is pretty good considering she was bouncing between eating nothing and fighting bottoming out. But then again, I'm not a diabetic, so I can't speak from experience.

[lgvincent]

I feel so very bad that your wife is having such a hard time with this. I do hope things will quickly improve for her.

[strike]

I feel so very bad that your wife is having such a hard time with this. I do hope things will quickly improve for her.

Thanks, I'm sure they will. At least now she's starting with a clean slate in her right eye, so things are looking up. Now comes the hard part, keeping the BS tight and the BP low.

[Cinnabon]

You are one GREAT spouse!!! Hands down to you!
I thank you and appreciate your posts SO MUCH!
SHe seems to have GREAT control. Keep us posted on her recovery!!!

[am1977]

Thanks again for the update... I hope things improve from here and that she starts feeling better :)

ALL the BEST to you BOTH :top:

[strike]

Things have been going rather well over the last couple of weeks. My Wife’s right eye seems to be recovering quickly after her Vitrectomy. Her vision still isn’t what it could be, but it’s slowly getting better.

Her left eye is the big story though; it’s been getting better and better every week. The last time we were at the Ophthalmologist, her vision was 20/35, but this morning I would probably have to put her vision close to 20/25! This is fantastic, considering 2 months ago it was barely 20/150. She has plans to drive to a friend’s house and stay overnight, something she could have never done 5 months ago...or even 1 month ago. Her computer monitor’s settings are back to normal (no huge fonts) and she’s even driving at night without a problem. Of course driving in snow and rain isn’t easy, but things have improved a LOT in a short period of time. Like I said, this morning, the vision in her left eye was the best it’s been for 7 months...until this afternoon.

This afternoon, she had a huge hemorrhage in her left eye, so bad that she can barely see light through all the blood. At the time of this post, her left eye is now worse than her right eye (the bad one) ever was. All this progress, gone in an instant. This has completely shattered her resolve; she can’t believe how good she felt this morning and how horrible she feels now. This morning, she could see herself in the mirror, do her own hair and actually put on some makeup. Now she can barely see light, can’t drive and can barely tell if her computer monitor is on or off.

The last time we were in to see the Ophthalmologist, he said that the left eye looked good and that he wouldn’t need to do any lasering for a while. He is the head of the department, so I trust that he wouldn’t BS us about something this serious. Her sugars and blood pressure have been on an even keel, she’s been taking all the medication that her other specialists have prescribed. I don’t know why it happened, but it did.

She has resigned herself to the fact that she will now need a Vitrectomy in her left eye as well. “There’s no way that this is going to clear up, there’s just too much blood” she says. Well, if that’s what has to be done, then I guess there’s no choice. I just remember how horrible her recovery was from the last one, I’m sure that she isn’t looking forward to that and quite rankly, neither am I.

Hopefully she can get in to see the Dr. soon, I’ll try to update as I get info.

[Cinnabon]

Strike,
I am so sorry this has happened. Big hugs for you and your wife. Thank you so much for keeping us updated. Were they able to tell you something as to why this happened, she was feeling so much better of her eye and then.. BANG! gone in a second.

[strike]

Thanks for the concern, she's going in to see the Ophtalmologist toda, we'll see what he has to say today I suppose. I'm sure they wont have a reason why it happened, I guess at this point it doesn't really matter (although it would be nice to know).

[Cinnabon]

Yes it would. Let us know if you get a chance. WIsh you the best of luck.

[strike]

Just got back from the Dr's office. He didn't tell us why her left eye hemorrhaged and we didn't ask. He did an ultrasound on the retina just to make sure it wasn't detached (it isn't). He gave her the two most logical choices; either wait a couple of weeks to see if it clears up, or talk to the surgeon about a Vitrectomy in the left eye. We decided we’d wait a couple of weeks, if it hasn’t cleared up substantially, she’ll look into another Vitrectomy.

Her vision right now is as follows (with her glasses on):
Left eye – Can’t see they big E that they hold in front of your eye.
Right eye – 20/150 without the “holes” up, 20/40 with the “holes” down.

She goes in to see the surgeon on the 28th anyway, so she’ll discuss everything with her then. Things are looking promising in the right eye, especially looking through the holes. That means that hopefully, with the right prescription she’ll be able to see 20/40 or better all the time in her right eye.

Ok, that’s all I have for now! Keep those BS's low!! :D

Oh and BTW, I honestly think that my wife brought the hemorrhage on herself. Earlier in the day of the hemorrage, she was lifting a TV out of her car...something that she probably shouldn't have been doing. She doesn't think that, that was the cause, but I do. That's kind of the reason I didn't chime in at the Dr's with "oh BTW, she was lifting a TV 30 min before this happened". I know better than that. ;)

[Cinnabon]

Well that was ok...
Did you punish her? put her in time out? LOL
sometimes we tend to think that were back to normal. THank you and keep up posted ;)

[strike]

Yeah, she was thinking "everything is back to normal" when she should have still been taking it easy.

Ever since this recent hemorrhage in her left eye, she has been under the impression that the macular adema had returned. The reason for this was, not only did she see blood, but additionally, everything was severely out of focus (the trademark of macular adema).

This evening, she was washing her hands in the sink and tilted her head down to look at her hands when all of a sudden...she had a circle of absolutely clear vision in the center of her eye. She described it as follows- “kind of like when you put a drop of dish soap into incredibly dirty water...how a ring of clarity occurs on the surface of the water”. She grabbed a shampoo bottle and read the small print on the back of it! Then when she looked up (in the mirror) it was bloody/blurry again. She looked down and it was clear. Anyway, that proves to us that she has no macular adema, which is a huge relief. Now if she can just get the blood to go away, things will be great.

Eh, that’s what happened tonight, who knows what tomorrow will bring!

[vvti-le]

Thanks Strike for the info. My father is a T2 like myself and unforunatley he is an example of what a diabetic shouldn't do. From what I seen happen to him I learn from his mistakes and see living proof of diabetic complications. My father had 2 strokes with the second being the serious one. His right eye has a detached retina and his left eye had Vitrectomy surgery. He now needs to take a pressure relief medication for the eye called Xalatan in his left eye. Last September is when my father started hemodialysis. A hemodialysis center is a depressing place to visit to see patients hooked up to a machine to cleanse the blood for an average of 3-1/2 hours, 3 days a week. Diabetes cannot be taken lightly as my father took it and hope everyone with Diabetes gets the right information and education about this serious chronic disease.

[sydneya]

Strike, I am so sorry for what you and your wife ihave been going through. I've been reading since October, but realize I've never offered my support. Probably because I have not had to deal with eye problems and didn't have any input. When things go on and on it gets discouraging. I am sorry that I have not responded before this. I bet you feel that you are :banghead:

I do want to pat you on your back, Strike, for being such a wonderful support and helpmate to your wife. Hope things clear up soon for her and you can have a little peace in this interesting world with this ever changing disease. Hopefully "tomarrow will bring" an eye clearing up and more of an ability to read the shampoo bottle. :cool:

[Dewey]

Strike, I'm sorry to hear your wife has been having a difficult time with this. :( Please know that you're both in our thoughts and prayers.

I really want to thank you for sharing your wife's & your experiences. It's good that others can learn about what is done, so they might know what to expect, and may not be afraid if/when they have to go through it. I know each person's experiences will vary, but it's good to hear of one another's.

[strike]

Her eye that had the vitrectomy (right) seems to be getting better every day. Her left eye is still bloody and she can see nothing but light and dark shapes. She's starting to come to the realization that she may need a vitrectomy in her left eye as well. Not looking forward to that, but if it has to be done, then...well she'd better do it. I'll update if anything new happens.

Thanks again for the thoughtful words, it is appreciated! :D

[gettingby]

Please do keep us posted Strike. I am so sorry for what you and your wife are having to go through. She is a very lucky woman to have a spouse who takes such loving care of her. You both are in my prayers today and everyday.:)

[strike]

My Wife's vision continues to improve in her right eye (the eye she had the Vitrectomy in). Yesterday she went to our Clinic's Optomitrist to have her vision checked and fitted for a Tri-Focal lens in the right side of her glasses. Of course her perscription will change in the future, but she wants to be able to see better now!

She said that when they put the contraption on her, she was seeing at 20/16...it was the clearest she has ever seen in her life...she couldn't believe it. It was nice to hear her get so excited about seeing clearly! Unfortunately, her new lens doesn't come in for two weeks. Oh well, good things take time I guess.

Her left eye is still quite bloody, but she says that when she wakes up in the morning, after the blood has settled, she can actually see out of it. Hopefully it clears up more because we go in to see the Surgeon on the 29th to discuss a possible Vitrectomy in the left eye.

[Cinnabon]

Glad to see she is doing better. I am as anxious about that left eye as you and her are.. LOL. I guess because I am going through this too. Please keep us informed, cause you do a great job at reporting back to us... :hello:

[strike]

She was supposed to have surgery (vitrectomy) today, but she had the flu for the past week and is just getting over it. The Dr. didn't want her having a coughing fit in the middle of the proceedure (or afterwards...sutures you know), so they postponed it till next Wednesday. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Have a good day and watch your BS!!! ;)

[KickStart101]

Hi Strike: AHHHH, I'm really sorry to hear that your Wife has the flu
and thus missed her operation. I can certainly understand though,
those coughs can be very disruptive and/or damaging to any procedure and
sutures. I remember after I had my second c-section, I managed to get
pnemonia and split the end quarter of the incision open which had been
close to healed. Not impressed.
I sure hope this procedure turns out for her and you on Wednesday
and that her flu is all gone. Best Wishes. Keep us posted. Thanks. :)

[Tokyo Cate]

Thank you strike. I do fear the white cane club. I honestly believe that I will be a member someday, but I hope that is old school thinking--I have had pretty advanced treatments (with never fewer than four blood sugar tests per day) for the entire time I have struggled with this monster and hope that I can safely avoid that complication. It is really important to have annual examinations with an ophthalmologist so that any signs of trouble are recognized early.

[Cinnabon]

Everyhthing happens for a reason. I really do hope that everything turns out well. You always keep us all posted, so I need to say no more, lol.

I hope she feels better quickly.

[strike]

Well, she goes in Wednesday at 6:30 AM. They try to get diabetics in first since they have to fast all night/morning. Of course I'll let you know how things turn out.

[Cinnabon]

We will be here waiting.....

[gettingby]

Hang in there Strike and Wife. Your forums family is here for you !!!!!!!
Brighter days are coming !!!!!!!!

[strike]

Since she was already through this once, I simply dropped her off at the door, then went home to sleep (I work nights). She was supposed to be there at 6:30AM, they got her into the operating room by around 8:30AM. They called me at home around 1:00PM to let me know she was done.

She said that this experience was a complete 180 from the last one. She talked to two anestheologists and they assured her that she wouldn't be nauseous afterward...and she wasn't. After the first surgery, she couldn't keep down saltines and water, after this one, she ate a big mac and fries! Yeah, I know...not good for you, but you try not eating for 15 hours. :D

Last night, she even got in some time in on her latest interest, the online role playing game, World of Warcraft. Of course she was only looking through her "good eye" but that's all she's been looking through for the last month or so anyway.

Honestly, this went 100% better than the last surgery & I have a feeling that her recovery time will be much quicker this time. Time will tell.

Today we go in at 7:30AM to have the guard removed and then the surgeon will check her eye out. I am expecting things to go swimmingly, but we'll still keep our fingers crossed.

[am1977]

Sounds like things went a lot better this time :) I'm so glad that things went so much smoother:). Hopefully, her vision will continue to improve from here and there won't be problems any time soon.

All the best :)

[strike]

Yup, the Doc said that everything looked great, inside and out. She had steroids injected onto the back of this eye as well, so hopefully any of the macular adema she had will be going down soon. I'm not entirely sure how well she can see out of the eye yet. First thing during the appointment, the nurse had her try to read the eye chart, but it was really painful to open and it was all she could do to read anything below 20/200 without having to close her eye. They did eventually put a numbing drop in so they could check the pressure and then examine the eye/retina.

If you remember the picture I posted from the first surgery, her eye looked really bad (lots of blood in the sclera), while the outward appearance of blood has nothing to do with her vision, the horrible way it looked was actually a plus. People would see her eye and have sympathy for her, they'd remember that she can't see very well. This time it simply looks bloodshot, so people at work will probably expect her to jump right in and start working up a storm on Monday. Oh well, she can always show them the sutures in her eye lol.

[KickStart101]

Good, I'm so glad that she was able to get the procedure on her eye done finally. So it sounds like it went well. I do remember that picture of her eye. That was BAD alright. Happy to hear it's much better although I hope she makes sure not to strain her eye at work or home, so it doesn't cause
complications. I'm surprised her Doc didn't give her a note for her work enabling her to take a few days off anyways. Well, I hope her eye heals well so she will have decent sight again. Good for her and you. Thanks for the update. :)

[strike]

Well, she had the surgery on Wednesday and went back to work on Monday. Honestly, she was only seeing well through her right eye before, so now it's isn't any worse. Unfortunately, she's getting double vision when she looks through both, so she attempts to keep her left eye closed until it's healed more. She's driving to work, driving home, playing World of Warcraft...she's getting along quite well.

She was seeing floaters in her right (good) eye last weekend so she had the Dr. take a look at them. They were simply stuff left over from her previous vitrectomy and should eventually be reabsorbed by the eye. Her right eye still looks great according to the Dr.

Back when she was always looking through only one eye, she'd be talking to me and I'd say "I knowz you luvz me cuz yer lookin' at me with yer good eye". I'm going to miss saying that to herl, well ok, not really lol :D

[strike]

I knew things were going too well...

Yesterday my wife came home from work and said..."these floaters in my right eye are getting worse and my vision is starting to get blurry". Our diagnosis, Macular Adema, which isn't nearly as bad as a burst blood vessel, but still not cool. I took her blood pressure and it was really high, much higher than it had been for a while and WAY higher than it was supposed to be (to prevent macular adema).

Right now we're waiting on a call from the Dr. to see if she can get in today and have him look at her eye. I'm sure there's nothing he can do, other than giving her another shot of steroids and saying "keep your blood pressure really low!!".

She was just starting to get into the swing of things again at work and playing her World of Warcraft game (the only hobby she has LOVED since I met her 10 years ago). She's pretty bummed about this development and so am I.

I told her a few months ago "ya know, you should have an Opthalmology appointment scheduled EVERY WEEK, to avoid major setbacks like burst vessels". She agreed, now she agrees with that statement even more. We'll see what the doctor says.

[BriOnH]

Strike, Thank you for sharing your story. I am so sorry your wife has to go through this. I hope a good recovery comes out of this soon.

[strike]

Well, the doc said that it isn't macular edema but a small hemmhorage. She's experienced these in the past and it should hopefully clear up in a couple of days. I guess the question is, why did it happen? Everything was supposed to be cleaned up and as far as I know, her sugars haven't been high lately.

She goes back in on the 26th to have them looked at again, so we'll see what transpires between now and then.

[Cinnabon]

Sorry to hear of this. I know how bad these eye shots are, but they do work. Did u mean her Blood pressure or the pressure in her eye? keep us updated when u can. big hugs!!!1

[strike]

I meant blood pressure, it can cause the tiny (new) rogue vessels to burst due to the vessel's weakness.

She didn't get another shot, just reassurance that her eyes were fine and that this was a minor setback. I hope he's right lol.

Today she said her eye was starting to clear up a bit, so things are looking up. I AM going to hound her about her blood pressure though, I think that some sort of relaxation class would help her a lot. When she wore her 24 hour blood pressure monitor, her PB went up significantly during work hours, so if she can learn to relax it might help.

[sydneya]

I'm so sorry for your wife's eye/BP problems, Strike. Glad things are looking up again. A relaxation class is probaby a good idea. It does seem that people are born hyper or emotionless though.
Watch yourself, too. It's harder for me when my husband has a problem than if I do. :D

[strike]

Just an update, things are still going well. She had a small bleeder a month ago, but it cleared up within a week. The Dr. said that everything looked good, nothing major on the horizon.

Hopefully she'll soon be able to get her 2nd lens for her glasses...then her vision should be better than it has ever been.

I hope I'm not jinxing her by posting this lol. :vroam:

[Georgia]

That's great news to hear :top:

[Cinnabon]

I hope I'm not jinxing her by posting this lol. :vroam:

So HAPPY 2 Hear this!!!
Just think that it is only "get Better and Good" thoughts head your way from us...
BIG HUGS for both of u!

[strike]

Yesterday my wife was really sick, violently vomiting type sick. She thinks it was from the various medications she's taking, but it only happens once in a while, probably once a month or so and only lasts a day, so it's hard to pin down. Anyway, during a vomiting fit, a vessel in her right eye burst and now it's completely cloudy and she can see blood in there, so yeah, it's pretty bad.

I'm not superstious or anything but...the jinx (which I was joking about) was quite the coincidence lol. :banghead:

[Yvonne Burns]

Hi!
Your wife should not HAVE to endure vomiting that violently even once a month. It is too hard on the body. Do you think that maybe the medications she is taking are a bad combination? Sometimes a good source, for finding out about drug interactions, is the pharmacist. I have found that they can be more knowledgeable than physicians when it comes to medications.
Does she ever take them on an empty stomach (I have thrown up from doing this)?
She is very lucky to have such a caring and involved mate. I will pray for both of you.--Yvonne

[Cinnabon]

Strike, I am so sorry this happened again. Dont think it was a jinx, I can understand, but dont think like that. The comment made by Yvonne, about her medications being too strong, is quite true, You might want to look into this. Please keep us posted and I hope she gets better quickly...

[KickStart101]

I'm sad to hear that Strike. I sure hope that it clears up cause
she sure doesn't need that problem on top. How are her sugars doing?
I'm sure glad that you are on top of things. :) Take Care and GOOD LUCK.

[strike]

Thanks for all the advice.

I agree, I think she should talk to both her doctor and the pharmacy about the combination of medications and indeed, some may be too strong.

Cinn, I am NOT supersitious and have never believed in a jinx...I certainly wont start now lol. It's purely coincidence. ;)

Her sugars have actually been pretty good, fairly steady and occasionally it gets above 200 (usually after she digs herself out of a low), but she nips that in the bud right away.

*steps onto soapbox*

This just cements for me what I've been saying all along, she needs to go in at LEAST once every two weeks to have the Dr. look at her retina and laser anything that looks suspicious. I mean, this is serous...if she loses her left eye, she can't work, drive, read, play video games, do her hair etc...she can't do ANYTHING. IMHO, something as important as your vision is worth going in twice a month for preventative maintenance.

*steps off soapbox*

That being said, she has a pretty good attitude despite having the vision in her right eye go from bad to none, to great to none, to good to none. Errr it's so frustrating to see all the forward progress move right back to square one, but we'll get through it...it's been going on for almost a year so we're getting used to it.

[Georgia]

This just cements for me what I've been saying all along, she needs to go in at LEAST once every two weeks to have the Dr. look at her retina and laser anything that looks suspicious. I mean, this is serous...if she loses her left eye, she can't work, drive, read, play video games, do her hair etc...she can't do ANYTHING. IMHO, something as important as your vision is worth going in twice a month for preventative maintenance.

Have you discussed this with the doctor?

I am sorry that this has happened & I really hope there is better news round the corner for her (& you). Take care.

[Cinnabon]

Strike,,
I know the feeling. They just found some leaking blood in my right eye, it will be "lasered" on Friday. It iss kinda draining back and forth, but I SO agree with you on having them checjed as much as possible. Please, recieve a BIG hug from me and you give her one as well!!!...
You do a GREAT job on leeping us posted, Thank you!

[strike]

So I overheard my wife talking to her Mother on the phone yesterday and she said "it's not so bad...it's just kind of blurry", I said "what? I thought you said that there was blood in there?". She said "well it was kind of brown at first, but it's starting to clear up"...so apparently it's not as bad as I had originally reported. Just an update. :)

[Cinnabon]

Real good to hear!!!

[Georgia]

That's great news :)

[Cinnabon]

Strike , if you get this message, please contact me, I need a lot of help and advise, please!

[sydneya]

Just an update, things are still going well. She had a small bleeder a month ago, but it cleared up within a week. The Dr. said that everything looked good, nothing major on the horizon.

Hopefully she'll soon be able to get her 2nd lens for her glasses...then her vision should be better than it has ever been.

I hope I'm not jinxing her by posting this lol. :vroam:

I believe that good thoughts bring good results so I'll add my good thoughts and prayers. Jinxing is not reality. Keep up the good thoughts and let us know how things are going.

[BriOnH]

...if she loses her left eye, she can't work, drive, read, play video games, do her hair etc...she can't do ANYTHING.

Why? Lots of people with one eye do those things, and do them quite well. I have a friend that has one eye, and you would never know differently if he didn't tell you. The glass eye he has is incredible, as far as looks go.

That said, I don't want to diminish the agony that your wife has to go through. It's not fair. I always tell my mom things are better then they are just to spare her a mothers worry.

[strike]

Why? Lots of people with one eye do those things, and do them quite well.

Because at the time I had written that, she was completely blind in her right eye...we didn't want the left eye to go also.

[strike]

Strike , if you get this message, please contact me, I need a lot of help and advise, please!

I shot you a PM.

[lgvincent]

I feel badly for your wife. I wish I knew of some way to help.

[strike]

I feel badly for your wife. I wish I knew of some way to help.

Thanks, but don't worry...things are going a lot better right now. Her right eye is clearing quite a bit and she's in much better spirits again. She'll be going in to see the Dr soon, so we'll see whats going on.

[Yvonne Burns]

Dear Spike, I am so glad to hear that she is better!
May we ALL:itsme: :biggrin: :D experience good health!
--Yvonne

[JMax745]

Hi, Guys,

For some reason, I didn't bother going to an ophthamologist when I was first diagnosed. I guess because so many of my family members had diabetes and never had eye trouble, I didn't think of it.

I woke up one morning with no sight whatsoever in my left eye. I immediately called my eye doctor, but before the appointment, my sight came back. The doctor examined me, said I was fine, and I went home. Within the week, the sight in that eye had gone again, and this time for good. Then I found out the eye doctor "missed something" by his own admission. Gee, thanks, Doc!

I went to an ophthamologist, who stuck needles in my eye once a week for two weeks, which did absolutely nothing, so here I sit, half blind. I'm just praying the other eye keeps working. I now have an opthamologist whom I see regularly, and he said I lost the sight of my left eye due to edema, glaucoma, and the beginnings of a cataract! Triple threat!! It'd be just my luck to go blind, and have peripheral neuropathy so I can't read Braille!

Joyce

[KickStart101]

Hi, Guys,
For some reason, I didn't bother going to an ophthamologist when I was first diagnosed. I guess because so many of my family members had diabetes and never had eye trouble, I didn't think of it.
I woke up one morning with no sight whatsoever in my left eye. I immediately called my eye doctor, but before the appointment, my sight came back. The doctor examined me, said I was fine, and I went home. Within the week, the sight in that eye had gone again, and this time for good. Then I found out the eye doctor "missed something" by his own admission. Gee, thanks, Doc!
I went to an ophthamologist, who stuck needles in my eye once a week for two weeks, which did absolutely nothing, so here I sit, half blind. I'm just praying the other eye keeps working. I now have an opthamologist whom I see regularly, and he said I lost the sight of my left eye due to edema, glaucoma, and the beginnings of a cataract! Triple threat!! It'd be just my luck to go blind, and have peripheral neuropathy so I can't read Braille!
Joyce

Hi Joyce: Sorry, to meet you under these circumstances, but still Good
to meet you. :hello:

I'm sad to hear that you lost the vision in your eye. It is very unfortunate
that no one suggested that you visit an Ophthalmologist yrs. ago. How
long have you had Diabetes? Not much anyone can do in this case, once
the vision is lost.

How are your sugar levels now? It is VERY Important to try your Best to
keep in the good range so you will have a good chance of keeping the vision
in your other eye. No one can predict what body part will be lost with any
Diabetic since our bodies are built different, even from Family members.

You do not need sight to learn Braille. If you can feel little raised dots with
your fingertips and can concentrate on it, that's all you need. A Friend I met
many yrs. ago, immediately went to the CNIB(Canadian National Institute For
The Blind)and got me 2 braille learning cards and a few cassette tapes of 3
popular books. I thought, Wow, what a Nice Person. She had heard Diabetics
go blind and she figured it happened fairly quickly. Thankfully, usually not. I'm
not sure what the U.S. version of CNIB is but you could call them once you find
out and ask them to send you the Braille cards or if not far, you could go there
for free training. You can also get the cassettes(I guess now cd's also)of novels
from Libraries also. Take Care. :)

Perhaps you would like to start a thread just for you in this part of the Forum.

[KickStart101]

Okay Joyce, I just found it: The American Foundation for the Blind(AFB).
Just google it for the phone number and address or just 411.com it for the
same. They have alot of new technologies for blind people also(although
not cheap). Of course, you are not blind, but looking into this stuff wouldn't
hurt for any of us. :)

[Cinnabon]

Im so sorry to hear of all yur trouble. Was that doctor an Opthamologist, that missed all that?
I have Retinopathy and I know how scary this is. Keep us updated on your progress if possible. please.

[BriOnH]

Peripheral neuropathy has to do with nerves, not the eyes (retinopathy). Jmax is saying it would be just her luck that hshe would not be able to read brail cause she couldn't feel it. Sorry you have to go through this. I am surprised your vision went so suddenly.

Strike, glad to hear your wife is doing better. Do the doctors think its possible at all for her sight to return? I pray that's the case.

[KickStart101]

Peripheral neuropathy has to do with nerves, not the eyes (retinopathy). Jmax is saying it would be just her luck that hshe would not be able to read brail cause she couldn't feel it. Sorry you have to go through this. I am surprised your vision went so suddenly.
Strike, glad to hear your wife is doing better. Do the doctors think its possible at all for her sight to return? I pray that's the case.

Thanks for the correction Brian. Since the subject was eyes, I was
thinking peripheral vision loss(which does not affect learning braille).

[strike]

Strike, glad to hear your wife is doing better. Do the doctors think its possible at all for her sight to return? I pray that's the case.

Oh yes, when she doesn't have blood floating around in her eyes, she can see fine...especially with her new glasses perscription. The only trouble she has (when her eyes are clear) is in really bright sunlight with lots of shadows, dark rooms as well as trying to judge colors that are close in hue (no matter what light situation).

Yeah, when her eyes do clear up, she can see pretty darn well!

[BriOnH]

Oh yes, when she doesn't have blood floating around in her eyes, she can see fine...especially with her new glasses perscription. The only trouble she has (when her eyes are clear) is in really bright sunlight with lots of shadows, dark rooms as well as trying to judge colors that are close in hue (no matter what light situation).

Yeah, when her eyes do clear up, she can see pretty darn well!

That's great! Hope those eye's stay clear. In my right eye (the one I am having slight problems with) I don't see color as crisp as in my left eye, but my right eye is 20/40 and my left is 20/25 so I like to think that is the reason. Your wife, and you for reporting, are a great inspiration here.

[strike]

My wife's right eye finally cleared up so she went in to have the Doc look at her retinas. Her left eye looked fine but her right eye had a few new vessels growing out of the area of her optical nerve so they scheduled some laser.

She went in yesterday to have the vessels lasered out, yeah it was painful but not nearly as bad as not being able to see. Hopefully they're on just about done chasing the growth and finally catching up with it

We'll see next month!

[Cinnabon]

Great news.. I really do hope everything continues to go well!

[BriOnH]

Thinking of how your wifes eyes were at the beggining of this thread (those pictures you posted will always be in the back of my mind! :) ) it sounds like she is making great progress! Great to read. Sorry she had this round of laser to go through, that's never fun, but compared to what she has gone through, doesn't sound too bad at all, and very promising for the future.

[Georgia]

That is great news about your wife, strike. Sorry to hear she had to have another session of laser...I really hope next month brings good news :)

[Infosec]

strike,

I just read all the posts from this thread. It sounds like you are a very supportive spouce. I am very sorry to hear what your wife, and you, are going through. I am a type 2 newbie. I was just diagnosed less than 3 weeks ago. I have been doing a lot of research about diabetes during this time and have learned a lot from this forum thanks to those, like you, who have taken the time to share knowledge, experiences, feelings, and support. Thank you for sharing your wife's and your experience here. I wish you two the best and will continue to check for updates.

[strike]

strike,

I just read all the posts from this thread. It sounds like you are a very supportive spouce. I am very sorry to hear what your wife, and you, are going through. I am a type 2 newbie. I was just diagnosed less than 3 weeks ago. I have been doing a lot of research about diabetes during this time and have learned a lot from this forum thanks to those, like you, who have taken the time to share knowledge, experiences, feelings, and support. Thank you for sharing your wife's and your experience here. I wish you two the best and will continue to check for updates.

Thanks Infosec, that's the main reason I'm doing it...in the hopes that her/our story will provide others with some insight into what to expect.

The most important thing I've learned through this whole thing is, modern technology is amazing and important to making life easier. Fifty years ago, my wife would be blind and that would be the end of the story. Now, she can see almost as well as she could before this started.

Heck, even if a person's retina's detach, there's a good chance that they'll be able to see again. Amazing stuff.

[uniondiva]

my dh was just diagonosed with retinopathy after having a tia.... we are praying that his vision gets better, but i don't know what to think right now... your posts have helped me a lot, but also worried me, in that his vision went from 20/20 to 20/200 in a few hours and still hasnt't gotten better. we see the retina specialist on monday....the optho didnot say anything about dtachment, so i am hoping that that edema and vessel damage is a better situation. his dad went blind due to complications and i don't want to see him lose his sight. ....he isn't able to work or drive right now. as a spouse, I know the committment we make whn our so has these complications... she is lucky to have you

[gettingby]

Strike, please keep us updated on her progress when you can. You and she are an inspiration to us all.

[strike]

Here's a bit of an update. Not much has changed with her eyes, which is a good thing. Of course there's the small bleeder once in a while, but it clears up within a couple of days, nothing to write home (or on the forum) about.

We have moved onto a different problem now. For a while now my Wife's Kidney function has been working at around 24% and the Doctor has mentioned that she will probably need a transplant in the not so distant future.

Over the last few months her kidney function has unfortunately deteriorated to right around 18% and the Doc says "it's time". Luckily, her mother has volunteered to donate her kidney, they've both been through a series of uncomfortable tests and it looks like they're shooting for early to mid October for the operation. I'll keep you guys posted with any updates.

Oh yeah, when they do the kidney transplants, they usually start looking for a Pancreas donor as well, so she's on the list for one of those too. Unfortunately, with a living kidney / dead pancreas donor they'll have to do both surgeries separately (unless they find a pancreas in the same timeframe as the kidney transplant).

[lgvincent]

I'm sorry to hear this. I know some members have been wondering how you and your wife were doing so it's at least good to hear from you.

[strike]

I'm sorry to hear this. I know some members have been wondering how you and your wife were doing so it's at least good to hear from you.


Thanks, but don't feel too bad for us, we have it a lot better than other people do, even with the vitrectomies and the prospect of a transplant. My job has really great insurance and we live 5 minutes from a world class medical facility.

I just feel really bad for the people who cannot afford the medical care they need, especially when it has to do with something as important as their vision. :(

[Cinnabon]

Strike we were all very anxious th ehear from you, but we wished for all good. Now, Im glad her eyes are still good and at least she has good solution the way (her mom) for her recent kidney trouble. Please keep us updates when U do have a chance. God bless ur insurance!! Please tell her we are all here for you, her and her mom. We need this to come thru :cool:

[Georgia]

I am sorry to hear that, Strike & will be thinking good thoughts for the operation. Thanks for the update & plse do keep us posted when you can.

[strike]

Well the tentative date for her kidney transplant is umm...I can't recall exactly but it's right around the 7th of November. I'll let you know how things turn out.

[BriOnH]

Oh strike I am so sorry your wife has even more added on. My heart literally dropped when I read she has to get a transplant now. I am glad though if she gets to skip through the dialisys stage though. That was a nightmare for me (my kidneys returned working, it was undiabetic related)

Please God help strikes wife through this time. We have to endure so much with diabetes alone please spare us from its complications.

[strike]

Update, 11/23/06

I know this is the eye forum and not the kidney transplant forum, but since this is really the only thread I post in, I might as well throw this in here as well. :)

Well, my wife had her new kidney put in, as well as her spleen removed because of it; but, she's home now and things are going well so far.

Now, this wasn't your normal, everyday kidney transplant, the donor (her Mother) and my Wife are different blood types! As long as the organ tissues don't reject each other, a new process allows for "ABO Incompatible" transplantation of organs. Here is an article on the process, featuring my Wife's surgeon as well as her transplant nephrologist (both are pictured). ABO Incompatible (http://discoverysedge.mayo.edu/abo_posxmatch/)

If you're interested in some of the details, keep on reading, if not, hit the back button. :P


Apparently, the key to making this work is to remove antibodies from the blood. It's these antibodies that notice a new, "non compatible blood type" organ and try to attack it. When my wife went in, her antibodies were at 128 and they needed to be down to 4 before surgery took place.

A week before the transplant, she had a couple of semi-permanent tubes inserted in her neck, this allows direct access to her bloodstream without the need for an IV. After getting the tubes in her neck, every day for a week she had to go in for "Plasmapheresis" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasmapheresis), where they pull her blood out, spin it in a centerfuge and physically remove her plasma (which contains antibodies), then replace it with a mixture of Albumin and...something else that I've forgotten...saline solution I think. This process takes about an hour.

Right after the Plasmapheresis, she then sat for 3-5 hours with an "Immunoglobulin" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immunoglobulin) drip. Called "IVIG", this process introduces "antibodies that disarm foreign antigens by binding to them". I'm just taking their word for it lol.

Four to Six hours every day she did this, unless they had to give her red blood cells as well (she was anemic (http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=15492)), in which case it added another five hours to the process. I can tell you that 11 hours in the hospital being infused with stuff will make anyone cranky, especially my Wife. :D

Once she finally had the transplant (which I they say went well), the doctors needed her antibody level to stay at 4 for a week or two until the body accepts the kidney, so she had the Plasmapheresis/IVIG every day for a week afterwards. Unfortunately, her antibody level was still rising too quickly, so they had to perform a Splenectomy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splenectomy), because the spleen looks at the ABO Incompatible kidney as a foreign body and creates antibodies to both ward off infection and fight foreign intruders.

At any rate, things are going well...her incisions still hurt and she's moving pretty slowly, but today she went almost the whole day without a Percocet, except when she insisted on cooking dinner...it IS Thanksgiving after all.

Did things go perfectly? Of course not, but they went well enough to make us happy that she went through the process. Now we have to start looking at how much the drugs are going to cost, I heard estimates of 3K to 5K per month! My god, how can the drug companies justify prices like that...sure there's research and everything but ****.

Between the diabetes, vitrectomies and the transplant, I have to tip my hat to modern medicine. Fifty years ago I don't think my wife would have made it out of her teen years and now, in her mid thirties, she has a whole new lease on life. Here's to you modern medicine! :flowers: lol

[Cinnabon]

I have been thinking so much about U guys!!!
Im smiling looking at the screen. I am SO happy for U!!!!

Please keep us posted ...

Love U both and Bug hugs!!!

[BriOnH]

Wow strike! Glad to hear she is doing better. That's quite a lot to go through. So she by-passed going on dialysis? Hope so, it's an awful thing to endure. Did the new kidney start to work right away?

Thank you for keeping us up to date! You are a good man!

[gettingby]

Wow Strike. I'm glad that she was able to get the transplant. Hopefully things will start looking up for her and you. I wish you both all the best. *hugs* to you and the wife. You both will continue to be in my prayers. Keep us updated as you can.:)

[Infosec]

Strike,

Thank you for the detailed update. I think of you and your wife often and always hope things are going well with you two!!

I hope your wife has a speedy recovery!

Take care,
Infosec