What kidn of doctor were you seeing an retinologist?  In general, a
regular opthamologist who does do the fully dilated exam is just fine for
the initioal diagnosis.  If there is a problem, then I recommend
retinologist who will consider al the kinds of retinal and maular problems
that can be the cause of your  particular problem.

Wendy

<...>

That's true for all people (not just diabetics). But the health-care system
doesn't have too many patients, it has  too many illnesses.

Jeff

Keep in mind that diabetic retinopathy is typically a complication of
*long-standing* diabetes. Three years after diagnosis of diabetes is
generally too soon for retinopathy to make its appearance. My
retinopathy showed up after more than 20 years of diabetes.

This is probably the one most common diabetic complication. The good
news is that, if caught early, laser treatment is very effective in
stopping its progression. My eyes have been stable, retinopathy-wise,
for 20 years. My next eye problem is slowly-developing cataracts,
which, although not a direct complication of diabetes, often happen to
diabetics at earlier ages than the general population. Again, there's
good news in that cataract surgery (lens implant) has got to the point
that it's almost routine.

I see from your other post that your "regular ophthalmologist" is
apparently really just an optometrist. Optometrists may be good at
prescribing glasses, but they're not the ones to go to for diabetic
eye conditions. As for ophthalmologists (that is, M.D.'s as opposed to
D.O.'s), there are really two tiers. The first tier are general
ophthalmic surgeons, such as the one you saw, who treat the *front* of
the eye (for example, by doing cataract surgery), and act as
"gatekeepers" for further specialists. The second tier are the
specialists, particularly experts on the retina and vitreous (*back*
of the eye). If you have retinopathy, macular degeneration, etc., a
retina specialist is the one to see.

Don't believe what the doctor told you about not seeing you any more.
A generally accepted standard of care for all diabetics is a
dilated-eye exam at least every couple of years. The longer you've had
diabetes, the more important this becomes. This is because
retinopathy, in its early stages, doesn't have any visible symptoms,
yet the early stages are when treatment is most effective. Don't take
chances with your eyes.

Very cool :D  Don't skip checks, though, will you!

Nicky.

GREAT !! I also saw the eye surgeon yesterday.  After years of
treatment, thousands of laser burns, and a time a few years ago where I
was going every day, had totally lost sight in one eye, AND, was getting
info on the National Federation for the Blind, I had a great visit.

Last time he gave me a 6 month appointment, The time before a three
month, This time, he didn't even have to take retinal photos, and gave
me a ONE YEAR appointment!!.

My eyesight seems to have stabilized at about 40/20.  A lot worse than
the 16/20 I used to have, but much better than the visit where he said
that he didn't think he could save my sight at all, but was sure going
to try.

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in the US