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- $Unique_ID{BRK01158}
- $Pretitle{}
- $Title{Long Time Diabetes and Visual Problems}
- $Subject{eyes vision diabetes mellitus diabetic diabetics glasses Sense Senses
- Visual eye lens lenses retina sight insulin blood sugar glucose}
- $Volume{F-21,C-7}
- $Log{
- Diabetes Mellitus*0009802.scf
- The Functions of Insulin*0009803.scf}
-
- Copyright (c) 1991-92,1993 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
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- Long Time Diabetes and Visual Problems
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- QUESTION: I have had to return to my eye doctor three times because the
- glasses he gives me do not work. Each time he has re-examined me, and I see
- perfectly well with the lenses he uses in his machine, but the glasses that I
- get a week later don't help as much. Do you think he is using the right
- lenses, or does my long time diabetes have something to do with it?
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- ANSWER: I am sure your doctor is prescribing the same power lenses for your
- glasses as he is using in his "machine". I am hoping that he is aware of your
- diabetes either because he obtained that knowledge by taking your medical
- history, or because you volunteered that vital bit of information to him as
- you did to me. That would put any doctor on the alert to two possible causes
- for your visual problems. The most likely, I believe, is that your diabetes
- is not well controlled (extremely possible if your medications include insulin
- and you do not monitor your own blood sugar). The excess of glucose in your
- blood can change the power of the lens in your eye, which changes as your
- blood glucose levels change, making the glasses ineffective. The other
- possibility is that the diabetes has affected your retina, a cause that is
- evident on careful examination. Put your medical doctor and your eye doctor
- in touch with one another and save some return trips to the office.
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- The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
- the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your
- doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
- problem.
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