Diabetes R-F

Darren Long wrote in message <[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

My wife has just been diagnosed with Diabetes R-F, and she's also pregnant. We've been told that
there's a chance of sight loss that may or may not be reversable. I've haven't been able to find
anything on Diabetes R-F in the web, can someone give us or lead us to some more information?

Thanks, Darren.

Sorry, never heard of stand-alone variation of Diabetes with RF as part of the name.

I can only think that R-F means "Risk Factor"

How about asking the folks who told you she was R-F what the initials mean?

Regards
Old Al

"Darren Long" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My wife has just been diagnosed with Diabetes R-F, and she's also pregnant. We've been told that
there's a chance of sight loss that may or may not be reversable. I've haven't been able to find
anything on Diabetes R-F in the web, can someone give us or lead us to some more information?

I've never heard of it. Are you sure you heard the Dr. correctly? Diabetes is usually classified as
type 1, type 2, GD (gestational), etc.

--
Type 2 users.bestweb.net~jboveOpen ↗

Darren, I have to agree with Old Al. I have never heard of an R-F designation. Ask the doctor!!!! I
hope you will let us know what the doctor says. It could be an education for all of us.

Sorry I don't have an answer for you. Maybe it is gestational diabetes with some additional risk
factors??? Good luck, and I hope she has a very good doctor.

Steph

"Darren Long" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My wife has just been diagnosed with Diabetes R-F, and she's also pregnant. We've been told that
there's a chance of sight loss that may or may not be reversable. I've haven't been able to find
anything on Diabetes R-F in the web, can someone give us or lead us to some more information?

Thanks, Darren.

"Julie Bove" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"Darren Long" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My wife has just been diagnosed with Diabetes R-F, and she's also pregnant. We've been told that
there's a chance of sight loss that may or may not be reversable. I've haven't been able to find
anything on Diabetes R-F in the web, can someone give us or lead us to some more information?

I've never heard of it. Are you sure you heard the Dr. correctly? Diabetes is usually classified
as type 1, type 2, GD (gestational), etc.

I fugured it out. The two letter labels are used by doctors for their own use. The R-F doesn't even
have to mean anything that starts with those letters. It's just a unique code the doctors use within
hospitals. That's why I haven't been able to find it anywhere on the web.

Thanks for everyone's help!

Darren.

Darren, Thanks for clearing up the mystery!!! Has your wife been diagnosed with gestational
diabetes? Steph

"Darren Long" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Julie Bove" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"Darren Long" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My wife has just been diagnosed with Diabetes R-F, and she's also pregnant. We've been told
that there's a chance of sight loss that may or may not be reversable. I've haven't been able
to find anything on Diabetes R-F in the web, can someone give us or lead us to some more
information?

I've never heard of it. Are you sure you heard the Dr. correctly?

Diabetes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

is usually classified as type 1, type 2, GD (gestational), etc.

I fugured it out. The two letter labels are used by doctors for their own use. The R-F doesn't
even have to mean anything that starts with those letters. It's just a unique code the doctors use
within hospitals. That's why I haven't been able to find it anywhere on the web.

Thanks for everyone's help!

Darren.

My wife was diagnosed back in October with Type-2 diabetes, and then in December we found out that
she was 3-months pregnant. Diabetes is common in her family with both her parents and 3 grandparents
with diabetes. She went to see the doctor thinking she was pregnant since she had symptoms. Her blood-
test came back with a blood sugar level of over 400, and they never did a pregnancy test back then.
If they did, they would of found that she was pregnant.

This is all very stressful for both of us. Especially since her Perinatologist and her eye
specialist was telling her with her being diabetic and pregnant, that there's a chance for
blindness. We've heard both that it could and it could not be corrected with lasers. Anyone know
more about that??

Thanks. Darren.

"Stephanie Kolban" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Darren, Thanks for clearing up the mystery!!! Has your wife been diagnosed with gestational
diabetes? Steph

"Darren Long" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Julie Bove" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"Darren Long" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
> My wife has just been diagnosed with Diabetes R-F, and she's also pregnant. We've been told
> that there's a chance of sight loss that may or may not be reversable. I've haven't been
> able to find anything on Diabetes R-F in the web, can someone give us or lead us to some
> more information?

I've never heard of it. Are you sure you heard the Dr. correctly?

Diabetes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

is usually classified as type 1, type 2, GD (gestational), etc.

I fugured it out. The two letter labels are used by doctors for their own use. The R-F doesn't
even have to mean anything that starts with those letters. It's just a unique code the doctors
use within hospitals. That's why I haven't been able to find it anywhere on the web.

Thanks for everyone's help!

Darren.

"Darren Long" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My wife was diagnosed back in October with Type-2 diabetes, and then in December we found out that
she was 3-months pregnant. Diabetes is common in her family with both her parents and 3
grandparents with diabetes. She went to see the doctor thinking she was pregnant since she had
symptoms. Her blood-test came back with a blood sugar level of over 400, and they never did a
pregnancy test back then. If they did, they would of found that she was pregnant.

This is all very stressful for both of us. Especially since her Perinatologist and her eye
specialist was telling her with her being diabetic and pregnant, that there's a chance for
blindness. We've heard both that it could and it could not be corrected with lasers. Anyone know
more about that??

There is something called diabetic retinopathy that causes blindness. I don't know a lot about it
since I don't have it. I do think there is some kind of operation that can be done for it, and I
don't think pregnancy has anything to do with it. I believe it is caused by high BG (blood glucose).
If she keeps her BG under strict control, she will lessen her chances of getting complications. And
pregnant women are held to even stricter standards than non-pregnant women because high BG can cause
problems for the baby.

--
Type 2 users.bestweb.net~jboveOpen ↗

[email hidden] (Darren Long) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

My wife was diagnosed back in October with Type-2 diabetes, and then in December we found out that
she was 3-months pregnant. Diabetes is common in her family with both her parents and 3
grandparents with diabetes. She went to see the doctor thinking she was pregnant since she had
symptoms. Her blood-test came back with a blood sugar level of over 400, and they never did a
pregnancy test back then. If they did, they would of found that she was pregnant.

This is all very stressful for both of us. Especially since her Perinatologist and her eye
specialist was telling her with her being diabetic and pregnant, that there's a chance for
blindness. We've heard both that it could and it could not be corrected with lasers. Anyone know
more about that??

Diabetes is a leading cause of non-traumatic blindness. The most common culprit is a condition known
as diabetic retinopathy. This complication of diabetes takes years to develop. Unfortunately, there
is no way of telling how long your wife has had diabetes as the disease commonly exists for years
before diagnosis and is infrequently discovered only in the later stages of diabetic retinopathy.

It is impossible to tell from the above whether her doctor's discussion of this complication of
diabetes was just part of the standard litany of the many and varied bad things that can happen to
diabetics, or was triggered by a specific finding. If the former, of course, she at risk, but only
at risk. The specific finding would have been the result of a dilated eye exam by her
ophthalmologist, preferably one specializing in diabetic eye disease. This would have been a finding
of background retinopathy or proliferative retinopathy.

Retinopathy is a condition of degeneration of the capillaries in the retina. It is divided into 2
stages. Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPDR), aka background retinopathy, involves damage to
the capillaries which cause them to become less functional. There are no symptoms at this point, the
most treatable stage, and it is only discovered through dilated eye examinations.

Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR) is the second stage where new, often weak, capillaries grow
to replace the damaged ones. These capillaries often break down and bleed into the surrounding
tissue. Loss of vision due to bleeding is the first symptom noticeable to the patient. The risk of
eventual blindness at this stage is significant, but not a foregone conclusion.

The first treatment strategy is prevention. The risk of retinopathy is, essentially, linear with
long term average blood glucose level as measured by the A1c test. The better her control the less
likely she is to have retinopathy, and the less rapid the progression will be if she does have it.

The second treatment strategy is laser photocoagulation which significantly reduces the risk of
severe visual loss from PDR.

The general outline of retinopathy holds for many of the other diabetic complications. The best
treatment is prevention through diligent management of blood glucose levels. Then there are
secondary strategies if the complication develops.

--
-------
Charly Coughran [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

"Darren Long" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My wife was diagnosed back in October with Type-2 diabetes, and then in December we found out
that she was 3-months pregnant. Diabetes is common in her family with both her parents and 3
grandparents with diabetes. She went to see the doctor thinking she was pregnant since she had
symptoms. Her blood-test came back with a blood sugar level of over 400, and they never did a
pregnancy test back then. If they did, they would of found that she was pregnant.

This is all very stressful for both of us. Especially since her Perinatologist and her eye
specialist was telling her with her being diabetic and pregnant, that there's a chance for
blindness. We've heard both that it could and it could not be corrected with lasers. Anyone know
more about that??

There is something called diabetic retinopathy that causes blindness. I don't know a lot about it
since I don't have it. I do think there is some kind of operation that can be done for it, and I
don't think pregnancy has anything to do with it. I believe it is caused by high BG (blood
glucose). If she keeps her BG under strict control, she will lessen her chances of getting
complications. And pregnant women are held to even stricter standards than non-pregnant women
because high BG can cause problems for the baby.

I have had diabetes for over 28 years and do have some eye problems, with a lot of others. The
important thing is to not get hung up on all of our scare stories. They are to encourage a person to
do what we know will help. It is possible and necessary to keep the blood sugars under control. but
do not turn it into an obsession. Just control food input, which is a necessary step.

You can create yourself problems that you do not need. You have a life and should live it. A coward
dies a thousand times.

I have problems because we did not know much about diabetes but there is a wealth of information
available now. Use it AND restrict food input as indicated.

I am a mess, but I look forward each day to work on the backlog of projects I have. Sure helps
control the concerns generated by self pity. Self pity does as much harm as diabetes. Guy

Charly,

Good info and great writing! Did you just sit down and write this off-the-cuff, or did you copy it
from material you had written before?

Charly Coughran <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Darren Long) wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

My wife was diagnosed back in October with Type-2 diabetes, and then in December we found out
that she was 3-months pregnant. Diabetes is common in her family with both her parents and 3
grandparents with diabetes. She went to see the doctor thinking she was pregnant since she had
symptoms. Her blood-test came back with a blood sugar level of over 400, and they never did a
pregnancy test back then. If they did, they would of found that she was pregnant.

This is all very stressful for both of us. Especially since her Perinatologist and her eye
specialist was telling her with her being diabetic and pregnant, that there's a chance for
blindness. We've heard both that it could and it could not be corrected with lasers. Anyone know
more about that??

Diabetes is a leading cause of non-traumatic blindness. The most common culprit is a condition
known as diabetic retinopathy. This complication of diabetes takes years to develop.
Unfortunately, there is no way of telling how long your wife has had diabetes as the disease
commonly exists for years before diagnosis and is infrequently discovered only in the later stages
of diabetic retinopathy.

It is impossible to tell from the above whether her doctor's discussion of this complication of
diabetes was just part of the standard litany of the many and varied bad things that can happen to
diabetics, or was triggered by a specific finding. If the former, of course, she at risk, but only
at risk. The specific finding would have been the result of a dilated eye exam by her
ophthalmologist, preferably one specializing in diabetic eye disease. This would have been a
finding of background retinopathy or proliferative retinopathy.

Retinopathy is a condition of degeneration of the capillaries in the retina. It is divided into 2
stages. Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPDR), aka background retinopathy, involves damage
to the capillaries which cause them to become less functional. There are no symptoms at this
point, the most treatable stage, and it is only discovered through dilated eye examinations.

Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR) is the second stage where new, often weak, capillaries
grow to replace the damaged ones. These capillaries often break down and bleed into the
surrounding tissue. Loss of vision due to bleeding is the first symptom noticeable to the patient.
The risk of eventual blindness at this stage is significant, but not a foregone conclusion.

The first treatment strategy is prevention. The risk of retinopathy is, essentially, linear with
long term average blood glucose level as measured by the A1c test. The better her control the less
likely she is to have retinopathy, and the less rapid the progression will be if she does have it.

The second treatment strategy is laser photocoagulation which significantly reduces the risk of
severe visual loss from PDR.

The general outline of retinopathy holds for many of the other diabetic complications. The best
treatment is prevention through diligent management of blood glucose levels. Then there are
secondary strategies if the complication develops.

Thank you for the kind words. The answer to your question is no it wasn't off the cuff, nor was it
copied from previous material. I believe that answers in this forum are important and worth an
investment in time for thought and effort to compose. I remember being scared to death and as
confused as it is possible to be facing my diagnosis and the mountain of information to assimilate.
Fortunately, there are a number of people here who try to help.

Charly Coughran [email hidden]

[email hidden] (Brad Sheppard) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Charly,

Good info and great writing! Did you just sit down and write this off-the-cuff, or did you copy it
from material you had written before?

Charly Coughran <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Darren Long) wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

My wife was diagnosed back in October with Type-2 diabetes, and then in December we found out
that she was 3-months pregnant. Diabetes is common in her family with both her parents and 3
grandparents with diabetes. She went to see the doctor thinking she was pregnant since she had
symptoms. Her blood-test came back with a blood sugar level of over 400, and they never did a
pregnancy test back then. If they did, they would of found that she was pregnant.

This is all very stressful for both of us. Especially since her Perinatologist and her eye
specialist was telling her with her being diabetic and pregnant, that there's a chance for
blindness. We've heard both that it could and it could not be corrected with lasers. Anyone
know more about that??

Diabetes is a leading cause of non-traumatic blindness. The most common culprit is a condition
known as diabetic retinopathy. This complication of diabetes takes years to develop.
Unfortunately, there is no way of telling how long your wife has had diabetes as the disease
commonly exists for years before diagnosis and is infrequently discovered only in the later
stages of diabetic retinopathy.

It is impossible to tell from the above whether her doctor's discussion of this complication of
diabetes was just part of the standard litany of the many and varied bad things that can happen
to diabetics, or was triggered by a specific finding. If the former, of course, she at risk, but
only at risk. The specific finding would have been the result of a dilated eye exam by her
ophthalmologist, preferably one specializing in diabetic eye disease. This would have been a
finding of background retinopathy or proliferative retinopathy.

Retinopathy is a condition of degeneration of the capillaries in the retina. It is divided into 2
stages. Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPDR), aka background retinopathy, involves damage
to the capillaries which cause them to become less functional. There are no symptoms at this
point, the most treatable stage, and it is only discovered through dilated eye examinations.

Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR) is the second stage where new, often weak, capillaries
grow to replace the damaged ones. These capillaries often break down and bleed into the
surrounding tissue. Loss of vision due to bleeding is the first symptom noticeable to the
patient. The risk of eventual blindness at this stage is significant, but not a foregone
conclusion.

The first treatment strategy is prevention. The risk of retinopathy is, essentially, linear with
long term average blood glucose level as measured by the A1c test. The better her control the
less likely she is to have retinopathy, and the less rapid the progression will be if she does
have it.

The second treatment strategy is laser photocoagulation which significantly reduces the risk of
severe visual loss from PDR.

The general outline of retinopathy holds for many of the other diabetic complications. The best
treatment is prevention through diligent management of blood glucose levels. Then there are
secondary strategies if the complication develops.

Brad, Charly always writes fantastic posts. They are clear, concise and informative. I think that he
is a major asset to this group. Steph

"Brad Sheppard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Charly,

Good info and great writing! Did you just sit down and write this off-the-cuff, or did you copy it
from material you had written before?

Charly Coughran <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Darren Long) wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

My wife was diagnosed back in October with Type-2 diabetes, and then in December we found out
that she was 3-months pregnant. Diabetes is common in her family with both her parents and 3
grandparents with diabetes. She went to see the doctor thinking she was pregnant since she had
symptoms. Her blood-test came back with a blood sugar level of over 400, and they never did a
pregnancy test back then. If they did, they would of found that she was pregnant.

This is all very stressful for both of us. Especially since her Perinatologist and her eye
specialist was telling her with her being diabetic and pregnant, that there's a chance for
blindness. We've heard both that it could and it could not be corrected with lasers. Anyone
know more about that??

Diabetes is a leading cause of non-traumatic blindness. The most common culprit is a condition
known as diabetic retinopathy. This complication of diabetes takes years to develop.
Unfortunately, there is no way of telling how long your wife has had diabetes as the disease
commonly exists for years before diagnosis and is infrequently discovered only in the later
stages of diabetic retinopathy.

It is impossible to tell from the above whether her doctor's discussion of this complication of
diabetes was just part of the standard litany of the many and varied bad things that can happen
to diabetics, or was triggered by a specific finding. If the former, of course, she at risk, but
only at risk. The specific finding would have been the result of a dilated eye exam by her
ophthalmologist, preferably one specializing in diabetic eye disease. This would have been a
finding of background retinopathy or proliferative retinopathy.

Retinopathy is a condition of degeneration of the capillaries in the retina. It is divided into
2 stages. Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPDR), aka background retinopathy, involves
damage to the capillaries which cause them to become less functional. There are no symptoms at
this point, the most treatable stage, and it is only discovered through dilated eye
examinations.

Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR) is the second stage where new, often weak, capillaries
grow to replace the damaged ones. These capillaries often break down and bleed into the
surrounding tissue.

Loss

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of vision due to bleeding is the first symptom noticeable to the

patient.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The risk of eventual blindness at this stage is significant, but not a foregone conclusion.

The first treatment strategy is prevention. The risk of retinopathy is, essentially, linear with
long term average blood glucose level as measured by the A1c test. The better her control the
less likely she is to have retinopathy, and the less rapid the progression will be if she does
have it.

The second treatment strategy is laser photocoagulation which significantly reduces the risk of
severe visual loss from PDR.

The general outline of retinopathy holds for many of the other diabetic complications. The best
treatment is prevention through diligent management of blood glucose levels. Then there are
secondary strategies if the complication develops.

Charly,

You're welcome. Good writing is a gift; and one not easily learned.

Charly Coughran <ccoughran@DELETE_TO_RESPOND.ucsd.edu> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Thank you for the kind words. The answer to your question is no it wasn't off the cuff, nor was it
copied from previous material. I believe that answers in this forum are important and worth an
investment in time for thought and effort to compose. I remember being scared to death and as
confused as it is possible to be facing my diagnosis and the mountain of information to
assimilate. Fortunately, there are a number of people here who try to help.

Charly Coughran [email hidden]

[email hidden] (Brad Sheppard) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Charly,

Good info and great writing! Did you just sit down and write this off-the-cuff, or did you copy
it from material you had written before?

Charly Coughran <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Darren Long) wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

> My wife was diagnosed back in October with Type-2 diabetes, and then in December we found out
> that she was 3-months pregnant. Diabetes is common in her family with both her parents and 3
> grandparents with diabetes. She went to see the doctor thinking she was pregnant since she
> had symptoms. Her blood-test came back with a blood sugar level of over 400, and they never
> did a pregnancy test back then. If they did, they would of found that she was pregnant.
>
> This is all very stressful for both of us. Especially since her Perinatologist and her eye
> specialist was telling her with her being diabetic and pregnant, that there's a chance for
> blindness. We've heard both that it could and it could not be corrected with lasers. Anyone
> know more about that??

Diabetes is a leading cause of non-traumatic blindness. The most common culprit is a condition
known as diabetic retinopathy. This complication of diabetes takes years to develop.
Unfortunately, there is no way of telling how long your wife has had diabetes as the disease
commonly exists for years before diagnosis and is infrequently discovered only in the later
stages of diabetic retinopathy.

It is impossible to tell from the above whether her doctor's discussion of this complication of
diabetes was just part of the standard litany of the many and varied bad things that can happen
to diabetics, or was triggered by a specific finding. If the former, of course, she at risk,
but only at risk. The specific finding would have been the result of a dilated eye exam by her
ophthalmologist, preferably one specializing in diabetic eye disease. This would have been a
finding of background retinopathy or proliferative retinopathy.

Retinopathy is a condition of degeneration of the capillaries in the retina. It is divided into
2 stages. Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPDR), aka background retinopathy, involves
damage to the capillaries which cause them to become less functional. There are no symptoms at
this point, the most treatable stage, and it is only discovered through dilated eye
examinations.

Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR) is the second stage where new, often weak, capillaries
grow to replace the damaged ones. These capillaries often break down and bleed into the
surrounding tissue. Loss of vision due to bleeding is the first symptom noticeable to the
patient. The risk of eventual blindness at this stage is significant, but not a foregone
conclusion.

The first treatment strategy is prevention. The risk of retinopathy is, essentially, linear
with long term average blood glucose level as measured by the A1c test. The better her control
the less likely she is to have retinopathy, and the less rapid the progression will be if she
does have it.

The second treatment strategy is laser photocoagulation which significantly reduces the risk of
severe visual loss from PDR.

The general outline of retinopathy holds for many of the other diabetic complications. The best
treatment is prevention through diligent management of blood glucose levels. Then there are
secondary strategies if the complication develops.