Preserve Your Vision With Suburban Eye Care

Diabetic Retinopathy in Livonia

Preserve Your Vision With Suburban Eye Care

(734) 525-8170

Have diabetes?

Experiencing changes in vision, such as blurriness and eye floaters?

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading causes of vision loss around the world. Of an estimated 285 million people with diabetes mellitus worldwide, approximately one-third have signs of diabetic retinopathy.

Fortunately, there are several steps people with diabetes can take to prevent or minimize vision loss.

Blood sugar level check


What Is Diabetic Retinopathy?

noraml eye and an eye with  diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease caused by high blood sugar levels that damage the small blood vessels clustered within your retina. This leads to swelling or fluid leakage and can result in vision loss and even blindness.

Diabetic retinopathy also raises the risk of retinal detachment and/or glaucoma.

Because the early stages of diabetic retinopathy show no symptoms, many don't realize they have it until the disease has progressed.

If you have diabetes, you are at risk of developing diabetic retinopathy. To reduce your risk and protect your vision, schedule an eye exam with Suburban Eye Care today.


What Are the Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy?

diabetic-retinopothy-oct-scan

As mentioned above, the early phase of diabetic retinopathy typically shows no symptoms. This is why it's important to have routine eye exams (all the more so if you have diabetes), as your eye doctor can detect diabetic retinopathy in its earlier stages before symptoms become apparent.

Symptoms of proliferative diabetic retinopathy include:
  • Blurred vision
  • Floaters
  • Double vision
  • Near vision problems
  • Seeing dark spots (scotomas)
  • Difficulty seeing at night

What are the Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy?

Non-Proliferative Retinopathy (early stage):
This occurs when small bulges–or microaneurysms–form in blood vessels and can leak fluid into the retina.

Proliferative Retinopathy (later phase):
This refers to abnormal vessel growth and leakage in the retina. This triggers a variety of vision problems such as blurriness, reduced field of vision, and even blindness.

If you have diabetes, Suburban Eye Care in Livonia offers diagnostic tests and treatment options to help preserve your vision. The earlier the diagnosis, the better the treatment outcome.

Diabetic-Retinopathy-Bllod-sugar-level-checker


How Optometrists Diagnose Diabetic Retinopathy

  • Medical history

    Your optometrist will ask about your medical history, including diabetes, as well as your family history of eye conditions.

  • Dilated pupil exam

    Your optometrist will apply eye drops to dilate the pupils so they can see inside the eye and detect any issues.

  • Fluorescein angiography

    This eye test uses a special dye and camera to look at blood flow in the retina and choroid.

  • Optical coherence tomography

    This imaging method shows a cross-section of the retina and can indicate whether vessels are leaking fluid into the retina.


How to Treat Diabetic Retinopathy

senior man with diabetic retinopathy

Treatment begins with managing blood sugar levels and diabetes. This means eating a healthy diet, increasing physical activity, and taking whatever diabetes medication has been prescribed.

Other treatments will depend on the stage or severity of the disease. If caught early, only blood sugar management may be necessary.

However, if you're in a more advanced stage of the diseases, treatment options may include:
  • Eye medications. Steroid and Anti-VEGF treatments can stop inflammation and prevent the formation of new blood vessels.
  • Laser surgery. Reduces the proliferation of abnormal blood vessels and swelling in the retina.
  • Vitrectomy. If you have proliferative diabetic retinopathy, you may need an eye surgery called vitrectomy. This procedure removes scar tissue, blood or fluid, and some of the vitreous gel so light rays can better focus on the retina.

Diabetic Retinopathy FAQs

What are the major risk factors for diabetic retinopathy?

As the name suggests, diabetes is the main risk factor for developing diabetic retinopathy. Be mindful of your family history of type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes. If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, get an annual eye exam to detect potential problems early.

Other conditions such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol are also risk factors. Moreover, those of African or Hispanic descent have a higher risk of developing diabetic retinopathy.

Can diabetic retinopathy be prevented?

There are a number of ways to preserve your vision and reduce the risk of vision and eye damage due to diabetic retinopathy.

  • Visit your eye doctor for annual eye exams.
  • Control your blood sugar levels.
  • Maintain healthy cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
  • Exercise regularly.
  • Quit smoking.

The best thing you can do right now is to schedule your eye exam with Suburban Eye Care in Livonia to ensure that everything is in check.

Does diabetic retinopathy cause blindness?

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the main causes of blindness among work-aged adults. It affects one in three people with diabetes and often goes unnoticed at first. Diagnosing and treating the condition early on can prevent severe vision loss.


Meet our Diabetic Retinopathy Specialist

Patient Reviews
4.8
403 Reviews
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- Oct. 23, 2024
Very awesome staff!!
- Oct. 12, 2024
Attention, caring and thorough exam, answers, direction. I always feel confident that I've gotten th... e best care and advice. Takes time, not rushed through. Best experience.
- Oct. 11, 2024
Dr Arnold is excellent and everyone that works there is awesome
- Sep. 19, 2024
Amber is amazing to work with and extremely helpful
- Aug. 30, 2024
I always appreciate their professionalism while making me feel like part of the family.
- Aug. 28, 2024
All the staff was very good and helpful Amber and Andrew are awesome!
- Jul. 24, 2024
Great group of people that work there and the service is excellent
- Jul. 18, 2024
Dr. Jacobi is a very knowledgeable and detailed doctor. He is also very funny and makes you feel com... fortable.
- Jun. 30, 2024
Suburban Eye Care provide the latest in eye technology and eye care services
- Jun. 20, 2024
Excellent place for Vision Therapy! Our child was struggling with reading and below grade level and ... after working with the therapists here, he’s made huge improvements and loves to read. We’re very happy with the program!
- Jun. 12, 2024
There is nothing that needs to be changed about this place. From the initial phone call to every ap... pointment we've had has been beyond 5 stars. I've recommended my sister as well. Dr Arnold....don't ever leave. I'll follow you. Love the entire staff.
- Jun. 06, 2024
Vision Therapy was the best thing for my daughter. She really struggled with reading. We went to the... eye doctor and was told her eyes were fine. Then spoke with a friend whose daughter was currently in VT and the symptoms she said she had were what my daughter had. We made an appointment to Suburban and she spent the next 9 months in VT. There were times where it was hard and we didn’t know if we could make it through some of the activities each week but we did and the growth she showed was amazing. Her grades have improved especially in reading and spelling. We are so grateful for VT!
- May. 27, 2024
excellent eye care, very friendly and efficient admin staff.
- May. 22, 2024
The best eye care in Michigan! Period!
- May. 22, 2024
They really took the time to make sure my son had a thorough eye exam. Rachel was awesome!
- May. 18, 2024
Wonderful recent appointment with Dr Arnold and the team at Suburban Eye Care! Assistants were very ... friendly as well and the selections of frames is unmatched!
- May. 10, 2024
I've been going to Suburban Eye Care for many years. The staff had always been friendly and profess... ional. The staff explains each step of the exam and Dr. Arnold is very thorough and answers any questions I may have. I am very pleased with my experiences here.
- Apr. 29, 2024
Best eye care place to take small children, or overly hyperactive children. Highly recommend.
- Apr. 25, 2024
Dr Arnold and his team are absolutely meticulous in my patient care and my pursuit of perfect vision... . I appreciate Dr Arnold and highly recommend him for your vision care needs. I drive 30 minutes past hundreds of other optometrists to get care by Dr Arnold and his team.
- Apr. 09, 2024
I recently graduated from vision therapy and it helped me a lot. The main reason why I started it is... because I would constantly see double which would bother me when I was doing drivers training therefore I wasn't able to drive for a while. The process is a year long but it goes by quickly and it's actually legit. I am able to control my eyes more and the staff there were very kind and opened to talk to. I would different recommend anyone with similar issues to try it out.

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Diabetic Retinopathy Diagnosis & Treatment in Livonia

Our optometry practice in Livonia

Photograph of Kayla  Smith
Hours
  • Monday 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
    3:00 pm - 7:00 pm
  • Tuesday 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
  • Wednesday 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
  • Thursday 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
    3:00 pm - 7:00 pm
  • Friday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
  • Saturday Closed
  • Sunday Closed
Insurance Plans
  • VSP
  • Medicare
  • Aetna
  • Spectera
  • Anthem
  • EyeMed
  • Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield
  • Blue Cross
  • MetLife

blood sugaer level testing kit

Have diabetes?

Early detection and timely treatment can prevent vision loss.

(734) 525-8170