A1c continues to improve and endo appointments only twice a year :)

Yes its important for people to know that retinopathy and neuropathy are related conditions caused by diabetes. But retinopathy is easier to detect because blood vessels in eyes are easy to see compared to blood vessels in one's feet. So pay attention to retinopathy because if you don't have that then to don't have neuropathy either. And if one has retinopathy then neuropathy isn't far behind. So I don't go by a1c alone. If I was developing retinopathy then my A1c is too high for me. Diabetes and medication isn't one size fits all. Last time I saw ophthalmologist he said no retinopathy. Then I have been seeing another specialist for strabismus and he wrote that a "wool spot" has been detected. I don't know what a wool spot means but I am assuming that its beginning retinopathy. The techs said that I might have gotten that before I was diagnosed with diabetes and did not know I had it. You can get lots of information from techs that doctors don't say because they are doctors and only tell you what you need to know. I never had skin lesions before. But I was in perimenopause when I was diagnosed with diabetes. So my hormones were going up and down. Lots of women have skin problems in this phase of life. Well they told me recently that I hit menopause based on my estrogen levels. So it's official. Of course they don't tell you details but I think they are waiting to see if my skin lesions clear because of change of life. Doctors watch and wait a lot, especially mayo doctors. That's because they are good doctors. They know that the human body heals itself and medical care often is watching what happens. It's the younger doctors that want to operate right away or medicate right away. Older doctors are more experienced and patient. They will just tell you to wait and see. Maybe that's why they only tell you what you need to know. They don't want you to worry and they are waiting to see what happens. I have 24 years at Mayo Clinic. First as mother of son with genetic condition. Now I am patient too. So I have experienced both caregiver and patient roles. They are not the same at all.

Hello @ihatediabetes

I had not heard of "wool spots, either but I did a google search and there is what I found, https://nei.nih.gov/faqs/retina-cotton-wool-spots"

"Cotton wool spots are small yellowish-white deposits (resembling cotton fluffs) in the retina. They represent swelling of the retinal nerve fibers. This swelling usually occurs because the blood supply to that area has been impaired and the decreased blood flow has injured the nerve fibers in that location.

The most common causes of cotton wool spots are chronic diseases, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. However, infections, trauma, toxins, and other unknown factors can also initiate the chain of events that creates the deposits.

Often cotton wool spots will disappear on their own, but some localized vision loss may be permanent."

For more information from other health sites, please visit the following webpages:
Digital Reference of Ophthalmology, Retinal Vascular Diseases
http://dro.hs.columbia.edu/ctwool.htm (link is external)
University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center, Cotton Wool Spots
http://www.kellogg.umich.edu/theeyeshaveit/optic-fundus/cotton-wool.html (link is external)
You may wish to contact our Information Specialist:
Telephone: (301) 496-5248
Email: 2020@nei.nih.gov

From this article, it certainly can be caused by diabetes and/or other chronic diseases like high BP. Has your vision been affected by these "spots" ?

Also, here is an article from the American Diabetes Association about skin problems resulting from diabetes, http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/skin-complications.html

Thanks for looking that up. I didn't know what wool spot meant. I just read in my notes from eye examination. My vision is actually getting better because I am being treated for strabismus. I am wearing prism film on my glasses to help my eyes converge. I was the kid with amblyopia that never resolved. So that's another thing that happened from going to diabetes eye checks. I saw a resident for diabetes and he said that I have strabismus. That's how I got to adult strabismus ophthalmologist. Mayo Clinic has specialists and a sub specialists for things you never heard of. But I am happy my eyes are getting better. Now we are watching and waiting to see if I develop 3d or binocular vision. I never had that before because of amblyopia. But now my brain is relearning how to process images and doctors just wait to see. They can't really fix how one's brain combines images from left and right eyes. That's the human body and God at work. Doctors just watch these things.

I have heard of prisms in lenses, but never heard of prism film before. Could you describe it?

Its like a plastic film with the prism correction built it. The doctor had a woman cut the film and put on my left eyeglass. So light is bent to correct strabismus. I never had binocular vision. I can trip and fall because depth perception off because of strabismus. So now we are waiting to see what my brain does with the prism. Will I develop 3d vision? This is actually a big question if someone my age can still develop 3d or binocular vision. Its something that develops in childhood. But I never had it. I couldn't play softball because I couldn't track ball in 3d space. But I could bowl and play kickball because the ball is rolling on the ground so I could track it.

@hopeful33250 It really is worth the drive, particularly since he feels I only need to see once a year. It was that or go to MGH which would take at least the same amount of time, and I already knew this doctor, liked him and have a tremendous of confidence in him. Frankly there are not too many doctors in my area I can say that about and when he left the area there were no good endocrinologists left.
JK