Diabetes and Vision

A concern that I have read about again and again for people with diabetes is vision problems, including blindness. My older sister has to have injections in her one eye because of complications from diabetes. My younger sister no longer wears contact lenses for the same reason. 
I had LASIK surgery about 20 years ago. About 15 years ago, my vision started changing. I noticed it first when I was cleaning a pair of glasses for a family member. As I looked through the lens to make sure that it was clean, I was seeing a sharper image. I was surprised because my vision had been constant since my surgery. 
I went to the eye doctor, and sure enough, there was enough of a change in my vision that I needed glasses. I got glasses and I also got fitted for contact lenses. I decided to go for the lenses that had the most positive reviews in terms of comfort, because at the time, I was working at the airport, and the constant changes in temperature/air pressure from opening and closing doors, etcetera was something that the optometrist was a little concerned about. 
The first few days of wearing the contacts, I was told that there would be an adjustment period. I called the eye doctor because the first day was absolutely miserable. My eyes felt dry all day long. I called the doctor and he told me that I should come in and let him have a look. During the visit, he said that it looked like I had eyes that were a little dry, and that wearing contacts to work would probably not be good for my eye health. He changed the contacts I was wearing, and I have it a second try. I was unable to wear them at home because it was just too uncomfortable.
In doing research, I discovered that vision problems are a massive problems in the diabetic community. Fear of blindness made me change how I handle my eye health. Here are the changes that I have made: 

1. If I use room fans and personal fans for cooling the room and circulating the air, I make sure that none of the breeze crosses my eyes. Dry eyes are not good for eye health. 
2. I stay hydrated and track it on my phone. I used to think that I was a good little water drinker. Then I added an app that is both on my phone and my smartwatch. Guess what? I wasn't consuming nearly as much water as I thought I was. Now, I have a little routine and it works really well. I will have a separate blog post about this, because it is really important. 
3. I see an in person optometrist or opthamologist once a year. A lot of the lower priced places use remote doctors that do all of the diagnostics through screens. For a few dollars more, I want to see a doctor that will look at me in person to see ocular changes that may not be visible through a screen by a distracted doctor. Peace of mind and not being blind are worth the extra money. 
4. I pay attention.

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