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Debra Crawford of Hagerstown was diagnosed with diabetes when she was in her 20s. She was more recently diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy, which is a form of eye disease that occurs when there is damage to the blood vessels in the retina. She is undergoing laser treatment to prevent further vision loss. (By Kevin G. Gilbert/Staff Photographer / November 16, 2012) |
When Debra Crawford was in her 20s, she received a life-changing diagnosis.
She had diabetes.
From that moment on, every day, every hour would require constant, unwavering attention to meals, lifestyle and medication.
The Hagerstown woman would learn the importance of willpower and self restraint and would walk a Goldilocks tightrope, making sure her sugar levels weren't too low or too high.
Food was no longer just food. It was a chart of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and serving sizes.
Crawford, 64, said her father and other relatives were diabetics, so her diagnosis didn't come as a complete surprise.
What did surprise her was the fact that diabetes put her at risk for a host of other health complications, including nerve damage and heart, kidney and liver problems.
Recently, she learned there's even more to diabetes than meets the eye when she developed diabetic vision problems.
Crawford said she had noticed during the past few years that her sight was getting worse.
"I love to paint and I love to do any kind of craft. I'm that type of person," she said. "But it seemed I was trying to do these things without seeing clearly."
Crawford didn't realize the seriousness of the situation until several weeks ago when she began to experience bleeding in her right eye.
"I couldn't see and didn't know what was happening," she said. "My eye became a brownish red color that kept getting darker."
Her doctor's office was closed at that hour, so she headed to the emergency room. It was there that Crawford was evaluated by Dr. Sunil Thadani, a local eye doctor, who told her the bleeding was a result of diabetic retinopathy — a form of eye disease where there is damage to the blood vessels in the retina.
Crawford currently is undergoing laser treatment to prevent further vision loss, said Thadani, medical director of Maryland Vision Center in Frederick, Md.
Retinopathy is one of a group of diabetic eye problems. Other related eye disorders include cataracts, a clouding of the natural lens in the eye; and glaucoma, which is the result of increased eye pressure that can lead to optic nerve damage and loss of vision.
According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetics are 40 percent more likely to suffer from glaucoma than people without diabetes and 60 percent more likely to develop cataracts.
Most patients with diabetes will get some form of retinopathy, says the ADA. In extreme cases, uncontrolled diabetes can lead to blindness.
The reason?
"Diabetes weakens the blood vessels in the eye, causing them to break down, leak or become blocked," Thadani explained. "Abnormal new blood vessels can also grow on the surface of the retina. This can result in loss of vision."
She had diabetes.
From that moment on, every day, every hour would require constant, unwavering attention to meals, lifestyle and medication.
The Hagerstown woman would learn the importance of willpower and self restraint and would walk a Goldilocks tightrope, making sure her sugar levels weren't too low or too high.
Food was no longer just food. It was a chart of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and serving sizes.
Crawford, 64, said her father and other relatives were diabetics, so her diagnosis didn't come as a complete surprise.
What did surprise her was the fact that diabetes put her at risk for a host of other health complications, including nerve damage and heart, kidney and liver problems.
Recently, she learned there's even more to diabetes than meets the eye when she developed diabetic vision problems.
Crawford said she had noticed during the past few years that her sight was getting worse.
"I love to paint and I love to do any kind of craft. I'm that type of person," she said. "But it seemed I was trying to do these things without seeing clearly."
Crawford didn't realize the seriousness of the situation until several weeks ago when she began to experience bleeding in her right eye.
"I couldn't see and didn't know what was happening," she said. "My eye became a brownish red color that kept getting darker."
Her doctor's office was closed at that hour, so she headed to the emergency room. It was there that Crawford was evaluated by Dr. Sunil Thadani, a local eye doctor, who told her the bleeding was a result of diabetic retinopathy — a form of eye disease where there is damage to the blood vessels in the retina.
Crawford currently is undergoing laser treatment to prevent further vision loss, said Thadani, medical director of Maryland Vision Center in Frederick, Md.
Retinopathy is one of a group of diabetic eye problems. Other related eye disorders include cataracts, a clouding of the natural lens in the eye; and glaucoma, which is the result of increased eye pressure that can lead to optic nerve damage and loss of vision.
According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetics are 40 percent more likely to suffer from glaucoma than people without diabetes and 60 percent more likely to develop cataracts.
Most patients with diabetes will get some form of retinopathy, says the ADA. In extreme cases, uncontrolled diabetes can lead to blindness.
The reason?
"Diabetes weakens the blood vessels in the eye, causing them to break down, leak or become blocked," Thadani explained. "Abnormal new blood vessels can also grow on the surface of the retina. This can result in loss of vision."
