How do I know my Retinopathy has healed?

I CAN reverse some of my complications!


After I first got diagnosed w diabetes as a little girl, I can remember that I would hear about what complications could be coming down the road.  The main ones I remember being told were that I would “go blind” and/or “lose a kidney.”


For many years, I would show up for my yearly eye exam and everything looked good.  I can still remember my first exam with my new optometrist in 2012 where this huge crazy machine took a picture of the back of my eye.  I was paranoid to see what the back of my eyes actually looked like because I had never had the pictures taken before.  Every other time, my previous optometrist would do the exam with a machine that looked like this:

I always feared the day that an optometrist would need to break the news to me that I had Diabetic Retinopathy.  I can remember the day vividly when my new optometrist gave me the horrifying news and I started weeping in her office.  She was super-kind and showed me the few dot blot hemorrhages that I showed up in my photos.  (I called last week to have my records emailed to me so I could accurately describe her findings in this post.)

At that appointment in September 2012, on my records, the dot blot hemorrhages were referred to as “mild” NPDR.  (Non-Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy.)  I can clearly remember close to 4 hemorrhages in each eye.


Even though for close to 15 years, my A1C was in the 6’s (which is what I used to think was “fabulous!”), I unfortunately was still going to reap the consequences of my poor blood sugar management in my youth and teenage years.  During that appointment, my A1C gone up to a 7% due to my newly diagnosed gastroparesis.

Six months later, my records showed “moderate” NPDR.  In only six months, I went from having 4 hemorrhages in each eye to over 20 in each eye and I started having “floaters” too!  My A1C was 6.6%.  My optometrist had me go see a specialist to do further testing.  She too was very kind, but when I asked her when I would go blind, she told me that in about ten years, I may have severe retinopathy and start going blind in 5-10 years.

For many weeks and months, I would look at my kids and wonder when would be the last time I would see them.  I would wonder how I could read my Bible.  How would I be able to draw up my insulin if I couldn’t see?  I got a real sense of panic that my life and happiness were coming to an end.

I THEN READ THE DIABETES SOLUTION BY DR. RICHARD BERNSTEIN WHERE HE WROTE ABOUT HOW HE WAS ABLE TO REGROW HIS NERVES AND REVERSE HIS COMPLICATIONS!  IT TOOK ME A FEW WEEKS TO FIGURE OUT THE PLAN HIS BOOK RECOMMENDS, BUT WITHIN A FEW MONTHS, I COULD FEEL THE DIFFERENCE IN MY DIGESTION AND THE FLOATERS IN MY EYES STARTED TO GET BETTER!

In June 2014, my records indicate that I had only 2 dot blot hemorrhages in each eye due to the nerve regrowth.


In December of 2014, my records indicate that I had ZERO dot blot hemorrhages in either eye!


By following Dr. Bernstein’s diet and insulin regimen and some HARD work, I have healed my eyes.  My Hemoglobin A1C during that time was consistently between 5.2-5.4%.

I called my optometrist last week to go over the notes her office sent over, just to make sure that I had the facts of my Diabetic Retinopathy Healing Journey correct!  I said, “Is there any sign of diabetes in either eye?” She replied, “No, Amber, there isn’t and you are doing an amazing job!”


I am sooo looking forward to many, many years where I will “see” my girls’ smiles.

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