There's limits to how often your opthalmologist can use the dye test, I know, but forgot to ask how often, and can't find the right search term to answer that question online.

Anyone with retinopathy know how often they can do that test?

Hi Eagle. I've been told by several ophths that the dye is harmless, so didn't realize there was a limit.
Personally, I'm more concerned with the prolonged exposure to the bright light.

Hi Eagle. I've been told by several ophths that the dye is harmless, so didn't realize there was a limit.
Personally, I'm more concerned with the prolonged exposure to the bright light.

Oh yes, that too. Do you suppose there's any lasting harm in the prolonged exposure to the light? I usually take some aspirin before I go, had a scan yesterday, not the dye test, and it wasn't bad at all.

Maybe you're right that there isn't any limit, and maybe it's just that insurance companies limit the number of times in a year that they pay for it or something like that. She just said yesterday it's not time for another one yet and I'm just checking, should have asked if I was going to be curious, I know. Thanks much for the reply. Nice to hear from you.

Well, it could be from the doc's point of view it's not time for one because things don't change that fast in your retina.
The light is not supposed to harm the retina, but it did permanent damage to both my eyes on two occasions. All the specialists I saw pooed-pooed that idea until I saw a genetic-ophth who is a specialist in retinitis pigmentosa. She said it harmed her patients and she did not give them a full angiogram. She gave me an abbreviated one and there was no problem, but she was the only doctor who was aware of this. She said she'd never seen that in a case like mine, but they don't know what's wrong with me anyway. My poor old photoreceptor cells just can't take that very bright, prolonged light.

You poor thing. Are you able to drive and all? Think miracles?

Thanks for the possible reason I hadn't had a dye test since Aug. 2005, that I'm aware of. Maybe my woman doctor knows that too. She's so good I knew there must be a reason.

Last fall I knew I needed some more laser, was seeing the large inkblot again that first brought me in, and the prep girl was admant that it was just a floater, probably wrote that down for the doctor, I realized after returning home.

I'd gone in for an emergency appointment. Today I Just got a call to come in for laser tomorrow, since I had another doctor do the test, signed a release Monday and they obtained a copy.

They were hurt that I'd seen someone else but now know, I guess that patients can know I really did have a problem. The emergency is more than nine months old now but this woman doctor has done a lot of procedures and I've never even had any pain. The "other doctor", second opinion guy, fixed one large blob that was distorting words. She may need to fine-tune that a little.

But I Could read the line that's required for a driving test, tho it wasn't easy, took me a few minutes, since I was partly dilated already by the van lady when she picked me up. That's encouraging.

Again, thanks for letting me know there is some danger in the dye test, and I sure hope you get better. While there's life there's hope. I think I'm doing better than expected, except for the proliferative retinopathy. Thanks also for informing me it would only have worsened slowly. A relief! Good luck.

Eagle, you said, "Thanks also for informing me it would only have worsened slowly. A relief!" Not sure what that refers to. If it was, "things don't change that fast in your retina" I didn't mean generally; I just meant perhaps your doctor wasn't seeing changes that warranted another angiogram. I didn't know how long it had been since the last.

And, no I haven't driven for seven years. That's the pits.

If it was, "things don't change that fast in your retina" I didn't mean generally; I just meant perhaps your doctor wasn't seeing changes that warranted another angiogram. I didn't know how long it had been since the last.

And, no I haven't driven for seven years. That's the pits.

You sure have my sympathy about not being able to drive.

It'd been quite a while since I'd had a dye test, an oversight I'm sure because they have so many patients, and nobody was believing me that I was seeing a large ink blot again like when I first arrived there in Aug. 2005 until I went through the initial process again elsewhere and learned it's the dye test that shows retinopathy. This was all right after I'd been to my retina specialist.

Also had scratched my eye a bit on a tree branch, and that doctor, an optometrist, only one who was in that late in the afternoon, wrote, "significant retinopathy", w/out any kind of scan at all. The woman retina specialist is so good I can't figure how she missed seeing it but anyway I made out just fine yesterday. She has a more modern laser than the man had, doesn't even make noise, and will do the other half in two weeks. Says you heal better that way, diviiding it up into two sessions.

Your information, general or not, really did help me relax, and I thank you for replying when you're also having so much trouble of your own. Sure hope something will happen that will help you. Never give up. They're coming up with new things all the time.