Diabetic Retinopathy in Tucson

Preserve Your Vision With Family Vision Center

Have diabetes?

Experiencing changes in vision, such as blurriness and eye floaters?

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading causes of vision loss around the world. Of an estimated 285 million people with diabetes mellitus worldwide, approximately one-third have signs of diabetic retinopathy.

Fortunately, there are several steps people with diabetes can take to prevent or minimize vision loss.

Blood sugar level check

What Is Diabetic Retinopathy?

noraml eye and an eye with diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease caused by high blood sugar levels that damage the small blood vessels clustered within your retina. This leads to swelling or fluid leakage and can result in vision loss and even blindness.

Diabetic retinopathy also raises the risk of retinal detachment and/or glaucoma.

Because the early stages of diabetic retinopathy show no symptoms, many don't realize they have it until the disease has progressed.

If you have diabetes, you are at risk of developing diabetic retinopathy. To reduce your risk and protect your vision, schedule an eye exam with Family Vision Center today.

What Are the Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy?

diabetic-retinopothy-oct-scan

As mentioned above, the early phase of diabetic retinopathy typically shows no symptoms. This is why it's important to have routine eye exams (all the more so if you have diabetes), as your eye doctor can detect diabetic retinopathy in its earlier stages before symptoms become apparent.

Symptoms of proliferative diabetic retinopathy include:

Blurred vision
Floaters
Double vision
Near vision problems
Seeing dark spots (scotomas)
Difficulty seeing at night

What are the Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy?

Non-Proliferative Retinopathy (early stage):
This occurs when small bulges–or microaneurysms–form in blood vessels and can leak fluid into the retina.

Proliferative Retinopathy (later phase):
This refers to abnormal vessel growth and leakage in the retina. This triggers a variety of vision problems such as blurriness, reduced field of vision, and even blindness.

If you have diabetes, Family Vision Center in Tucson offers diagnostic tests and treatment options to help preserve your vision. The earlier the diagnosis, the better the treatment outcome.

Diabetic-Retinopathy-Bllod-sugar-level-checker

How Optometrists Diagnose Diabetic Retinopathy

Medical history

Your optometrist will ask about your medical history, including diabetes, as well as your family history of eye conditions.
Dilated pupil exam

Your optometrist will apply eye drops to dilate the pupils so they can see inside the eye and detect any issues.
Fluorescein angiography

This eye test uses a special dye and camera to look at blood flow in the retina and choroid.
Optical coherence tomography

This imaging method shows a cross-section of the retina and can indicate whether vessels are leaking fluid into the retina.

How to Treat Diabetic Retinopathy

senior man with diabetic retinopathy

Treatment begins with managing blood sugar levels and diabetes. This means eating a healthy diet, increasing physical activity, and taking whatever diabetes medication has been prescribed.

Other treatments will depend on the stage or severity of the disease. If caught early, only blood sugar management may be necessary.

However, if you're in a more advanced stage of the diseases, treatment options may include:

Eye medications. Steroid and Anti-VEGF treatments can stop inflammation and prevent the formation of new blood vessels.
Laser surgery. Reduces the proliferation of abnormal blood vessels and swelling in the retina.
Vitrectomy. If you have proliferative diabetic retinopathy, you may need an eye surgery called vitrectomy. This procedure removes scar tissue, blood or fluid, and some of the vitreous gel so light rays can better focus on the retina.

Diabetic Retinopathy FAQs

What are the major risk factors for diabetic retinopathy?

As the name suggests, diabetes is the main risk factor for developing diabetic retinopathy. Be mindful of your family history of type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes. If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, get an annual eye exam to detect potential problems early.

Other conditions such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol are also risk factors. Moreover, those of African or Hispanic descent have a higher risk of developing diabetic retinopathy.

Can diabetic retinopathy be prevented?

There are a number of ways to preserve your vision and reduce the risk of vision and eye damage due to diabetic retinopathy.

Visit your eye doctor for annual eye exams.
Control your blood sugar levels.
Maintain healthy cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
Exercise regularly.
Quit smoking.

The best thing you can do right now is to schedule your eye exam with Family Vision Center in Tucson to ensure that everything is in check.

Does diabetic retinopathy cause blindness?

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the main causes of blindness among work-aged adults. It affects one in three people with diabetes and often goes unnoticed at first. Diagnosing and treating the condition early on can prevent severe vision loss.

Patient Reviews

4.6

211 Reviews

- Dec. 27, 2025

I was a new patient and from the time I entered the service was impeccable. I'm a big stickler on cu... Show Morestomer service and I will say from the smiles to the greetings they had me before I even saw the doctor. The first point of contact was professional and efficient, just very smooth. Was called back in less than five minutes of entering. Again, very professional, greeted with a smile, a great greeting and a genuine sense of caring. The first point of contact was a technician to do the preliminary testing for the doctor and she explain every step in great detail. Very impressed! Took me to the patient room for a couple more test with the tech and then was told that the doctor would be right in. Yup, 3 minutes later Dr. Amy came in, greeted me like we knew each other for years. Made me feel so comfortable. I did have a eye problem that developed recently that had me a little worried and Dr. Amy made me feel relaxed and that there was nothing to worry about right off the bat. She is amazing, explained and showed me exactly what was going on with my slight blurred vision in one eye and made sure I knew it was nothing even remotely serious to make me feel better through her whole exam. I'm telling you, I'm 60 years old and been around and this is the first time in a vision center that I felt like a true patient and not looked at for $$. The explanation of all the tests, the showing of the pictures of my eyes and telling me my eyes were good with all the explanations, they were not perfect but not trying to sell me a prescription that was not needed. I use readers and she explained my insurance and what they pay every year. I asked her since a prescription wasn't needed could I use my insurance benefit for good readers with the right strength in each eye instead of the $20 pair from walgreens. Took me to the optician and we found a pair that my insurance covered and I will have a great pair of readers soon. My experience here was just awesome!! I would definitely recommend this business if you want great service and awesome knowledgeable doctors, along with very knowledgeable opticians that were never in a hurry and never a "just buy those" mentality. They really cared!! This place definitely deserves a 10 out of 5 in my book and that says alot coming from someone who holds very high standards!! Thank you Dr. Amy and your team for the utmost professionalism that you and your team showed this patient!!