Should a diabetic see an optometrist or an ophthalmologist?

my mother is a diabetic, her blood sugar is erratic, her last A1C was 7.1…she hasn't had an eye exam in 10 years! should she see an optometrist or an ophthalmologist?

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Answer:
If she just needs a new prescription, then an optometrist takes care of that. But as a diabetic, she should have an annual exam by an opthalmologist (they are MD's) so he has the ability to dilate her pupils and analyze her retinas (retinae?) for any damage from diabetes. If there’s any hemmoraging of the blood vessels, they can arrange laser therapy to arrest or even reverse it. Optometrists don't do that stuff, they deal with the cornea.

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Answer:
She needs to see an ophthalmologist annually. The good thing is most health insurance companies cover this if it is billed as a diabetic check up, you may need a referral from her regular physician. Health insurance does not cover optometrist check ups only vision insurance covers those. The ophthalmologist is the only physician who can look at blood vessels and nerves for damage from diabetes with out cutting you open.

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Answer:
Call for an appointment with an eye physician (ophthalmologist) if you’ve diabetes and you’ve not seen an ophthalmologist in the past year.
Retina of a diabetic patient has to be checked annually.

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Answer:
It is best to go to a ophthalmologist. Since her blood A1C is 7.1 has she ever been to diabetes education classes? These really helped me when I went 8 years ago. My A1C runs between 5.4 to 5.8 each since I went. They are usually covered by insurance if your primary physician requests them.

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Answer:
Definitely! Each diabetic in the beginning should see an ophthalmologist to get a baseline so that if eyes deteriorate you will know. Is mother exercising? It is as important as meds. She needs to get HBA1C lower.

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Answer:
before seeing an ophthalmologist see the blood sugar and correct the sugar level to have a standard level for good result from the eye physician