Blurred Vision

Renfield

Active Member
Messages
32
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi Guys

Just a quick query.

I have been having a sort of blurred vision today.

Every few seconds, my eyes relax slightly and my vision goes blurred, i can force it to go back to being in focus, but it goes back again shortly after, and I am finding that prolonged focus of anything close to me, is hurting my eyes.


I was diagnosed with Type 2 eight days ago, and on doctors advice I had my eyes tested a week ago, and everything was fine. They did say I was slightly short sighted(trouble seeing things at a distance), but that could be as my sugar level are still very high, and in the last week that has rectified itself ( last week by BG was 20.7 and yesterday was 15.9)

I have ordered a testing kit, but it is still to arrive. So can;t check my current level

Apart from that I am feeling fine, I would go as far as to say pretty good.

Distance objects are clear, and don't hurt my eye's. In fact I can feel the strain going away when I look out the window at distance objects.

So I think I going to move my chair to the other side of the room and watch TV at a distance, being on the laptop and writing the letter I am attempting are going to have to wait :)


But I wondered, is this something that can happen? I am working tomorrow and I work on a computer, so hoping I will be ok, but not sure if this is something I should expect to happen intermittently in the future?

Thanks for the advice
 

catinahat

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,386
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Reality tv
Hello Renfield
High blood sugar can cause the lens to swell which changes the shape and causes blurred vision. The easiest way to prevent this is to avoid high carb meals. Bread of any sort, wholemeal, white, seeded gave me the same problem.so I have cut it out of my diet, I struggled at first because I used to have bread with everything, but it is surprising what you can get used to when you have to.
 

Renfield

Active Member
Messages
32
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi catinahat

Thank for the reply

I have been reducing my carb levels over the last week. And today I have not had many yet.

I had a 3 egg omelette with mushrooms, ham and cheese earlier, but nothing carby.

I wondered if perhaps lack of carbs may have caused it, so I just had a slice of wholemeal toast and will see if it helps.
 

BooJewels

Well-Known Member
Messages
443
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
I think the pertinent bit of your post was that your BG had decreased significantly. The fluid in your eyes is noticeably affected by BG and changes with the levels and a big sudden change in BG can mean that the eyes take a little while to adjust, causing blurry vision. I've recently started on insulin and have dropped my BGs significantly over the last couple of months and we chose to do that at a steady rate to try and minimise such issues. Even so, I've had odd days where it has looked like I have a sheet of thin bubble wrap on my glasses. I had a session of a couple of hours yesterday where I just could not focus on the computer screen. Over the last couple of months I've variously worn just about every pair of specs I have with different lenses to optimise my vision on any particular day.

It will settle down as your levels become both lower and more consistent. Sharp fluctuations can cause it on a day to day basis, but the better control you get and the more even your readings, the better it will become. So please don't worry, it is to be expected and I'm surprised your medics didn't explain this as they started treatment.

As you've noticed, looking to distance and then back improves it - this is something my optician has advised me to do when working - focus at distance and watch something out of the window etc. for a few minutes to relax the muscles. I make jewellery, so spend a lot of time focused close and doing this exercise every 10 minutes certainly helps your eyes from tiring.
 
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Renfield

Active Member
Messages
32
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I think the pertinent bit of your post was that your BG had decreased significantly. The fluid in your eyes is noticeably affected by BG and changes with the levels and a big sudden change in BG can mean that the eyes take a little while to adjust, causing blurry vision. I've recently started on insulin and have dropped my BGs significantly over the last couple of months and we chose to do that at a steady rate to try and minimise such issues. Even so, I've had odd days where it has looked like I have a sheet of thin bubble wrap on my glasses. I had a session of a couple of hours yesterday where I just could not focus on the computer screen. Over the last couple of months I've variously worn just about every pair of specs I have with different lenses to optimise my vision on any particular day.

It will settle down as your levels become both lower and more consistent. Sharp fluctuations can cause it on a day to day basis, but the better control you get and the more even your readings, the better it will become. So please don't worry, it is to be expected and I'm surprised your medics didn't explain this as they started treatment.

As you've noticed, looking to distance and then back improves it - this is something my optician has advised me to do when working - focus at distance and watch something out of the window etc. for a few minutes to relax the muscles. I make jewellery, so spend a lot of time focused close and doing this exercise every 10 minutes certainly helps your eyes from tiring.


Thanks for the reassuring comments, makes me feel more at ease to know it is to be expected.

I am not on any medication, as they don't prescribe anything for the first 3 months, and I have to try and control it naturally first.

As for medical advice. I was given a printout on diabetes, but the doctor said nothing about what to expect, what to do (Except "dont drink coke") So anything I have learnt, I have had to research myself.
 

Rog

Well-Known Member
Messages
248
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
I have had the same blurd tonight watching telly , my BS has dropped significantly in the last two days from 16.3 to 5.3 , went to zero carbs and extra walking , you guys have helped me and reassured me.
 
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Nuthead

Well-Known Member
Messages
986
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Another reason t2 diabetic peps need to be given a meter and strips. How are we supposed to know when to get an eye test with unknown bg levels. It could be an expensive waste getting new bins with high bg.
 

britishpub

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,722
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi. I had a similar effect during the first couple of weeks as I reduced by BG. My eyesight had noticeably improved during the 3 months prior to diagnosis as my symptoms worsened, I was even able to read using my normal glasses and had ditched my reading glasses, and then in the 2 weeks after I reduced carbs and started Metformin my eyesight got considerably worse all of a sudden. After about 3 weeks it settled down, and now I am back to where I was at the end of last year.
 
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Renfield

Active Member
Messages
32
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Went tot he doctor today. and saw the practice Diabetic Doctor, who said there is not an awful lot I can do but wait it out

So she gave me a week off work, and hopefully by then, it will be better