Eye problem after low-carb

Shootgun

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
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Diet only
I have been having a bit of blurred vision, particulary in the morning, affecting my short distances since i started to low carb. I haven't had my eyes test done yet, i'm waiting for the booking letter so i don't know if my eyesight is bad or is just a low-carb diet side effect? Anyone experienced this?
Thank you!
 

JAY1JAY1

Well-Known Member
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623
Type of diabetes
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Tablets (oral)
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Diabetes
It could be the low carb I had similar when I started . I just phoned a local shop for my diabetic check as my own optition does not have a camera . And booked in with them I didn't get a letter in the post . But get onto your optition for a normal test as the diabetic test only checks the back of the eyes and not the general condition .
 

Shootgun

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks for the advice Jay1Jay1, i'll go to an optician if vision doesn't improve in a few days.
 

AndBreathe

Master
Retired Moderator
Messages
11,344
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
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Diet only
Thanks for the advice Jay1Jay1, i'll go to an optician if vision doesn't improve in a few days.

In writing this post, I am assuming two things:
- that you are continuing to low car
- your blood scores are lowering

Whatever you do, don't rush into buying any corrective lenses until you are settled into your way of eating. There have been a number of people who have had new glasses, then found those didn't work either, as their eyes settled.

The vision disturbances are likely to be a side effect of reducing the about of glucose rushing around your body, including in the fluid in your eyes. Once your diet and bloods are settled, that is the time to consider new glasses, if your vision remains distorted.

If my assumptions are wrong, of course this may not be the case, but it can't do any harm to have things checked out.
 
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Shootgun

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
In writing this post, I am assuming two things:
- that you are continuing to low car
- your blood scores are lowering

Whatever you do, don't rush into buying any corrective lenses until you are settled into your way of eating. There have been a number of people who have had new glasses, then found those didn't work either, as their eyes settled.

The vision disturbances are likely to be a side effect of reducing the about of glucose rushing around your body, including in the fluid in your eyes. Once your diet and bloods are settled, that is the time to consider new glasses, if your vision remains distorted.

If my assumptions are wrong, of course this may not be the case, but it can't do any harm to have things checked out.

Thanks, i am continuing to low carb and my BG levels are down.I haven't touched sugar, bread , rice potatoes, beans, fizzy or sugary drinks, beer in 3 weeks.
I never wore glasses, i had a 20/20 vision al my life. Any idea how long this side efect last?
 

AndBreathe

Master
Retired Moderator
Messages
11,344
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks, i am continuing to low carb and my BG levels are down.I haven't touched sugar, bread , rice potatoes, beans, fizzy or sugary drinks, beer in 3 weeks.
I never wore glasses, i had a 20/20 vision al my life. Any idea how long this side efect last?

Like most things diabetes related, that's going to be very individual. I didn't have any visual disturbances, so I can't give any personal insight there.

As it's a fairly common issue, it could be worth a forum search, or a new specific thread enquiring how long it took for vision to settle?

Good luck with it. Fingers crossed you'll be back to your old vision soon.
 
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Shootgun

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks for the quick replay and apologise for asking so many questions. I only been diagnosed 3 weeks ago and i found myself at the beginning of a very long journey without a real knowlege about what lies ahead of me.
 

uart

Well-Known Member
Messages
424
Type of diabetes
Type 1.5
Treatment type
Insulin
Thanks for the quick replay and apologise for asking so many questions. I only been diagnosed 3 weeks ago and i found myself at the beginning of a very long journey without a real knowlege about what lies ahead of me.
Ok, that makes more sense now. Since you're only 3 weeks post diagnosis and your blood glucose levels are coming down, then I would say that far from the LCHF causing the "blurries" it's probably greatly reducing its severity (compared to where you'd be now if you hadn't reduced your BGL's).

The blurred vision is a really common effect of having high blood glucose levels over a period of time. The thing is, it doesn't happen straight away, but is a cumulative effect of having the levels high for a period of weeks or more. My guess is that you are just now experiencing those cumulative effects, which as I mentioned would probably be much worse if your levels had remained high.
 
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seanj67

Well-Known Member
Messages
283
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Just to add my experience.

If I get blurred vision from high BG, it settles after a while. When I then reduce BG's it then gets blurred again for a day or so. I assume it's the lenses returning to normal after adjusting to the higher BG's. The thing I have found is that when my BG's reduce, my eyesight is waaaay sharper.


S
 

fouadhaidar

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Thanks, i am continuing to low carb and my BG levels are down.I haven't touched sugar, bread , rice potatoes, beans, fizzy or sugary drinks, beer in 3 weeks.
I never wore glasses, i had a 20/20 vision al my life. Any idea how long this side efect last?
I do not think "beans" is on the list to be avoided. Pls. verify. Thank you.
 

Winnie53

BANNED
Messages
2,374
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
@fouadhaidar welcome to the forum. :)

Sugar, grains, starchy vegetables, and beans are all blood glucose spikers for me. I can only have the later two in limited quantities, a quarter of a carrot or 1 to 2 tablespoons of beans on my salad, but not both. I agree with Mike. Carbohydrate tolerance varies greatly among those with type 2 diabetes. We figure out what works, what doesn't work for us by checking our blood glucose 2 hours post meal.

@Shootgun I also developed vision problems as I brought my blood glucose levels down over a 4 week period. May have lasted for a few months. I chose to have a complete eye exam. No retinopathy yet. Phew.

Thankfully I did not buy reading glasses. What I was told I needed and what I actually needed a few months later were very different. :)
 

Shootgun

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks for the replies so far guys!
I only ate green beans once and it rised my BG levels with 4 units after 2 hours, so is a no go for me.
Now i only have blurred vision maximum 30 minutes after i wake up in the morning, and my BG levels are around 8, from 17, 16 days after starting the diet.
 
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