Eyesight problems after blood control tightened

samowen268

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hey guys, bit of background info, I'm 18 years old and have been diabetic for 13 years, for the most of my teenage years i neglected my blood sugars and was very dependant on energy drinks, sugary food and even smoked a lot.
in march of this year I began to notice my eyesight was becoming impaired and I began to worry. I immediately googled my symptoms and was worried to find out about the horrors of diabetic retinopathy. by May, I had cut out all fizzy drinks and sugary foods, stopped drinking alcohol and stopped smoking too, all im told is that my overall blood was 94 in February (forgive me, I don't know what a lot of this means) and now it is 62? my nurse was stunned that my control had plummeted so much, she said this had affected my eyesight and was the reason my vision was affected, my brain had no idea how to function without so much sugar.
My problem now, is that it's almost the end of August and my sight isn't actually improving at all, it's getting noticeably worse with time, it's been months but my nurse is not concerned and my eye screening results show some tiny damage on my eye but will apparently reverse itself in no time with my new lifestyle changes.. I am becoming worried that my eye problems are coming from a different issue, everything persists to be grainy and almost pixelated in darker lighting, I find it also difficult to go into an environment with darker or brighter lighting as my eyes struggle to adjust and I feel almost blinded when going outside by the intense light, this has all caused huge anxiety for me, I was hospitalised due to a massive anxiety attack which I believe stemmed from the eye issues. I am also suffering muscle fatigue and general tiredness, is this all really a result of tightening my blood control so fast or is it likely to be an underlying health condition? I am feeling very depressed and miserable at this point, I'm real sorry for carrying on but at 18 it is beyond scary to feel so out of control when I'm trying to make improvements, thank you ever so much in advance.

(ADDITIONAL INFO : this is the lowest my blood glucose averages have ever been, my next eye screening appt is in September)
thanks again x
 
B

badcat

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When your BS is high the lens in your eye is one of many parts of the body that are affected - the sugar chanes the shape of the lens and hence your vision. When control is tightened, the shape of the lens changes in response to the dereased concentration of sugar. People who wear glasses often find their prescription has to be changed as their control varies. M be worth having a normal eyesight test to see if you need glasses
 

noblehead

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My problem now, is that it's almost the end of August and my sight isn't actually improving at all, it's getting noticeably worse with time, it's been months but my nurse is not concerned and my eye screening results show some tiny damage on my eye but will apparently reverse itself in no time with my new lifestyle changes..

Just go to your Dr's and have them examine your eyes, if they are concerned they will refer you over to the Ophthalmology Clinic at your local hospital, better to do this if you think your eyesight is getting worse since your last Eye Screening appointment.
 

catapillar

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all im told is that my overall blood was 94 in February (forgive me, I don't know what a lot of this means) and now it is 62?

These numbers are your hba1c results. Hba1c measures your diabetic control over the last three months by looking at how much glucose is stuck to your red blood cells.

A hba1c of 94 equates to an average blood sugar of 14.5 over the previous 3 months. A hba1c of 62 equates to an average blood sugar of 9.9.

Do you have a diagnosis of retinopathy from the screening? If so, as you are tightening control you should be receiving screening a bit more frequently.

Have a look at this page for a bit more information on the impact of tightening control - http://www.diabeticretinopathy.org.uk/retinopathyprogression.htm
 

samowen268

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These numbers are your hba1c results. Hba1c measures your diabetic control over the last three months by looking at how much glucose is stuck to your red blood cells.

A hba1c of 94 equates to an average blood sugar of 14.5 over the previous 3 months. A hba1c of 62 equates to an average blood sugar of 9.9.

Do you have a diagnosis of retinopathy from the screening? If so, as you are tightening control you should be receiving screening a bit more frequently.

Have a look at this page for a bit more information on the impact of tightening control - http://www.diabeticretinopathy.org.uk/retinopathyprogression.htm


I was told it's Maculopathy, and that I would need to be seen every 3 months, they were very certain the physical issues would reverse themselves with better control which I have done, it's just the vision problems that seem to persist :(
 

Jaylee

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Hi @samowen268 ,

I have (or with treatment had.) macula oedema.. Protein build up of fluid bulges & distorts the centeral vision behind the retina in the eye. An S can morph to a 6 a K to an N a C to an O. Gs Qs 0s whatever, you get the picture.. Sometimes I don't.
It's like a fairground attraction "Hall of bendy mirrors"..
To be fair. I'm still seeing eye specialists every month. Now 6 weeks though the results are beyond expectation. (I don't need to pinch & zoom this iPad no longer & turned off "accessibility" for the visually impaired on my phone.)

Lol, Ironically I was initially told "cataracts" by an optician for prescription lenses &referred to a specialist at the hospital.. (So I wasn't worried too much, my mum had successfully had treatment for that 20 years ago..?) A regular D eye check had always shown the all clear with retinopathy.. (No hassle there!)
Then they slapped me with MO...

See what your consultant has to say with your indevidual case first.
Let us know how you get on.

Wishing you the best of luck.!
 
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samowen268

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103
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Hi @samowen268 ,

I have (or with treatment had.) macula oedema.. Protein build up of fluid bulges & distorts the centeral vision behind the retina in the eye. An S can morph to a 6 a K to an N a C to an O. Gs Qs 0s whatever, you get the picture.. Sometimes I don't.
It's like a fairground attraction "Hall of bendy mirrors"..
To be fair. I'm still seeing eye specialists every month. Now 6 weeks though the results are beyond expectation. (I don't need to pinch & zoom this iPad no longer & turned off "accessibility" for the visually impaired on my phone.)

Lol, Ironically I was initially told "cataracts" by an optician for prescription lenses &referred to a specialist at the hospital.. (So I wasn't worried too much, my mum had successfully had treatment for that 20 years ago..?) A regular D eye check had always shown the all clear with retinopathy.. (No hassle there!)
Then they slapped me with MO...

See what your consultant has to say with your indevidual case first.
Let us know how you get on.

Wishing you the best of luck.!

I know the feeling all too well! I just keep worrying as I feel like my eyes should be getting better by now, maybe the massive drop in overall blood sugar and the maculopathy has merged to make my eyes crazy for a while, I'm hoping this settles soon as seeing lights and everything in grainy vision (after images, hazy and fuzzy) and it's a nightmare! Very distracting, my close up vision is perfect however, looking at a screen is never an issue it's just distance and dull lighting causes a lot of issues, also bright lighting enables me to see loads of wriggly things swimming haha bizarre.
I'm trusting it's diabetic related still at the moment, it's been months now and no improvement unfortunately, however I can see in the dark better now which is something! thank you for the reassurance and i hope your vision is fully restored soon!!
 

Omnipod

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how is the eyes now mate? has the maculopathy reversed? Did you have treatment?