Eyesight better on insulin?

[pab99c]

Newly diagnosed t1. Have worn glasses for driving for 15 years. after 1 week on insulin my eyesight has improved so much I can now see without my glasses?! In fact my eyesight has improved so much that wearing my glasses makes my vision blurry?!

Has diabetes fixed my eyesight?

 

[ebony321]

Hi,

I've never heard of diabetes curing eyesight!

It's a common symptom with diabetes to have blurry vision, so maybe you've had blurry vision pre-diagnosis and now your on insulin your body is able to clear the excess glucose from around your eyes so your eyes will probably be much better than before you were diagnosed.

My vision has gotten worse since i've had diabetes. I need to wear glasses for long distance activities, driving watching tv etc. Before diabetes i had perfect vision, up to my diagnosis i noticed my eyes would blurr quite badly to the point i thought i would need glasses permanently! then when i was diagnosed and using insulin my eyes returned to normal!

It may or may not be the case but either way i'm sure it's a good thing maybe you should visit your opticians!

 

[Grazer]

Simples! High blood sugar levels cause blurred vision. Once you're diagnosed and start to sort out your levels, with insulin, diet or whatever, the blurring stops. If you lose control again, you'll probably notice the blurring come back.

 

[pab99c]

Having sniffed around the internet it seems eyesight improvement is a common phenomenon albeit temporary in most cases:

http://www.diabetesdaily.com/forum/eyes/41365-eyesight-got-better

http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/diabetes-complications/23960-dramatic-eyesight-improvement-weird.html

Have an opticians appointment today so will keep you posted.

Sounds like I should hold off ordering a new pair of glasses though! Most people's my eyesight return to "normal"i.e. back to needing glasses, after a few weeks.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Has diabetes fixed my eyesight?

Hi pab99c and welcome to the forum.


It is extremely unlikely that insulin has fixed your eye sight, its also not stickily true that high blood glucose causes blurred vision it is true however that a fast reduction in blood glucose (bg) levels due to starting insulin will cause the blurring you describe, I witnessed it myself when I first started insulin treatment and my bg levels plummeted from their previous high levels.

I actually had to wear +1.50 reading glasses to see well enough to drive, it lasted for about 4 to 6 weeks if I remember correctly and I was advised not to have my eyes tested for 2 months to give the pressure in my eyes time to stabilise or any glasses I bought would be wrong when my eyesight stabilised.

Speak with your diabetes team about this and I'm sure they will be able to offer advice, also in future always mention your diabetes to your optician as it is important he/she knows about your condition.

 

[Grazer]

its also not stickily true that high blood glucose causes blurred vision

Like the "stickily true" when referring to blood glucose! Good whether intended or not! Not sure about the statement however. The following is from the world foundation for diabetes:-

Q What are the common symptoms and causes of diabetic eye disease?

A The early symptom of eye problem related to diabetes is blurred vision. High blood sugar changes the shape and flexibility of the lens of the eye distorting the ability to focus and causes blurred vision.

So as I suggested, REDUCING blood sugar by controlling it could stop the blurring.

I've not used Insulin Sid, so I don't know about that and you may be right there.

 

[Cheryl]

I remember being told all those years ago not to have my eyesight tested until I had settled into my insulin treatment as high blood sugar can affect one's vision. My eyesight didn't improve overall, but it may have got worse for a while when I was undiagnosed, i don't recall.

 

[phoenix]

A couple of days after I was first diagnosed and put onto insulin I could look out of the window of my hospital room and see for ever. It was a strange and quite surrealistic experience. On the other hand I couldn't watch the small TV in my room as it was 'far too close' and blurred.

High glucose levels increase the osmotic pressure in your eye, fluid is drawn into the eye causing the shape of the lens to change. This can happen gradually so people adjust to the difference, or it may occur suddenly when vision can become very blurry.
If levels are normalised , the fluid levels alter again and so does the lens. If this happens 'overnight' as happens with the start of insulin the lens can be altered in the opposite direction causing far sightedness. This will normalise, some people report that it takes a while, mine was back to normal within a couple of weeks (pity I thought I could get a new job as a marksman :lol: )

 

[Sid Bonkers]

its also not stickily true that high blood glucose causes blurred vision

I have been thinking since posting that that statement was misleading Grazer, yes high blood glucose does cause blurred vision but it is much worse and more noticeable when bg is reduced quickly as can happen with insulin treatment. For example I had noticed a very slight deterioration in my vision prior to diagnosis but within a couple of days of being on insulin I was unable to see well enough to drive without reading glasses to correct the problem, it was probably not helped that I was put on an insulin drip in hospital to bring my levels down and it is the sudden change in pressure that causes the blurring so much more than the steady increase of pressure when bg is rising, the slow increase in pressure is less noticeable as your diabetes develops than the sudden drop that insulin treatment causes, if you see what I mean.

 

[Grazer]

its also not stickily true that high blood glucose causes blurred vision

I have been thinking since posting that that statement was misleading Grazer, yes high blood glucose does cause blurred vision but it is much worse and more noticeable when bg is reduced quickly as can happen with insulin treatment. For example I had noticed a very slight deterioration in my vision prior to diagnosis but within a couple of days of being on insulin I was unable to see well enough to drive without reading glasses to correct the problem, it was probably not helped that I was put on an insulin drip in hospital to bring my levels down and it is the sudden change in pressure that causes the blurring so much more than the steady increase of pressure when bg is rising, the slow increase in pressure is less noticeable as your diabetes develops than the sudden drop that insulin treatment causes, if you see what I mean.

Yeah, get it. Still like the "stickily" bit! Unintended jokes are always the best

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Yeah, get it. Still like the "stickily" bit! Unintended jokes are always the best

LOL, I'll blame the spell check for that as I am dyslexec so anything I cant spell I get spellcheck to alert me and I abviously missed the alternative spelling it suggested.

I purposely didnt use spell check for the above sentence, to give you an idea. :lol:

 

[pab99c]

thanks for your comments.

Went to the opticians and yup my eyesight has improved! Albeit most likely a temporary thing!

went from -1.50, -1.50... to -0.25,-0.25.

It's been great to wear my sunglasses without contacts!

Got some new specs for driving and the optician said they will change the lens for free if/when my eyesight changes again as they get used to normal levels of blood sugar.

So for now - I will enjoy my new bionic sight!

 

[Grazer]

Yeah, get it. Still like the "stickily" bit! Unintended jokes are always the best

LOL, I'll blame the spell check for that as I am dyslexec so anything I cant spell I get spellcheck to alert me and I abviously missed the alternative spelling it suggested.

I purposely didnt use spell check for the above sentence, to give you an idea. :lol:

You actually spelt everything right apart from dyslexic!

 

[diabetes111]

Raised blood glucose causes blurry vision.
Insulin Therapy reduces blood glucose levels and vision returns.
You may have never needed glasses just stable blood sugars

 

[Phil007007]

Yes I have the same problem, my eyesight was getting blurry then I was diagnosed with type 3 and put on insulin and my eyes went back to normal, but I had to increase the dose and they are blurry again so I guess I just have to wait a bit until it all settles down.

 

[Circuspony]

Newly diagnosed t1. Have worn glasses for driving for 15 years. after 1 week on insulin my eyesight has improved so much I can now see without my glasses?! In fact my eyesight has improved so much that wearing my glasses makes my vision blurry?!

Has diabetes fixed my eyesight?

Sadly it's temporary! I had perfect vision for 2 weeks in the month after I started on insulin. Given I was 43 and I've been short sighted since I was 8 that was quite incredible. I wish it had lasted but my eyes gradually got more short sighted again.

I got through a lot of changes of contact lens prescription in the first 3 months

 

[Deborah Lidgley]

Newly diagnosed t1. Have worn glasses for driving for 15 years. after 1 week on insulin my eyesight has improved so much I can now see without my glasses?! In fact my eyesight has improved so much that wearing my glasses makes my vision blurry?!

Has diabetes fixed my eyesight?

Exactly the same thing has happened to me. And when I was put on Mounjaro instead of insuline my eyesight got worse again.

 

[Grant_Vicat]

Hi @Deborah Lidgley and welcome to the forum. Although this post was last responded to more than six years ago, and therefore you might not get a reply from @pab99c , it will always be relevant. I was taken to the optician in 1971 because I could not read the station name on the opposite platform. By the time my appointment arrived my blood sugar must have greatly improved as the optician supplied placebo glasses!

 

[debs248]

Changes in blood glucose levels definitely affect eyesight, though it's hard to predict the effect. I've been extremely short sighted all my life and got used to my glasses never staying the right strength for long, and it's got worse since I started needing a reading prescription on top.

Before diagnosis I just put my blurry vision down to a combination of glasses needing new prescription and perimenopause, but since taking Gliclazide and Metformin for the last 4 weeks, it's improved to the point where I can again read normal print. I'm hoping it's stopped changing now as I won't be getting new glasses for at least 2 months!

 

[Grant_Vicat]

Changes in blood glucose levels definitely affect eyesight, though it's hard to predict the effect. I've been extremely short sighted all my life and got used to my glasses never staying the right strength for long, and it's got worse since I started needing a reading prescription on top.

Before diagnosis I just put my blurry vision down to a combination of glasses needing new prescription and perimenopause, but since taking Gliclazide and Metformin for the last 4 weeks, it's improved to the point where I can again read normal print. I'm hoping it's stopped changing now as I won't be getting new glasses for at least 2 months!

@debs248 From 1958-2013 I hadn't needed glasses at all, but all I have used since then is reading glasses and anti-glare for driving. I hope you keep yours intact.