Blurred vision

[MrsGruffy]

My diabetes educator said that my vision will improve in 2 months, and that it's likely that my eyes are full of fluid from all the drinking I was doing before I was diagnosed. I am on a very low income and I can't afford the $300 out of pocket that the only opthalmologists in my area all charge. Would anyone who suffered blurred vision before diagnosis share how long it took to improve?

 

[urbanracer]

My diabetes educator said that my vision will improve in 2 months, and that it's likely that my eyes are full of fluid from all the drinking I was doing before I was diagnosed. I am on a very low income and I can't afford the $300 out of pocket that the only opthalmologists in my area all charge. Would anyone who suffered blurred vision before diagnosis share how long it took to improve?

It depends on the individual and how high your glucose levels are. It's thought that you actually don't want a rapid improvement because the sudden change can cause permanent damage to your eyesight. So don't be impatient if it takes a few weeks. Nice and easy does it.

 

[pharmaceutics]

My diabetes educator said that my vision will improve in 2 months, and that it's likely that my eyes are full of fluid from all the drinking I was doing before I was diagnosed. I am on a very low income and I can't afford the $300 out of pocket that the only opthalmologists in my area all charge. Would anyone who suffered blurred vision before diagnosis share how long it took to improve?

Several studies on this which track the vision changes of newly diagnosed patients after their BG drops sudden put the recovery of the lens to close to previous levels from 4 to 10 weeks

 

[MrsGruffy]

Well.. it's over 12 weeks for me now and it's better, but not anywhere near back to previous levels. So I hope there's some variability in that time frame!

 

[Crocodile]

Since I'm long sighted my eyesight actually improved with high sugar. The sugar actually causes the lens to swell slightly changing the focal length. It took about 6 weeks before my old glasses worked again.

 

[Dark Horse]

It's important to differentiate between (a) the temporary blurring due to the effect of changing glucose levels on the lens of the eye and b) blurring due to diabetic maculopathy. On diagnosis, it is much more likely to be (a), in which case, the vision should improve when using a pinhole.

You can make a pinhole at home http://www.myopia.com.sg/testpinhole.htm If you find your vision improves when using it, just be patient and wait a couple more weeks. If the vision doesn't improve on pinhole, see an optician in the first instance - they should be able to detect if there are any obvious problems which require referral to an ophthalmologist. If possible, see an optician with experience in diabetic retinopathy.

 

[MrsGruffy]

I'm off to the opthalmologist on Monday. I've put it off and put it off, but I think I need to know what the situation is, as uni starts again on the 15th of July, and I had to withdraw last semester because my vision was so poor. I'm really hoping I can get back to study.