Blurred vision

My eyesight is generally good to very good, I need glasses to read but nothing else, if my vision starts to blur I know my sugars are too high, generally I start to suffer if they go over 12, rather than think of it as a problem I think of it as a quick hint as my vision blurs within a couple of hours of it going too high. I am now on insulin and have a really good control regime, I am also going to Slimming World as I have put on weight and I realised that while I watch the sugars I never really had a good grasp of how much to eat, I was extremely active and my weight never changed much apart from high muscle mass due to my work and hobbies.
Slimming World has really helped, even if I don,t lose weight 1 week I know my diet is a lot healthier, yet I don't want snacks and I even leave food as I am full.
I am not an advert for diets but re-training how I eat has really made a difference to my life and my diabetes is now in control, I control it not the other way round, I don't even look at sugars now in food, just if it is not so good.

I wrote back to you a couple of weeks ago, to tell you that I had had similar problems. When I went to my optician, he told me my eyesight had changed significantly and that I needed new specs. I got them and everything seemed great - everything was clearer. Then My new metformin kicked in, and the vision started blurring again. I am now back to my old specs, and the new ones a wasted purchase.
Not sure what will happen as I suspect I may not stay on the new metformin and am worried that my vision will change yet again!

Cl1ve said:

Hi I'm on met forming to I've now got my glasses so I'll see how it goes . I do need them to drive so I'd rather have them and be able to drive even if I only need them for a short while . Can I ask what you levels where when you where first diagnosed my where above 21 . And I was feeling rought I went to my doctor because my arms where hurting
Clive

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My levels are very much up and down at the moment - the lowest recently being 12.5 and the highest 24.9. I am testing every day. I feel ok other than the vision problems, but know I need to get my BG levels down. Trying various dieting themes rather than anything specific. Paleo seems to be more interesting than most, although I am using some ideas from the GI cookbook. Its harder to keep to any diet though when you are cooking for other family members too. Going back to docs this Thursday, so will find out whether she is going to change my meds yet again!

fussybritches said:

My levels are very much up and down at the moment - the lowest recently being 12.5 and the highest 24.9. I am testing every day. I feel ok other than the vision problems, but know I need to get my BG levels down. Trying various dieting themes rather than anything specific. Paleo seems to be more interesting than most, although I am using some ideas from the GI cookbook. Its harder to keep to any diet though when you are cooking for other family members too. Going back to docs this Thursday, so will find out whether she is going to change my meds yet again!

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Hi fussybritches and welcome to the forum. I'd love to help you work through what you can do to bring your BGs down. If you like, you could start a new thread and we can give you some thoughts on what may help in your situation.

You would not believe how glad I am that I stumbled across this thread - I use (under the instructions of my optician) the reading glasses - but in the last few weeks (starting around the time my Hb1AC and BG hit the top of the shop according to the chart I saw today) - my eyes have been confusing the hell out of me - initially - ditched the glasses because I didn't need them - since then I've been working my way through the grades - currently on three.

I'm fine for driving etc - but my short-sightedness has been leading me a right merry dance - I was set to book an appointment with the opticians tomorrow - but will leave it a few weeks now and stop panicking in the hope things settle down - my overall fasting sugars have dropped by 67%

Cl1ve said:

Hi . Well done with the levels . It's taken me about a month to find the right mix of food to keep my levels right . Bu since my levels got down to 6ish my eyes have remained the same . So let's hope it's the same for you .
Clive

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Thanks Clive - I still get the occasional "spike" but touch wood, nothing on the scale I had - I don't think I realised how potentially dangerously ill I actually was - my OH was struggling to wake me and keep me awake - because I have a number of other conditions including Fibro and mega strong painkillers - he just assumed "I needed the rest"

I work part-time from home and even with the dogs, was having to set my alarm for my on-line classes and then I was gone again; I'm not saying I no longer have the odd day-time nap but nothing on the scale before I ditched the Lucozade and started eating (What I couldn't get anyone to believe was that this wasn't me just having a sweet tooth (which I actually don't) - the desire to drink it freezing cold and packed with ice was insatiable - to the extent it was scaring the hell out of me - foodwise, if I ate more than one thing in a day, I was doing well.

I started Weight Watchers last night - my back still crucifies me, but very slowly, since the diagnosis and lifestyle changes, I'm feeling sharper, more awake and even the occasional true desire to get out

If my eyes being weird for a short while is the price I have to pay, I can live with that (and have just possibly saved myself a huge wadge of money I don't have at the opticians) - so fingers crossed

Thanks to whoever started this thread and to all those who've shared similar experiences

That's what happened to me - went for a routine check-up (I have them every six months because I have glaucoma, dry eye syndrome and a complex prescription). The optician picked up immediately that there had been a significant deterioration in my eyesight and stopped the test there and then, and told me to get myself to the GP asap for a test for diabetes. And she was right. My eyes are still blurry and I am hoping they will improve soon.

Cl1ve said:

Hi all . I'm having fun with my vision . Some times I need my new glasses and some time I see better without them . My levels are between 5 and 7 . So not sure why they are like that
Clive

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Hi thank you so much for this post very useful as there are not many posts on what I am also experiencing blurry vision not with high blood sugar but when they drop due to life style changes / metformin.... this was about 3 years ago. So we only had a snapshot of what happened to your vision of weeks (from 2 years ago 34 weeks to 2 years ago 31 weeks) for the post to be even more useful would be great another update please: did you vision return to normal after a couple of more weeks/months as some here re-assured that would happen?

THE GREAT DANGER of the Forum is listening to patient experiences and taking their advice over the professionals. Had you been having regular Eye Examinations, it is likely your optometrist would have picked up the vision anomaly as suspicious and referredyou for a full possibly diabetes check up. If your vision is poor you have been breaking the law and if you fail to follow the professional advice you must refrain from driving. It is a very common side effect of diabetes, and sometimes the first sign, that a rise in blood sugar causes a change in the refractive index of the lens in your eye making the patient more myopic. If the individual was originally hyoermetropuc, this change could cancel it out and you now see well without your glasses. But does this not strike you as unusual and should tberefore seek professional advice (ie another eye test), rather thsn be peased snd fo nothing? And don't listen to non professionals! Let's not forget 28%of patients with diabetes have severe visual problems that necessitate major life changes......and it's avoidable if you listen to all your healthcare professionals.
As a retired optometrist, I would see this monthly. Most optometrists should offer to change your lenses during the transitional period as often as necessary, either free or for a nominal charge so that you have the correct spectacle prescriprion to enable you to function as near normal as possible. If your practice doesn't then change to someone more interested in your clinical needs

pharmaceutics said:

Hi thank you so much for this post very useful as there are not many posts on what I am also experiencing blurry vision not with high blood sugar but when they drop due to life style changes / metformin.... this was about 3 years ago. So we only had a snapshot of what happened to your vision of weeks (from 2 years ago 34 weeks to 2 years ago 31 weeks) for the post to be even more useful would be great another update please: did you vision return to normal after a couple of more weeks/months as some here re-assured that would happen?

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If your normal was at high BG then probably it won't get back to normal (it might improve). The best advice, as was no doubt mentioned in this old thread is to wait until your eyesight has stabilized before buying any expensive glasses. In my case that took about 6 weeks. If you need glasses to drive or whatever, get some cheap ones temporarily.

You better point me in the direction of a post where anyone hasn't been given "advice" without recommendations to go back and refer back to their optometrist. That's a CLEAR breach of forum rules for anything associated with diabetes

Thank you EHB720. That is the standard advice and the mantra in the guidelines, high blood glucose sugar can impair your vision and/or make you blind, so as soon as you are diagnosed with diabetes start on metformin and drop those glucose levels right away to prevent lost of eyesight or blindness in the future. Go to ophtalmologists to check retinopathy. However, this contradicts the fact that my vision (and apparently of other patients here and testimonies I found in the thread above and elsewhere) was close to 20/20 until 2 weeks ago with high blood sugar levels about 13. I repeat that fact because health care professionals dont seem to listen or take in that point (my clinical pharmacist even suggested increasing the dose of metformin to solve the vision problem): Eyesight was fine with 13 mmol/L blood sugar. Then I was diagnosed two weeks ago, put on metformin for the last two weeks and just in the past week as with metformin and diet and phisical activity the levels of glucose droppped to 8.1 mmol/L, the vision concomitantly has deteriorated immensely. It went from close to perfect (minor reading glasses just to read paperbacks, and excellent vision overall and far) to 24/6 in the right eye to 18/6 in the left. In one week as the levels of glucose dropped from 13 to 8.

Mike D said:

You better point me in the direction of a post where anyone hasn't been given "advice" without recommendations to go back and refer back to their optometrist. That's a CLEAR forum rule for anything associated with diabetes

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Thank you Mike D. Yes see an ophtalomogist or optometrist after you're diagnosed with diabetes to prevent for future or check current retinopathyis the standard advice. The point is that the advice is always the same even when facts contradict it as in this thread where people like me and the starter of the thread are complaining that our vision was fine (even as checked by an optometrist) until our actually blood glucose levels were checked and we were told to take metformin and reduce them immediately, and that is when the problem of poor and blurred vision actually first manifests not with the high glucose, so clearly the drop in glucose must have something do with the loss of vision in terms of osmolarity and as this thread shows (and I found others) it happens to quiet a few people. I know of no other acceptable risk benefit where to save something from happening in the future (the loss in eye sight) you make it happen now (your eyesight abruptely goes down in one week with meds) by steep reduction in blood glucose leves and then insist that is actually a good thing and you are on the right track to prevent complications when a major complication happens right away... it is puzzling.

Mr_Pot said:

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If your normal was at high BG then probably it won't get back to normal (it might improve). The best advice, as was no doubt mentioned in this old thread is to wait until your eyesight has stabilized before buying any expensive glasses. In my case that took about 6 weeks. If you need glasses to drive or whatever, get some cheap ones temporarily.

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Thank you so much Mr Pot for giving me a specific number of weeks that it took for your vision to stabilize which was 6 weeks. Can you please be more specific when you say stabilize do you mean you also noticed a reduction in eyesight once you dropped the BG but then it improved a bit within 6 weeks however it did not get to as good as it was when your BG was high ?