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Eye review, blurry vision and reading glasses!

Antje77

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,079
Location
Friesland (the Netherlands)
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
I had my diabetic eye review yesterday (all was well), so I was in for a couple of hours of blurry vision.
I asked my friend to tell me what the number on my phone said, as I couldn't make out what my bg was. So he grabbed his reading glasses, told me, and jokingly handed me his glasses.

I put them on, and lo and behold, the whole world came back in focus like magic!
Not only could I read my phone, but long distance vision worked fine as well!

Needless to say I'll be borrowing a pair of reading glasses when it's time for my next review!
(Or more likely I won't need to borrow them. I'm 44 now and I'm pretty sure I'll start to use reading glasses anyway in the next two years... )
 
I’m 44 also and started on varifocals last year. Age comes to us all

the blur from the drops nothing fixes for me so I just put up with it. The initial pain though… gets me every time
 
Yay for all-is-well-with-the-review!

With my thyroid meds changing regularly, that also means 3 to 6 months of blurry vision every single time... And those cheap specs from the HEMA are too tight on my face. They might be an idea for you though, when the time comes! +1 or 1,5 should do the trick. I still need to get my eyes done over at Specsavers again, but with my vision fluctuating, there's no point. But if you notice more typo's or accidental wrong tags, then yeah... That's me not seeing my hand in front of my face.
 
JoKalsbeek said:
And those cheap specs from the HEMA are too tight on my face. They might be an idea for you though, when the time comes! +1 or 1,5 should do the trick.
Click to expand...
Action is cheaper!
And I already own a +1 pair, bought before my diagnosis. Turned out I didn't need reading glasses, I needed insulin!
Nowadays they get used occasionally, mainly to read information on food labels when it's dark outside, and sometimes with a jigsaw puzzle.
They would help with reading too, but I hate the way things in my peripheral vision get distorted when I look up, it's like being seasick. The only reason I got to postpone this long is mainly using my e-reader for books.

My friend's reading glasses are +3.5 or 4, so I don't think mine will do for the after effects of the eye drops. No problem, the friend has at least 20 pairs laying about, and he lives around the corner from the hospital, so I'll just take one of his.
Andydragon said:
the blur from the drops nothing fixes for me so I just put up with it. The initial pain though… gets me every time
Click to expand...
Oh, that sounds horrible! The drops don't hurt me at all.
For the blur you could try stronger reading glasses, I'm really curious if it's only me or if it works for others as well!
 
Really interesting @Antje77 ! I had thought that drops had become less intrusive over the last 40 years. I now think the reaction is age related in that in 1978 my eyes were so blurred and intolerant of light that my wife-to-be would lead me over the road from the hospital, wearing dark glasses. In the last 15 years or so I have not worn dark glasses and can see clearly enough to drive safely. About 10 years ago my brother, who is older than me thoughtfully told me that I have Presbyopia (literally means 'old man's eyes', yet he's older than I!) because I use bright lights and reading glasses when typing/reading nonsense like this. I think I shall take my reading glasses with me on 29/10/21 to see if this makes any difference. Glad to hear your good news1
 
Yeah, I know what you mean. Reading glasses do give me a headache after a while, so... I do most of my reading on my Kindle or Kobo. With huge letters. I spend more time turning the page than I do reading! (Currently doing My Favourite Shorts by Spider Robinson. The only spider I'll put up with. ) Recently I was looking at a plaque with information about an area, and I tried to enlarge the letters with my thumb and forefinger... I do that quite often as it turns out, but that was the one time Kornelis caught me at it, and busted a gut laughing. And I don't usually go to the Action, it's too busy and chaotic in both the Hilversum and Amersfoort branches... I keep wanting to go for new black towels, but ah well. These'll do for a few decades longer, I suppose.
 
I’m very light intolerant so much so that I use xtraactive lenses so that they are slightly tinted at all times and go darker than normal light changing glasses because it’s almost painful for bright light

recently found out my astigmatism may well be a factor (-3.75R and -2.25L) which I did t know, thought blue eyes and large pupils did it

so, the drops make it so bad I have to have someone with me…

but not sure why they sting so much, just unlucky I guess
 
Are your eyes generally dry, or do you have blepharitis? That might explain the stinging. Some over the counter artificial tears might soften the blow pre-appointment. Just a guess though.
 
Antje77 said:
Please do! I'm curious to the result.
Click to expand...
As promised, here's the result:
Had the drops put in at 15.50. The minute I left at 16.15 I put on my reading glasses. It reminded me of the vicious hypo-induced auras I used to get! Guess I won't wear these then. Could see very well with any lights having an aura, but not blurred. I am naturally long-sighted and therefore tried the light sensitive long distance glasses which I wear at night. The lights' auras were considerably reduced. I don't think this is the answer you really wanted, sorry! The screen right now is a bit blurry but manageable.
 
Thanks for experimenting, @Grant_Vicat !
Interesting how what happened for you was completely different than what happened for me.
A difference may be that I don't wear glasses normally and even rarely wear sunglasses, even when sailing or driving. Another difference is that when I accidentally put on those rather strong reading glasses it was at least an hour, hour and a half after I had the drops, and I was indoors.

Curious if others will do some experimenting as well, and almost looking forward to my next appointment in two years to see if I can replicate the effect.

Hope the blurriness will resolve soon for you, and the results will say you have the eyes of a healthy 16 year old!
 
I trust most 16 year-olds don't have retinae that look like a road map of London! Thanks for the lifting of spirits
 
Hi, I had my eye test a couple of weeks ago and I have started a very small cataract on my right eye. I have needed reading glasses about twenty five years ago, and it wasn't until three years ago, I just went with distance glasses and reading glasses.
The next time I went, the owner offered me a deal on varifocals, and at first, I was a bit reluctant, but it was just what I needed, so now, I wear them all the time, except when it's stupid to wear them. And if I take them off, during using them, after about ten to fifteen minutes, I start getting eye strain. They are great, just like when I had 20/20 vision.
The only problem I have is I can't wear the varifocals on my PC, to use that I need my old prescription reading glasses.

Last summer when I fell off the wagon due to my breakdown, one of the first symptoms is blurred vision. One of the symptoms of RH, of uncontrolled blood levels is blurred vision, I even had to change my seat at the match because it went from near sighted to far sighted, as soon as I stopped eating carbs, it reversed again.

I don't have a problem with the eye drops.
 
I had an eye sight test at the optitions about a couple of weeks after my diabetic scan thinking I was due some new reading glasses as it turned out instead of giving me a prescription for new reading glasses he gave me a letter for my doctor asking him to set up a referral with an eye doctor saying to me we have to get those cararacts sorted out I said what cataracts he said you have cataracts in both eyes and they are getting a lot worse further to that your notes show that they were first noted in 2016 no one had bothered to tell me.
 
Wow John that's bad practice! I was told about my cataracts as soon as they began developing about four years ago! I'm wondering if that's why one eye is blurry, rather than it being caused by hitting none diabetic numbers last month? Maybe just a coincidence though.
 
My optician told me I had cataracts forming but there was nothing to be done about it until they were bad enough to be removed, which could be in 10 years time. There is no early treatment so some opticians might not mention it. Not wearing sunglasses in bright sunlight can hasten the deterioration apparently.
 
I have been told I have cataracts that are tiny but in such a place that may well explain why everything is blurred slightly no matter what prescription I get.

but only some opticians have mentioned, when I asked the others they did say they can see them but they are so small as to not need anything doing and thus not mentioned

so, not sure it’s that unusual
 
Sorry to hear about your cataracts, I wore glasses for the last thirty five years, I went for an eye test in January and was told I had the beginning of cataracts in both eyes, I went for further tests in beginning of March and the consultant asked if I wanted them operated on although I could still see ok I said yes simple surgery and now I have perfect eye sight, I would recomend surgery its nice not to have wear glasses anymore
 
Having MG which also effects my eyes double vision and ptosis and at times extreme sensitivity to light the cataracts seem to have compounded this so have been putting the deteriation down to MG or the effects of diabetes if I had been informed about the cataracts I would have had a better idea of what was going on and maybe I would not of been increasing my dosage of mestinon to try and counteract it.
 
As regards reading glasses, my partner started needing them when he was 50 and rapidly progressed to needing +3s. He can't read anything without them. Luckily he can use non prescription ones and buys them in bulk from $2 shops so that he has a steady supply. He burns through them (loses or damages) pretty fast.

I've used long distance ones for decades, though I've remained legal to drive without (just). I've started needing reading glasses in the last few years but like @JoKalsbeek I get by with large text on my computer and kindle (not quite the largest font but close). My watch (which is linked to my dexcom) can be problematic, particularly at night, as I have to squint to make out the readings. Unfortunately astigmatism means that cheap reading glasses don't really work for me. This thread reminds me that I should go and have a new eye test and get a new pair of reading glasses. And yes, I've got baby cataracts too, though they aren't really bothering me at the moment.

But in some ways my eyes work better now than when I was a child, when I had an alternating divergent squint which meant I only ever used one eye at the time. Apparently you could see my eyes switch over as I turned the page of a book. I've always used my delayed development of binocular vision as an excuse for my abysmal skills in ball sports.

As for the eye tests, I'm OK with dark glasses after. The drops seem to sting less than they used to, but I don't know if that's me or because the NZ ophthalmologists are using different ones to the Australians...
 
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