Eyesight and Nerve Issues

IronPilgrim said:

Hi,
I’m new here so I’m sorry if this has been covered before.
So I’ve been diagnosed T2 for about nine years but due to my work and lifestyle I haven’t managed it well. I went for my medical recently and my Hba1C was the highest it’s ever been.
Recently I’ve also noticed a kind of burning sensation around my lower legs, blurry vision and patches in my vision similar to when you look at a bright light and then retain the “image” of the light for a while in your eyes.
Checked my blood sugar level this morning before eating and it’s 14.7, this is probably quite low for me.
So I think I really need some major lifestyle changes. Dietary and exercise/weight loss etc.
I just don’t know where to start. I can’t seem to keep the levels down and if I even look at some food it seems to spike.
The only advice I get from my diabetic nurse is “you need to get your levels under control”.
Does anybody have any really useful tips to help me turn this around? I thank you in advance for any help!

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It is really common for people to get no good advice about how to eat after diagnosis with type 2.
I was lucky in that I had done Atkins before and found that it suited me well, got the types of food sorted out, but there was such animosity about it.
I find that meat, fish, cheese, eggs, full fat dairy, salad and berries are all OK even though my tolerance of carbs is quite low if I am to achieve normal levels. I drink coffee with cream or various teas with no additives, or flavoured fizzy water.
I found that all I needed to do was eat low carb and I have been fine - no need for any exercise plan, but I do far more these days now that I have the energy again.

Hi @IronPilgrim.
No doubt experts will reply with their thoughts, but meanwhile, welcome to the forum. Please don't beat yourself up. I had diabetes for more than 15 years without taking it seriously. I thought I was doing my best by taking my prescribed meds, avoiding sweets and sort of eating a diet which was high in complex carbs. I had a wake-up call last October and have taken control with a low carb diet. In my case, I didn't need to lose much weight, but lost some anyway, without restricting calories, but most diabetics do benefit from weight loss.

I would think a fasting glucose level of 14.7mmol/L is very high and you need to see your doctor and get your eyes checked, also for peripheral nephropathy in your lower legs and feet. It's good that you've been monitoring your glucose levels with a meter. Maybe add a continuous glucose monitor to see what spikes your glucose. I'm sure looking at food doesn't raise your glucose level, but stress and poor sleep can.

All the best in taking control.

IronPilgrim said:

Hi,
I’m new here so I’m sorry if this has been covered before.
So I’ve been diagnosed T2 for about nine years but due to my work and lifestyle I haven’t managed it well. I went for my medical recently and my Hba1C was the highest it’s ever been.
Recently I’ve also noticed a kind of burning sensation around my lower legs, blurry vision and patches in my vision similar to when you look at a bright light and then retain the “image” of the light for a while in your eyes.
Checked my blood sugar level this morning before eating and it’s 14.7, this is probably quite low for me.
So I think I really need some major lifestyle changes. Dietary and exercise/weight loss etc.
I just don’t know where to start. I can’t seem to keep the levels down and if I even look at some food it seems to spike.
The only advice I get from my diabetic nurse is “you need to get your levels under control”.
Does anybody have any really useful tips to help me turn this around? I thank you in advance for any help!

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Isn't it lovely when people simply tell you to "do better", but then give you no inkling as to how to actually do that? Especially when there is a metabolic condition in the mix that makes all usual dietary advice useless?

Very, very long story somewhat shortened: practically all carbohydrates turn to glucose once ingested. So if I read your profile correctly and you're ONLY on metformin, then just lowering your carbohydrate intake should have an immediate impact on your blood glucose levels, without making you go hypoglycemic in the process. (It is a different matter if you're also on gliclazide or something similar). Like @Resurgam and @Rosie9876 stated, a low carb diet could well be the way to go, and it is relatively simple. As you're already testing, you should see results soon.
( https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html might help get you started. )

If you want to try and stave off further issues with the burning in your lower legs (did anyone mention diabetic peripheral neuropathy to you?) and your eyesight, it could well help. I do hope you'll see someone for both issues. For the time being I'd also ask your GP to measure your B12 vitamins, as you've been on metformin for a while which makes you absorb less of it from what you eat, and that could add to neuropathic pain in the legs. If you're deficient, a few jabs could get your levels back up, and potentially help your nerve endings heal. Just something to look into and ask after; not diagnosing, just saying you might want to be tested to see whether it is an issue that makes matters worse.

For the time being, take it slow. And if you lower your carb intake (gradually, as a large, sudden change can make your current symptoms worse. Not saying it will, but it's been known to happen), keep in mind that your eyes have been full of glucose for a long time. That distorts vision as well, and the brain compensates for the distortion. So if you change your diet and the amount of glucose in your eyeballs and your tears is reduced, your brain'll have to stop compensating. It'll take a few weeks for it to get used to that, most likely, so if your vision suddenly changes as your diet is altered, do try not to panic, even if it is very scary. Pick up some cheap reading specs to tide you over. It'll pass, and getting new expensive glasses would be a costly affair, with redundant perscriptions by the time the glasses are ready for you. So the cheapo's are the way to go, for a bit.

Good luck with it all. I hope you start feeling better soon!
Jo

IronPilgrim said:

My fasting blood levels were far too far for far too long and I used to binge on sugar as if it was an addiction. This is the wake up call, now I need to sustain the healthier choices but having looked at ingredients, there seems to be sugar in everything!

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Yes, sugar can be addictive. Cutting down will help, but remember all carbohydrates (at least the ones counted in nutritional information labels*) are broken down to sugar in the body so you'll need to watch out for those too.

IronPilgrim said:

I’ll get there but I will need to educate myself in nutrition.

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I'm sure you'll get there. Best of luck!

*I'm trying to be accurate without confusing you. There are carbohydrates we don't digest, often included in "fibre", but you shouldn't need to worry about those.

IronPilgrim said:

Thank you Debs.
So quick update and further question…
Fresh blood test back from the docs, high liver function values, and HbA1c is 104.
I think I’ve been running at daily blood sugar levels of between 14 and 20.
Since just before my last post, I have tried to get my blood sugars down by really concentrating on what I eat (should have done it years ago) but now I’m hovering just below 10, and it feels like I’m hypoglycaemic, which, clearly I’m not.
My nerves feel on edge, like tremors and sensitivity and my muscles feel weak and ache.
I’m assuming this is probably because my body has been used to such a high sugar level for so long? Is this correct? Anybody experience similar symptoms?
I have an appointment with the doctor on Thursday to discuss results but it’s worrying that the nerve symptoms have come on so suddenly.

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It's not just a false hypo feeling you're dealing with... (Try staving it off with a bit of cheese or something.... Don't add in carbs, as it just slows adjustments down. If you eat something with fats and protein, your body might freak out less.)

You're probably also feeling something called carb or keto flu. Would explain why everything's aching now. (Have the headaches started yet?). Carbohydrates retain water. So if you cut carbs, all of a sudden you're likely to wee for England, and more than you'd normally expect with high blood sugars. Together with the excess water that's being released, you're losing electrolytes. They flush right out. You end up a smidge dehydrated and your electrolytes go low. And it takes a while to regain balance, say a week or two on average. You might want to try a supplement (with salt, potassium and magnesium; the stuff that's handed out to keep atheletes from getting dehydrated when the weather is too hot), bone broth or coconut water, to get the balance back to good.

Your body is going through a lot right now. Sugar is addictive, and you can suffer withdrawal symptoms like irritability, nausea etc. Give yourself some time to get back on your feet. You're off to an excellent start already! And when this bit is over, you'll likely start feeling like a new you. I've done it a few times, as I went down to 20 grams of carbs a day or less in stages, and it has been worth it, more than I can tell you. Oh, that reminds me... Your liver function's likely impacted by prolonged high blood glucose. Most T2 diabetics have something called Metabolic Syndrome. That's a combination of any or all of the following: T2, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. (I had all of those save for the high blood pressure, but that's turned up late to the party, since perimenopause kicked in.) That liver condition would explain the high reading, if the doc suspects a fatty liver. Mind you, cutting carbs will also impact the liver in a good way. When the body can't burn off excess glucose and can't get rid of it fast and well enough, it starts storing it in fat cells... And fat cells packed onto the liver give non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. As you stop adding to the stores and they start depleting, the fat on/in the liver melts off. So you're on the right path here!
Jo

IronPilgrim said:

That’s really interesting, thank you for that. It explains a lot.
So after a week of trying to get it all under control, I have just taken a reading and my blood sugar is at 6.6 two hours after dinner, I’m going to chalk that down as a win. Basically, I’ve cut sugar and carbs to next to nothing. I’m getting some issues with the liver, had some pain from that area and having a scan in a couple of weeks.
Something else I’ve noticed is that after living with elevated sugar levels for so long, now it’s back to normal I actually feel tired at night… got to get used to that!
Weight loss, healthy eating and exercise awaits, hopefully the damage isn’t too lasting.

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That is great news getting down into the sixes. You are doing so well in such a short time. It's not easy but your proving low carbing works. Take care.