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Greetings. Advice needed about blurry vision.

S

Stroopwafel

Member
Hello everyone. I'm new here and I need some advice.

I was diagnosed with T2 in February 2021. I actually thought I had diabetes in 2016 because I was getting numbness in my toes. I checked this website back then as a lurker and went on a low carb diet, lost a ton of weight and started taking alpha lipoic acid. I had a blood test in 2017 which was apparently normal, to my pleasant surprise.

Anyway, I fell back into bad habits a few years later, and was diagnosed in 2021. I've only been taking metformin since then.

I've been attending my annual podiatry appointments, but I've been a complete idiot about getting my eyes tested. I was just too embarrassed to ring the optician. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm just too ashamed to tell people I have diabetes. I'd be more comfortable telling them I had VD or something.

About a week ago I noticed blurring in my left eye. I've been short sighted since I was a child so I have blurred vision anyway, but this was noticeably worse, and there is a shadow over the lower half of my vision.

I just know I have diabetic retinopathy and I'm kicking myself for not taking this disease more seriously and not getting regular check-ups.

I've booked an optician appointment for next week, but I'm terrified of going blind, it will be the end of me. I need to know if there's anything more I can do.

Obviously I am back on a low carb diet again (yay permanent hunger and misery) and I've bought fresh batches of lipoic acid and also n-acetyl cysteine. Do you think these will be of benefit?

My last cholesterol check was 5.1 which is only just over the threshold, but I did my blood sugars this morning for the first time in years and they were 9.0 mmol/l, which is worryingly high considering I'd not eaten much in the previous 24 hours.

I will do anything, literally anything, to avoid losing my vision. Thank you for anyone who has had the patience to read this far, and thanks to anyone who can help me.
 
Never ever take any risks with eyes. Don't entirely count on the optician (assuming you mean someone who can give you spectacles? There's a difference between an optician a la Specsavers here in the Netherlands, and an ophthalmologist). Keep the appointment if they can get a pic of your eyes done to see whether there are little bleeds in there, or move it forward to this week (or today), if you can. More importantly, get in touch with your GP and ask for an emergency referral to an eye specialist at the hospital due to sudden vision loss. I don't know what you have, could be retinopathy, could be other stuff, but with eyes it's usually a good idea to be quick with the help-getting.

As for the diabetes shame: It's a genetic predisposition. You didn't do this to yourself, okay? Yeah, I know, that's not going to help at all, just.... Get medical help, soon. You might be diabetic, but it doesn't mean everything you ever get from here on in, is due to high blood sugars. And if it is, well, better to know and get some assistance in getting your vision back to relatively good.

Hang in there. Get help.
Jo

PS: There's more you can do to keep yourself healthier, and getting back to low carbing would be one.
 
Hi @Stroopwafel , I'm sorry to hear about your worries with your eyes and the embarrassment about diabetes.
Stroopwafel said:
Obviously I am back on a low carb diet again (yay permanent hunger and misery)
Click to expand...
We may be able to help you on this part. I eat low carb usually, as do many others on this forum, and I'm certainly not hungry, low carb isn't low calorie! When I'm hungry I simply eat more nuts, or cheese, or cold cuts, or an extra slice of low carb bread with bacon and eggs.

Good luck!
 
I completely missed the low carb boredom... And while I do wonder why no-one invented a low carb Stroopwafel yet (I do love them so... I make my husband eat them, so I can live vicariously!), there's plenty of good stuff that is both tasty and filling. What are you eating now, and what are absolute no-go's for you? Because if you up the fats and protein (mainly meat, fish, eggs, full fat dairy), you don't have to go hungry at all. I mean, 4 eggs with bacon and ham, maybe some cheese on top or a tomato, would keep me full for quite a few hours. Dunno about you, but...

Maybe check dietdoctor.com as well as this forum's website for meal ideas...? It's not all salads, after all. You need something to run on!
Jo
 
I figured out a trick with the recooked rice thing.
Chilling cooked rice and recooking it turns it from high carb to resistant starch but it's often to much messing about for Mr lazy here so...
I've started buying the rice you put in the microwave for two minutes.
It's obviously cooked rice.
Not sure if you have to chill it but I do by making packets of rice live in the fridge till I'm ready for them
I love rice and the many things you can do with it.
Low carb doesn't have to be boring.
I also eat nuts and berries everyday and have been doing so for quite a long time now.
You can change your eating habits and enjoy the new dietary lifestyle.
Tonight is recooked rice with yesterdays chicken leftovers with lentils veg and spices!
 
JTL said:
Chilling cooked rice and recooking it turns it from high carb to resistant starch
Click to expand...
Doesn't make any difference for me. I need the same amount of insulin for rice (or noodles/potatoes) after cooling and reheating.
 
Antje77 said:
Doesn't make any difference for me. I need the same amount of insulin for rice (or noodles/potatoes) after cooling and reheating.
Click to expand...
Doesn't make any difference for me either, and I am on no medication for diabetes. I see the same rise with 'resistant' starch as ordinary, so I don't eat either these days.
 
Thank you so much for all the responses, I am endlessly appreciative that people are trying to help.

The optician appointment for next week was the earliest I could get. This optician is one certified to do the tests for retinopathy, it was on the list they sent to me.

I already made a GP appointment this morning, and next Thursday is the earliest doctor appointment I could get (this is the UK after all). If I want to try to see the doctor tomorrow, I need to ring up at 8am and hope for the best.

I think low carb would be a bit easier if I ate meat and fish but I don't. On low carb I typically will eat eggs, nuts, cheese, olives, veggie burgers and sausages, and occasionally beans. Dessert wise I used to eat strawberries and cream daily. Those are all things I like, but I'm a real carb lover. However if it's a choice between pizza and chocolate or my eyesight, it's no choice really is it.

The biggest worry is that my eyesight begins to fail in the other eye before I can address the problem, as they say if you have the issue in one eye, you probably have it in the other too. I have that worry hanging over me every time I go to sleep, wondering if I will be able to see when I wake up. I am sure many here will know that feeling and it isn't pleasant.

It is extra frustrating because I had resolved this year to be more healthy and have lost 10 pounds (4.5kg) since the start of January. This is exactly the kind of issue I was trying to avoid, so to get it now is deeply depressing.
 
Hi @Stroopwafel I hope I can calm your anxiety a bit. Any eye problem is frightening and often out of proportion. In 1978 I had blurry vision if my blood glucose went high and I was first introduced to the word Retinopathy at that time. I was introduced to the laser from 1979-1983. What you see in my Avatar is exctly what you get, except the hair is greyer and my face is hollower. I still drive, read and answer posts on this Forum. Please don't panic and if you feel things have deteriorated before seeing a doctor or ophthalmologist, do not hesitate to go to A&E (I have done this 3 times and the words diabetes and eye problems work like magic) and they should fast-forward you. The very best of luck!
 
 
Hello Stroopwafel,
It is not your fault you have diabetes. In my family it must be genetic, (hello to my Dad's nieces and nephews if you read this). There are still judgemental people in the general medical service, who think you live on sweets and never do any work.

Your problems may be retinopathy, I hope not. It sounds a bit like my experience of cataracts. I hope all goes well. I think I had laser treatment for bleeding at the back of the eye, not sure when, a very quick visit to hospital.

My cataracts meant my vision shrunk, I could see through a small gap between my fingers. Looking at the cooker knobs from about 15 feet away became impossible. Local optician referred me to the gp. Thy wrote a letter and one of the team took it straight to the surgery to make sure they didn't loose it.
GP referred me to Hospital Opthalmology, all done on NHS.

I was told possibly diabetes induced, 2 trips to QA hospital to meet the laser, plus checks. Then the 'must have been to' high street optician! The lovely optican who diagnosed me does not do home visits, Husband and I are housebound.
Nice thin glasses for driving. I was very short sighted and wore glasses full time since age 8. I do have reading glasses, but rarely use them!
I now have plastic lenses fitted in my eyes to replace the cataract ones. All done on the NHS, despite one gp telling me to go private. I listened to the optician.

Most difficult part keeping still for the short time the lens is removed, the everything goes black as the rest of your face is covered as per operation, the clicks from the laser, cup of tea as they check all is well before you get your transport home. new lens in cover over it, so no rubbing. No showers for a while, no driving, no bending, and eye test to prove to DVLA you are fit to drive. It was a few years ago,
Don't be scared to tackle the gp, they are paid to support us all with their medical 'expertise' If it is not their field they must refer you to a consultant.
I hope you can get sorted very soon.
As Grant advises, if needed that is what A&E is for, may speed things up worth a try.
Take care, Carol
 
Hello and welcome @Stroopwafel

a lot of what you said resonated with me. I also feel the shame of telling anyone I am a diabetic. More than 3 years later very few people know. I too am a real carb lover- I joke (well almost a joke) that I never met a carb I didn't love. While I am not a vegetarian I am not a real fan of any type of meat. I will eat it but it really doesn't do a lot for me. Having said that I have got a lot more used to it. Fish I generally enjoy but can relate to feeling a bit bored with my diet sometimes.

I am also motivated but the fear of the consequences. I'm a lawyer and an avid reader- I can't imagine my life if I lost my sight. So I really feel your pain.

For me what helped was really cutting down the carbs to keto level. I can't sustain a more moderate intake. That's what I have come to accept. I find that once I get into that mindset I spend less mental time and energy on food which is helpful. However, this is what works for me at the moment. I certainly can't say that this is the best approach for everyone or that this is what I will do forever. It is what works for me now.

Good luck for your optician visit- let us know how it goes.
 
Just a quick update as I had my optometry appointment yesterday. They found a small amount of retinopathy, but nowhere near enough to explain the vision loss in the left eye. So whatever is causing it does not seem to be within the eye. I have a hospital appointment tomorrow now and needless to say I am extremely worried.
 
Seems that I have damage to my optic nerve, the doctor thinks I probably had some sort of interruption to the blood supply. So that's not going to get any better. The optician also found signs of maculopathy, so I need to be rechecked for that in three months.

None of this is good news and I don't really know where I go from here.

I need to lose weight rapidly as even though I lost 15lb in a month, I am still 284lb, which is 100lb more than I need to be.

I wondered if lutein supplements would help too, I read good things about them.

Any advice is warmly welcomed.
 
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