How long have I actually had T1?

[Leight0n]

After 10 days getting to grips with things I've done a lot of reading and scared myself countless times. The thing that is niggling away at me the most is wondering how long I have had diabetes for.

After roughly 2 weeks of being thirsty as hell I went to the docs on the 28th Dec and was admitted to hospital with BG of 21 and diagnosed. My a1c was 98. A few days later and my eye sight is pretty much perfect. I have worn glasses for around 10 years but the prescription has always remained the same and I actually had an eye exam the same day I went to the docs with the thirst and everything was fine with my eyes.

I've read that a symptom of diabetes is blurry eyesight and that once your levels are under control and BG drop your eyesight improves. As I've worn glasses for years could this suggest that I've had undiagnosed diabetes for years but I've perhaps had a long honeymoon period already and now it had expired I've finally been hit with the symptoms? Can a general eye test find diabetes or is a different test needed?

Is an a1c level of 98 very high? I read that your last 30 days blood activity (for want of a better phrase) can influence the reading a lot. With it being Christmas there was a fair bit of rich eating going on. Could this have had an a particularly negative impact on my reading? What does the a1c figure work out as an average BG level?

I'm pretty sure that my DSN said that they caught it early though? Does the above sound like it was caught early? Im on 14 Basel and 6 Bolus I'm just confused by it all.

I know that you're not doctors but I would appreciate your options if you have the time!

Thanks.

 

[Jaylee]

"Two weeks" could be about right when the beta cells packed up..
With me I was rough for about that time before breaking up from school for the summer. & my 8th birthday. By this time I couldn't give "two hoots" about a party...

Edit; I didn't start wearing glasses till I was about 11?

 

[catapillar]

Type 1 diabetes is a sudden onset illness. You don't have it for years undiagnosed, that's not how it works your glasses aren't caused by your diabetes.

A honeymoon period doesn't occur before type 1 is diagnosed. It's the name for the period when a type 1 diabetic has been given some insulin, it allows the beta cells to catch their breath and have a second wind to produce endogenous insulin for a little bit. But that functionality will die off eventually due to autoimmune attack on the beta cells.

If you got seen when you started being symptomatic with thirst and you got diagnosed before you were in DKA they did catch it early. Catching type 1 early is catching it befor you are blue lighted to hospital and very seriously ill or dead.

A hba1c of 98 equates to an average blood sugar of 15. The thing that has had a negative impact on it is the fact you had undiagnosed type 1 diabetes and weren't producing insulin.

 

[Leight0n]

Thank you so much for your reply.

 

[KezG]

@Leight0n Reading your post with interest.. your story is much the same as mine, except that I didn't need specs until Aug last year. They were great for about 2 weeks, then I found that I no longer needed them to see. I then noticed that i could not read my phone, so I went for another eye test at a different optician who confirmed that my previous specs were now useless and that I needed reading specs. He asked if I'd been drinking lots.. which I had.. and suggested I contact my G.P. And here I am.. still using reading glasses but my vision has been all over the place while my glucose levels have been stabilising. I wonder if your sight has shown improvement as a result of having high glucose readings and might return to normal (which for you was wearing specs) once your levels are balanced.

 

[Kristin251]

My vision changes with my blood sugar. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. It's a indication that my bs is moving one way or another. I still need reading glasses all the time but the strength changes is I have them ranging from 150-250 haha.

I was NOT diagnosed in time. I was left for dead by my Drs. Idiots. I have SEVERE weight loss but once I was started on insulin my life changed again. Don't like to take it but love how it saved my life. Things could be worse.
I think I postponed the inevitable by being vlc and exercising. Otherwise I'm sure I'd be in insulin much sooner. Almost three years now and require slightly more insulin so I think the honeymoon is coming to an end. Seeing the new doc in feb and requesting another c- peptide.

 

[phoenix]

Whether you are short or long sighted depends on the shape of the lens in your eye. When you have high glucose levels the level of glucose of the fluid in your eye also increases, water is then drawn across the membrane (through osmosis) This osmotic pressure alters the shape of the lens, sometimes causing blurriness, sometimes causing a worsening of short sightedness. When glucose levels are reversed quickly as with the use of insulin, the fluid levels and pressure alters in the other direction and sight improves.
When I was diagnosed, I went from slight short sightedness to supra normal long sight. For a short time it seemed as if I could see for miles (I had a 2nd floor room in the hospital and the view was fantastic). I couldn't watch the TV in the room though as it was 'too near'.
Very soon things normalised and I was back to where I should be, slight short sightedness.
According to this study which I don't recommend trying to read in full! the degree of transient hyperopia (farsightedness) is dependent upon the glucose level at diagnosis and the rate of reduction in glucose levels. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3340779/

 

[Shar67]

My left eye lens had been out of shape for about 35 years after an eye trauma. It changed shape with diagnosis of diabetes. I then had lens replacement surgery to fix both eyes.