Newly Diagnosed - blurred vision

[Cookie02392]

Hi all,

3 weeks ago I had as Diagnosed Type 2, was immediately put on 2x Metformin. Had very blurred vision, so went back to the doctors 2 weeks ago, and was told to increase Metformin to double dose, and prescribed Atvorvadtatin 1x daily.

My vision was so bad that I got signed off work (have to drive/use PC). During the last week my vision got so bad, I ended up getting some reading glasses to help.

I have changed my diet, and walking more, but still my vision is bad, I've lost weight, and eating better. My BMI was only borderline over weight anyway.

I am confused, my doctor said I should get an eye test, yet my optician said I should wait until my BG are being managed and stabilised before getting my eyes tested.

My fasting BG are now between 7-9mmol/L, with evening readings a couple of hours after food around 11-12mmol/L.

I've looked at the forums and some people get blurred vision, and generally the advise is that eyesight could return to normal levels, or atleast settle.

My question is, how long should I wait before getting my eyes tested at the optician, after 3 weeks of taking Metformin, is it long enough, and should I just accept my eyes are now how they are?

Any advice would be welcome !

 

[Natalie1974]

Hi @Cookie02392

I would definitely give it a while longer before going to optician or changing your glasses. I'm type 1 but from what I've read from other type 2's it can take a few weeks for Metformin to start working and it sounds like you still have a bit of a way to go in terms of getting your BG stable.

I will tag @daisy1 who will be along with some info given to newbies. Have a good read through and have a good read up on reducing carbs in your diet as this will help you to reduce your BG even further.

 

[mfactor]

Yet mine were terrible when first diagnosed and apparently can take a while to settle down , up to severel months......... as they get worse as you blood sugar settles.........

A tip I was given was to go to poundland and get a few pairs of glasses of different strengths ....... just for now...

The good news is your eyes should settle and its quite normal.........

The bad news ,,,,mine did not settle for a long time .....

 

[Mike d]

No way would I agree that you just accept your vision as it is now. It will (in all probability) correct but ONLY when you get those numbers down ... and then an optician's check. Single figures are preferable insofar as blood sugars are concerned, but it is the one hour reading post meal I'd like to know about .... you say 11-12 @ 2 hours. Generally the spike hits @ 1 hour. Stress the word "general".

The HUGE piece of the puzzle is what is your diet .... a FULL breakdown if you could by ALL meals. I won't be awake long enough to read the reply (based in Australia) but I'll almost bet it needs adjustment. That's a whole new story in and of itself, but first things first

Welcome by the way

 

[Finsky]

You are not only one that has and will suffer with blurring..and that goes hand in had with blood sugar levels...as you have found out. How quickly you get your sugars under control (spikes as well) depends how quickly the blurring will clear out. You might find out one morning that your eye sight is more and less back to normal and go blurry again following day...that's mine used be.
And would go with optician advise too...there is not much they can do when your eyes are unstable.
You've done well to change your diet and show results with already...but because of you spikes...you might have tweak you diet little more. Are you eating by 'health professionals eating plan'? Those recommendations did improve my case only a LITTLE and I converted myself to eat 'against' their advise, just like many others here have done too, and with GREAT results

 

[daisy1]

@Cookie02392

Hello and welcome to the forum Getting your blood levels more under control can help your eyes a lot. It may take some time. Here is the information we give to new members which should help you in this. Ask as many questions as you want and members will help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

 

[Dark Horse]

Hi all,

3 weeks ago I had as Diagnosed Type 2, was immediately put on 2x Metformin. Had very blurred vision, so went back to the doctors 2 weeks ago, and was told to increase Metformin to double dose, and prescribed Atvorvadtatin 1x daily.

My vision was so bad that I got signed off work (have to drive/use PC). During the last week my vision got so bad, I ended up getting some reading glasses to help.

I have changed my diet, and walking more, but still my vision is bad, I've lost weight, and eating better. My BMI was only borderline over weight anyway.

I am confused, my doctor said I should get an eye test, yet my optician said I should wait until my BG are being managed and stabilised before getting my eyes tested.

My fasting BG are now between 7-9mmol/L, with evening readings a couple of hours after food around 11-12mmol/L.

I've looked at the forums and some people get blurred vision, and generally the advise is that eyesight could return to normal levels, or atleast settle.

My question is, how long should I wait before getting my eyes tested at the optician, after 3 weeks of taking Metformin, is it long enough, and should I just accept my eyes are now how they are?

Any advice would be welcome !

You should be offered the NHS eye screening test for diabetic retinopathy within 3 months of diagnosis - you don't need to wait for this.

Regarding an eye test for glasses, your optician is correct, you need to wait until your glucose levels have stabilised otherwise any glasses prescribed would become useless in a few weeks because your vision will improve as the blood glucose drops. If you have no diabetic retinopathy, your vision would be expected to return to your normal acuity once your blood glucose is stable.

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi all,

3 weeks ago I had as Diagnosed Type 2, was immediately put on 2x Metformin. Had very blurred vision, so went back to the doctors 2 weeks ago, and was told to increase Metformin to double dose, and prescribed Atvorvadtatin 1x daily.

My vision was so bad that I got signed off work (have to drive/use PC). During the last week my vision got so bad, I ended up getting some reading glasses to help.

I have changed my diet, and walking more, but still my vision is bad, I've lost weight, and eating better. My BMI was only borderline over weight anyway.

I am confused, my doctor said I should get an eye test, yet my optician said I should wait until my BG are being managed and stabilised before getting my eyes tested.

My fasting BG are now between 7-9mmol/L, with evening readings a couple of hours after food around 11-12mmol/L.

I've looked at the forums and some people get blurred vision, and generally the advise is that eyesight could return to normal levels, or atleast settle.

My question is, how long should I wait before getting my eyes tested at the optician, after 3 weeks of taking Metformin, is it long enough, and should I just accept my eyes are now how they are?

Any advice would be welcome !

Cookie - The blurred vision is incredibly common I'm afraid and realistically it's a (frustrating and scary) phase that needs to be seen through as the answer is usually getting your bloods into better order and keeping them there. I was fortunate not to have this myself.

If your reading vision is particularly bad, you could try out some mega-cheapo ready-reader specs in Tesco, or wherever. At £2 or £3 ounds a go, it's no hardship if they only help for a matter if days or a week, but please don't go considering anything more expensive at this stage or you could end up with an excellent fashion statement, but specs that are useless for actually seeing with.

 

[Cookie02392]

Thanks for the replies and the support...

I have an appointment with my doctors diabetic nurse in a few days, so will take all the great advise on the forums and from the Nurse, and see what i can do to improve my new diet further.

Currently, i've cut all "white" and gone "brown", cut sugar and salt, and things like rice, potatoes, ready meals, crisps etc. Bread is an issue for me, i've tried the soya linseed and just didn't like it, so whilst i have cut bread intake, if i do have 1-2 slices for breakfast, then its Hovis granery, and combined with Benecol spread.

lunch yesterday was some pinapple, and some beef slices.

my evening meal yesterday was a salad, with turkey, and a very light french salad dressing.

I used to drink a couple of beers in the evening, i've swapped this will a small glass of red wine. other drinks are either water, or if its carbonated, anything "zero"

I haven't done too much reading about a LCHF diet, but i will take a look today and see if i can make more changes.

@Mike, i will carry out some tests over the next few days at an hour after i eat and record the results, and keep a food diary.

 

[Mike d]

Thanks @Cookie02392

But kill the pineapple mate .. huge (and I mean huge) amounts of sugar. Might be something else going on with the diet but pleased you've knocked out the worst culprits

 

[amgrundy]

Hi Cookie02392, When I was diagnosed in Jan this year my BG readings were high 19.3, I was put on metformin 500mg 2 daily. My vision was awful too, I was told as my BG readings came down my vision would go back to normal. Going on Low carb diet smaller portion sizes, and all the support of these people on this site and testing 2hrs before and after food, within 2 weeks my vision improved as my BG readings came down. As they came down to single numbers my vision is back to normal, although I still have to wear reading glasses for books and computer . Go on the forum "What Have You Eaten Today " there are some good ideas of what we all eat on there. I can eat certain fruits, plums apples pears bananas in moderation others can not, I ate some pineapple a few weeks ago and my BG reading shot right up into double figures again, it terrified the life out me now I don't eat it. You will soon get into the swing of things if you stay with us on this site. You should get an appointment from your doctor for eye testing. Good luck.

 

[Finsky]

Yes, the bread...it is so nice...but...
for your blood sugar level readings...sadly eating 'brown' or 'whole meal' bread is not really that much better, it is all carbs and will raise the numbers...sorry..
What you can do to help the situation , if you add some 'real' fats to you diet..like butter..same time as you are having small portion of carb rich bread (ideally not), the fat will slow down the carbohydrate effect for your blood sugars..they don't spike quite so rapidly. You could also try 'protein cobs' from Lidl. Many, including me have found those quite satisfying type of bread and they are quite low with carbs. I buy several them at the time, slice them half and freeze them...then taking them out 1 half at the time as I find it enough in one go.
Just this morning I had half one loaded with fried egg and tomato....YUM!..that works out only about 5-6g or carbs..something I don't have worry about giving extra medication for..
And fruit...again...they all have carb content...and I you are going to have some...you need to slow those carbs with fat, protein won't do it. Berries tend to have slightly less carbs...so as portion they are better. I cook load of frozen berries in drop of water a moment, sweeten it all with pure stevia and thicken it all with little bit of potato flour into thick'ish sauce. It will last me few days as few spoonfulls added on dollop of Green yogurt (NOT a low fat stuff!!!) or whipped cream will make really tasty, hunger killing pud and again, it is relatively low with carbs> no spike effect. Your food don't have to swim in fatty stuff, it is there as a little addition and it will tell you body you have had your 'fill' and won't need to eat anymore for quite some time....and that is the 'secret' of LCHF diet...you just end up eating less in whole..in portion sizes as well as how often you feel hungry. Sadly it is not something our health professional tend to teach...
That's just small example what you can do to really ENJOY your food but not feel left without treats in life.

 

[Liam1955]

@Cookie02392 - Hello and Welcome to the Forum.

 

[Jasminebella]

Hi all,

3 weeks ago I had as Diagnosed Type 2, was immediately put on 2x Metformin. Had very blurred vision, so went back to the doctors 2 weeks ago, and was told to increase Metformin to double dose, and prescribed Atvorvadtatin 1x daily.

My vision was so bad that I got signed off work (have to drive/use PC). During the last week my vision got so bad, I ended up getting some reading glasses to help.

I have changed my diet, and walking more, but still my vision is bad, I've lost weight, and eating better. My BMI was only borderline over weight anyway.

I am confused, my doctor said I should get an eye test, yet my optician said I should wait until my BG are being managed and stabilised before getting my eyes tested.

My fasting BG are now between 7-9mmol/L, with evening readings a couple of hours after food around 11-12mmol/L.

I've looked at the forums and some people get blurred vision, and generally the advise is that eyesight could return to normal levels, or atleast settle.

My question is, how long should I wait before getting my eyes tested at the optician, after 3 weeks of taking Metformin, is it long enough, and should I just accept my eyes are now how they are?

Any advice would be welcome !

I've had this same problem. I was diagnosed as being type 2 diabetic 3 weeks ago Hba1c 137 and put on 3x 500mg of metfromin daily. I felt like a new person almost immediately I started taking the tablets, more energy, stopped needing the loo so often and didn't need to drink so much,and slept through the night for the first time in years( bliss) but my eyesight went completely blurry . I couldn't read, work was a nightmare as couldn't read anything on my computer screen or see any of my data to work on. I found this to be quite distressing.i had to ask my colleagues to read certain texts and numbers to me. I bought some cheap reading glasses with stronger lenses from Home & Bargain for a couple of pounds and these have helped. I have also stuck religiously to a low carb diet since I have been diagnosed, and this week my eyesight has begun to improve. It's not yet back to where it was before I started on the metformin, but maybe it's still settling or maybe I will eventually need to have a different prescription, but I can now read without needing a magnifying glass or strong reading glasses.
I've been for my diabetic eye test ( where the back of your eye is photographed) and everything is okay there. My optician has said to wait a while longer yet before getting my eyes tested for a new prescription - give them time to settle.
Be patient, keep up with the exercise and better diet and hopefully you'll see an improvement like me. Fingers crossed.