Newly diagnosed, blurry vision since rapid bg drop.

[Buffdaddy123]

Hi guys, I have been eating low carb over weekend, and just had boiled eggs for breakfast.

heres the results so far, i think they are looking better, i also added my second metformin last night, and think that is part of my lower reading this morning, Taken before meals 3 times a day and a late evening one too, any comments would be appreciated..

Fri / 17.7 13.4 16.2
Sat 11.4. 14.1 16.7 14.1
Sun 9.2 12.6 10.7 12.4
Mon 11.0 10.9 13.0 13.8
Tue 9.5. 11.9 13.5 10.3
We'd 9.4 11.4 8.1 5.3
Thu 7.0 7.1 8.7 9.1
Fri 7.6 8.1 7.6 7.2
Sat 8.2 9.6 7.3 5.9
Sun 7.8 6.4 5.9 5.2
Mon 4.9

 

[Ambersilva]

@Buffdaddy123

Brilliant! Those results would look good plotted on a graph. Whatever you are doing is working for you.

Keep up the good work.

 

[JAY1JAY1]

That is looking impressive keep it up your winning

 

[Buffdaddy123]

Thanks guys, its basically from cutting out the biscuits, sugar, and lowering my carbs, thx for the confidence boost guys

 

[Dizz]

Thanks guys, its basically from cutting out the biscuits, sugar, and lowering my carbs, thx for the confidence boost guys

Well done you!

 

[Buffdaddy123]

Dizz, i went Doctors today myself and had a chat, she seems to think it will all come good in time too, just dont push it she said, she also had a look in my eyes with her eye tool and said all looks really good from what she can see nothing lurking there, obviously i still need a full eye test when levels have settled to see the full extent but sounds promising, So im feeling a bit better today and am again optimistic, but as my wife says its nothing a pair of reading glasses cant fix if it doesnt clear fully!

 

[Dizz]

Dizz, i went Doctors today myself and had a chat, she seems to think it will all come good in time too, just dont push it she said, she also had a look in my eyes with her eye tool and said all looks really good from what she can see nothing lurking there, obviously i still need a full eye test when levels have settled to see the full extent but sounds promising, So im feeling a bit better today and am again optimistic, but as my wife says its nothing a pair of reading glasses cant fix if it doesnt clear fully!

Glad to hear that you're feeling a bit better about things today - onwards and upwards!

 

[SueB743]

Hi and welcome. Everything is confusing to start with and especially when your sight is affected. So glad to hear things are starting to be better for you

 

[C-Mack]

Hi BuffDaddy, I was in the same boat as you with the same vision problems however they did clear up for me a few weeks after starting insulin. Perfectly normal and when I did an eye exam just over a month after diagnosis everything was all good. I bought a cheap pair of readers to get through it.

The frustration part was trying to read up on diabetes and not being able to read my iPad even on the biggest font setting!

 

[Buffdaddy123]

C-Mack, when you said you were same as me, was it exactly as in you could not read close up books letters etc because of blur, but could see everyday viewing fine,

Also did you notice if you was outside in daylight you could see better for close up viewing, almost like theres no issue, but then as soon as you go indoors it goes blurry again?

If you could confirm you are the same as these questions then that is great news for me to be positive about..

And im glad to hear from you with your post above.
Cheers

 

[Buffdaddy123]

Hi guys, ive not posted in a few days but thought i would give a little update,



Ok i have not had Insulin since 7pm UK time on Tuesday, after talking to the nurse and asking if i could try stopping it as i found i was always struggling to keep up, and frequently found myself at very low 4s

Since stopping the Insulin my results are as follows (ive also added 20-30mins of cycling a day..

Im hoping its Type 2, and assume it is considering ive not had insulin for almost 3 full days and have maintained my levels reasonably well on the standard 500mg Metformin twice a day, Nurse said if need be i could up my Metformin dosage to cover the Insulin loss but not sure if needed from my results. Do you guys think i am probably type 2 as Nurse always suspected?

Nurse just rang, results not back today, hopefully tomorrow or at latest Monday, she still thinks Type 2 after me giving her my readings, and said she would be very surprised if i was Type 2 as she said my figures would not be as they and would would be rocketing upwards after nearly 3 days without insulin.

Any replies on this are welcome,

W 7.1 7.4 5.6 5.3
T 6.0 5.9 5.6 4.6
F 6.6 4.7

 

[Nick..]

Hi There,

I'm experiencing exactly the same symptoms, and it's quite scary.

Our situations seem almost identical, I've now been on metformin and glicazide about a week and over the last couple of days I've found I cannot focus on something close up, i.e. 8 inches or less. I've dropped from 26 to 6 mmo/l

Things almost seem a little darker.

Everything further out is fine.

When I'm outside in the light, the situation improves quite a bit.

 

[Eurobuff]

Has anyone who is having problems with their sight been for a Diabetic Retinopathy Screening? When I was first diagnosed I had a letter about two weeks after with an appointment for one. Just wondering if it would be worth asking your DN for a referral? I had blurry vision at diagnosis, which seemed to get worse when my BG was coming down, my distance suffered more than my near vision. After my BG had been under control for a few months, my vision improved. In fact sometimes I don't even need my glasses!

 

[Dizz]

Has anyone who is having problems with their sight been for a Diabetic Retinopathy Screening? When I was first diagnosed I had a letter about two weeks after with an appointment for one. Just wondering if it would be worth asking your DN for a referral? I had blurry vision at diagnosis, which seemed to get worse when my BG was coming down, my distance suffered more than my near vision. After my BG had been under control for a few months, my vision improved. In fact sometimes I don't even need my glasses!

As I understand it all newly diagnosed diabetics are referred for eye screening. I'm going for mine this Thursday, but my GP confirmed that this blurring is quite normal when your BG comes down quickly.

Nick, that's one helluva drop in a week!

 

[Winnie53]

Has anyone who is having problems with their sight been for a Diabetic Retinopathy Screening? When I was first diagnosed I had a letter about two weeks after with an appointment for one. Just wondering if it would be worth asking your DN for a referral? I had blurry vision at diagnosis, which seemed to get worse when my BG was coming down, my distance suffered more than my near vision. After my BG had been under control for a few months, my vision improved. In fact sometimes I don't even need my glasses!

This was my greatest worry.

I had a full eye examine about six weeks after re-diagnoses of type 2 diabetes with a blood glucose of 282 mg/dL (15.7 mmol/L). I was quite the sight, pacing back and forth in the waiting room as I waited for the results. No retinopathy. Hearing this really brought my stress levels down. While my blood glucose levels settled into the 105 - 145 mg/dL (5.8 - 8.1 mmol/L) range after about a month - (with LCHF diet only, no medication) - my blurry vision took another month or two to clear up.

Buffdaddy123, keep doing what you're doing. It's good that you've added cycling. Diet got my blood glucose levels down, walking 1 or more miles daily, an hour or more after dinner, got my BG levels down further.

 

[Buffdaddy123]

Thx for replies guys, i have continued to do what i was doing with my low carbs, a bit of cycling when possible and being quite strict with my food and have lost about 10lb since diagnosis two and a half weeks ago.

I also after talking with my nurse about my levels stopped the Insulin on the 30th of June and continued with my 500mg Metformin twice a day and have held my levels quite nicely averaging 5.0-6.0 after sleeping (i rise a little through the night) and then i gradually lower a little as the day passes, i even find myself dropping to the 4.0 late evenings so not struggling with too many spikes ...most likely the low carbs doing the job.

With regards to the blurring...mine has cleared up very well within a day or two of stopping the insulin it came back gradually and i found i could focus closer each day that passed, now it is perfect, this was also a few days after i started keeping reasonable levels..so i cant say if the insulin or my erratic glucose levels were doing it, but it is back to normal now, so be positive guys and thanks for all the help here.

You people are great!!!

 

[Winnie53]

Buffdaddy123, it takes time, but I think you may be able to get off the metformin too, but take it slow. The medication is helping you right now.

I'm finding that it takes time for the body to recover from high blood sugars. My progress plateaued after the first month, then, unexpectedly, my blood glucose levels dropped a bit more three months later. I've read here and there that if I continue to work hard at this, I may see improvements throughout my first year. And that seems to be happening.

 

[Buffdaddy123]

Hi guys, could anyone help me with this question..im suffering with a little constipation due to the low carb approach, do you know of any effects from senna with regards to raising sugar levels, as i have these at home and am hoping to take a few tonight.

 

[Winnie53]

I can't answer your specific question, but taking magnesium citrate - (there are many forms of magnesium) - is one way to manage this over time (and most people are deficient in it).

"Magnesium is the most important mineral in the human body, as it is a cofactor for more than 300 enzymes. It helps regulate blood sugar and blood pressure, and maintains relaxation in your muscles. Magnesium also has the honored task of carrying something called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) around. This is your cellular currency, or what your body relies on to produce energy. When things go wrong with ATP, your cells have trouble functioning. As a result of this dysfunction, you can feel fatigued, agitated, and unmotivated."..."Your body also requires adequate levels of magnesium for digestion and detoxification, and to help regulate bowel movements."... "One of the safest ways of encouraging bowels to move again is the supplementation of magnesium. Most people find that their bowel movements are easier after supplementing with 400 to 600 mg magnesium citrate. Some health care practitioners will recommend upward of 1,000 mg if a client is suffering from constipation. Please be aware that this may cause a bowel movement that may occur within 6 hours' time (i.e., you will not want to be far from a toilet)."

From the book The Elimination Diet by Tom Malterre, MS, CN, pp. 108-09.

I eat vegetables or leafy greens at every meal and take 150 mg magnesium citrate with each meal, 450 mg a day, with good results.

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi guys, could anyone help me with this question..im suffering with a little constipation due to the low carb approach, do you know of any effects from senna with regards to raising sugar levels, as i have these at home and am hoping to take a few tonight.

I can't answer your question about senna, but I would suggest you first consider upping your fluids. Many, many people find digestion gets a little bit "off" and slow when they start on lower carbing. Of course there could be a number of reasons for this, but one extremely common explanation is mild dehydration, and the solution is to up the fluids. Even if you think you're drinking plenty, try increasing it. You might be surprised.