• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

sudden eyesight problems

R

rachaub

Member
Messages
8
Location
Stoke on Trent
My fil has just come out of hospital after his bs's went haywire and they have now put him on insulin. Since coming out of hospital his eyesight has just suddenly deteriorated over two days. His blood sugars are averaging at about 7 atm so I don't think that's it, could the insulin be affecting it and are they likely to improve or at least settle down soon?
Thanks in advance of all your help
Rach
 
Hi rachaub,

I would think the likely explanation is that he has been running high blood sugars for a while and now that they are coming down they are affecting his eyes. This should only be temporary and is something a lot of posters here have experienced when their blood sugars become lower. If you are concerned then it would be best to speak to his GP or diabetes nurse at the surgery.

Hope this helps,

Catherine.
 
Hi Rachel,

My eyesight changed quite a bit as my blood sugars came down and then stabilised over the next week or two.

As Catherine said, it is most likely to be that, but eyesight is precious so it is best to be sure.

Hope it clears up very soon

Dave
 
Hi Rachel
I've been short-sighted since babyhood and just before I was diagnosed I noticed how good I thought my eyes were. I could see people's faces across the road without glasses or lenses. However when I went on insulin they went back to their usual short-sighted selves :(
The reason my eyesight appeared to be so good, was obviously down to the high sugar-levels I'd been unknowingly experiencing.
As type-1 diabetes usually comes on over a shorter period of time than type-2, the possibility of problems caused by high sugar-levels are not significant, so try not to worry.
Jus
 
Thank you all for your replies, they've been most helpful. Fil is off to the doctors today with a list of questions, including about his eyesight so I hope that will shed some light on all his problems. I wish I could be a fly on the wall but he's not doolaly enough to need an escort yet ( at least he doesn't think so :roll: ) so we will have to see what sort of answers he gets... and can remember.
Thanks again Rach
 
I am not a doctor but have experienced this first hand.

First of all, DON'T Panic - its a known thing - just get it checked out - as you are doing.

I had similar problems after a couple of months and actually put it down to rapidly bringing my BG under control from high teens to 5-7 within a couple of weeks rather than a gradual reduction.
This resulted in blurred vision and retinal damage (in my case).
I can't stress too much how you should ask the GP for the eye test - its like looking at a sheet of graph paper - if the lines aren't straight then you have an issue with the rear of your eye(s). Fortunatley i was referred to an excellent opthalmic specialist who has performed laser surgery on both eyes - DON'T STRESS OUT! Its not as bad as it sounds, no pain.
The important thing is to stay calm, yes its scary at first but in all likelihood it will calm down. Get it checked out as you are doing and if you don't get the right advice from the GP then just try the test at home with a piece of graph paper - you may notice 'dots' - these are the areas where your retina isn't as smooth as it should be and it means that the capilliaries are affected by the fact that your body is now trying to cope without the sugar it got used to. Then go back to your GP, explain the problem and ask for a referral - or perhaps your Diabetic Clinic nurses can help with this.

Again, don't get too stressed out - easy to say - I did (boy did I - but then I'm a bloke and we don't handle stress do we!). Its perfectly possible that it will all calm down itself, if its general blurryness rather than the appearance of voids in the vision then its just your eyes adjusting to your new diet so to speak.

Will be interested to know the outcome and if you need more info just say so. I am sure it'll be ok.
 
I'm a newly diagnosed type 1 and my eyesight was one of the symptoms that made me go to the doctors to get it checked out. I've always had 20/20 vision, so to suddenly have blurry long distance vision was worrying. After being diagnosed i was told my eyesight would go back to normal after treatment, but could take upto 6 weeks to correct itself. After 1 day on insulin my eyesight returned to normal. I was absolutely amazed it changed back so fast :o . I know this doesn't help with levels being low and eyesight getting worse, but for anyone reading worried about eyesight being bad with high bg levels, this is my experience, so don't worry too much as things can improve quicker than you think. :D
 
Back
Top