T2 Vision

[mish1953]

Hi Im T2 , recently gone from diet only to 2 x 500 Metfartin a day as my BS level had gone up to 19.9 and Hba1c to 12.6 .
I’ve noticed my eyesight has got a bit fuzzy and my regular varifocals are pretty useless – my last ‘normal’ eye test was in march 2010, I was diagnosed in Aug 2010 and have had 2 ret scans , both ok and the last one done 4 weeks ago.
I had an eye test at Specsavers on Saturday, they were great, but I was in there over an hour having tests ‘cos they couldn’t believe the difference in my prescription since last year, I’m now wearing my reading glasses for day to day stuff like driving ( 20/20 vision with them now ) . Specsavers don’t want to prescribe new ‘specs yet and want me back for more tests in 2 weeks to see if my vision has settled down.

Blood sugar levels can affect your vision, it’s worth getting a free test .

Birthday cake affects my vision .. I was at my godsons birthday party on Sunday ( age 2 and 5 ) , stupidly I indulged in some nibbles , mini Indian and Chinese nibbles, mini sausage roll, ham & tomato sandwich, 2 pieces of cheese and … a small slice of chocolate birthday cake . About an hour later driving home I noticed my eye sight was fuzzy again ( not good while driving ) , checked my BS level when I got home , 10.8 .. Im normally 4.7 to 5.8 before food and around 6.0 to 6.4 2 hours after .. no more birthday cake for me ! :cry:
Back down to 5.4 and my vision is back to the new normal.

Cheersly
Hamish - Ipswich

 

[Unbeliever]

Re: T2 Vision and Birthday Cake

Could have been the carby nibbles too? I suffer from retinopathy and I find that turning on my computer and just looking at the manufacturers name on the screen is almost as good as testing with meter and strips. I can just tell whether my levels are up even a little by the blurriness or otherwise of this one word.

Going too low causes it to dance about a bit. Some people experience tingling in hands or toes or other effects. The effect will probably be less drasic when your levels come down a lilttle.

 

[viviennem]

Re: T2 Vision and Birthday Cake

Hamish posted:

. . . stupidly I indulged in some nibbles , mini Indian and Chinese nibbles, mini sausage roll, ham & tomato sandwich, 2 pieces of cheese and … a small slice of chocolate birthday cake

As Unbeliever has said, your snacks and nibbles sound quite carby . . . it's not just the chocolate cake that affects your blood sugar levels. Is there any way you can reduce the carbs in your usual diet? How many do you usually eat in a day?

If you're already low-ish carb - say 150g per day or less - I'd have a talk with your HCP to see if there's anything else to be done.

Viv 8)

 

[mish1953]

Thanks viviennem and Unbeliever

It was more the vision thing I was trying to emphasise rather than the birthday cake and nibbles, I have been finding that changes in my BS levels 'really' affect my vision dramatically .

My current readings tend to be 4.7 to 5.8 before food and 6.0 to 6.4 2 hours after food , so not too bad , when I had stupid nibbles at my godsons birthday party there was a significant impact on my vision - I realised when I couldn't read number plates at the regulation distance ( 20 metres for vehicles with a new-style number plate ) . This drives my optician bonkers and I now have a selection of spectacles in the car so that I can compensate .

For example on the way home from work tonight I noticed some fuzzyness, I hadn't eaten since 12:30 and this was around 17:30, I checked my BS when I got home and it was a little low .. like 3.3 . This is the lowest I have been , I should have had some fruit mid afternoon but I'm pushing fairly hard to lose weight. I was 23 st 8lbs on 28/09/11 and am now 22st 5lbs . No other side effects other than the vision .

If I had an accident due to impaired vision then my insurance company would be justified in refusing to cough up, and my employer would be very unchuffed ( I work for the police ).

Diabetics get free NHS tests - I would recommend that its worth doing.