Vision Issues

[Moso]

Hi
I was wondering if anyone could give me some information about blurry vision and if with the medication - Metformin whether it is likely to settle down. I was diagnosed in April 2021 and I am really struggling with my eyes. I am short sighted so I am already wearing glasses but my near vision is now shocking! I have my first Hospital Eye test later this month but I am unsure what all that entails ! - I feel I need to get new glasses but don't want to waste money if they are likely to either settle down anytime soon - Any help/advice is warmly welcome - thanks M

 

[Stuvart]

Hi and welcome to the club I was diagnosed in March this year and am also short sighted, and yes my close focus (under an arms length) went to pot but it has settled down now and I was advised not to get new glasses. I found an old prescription pair and used them for a week or so and now I'm back on my latest.
I'm sure some others will be along shortly to give a more tech reason for it as I understand its something to do with sugar build up in the liquids around the eyes.
Hope yours clears up soon if not definitely mention it at your exam.

 

[EllsBells]

Ho @Mosand welcome. The retinopathy assessment is looking at the blood vessels in your eye so is not the same as a sight test. As thor blood sugar levels come down, your eyes will return to more normal prescription. Opticians should not be advising on new glasses prescriptions within 6 months of diagnosis for this reason. Eye tests are free for diabetics.

What was your HbA1c result when you got your diagnosis.

 

[Flower]

Hi and welcome @Moso

Pre diagnosis your glucose levels will have been running higher probably for some time and that affects everything in the body. The lenses in the eyes swell and change shape with increased glucose in the body due to osmosis and the change in lens shape affects focus. Things will improve as you get your glucose levels back in to range and the advice is to wait until levels have stabilised in to a normal range before paying for new glasses. Buying a pair of cheap reading glasses is a good way to get through the next few months.

Blurry sight is one of the common symptoms at diagnosis and it is frustrating and can be alarming but once glucose levels are reduced with medication, changes to diet, exercise etc things will improve. Best Wishes

Common symptoms of diabetes​

• Going to the toilet a lot, especially at night.
• Being really thirsty.
• Feeling more tired than usual.
• Losing weight without trying to.
• Genital itching or thrush.
• Cuts and wounds take longer to heal.
• Blurred eyesight
• Increased hunger.

These symptoms can affect anyone - adult or child.

From Diabetes UK site

 

[Terry-J]

"The reason for the blurred vision is interesting. The lens of the eye is permeable to glucose -- unlike most other body tissues, the lens absorbs glucose readily without needing any insulin stimulus. Therefore, when your blood sugar is high, the lens absorbs glucose until it has the same glucose concentration as your blood. However! Once the glucose is inside the lens, an enzyme turns it into a sugar-alcohol called sorbitol. Soon the lens is saturated with sorbitol. Since the bloodstream is not saturated with sorbitol, this difference in concentrations creates "osmotic pressure", and the lens begins absorbing water to reduce the sorbitol concentration. This absorption of water causes swelling of the lens, and the swollen lens can no longer be compressed enough by the focusing muscles to yield a clear image."

So you can reverse this situation with good control of your blood glucose.

 

[Ljc]

Hi @Moso , welcome to the forum. It’s very worrying when your vision goes blurry like that, isn’t it. If you drive , Don’t till your vision meets the dvla rules for driving.
Others here have explained what is happening so I won’t reowat it, other than to say if you are worried, you can always ask to be referred to the eye specialists at a hospital.

My sight went blurry within days of going onto insulin, the cause was a sudden drop in my BG levels. It took around a month before my foggy sight started to clear up, my sight improve so much that I only need reading glasses now

 

[Moso]

Ho @Mosand welcome. The retinopathy assessment is looking at the blood vessels in your eye so is not the same as a sight test. As thor blood sugar levels come down, your eyes will return to more normal prescription. Opticians should not be advising on new glasses prescriptions within 6 months of diagnosis for this reason. Eye tests are free for diabetics.

What was your HbA1c result when you got your diagnosis.

Hi - the result was 108 - it is currently around 75 so it is coming down slowly which I am pleased with 🙂still a long way to go I know but heading in the right direction - I just need my eyes back !

 

[Moso]

Hi and welcome to the club I was diagnosed in March this year and am also short sighted, and yes my close focus (under an arms length) went to pot but it has settled down now and I was advised not to get new glasses. I found an old prescription pair and used them for a week or so and now I'm back on my latest.
I'm sure some others will be along shortly to give a more tech reason for it as I understand its something to do with sugar build up in the liquids around the eyes.
Hope yours clears up soon if not definitely mention it at your exam.

Hi - I have tried older glasses but no good - I have bought a pair of reading glasses from Boots -non prescription and these are doing the job so at least I can still function at work.

 

[Teaforme]

Blurry vision was one of the symptoms which sent me to the Dr's for a Hba1c test in the first place at the end of February. I wasn't able to watch tv, recognise people from across the street and I would definitely not have been safe to drive. I was finding it hard to see my computer screen, so was doing as much work as I could on my phone which I would hold up close to my eyes. In my case the vision improved within a month, but I have also had to get new glasses. I need a new prescription every 2 years so that may not all have been down to the diabetes

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi - I have tried older glasses but no good - I have bought a pair of reading glasses from Boots -non prescription and these are doing the job so at least I can still function at work.

Yes the same happened to me, old glasses no use either, My distance vision is fine but it is the near vision giving the problem but very erratic so not all the time. It seems worse in the afternoon. It is improving now after 6 months. I wear varifocals so reluctant to get new glasses as you need a second mortgage for the cost of my lenses.

 

[trophywench]

My younger (non D) daughter's eyesight is lousy and she used to have to have lenses resembling the bottom of milk bottles until those were able to be made a lot thinner but as you say mega expensive. She's on permanently on benefits due to other health concerns but the vouchers have never covered the full cost cost for her. Right now she's awaiting new glasses and this time decided instead of varifocals to have 2 pairs of 'just seeing' specs in different frames, plus an extra pair of readers, so 3 pairs in all. So we said OK, like we've had to for years, how much do you need to cover them? Nowt - because she only needed to pay the princely sum of £47.

Seriously if you have an Asda opticians anywhere is striking distance - their frames and lenses are so much cheaper.

I'm not on benefits and don't get vouchers so some years ago had my eyes tested, needed new lenses, could not see a single pair of frames I liked so asked the price of my lenses in a frame I didn't like that much and approx £350. Oooh said I - I'll have to have a bit of think about that. That's when I went to Asda the first time. Liked one pair of frames so waited my turn and the lady said yes my lenses would be OK in those, then said can you pay us a deposit, Yep - £45 she says. So how much is it with the lenses then? No - £45 is the total price! Bloody hell.

 

[Ditto]

I hates my blurry eyes! Keep having to blink. Thanks for the info @Terry-J

 

[Leadinglights]

My younger (non D) daughter's eyesight is lousy and she used to have to have lenses resembling the bottom of milk bottles until those were able to be made a lot thinner but as you say mega expensive. She's on permanently on benefits due to other health concerns but the vouchers have never covered the full cost cost for her. Right now she's awaiting new glasses and this time decided instead of varifocals to have 2 pairs of 'just seeing' specs in different frames, plus an extra pair of readers, so 3 pairs in all. So we said OK, like we've had to for years, how much do you need to cover them? Nowt - because she only needed to pay the princely sum of £47.

Seriously if you have an Asda opticians anywhere is striking distance - their frames and lenses are so much cheaper.

I'm not on benefits and don't get vouchers so some years ago had my eyes tested, needed new lenses, could not see a single pair of frames I liked so asked the price of my lenses in a frame I didn't like that much and approx £350. Oooh said I - I'll have to have a bit of think about that. That's when I went to Asda the first time. Liked one pair of frames so waited my turn and the lady said yes my lenses would be OK in those, then said can you pay us a deposit, Yep - £45 she says. So how much is it with the lenses then? No - £45 is the total price! Bloody hell.

Wow that sounds like a bargain. I am always a bit reluctant to change my optician as they have always been satisfactory with the lenses and very thorough with the test but mega bucks, I think my last pair was £750. Previously I have tried Boots, Specsavers, Costco not of which did I feel totally happy with the lenses.

 

[trophywench]

Your choice. If I wasn't happy with my lenses, however much the glasses cost, I'd be straight back telling em so. It is true that varifocals can vary as to where the long distance and reading lenses merge and if this becomes tricky you may be better off doing what Shaz has done and having 2 separate pairs - as I always did 20+ years ago so had two pairs on at work both on lanyards so reading glasses on my head and using long sight ones to wander about the place, swap when I sat down at my desk to do some paperwork, stand up and swap to go to the loo etc.

Sometimes I was halfway home in my car when I realised the readers were still acting as a hairband!

 

[Leadinglights]

I certainly went back to Specsavers because they were so bad I thought they had given me the wrong prescription but they were totally unhelpful and refused to do anything.
I have worn varifocals for 35 years but when at work I couldn't be always changing glasses and latterly we had to wear safety specs all the time. Now retired the 2 pairs may be a better option so will consider this as an option when I visit the optician. Thank you for the suggestion.