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Blurry eyes

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
L

lucy123

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi, My eyes are very blurry this morning. I first noticed when I went to weigh myself and couldnt read the numbers at all - very blurred. Am having to wear my specs for computer but still not brilliant.

Could this be a side effect of my first byetta injection last night. Already my bs have dramatically levelled rather than highs and lows I normally get?

Cant think what else it could be?
 
How is the eyesight now Lucy? I don;t remember anyone reporting this as a side-effect, perhaps it was just because you had a good long sleep and your eyes are taking a while to wake up - happens to me on occasion 🙂
 
Northerner said:
How is the eyesight now Lucy? I don;t remember anyone reporting this as a side-effect, perhaps it was just because you had a good long sleep and your eyes are taking a while to wake up - happens to me on occasion 🙂
Click to expand...

Still a bit blurred but not as bad. My shower normally wakes me up Alan - nice and cold in the morning! A very good thought though. I wonder if the nausea causes blurry eyes - very strange!
 
Sounds like the sort of question to ask NHS Direct - 0845 4647.
 
Have just read on a byetta page and it says low bs can cause the blurred vision. I am not hypo ( in the 5;s and 5's) but much lower and more stable than normal - so am thinking it may just be due to big improvement in bs and may go after a day or two.

Every time I have rang NHS direct they have wanted to ring an ambulance!😱
 
Hi, dont know about byetta but when i first started nova rapid and lantus about a week later had the same thing. couldnt read anything close up. Just a result of blood sugars being reduced affected my eyes. Was told by nurse and opticians this can happen and did take 3 months before it was normal. During this time i was advised by dsn and optician not to have sight tested for glasses for at least three months after starting insulin. I did use reading glasses temporarily as i couldnt read nowt but did settle and no longer need to use them
 
brett said:
Hi, dont know about byetta but when i first started nova rapid and lantus about a week later had the same thing. couldnt read anything close up. Just a result of blood sugars being reduced affected my eyes. Was told by nurse and opticians this can happen and did take 3 months before it was normal. During this time i was advised by dsn and optician not to have sight tested for glasses for at least three months after starting insulin. I did use reading glasses temporarily as i couldnt read nowt but did settle and no longer need to use them
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Thanks Brett - thats what I think it is. Have got my specs on today which helps a bit but not a lot! Hoepfully it will pass soon. Good stuff this Byetta - definitely works straight away.
 
no problem, glad its working and hope your eyes settle soon
 
Hi Lucy, when I was diagnosed diabetic I went onto a diet controlled regime. After four days my eyesight blurred. I couldant go to work or drive. I was told 'this is caused by your high BS level lowering and causing eour eyes to re adjust to a lower BS level'. I was away from work for over six weeks when my eyesight returned to normal but I had to wear glasses to read. Over this six week period I went onto insulin as my BS wernt coming down fast enough. I have now been on insulin since 1988 and feeling a lot better for it.
 
Thanks AM

I seem to remember this happening when I was first diagnosed and again when I went on Metformin.

I guess its just another thing I have to ride out.

It did improve a little today, but blurry again - cant read the info on the channels on tv!
 
lucy123 said:
Thanks AM

I seem to remember this happening when I was first diagnosed and again when I went on Metformin.

I guess its just another thing I have to ride out.

It did improve a little today, but blurry again - cant read the info on the channels on tv!
Click to expand...

It seems a little odd to me Lucy. Yes, it's true that eyesight can become blurry after diagnosis when levels may have been uncontrolled for some time and are being brought closer to normal levels. But I've never heard of it happening overnight when levels were quite reasonable beforehand, which I believe yours were. I think if things haven't improved tomorrow it's worth getting checked out.
 
I wouldn't say my bs were good recently Alan - hence the Byetta, which hopefully will stop the insulin floods too.

They have been swinging about all over from 9's 10's to hypos as low as 2's.

Since last night I have been in the 5's and low 6's constantly.

Hubby has just read the leaflet for Byetta and it does give one side effect as blurred vision by reduced levels as well as nausea vomiting and diarrhoea.

Also consultant did say side affects would almost certainly be immediate but to remember that so would the benefits too.
 
I've had blurry vision for the last several days too, I think there is a "virus" doing the rounds. Started with tum cramps then went on to headaches and now vision which changes dependent on light.
 
Hi Lucy, I used to get blurry eyes when my BS were to high. (my fault entirely because it took me a long time being upset and angry about getting this awful disease. Anyway, as a carer for my 73 year old mum, who always has blurred vision, because she just does not bother to try to control her BS. I quickly realised that it was my fault because I had been stuffing my face with naughties because about two days later, my eye site would go blurry and then take about 6 weeks to recover. I'm on metforin also and a type 2. but I have not had blurry eyes for about a year now because Ive been trying to train my brain not to comfort eat or use food as a reward.
Of course I am not saying that this is what is wrong with you or accusing you of eating stuff you should'nt. But what ever the reason, get it checked out if it worries you, because going blind is I imagine is devastating.
lucy123 said:
Thanks AM

I seem to remember this happening when I was first diagnosed and again when I went on Metformin.

I guess its just another thing I have to ride out.

It did improve a little today, but blurry again - cant read the info on the channels on tv!
Click to expand...
 
I had to start wearing glasses shortly after being diagnosed after experiencing blurred vision which was gradually getting worse.

Make the most of that free eye test!
 
I have recently experienced this Bloo** SORRY! I mean Blurry eyes thing too, I have managed to climb back on the wagon again and was being very careful with my diet, my Doc has put me on Metformin and I had just upped it from one a day to, two a day when I noticed that I was having difficulty seeing clearly in the distance. My up close vision wasn't a problem (I wear prescription lenses for close work anyway) but noticed that anything over a hundred metres wasn't as sharp as it usually was.
Now, I must admit to having had a bite of iced cream (about half a small cone) as a very special treat, but it has never had this effect before. I thought it must be a result of being naughty (consuming half a cone) after managing to be strict with my food intake for ten days.
Then, I spotted someone else's theory about the introduction of the metformin to their system and how that might be the cause, now I am just totally confused, I thought the metformin was meant to help, blurry vision was not mentioned in the list of possible side effects. Doh!
Any thoughts or suggestions peeps?
 
Jimbo, it may be due to the metformin, and the other changes you are implementing, helping your levels back down into a better range that you are not recently used to. Higher than normal glucose changes the shape of your lens, and you often have a transitional period as the eye adjusts. Happened to me at diagnosis.
 
Thanks Alan, that info helps me relax a lot as I was beginning to think I was about to get another kicking from fate (or my own stupidity) there. I remember how depressed I was when the bike accident I had seriously effected my vision for months, and, had thought that I was in line for more of the same.
Cheers!
 
I was given to understand in 1972 (on diagnosis) that the eye effect (which not everybody has and it affects some more than others) was actually as a result of your body getting used to lower BG levels. Mine also took 6 or 7 weeks to settle. As I earned my crusts working as a clerk, this meant I couldn't go to work. Neither could I read, knit, sew or watch telly for very many minutes which was tragic as I'd booked holiday to watch the Munich Olympics .... Grrrrrrr.

Bored as hell.

I do get blurred eyes when my BG is high, yes, that's utterly common - but it is a different kind of blurred (although it looks the same to my brain IYSWIM)

The first sort is a focussing problem; the second is - just blurry vision.

So if you've started a new med, and esp if your BG is OK - it should actually be a GOOD sign.

I was advised not to drive or try to do anything termed 'close work' until it had settled otherwise I'd get terrible eye strain and permanently ruin my eyesight.

I'd say - doctors for you! - for reassurance if nothing lese.
 
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