Diabetic Eye Tests

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Essex

Essex

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi
I saw @GreenArmy's post and I didnt even realise there were diabetic eye tests!
I didnt want to hijack the thread so started my own
I always have the the 'Puff' tests for Glaucoma since my dad has this, and have had a photo taken of my retina, but there were no drops involved.
I must get back into the national health service sytem here in Portugal (I pay them enough each month) to see if similar structured sytems exist here, but its complicated - you don't know how lucky you are in the UK.
I looked up the tests here
and diabetic retinopathy here
and saw that, 'Your eyesight can also go a bit blurry if your blood sugar goes higher than usual, even for a short time. This is normal and is a symptom of high blood sugars. Get your sugar levels back to your target level and when they’ve settled, your vision should go back to normal.'
would this happen even at relatively low BG levels, like 10 or 12?
I often get times when my eyes go blurry, and then get better.
Could be too much time working at computer, but could be a bit of this too?
Next time I get my eyes tested for my gasses I'll make sure my BG is in range
Touch wood, after reducing my carb intake (not drastically, but especially at Breakfast) I havent had an out of range results for a while now - even below equivalent Pre-diabetes levels :D
All thanks to this Forum!!!
 
Essex said:
Hi
I saw @GreenArmy's post and I didnt even realise there were diabetic eye tests!
I didnt want to hijack the thread so started my own
I always have the the 'Puff' tests for Glaucoma since my dad has this, and have had a photo taken of my retina, but there were no drops involved.
I must get back into the national health service sytem here in Portugal (I pay them enough each month) to see if similar structured sytems exist here, but its complicated - you don't know how lucky you are in the UK.
I looked up the tests here
and diabetic retinopathy here
and saw that, 'Your eyesight can also go a bit blurry if your blood sugar goes higher than usual, even for a short time. This is normal and is a symptom of high blood sugars. Get your sugar levels back to your target level and when they’ve settled, your vision should go back to normal.'
would this happen even at relatively low BG levels, like 10 or 12?
I often get times when my eyes go blurry, and then get better.
Could be too much time working at computer, but could be a bit of this too?
Next time I get my eyes tested for my gasses I'll make sure my BG is in range
Touch wood, after reducing my carb intake (not drastically, but especially at Breakfast) I havent had an out of range results for a while now - even below equivalent Pre-diabetes levels :D
All thanks to this Forum!!!
Click to expand...
One of the issues with eyes is that often blood glucose levels increase gradually and your eyes adapt so blurryness is not noticed until levels get quite high, the eye environment is sugary and this will change the shape of the eye. But then when people change their diet or have meds and blood glucose levels can drop quite quickly so the eye environment changes thus causing the blurryness until the eye adapts. It is important to tell your optician that you are newly diagnosed diabetic as they shouldn't be getting you to purchase expensive glasses until they have settled down. How long that might be does depend on the individual, it may be a few weeks to a few months as it was in my case. Very annoying.
The retinal screening is quite different as it is not checking your eyesight as such but for damage which could affect your eyesight. In the UK it is done by the NHS so will be in your medical records whereas the tests done by your optician don't. The optician does do photographs of the back of the eye but that is looking at the macular health.
 
Thanks @Leadinglights
I need glasses for sure - astigmatism and the usual presbyopia
But I just got new ones a couple of months ago, and since then my BG levels have dropped after I was diagnosed and changed my diet.
I will go ask for a proper Diabetes eye test
So good to know, thanks again
 
I attend the Opthalmology Clinic at the local hospital for checks. Unfortunately my last appointment was changed to a telephone one (!, ) and then cancelled. I have been on the waiting list for over six months now!
 
Are you not in Portugal ? If so the system is likely to be differnt.
 
@MikeyBikey - ring your local retinopathy centre and chase up an appointment. I was about to do that very thing when I received my appointment in the post earlier this year.
 
trophywench said:
@MikeyBikey - ring your local retinopathy centre and chase up an appointment. I was about to do that very thing when I received my appointment in the post earlier this year.i did
Click to expand...

I did a few weeks ago and was told I was on the waiting list. An optician said she would chase up as well but it achieved nothing. I feel as if the whole clinic has fallen apart! As have others!
 
Last edited:
grovesy said:
Are you not in Portugal ? If so the system is likely to be differnt.
Click to expand...
Yes I am and the system is different (although the Portuguese Serviço Nacional de Saúde, SNS, was based on our NHS a doctor told me)

We were lucky in that we got a family doctor attributed to us when living in Lisbon (not everyone has one)
But after we moved not far out of Lisbon, I rang the local health centre to register and she said (I was so surprised someone answered, see below) it was best to stay registered in Lisbon as the waiting list for a doctor to be attributed here is currently quite a few years.

Since then I have only used my private insurance (despiute paying over 40% of my meagre wages to the govt) so its me who decided which doctor I go to see. This has advantages and disadvantages.

I will either try to book with my Lisbon Dr (although that health centre has never answered the phone in my 25 years here, so it means going there, taking a ticket, waiting a couple of hours then booking an appointment day and time, then coming back at that date and taking a ticket and waiting a few hours to be seen ... then waiting for an appointment with a specialist etc etc.

If you dont have a doctor attributed to you, you just have to turn up at open surgery times and pray that you get seen by a doctor before all the slots are taken up. If you dont, you just come back the next day and try again, from scratch. Once, years ago when I had to do this, I was queuing outside the health centre since 5.30 am with all the poor old coughing people in the rain, and when they finally opened the doors we all filed in to see the notice that had been pinned up inside, out of view from outside, with the words 'all doctors are not available today'.

Or I will try to join the equivalent of Diabetes UK here, which my wife tells me is really good.

Sometimes my mum complains to me about the NHS and I just have to laugh - 'You know nothing, John Snow'
 
Essex said:
Hi
I saw @GreenArmy's post and I didnt even realise there were diabetic eye tests!
I didnt want to hijack the thread so started my own
I always have the the 'Puff' tests for Glaucoma since my dad has this, and have had a photo taken of my retina, but there were no drops involved.
I must get back into the national health service sytem here in Portugal (I pay them enough each month) to see if similar structured sytems exist here, but its complicated - you don't know how lucky you are in the UK.
I looked up the tests here
and diabetic retinopathy here
and saw that, 'Your eyesight can also go a bit blurry if your blood sugar goes higher than usual, even for a short time. This is normal and is a symptom of high blood sugars. Get your sugar levels back to your target level and when they’ve settled, your vision should go back to normal.'
would this happen even at relatively low BG levels, like 10 or 12?
I often get times when my eyes go blurry, and then get better.
Could be too much time working at computer, but could be a bit of this too?
Next time I get my eyes tested for my gasses I'll make sure my BG is in range
Touch wood, after reducing my carb intake (not drastically, but especially at Breakfast) I havent had an out of range results for a while now - even below equivalent Pre-diabetes levels :D
All thanks to this Forum!!!
Click to expand...

Are your BG usually between 10 and 12?
That's a highish sort of number to run with.

Can you post up more about your figures, what your regime is, and what you want your range to be normally?
 
travellor said:
Are your BG usually between 10 and 12?
That's a highish sort of number to run with.

Can you post up more about your figures, what your regime is, and what you want your range to be normally?
Click to expand...
Thanks for interest @travellor
My levels are no longer up around 10 or 12, but they were there sometimes after my previously normal for me breakfast of Weetabix when I first got my meter a month or so ago
I was just wondering if when I was taking no care whatsoever about my carb and sugar intake if I did have higher BG levels of around this it could have affected my eyesight - I wear glasses, but my sight did seem to fluctuate (although prob sue to eye tiredness from computer work)

I have simply reduced my carb intake, without any real calculations/estimations - especially at breakfast (just yoghurt now) and the results are encouraging
Not sure what my aims are - but I should loose 4 or 5 more kilos (5'3, 64 kg - down from max 74!)
My recent values (which I think are moving in the right direction):
1640108407573.png
 
By the way - I actually got through to the health centre and have booked an appointment with my 'NHS' (i.e. Portuguese SNS) GP - and I only have to wait till Jan 20th - Result!
I am only going to see my private specialist in 6 months time

GreenArmy said:
Hi all, it went really well, the guy doing it could had not been nicer, so a big thanks to everyone here, I was panicking but it wasnt all that bad, only that he was using a Canon camera and I use Sony lol.
Click to expand...
Good to hear!
 
Essex said:
Thanks for interest @travellor
My levels are no longer up around 10 or 12, but they were there sometimes after my previously normal for me breakfast of Weetabix when I first got my meter a month or so ago
I was just wondering if when I was taking no care whatsoever about my carb and sugar intake if I did have higher BG levels of around this it could have affected my eyesight - I wear glasses, but my sight did seem to fluctuate (although prob sue to eye tiredness from computer work)

I have simply reduced my carb intake, without any real calculations/estimations - especially at breakfast (just yoghurt now) and the results are encouraging
Not sure what my aims are - but I should loose 4 or 5 more kilos (5'3, 64 kg - down from max 74!)
My recent values (which I think are moving in the right direction):
View attachment 19498
Click to expand...

Not a bad average, but I'd definitely keep off the weetabix!
You can find that high BG does affect your eyesight, yes.
Don't try to race down though, it can cause further problems with retinopathy, a slow decrease is far better.
I found that just initially targeting the foods that gave me the highest spikes and then targeting the next one was the best way to go for me, rather than onto a crash lowcarb diet and having my BG plummet.
 
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