First post but hoverer for a while.

[Leadinglights]

I have been hovering for a while and can say how impressed I am with the expertise, patience and good humour people have. A bit about me, I had been prediabetic for several years but I was feeling unwell last June blood pressure high and random blood glucose at around 9mmol/l so spoke to GP, outcome was HbA1C of 50mmol/mol. Additional blood pressure meds and agreement to try diet to get blood glucose down. With lots of advice from people here on low carb higher fat approach I reduced my HbA1C to 42 by Sept and 38 by Dec, I have also lost about 12kg but still have more to lose but seem to be stuck with that at the moment. I try to have less than 70g carb per day.
My concern is my vision, I had seen that going low carb could affect your eyes and don't rush to the optician as they should settle down but I am still finding my vision is very erratic, distance is OK but close vision feels like my glasses are out of adjustment. I wear varifocals so my prescription is quite costly £500 so I don't want to find a new pair would suddenly be no good. Should I wait a bit longer or make an appointment asap?

 

[stillgoing]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Just been discussing this type of thing on another thread. It seems to be linked with the speed of reduction. You seem to have brought the diabetes into line but fairly fast. The eyes do seem to catch up but can take a few months to do so. I also note that you have/had high blood pressure. This can also affect vision. I would suggest you talk with the optician and since close vision is the problem perhaps a reading pair (£5 type) for a few weeks to help with the close vision until it all settles down

 

[KARNAK]

Hello @Leadinglights welcome to the forum.

I think a lot of us hover before we join glad you made the plunge, @stillgoing says
its perfectly correct if your HbA1c drops too quickly it can create problems but what
you`re experience of your eyes should settle down. No need to buy new glasses
get a cheap pair in the Opticians or even Poundland if you have one, may take a
couple of weeks or months before it settles down.

If you drive don`t, its not low carb but your Diabetes that affect your eyes, well done
on your weight loss and your control HbA1c is excellent keep it up no need to go any
lower.

Stay in touch and join us on our waking levels at https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/group-7-day-waking-average.20148 just click the last number and it will take you to the latest postings, good luck and welcome aboard.
Take care stay safe.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you for your replies, my blood pressure is pretty well under control with a combination of two meds. I was not sure what would have counted as quick in terms of reducing the HbA1c as I was just into the diabetic range. I do drive but my distance vision seems fine. I am very short sighted some wear glasses to correct for that. It is weird as it seems ok in the mornings but when I have been concentrating on close work in the afternoon that is when everything is going out of focus. I do stained glass work as a hobby so it is difficult to do things neatly. I have not had my retinal eye check this year as they said as my previous years had been fine they were only doing it every two years unless the GP requested it.

 

[ColinUK]

Stained glass work must take lots of focus (no pun intended). And must be very satisfying creatively.
Do you do small pieces or are you talking restoration of huge cathedral type windows here?

And welcome to the club nobody ever wants to join!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Leadinglights, nice to have a former lurker signed up and posting 🙂

Well done in your fantastic progress so far. Glad some of the hints and tips in the forum have been part of your journey.

Look forward to seeing how things progress for you. And hope your eyes settle down quickly for you.

 

[rebrascora]

I still have quite a bit of variation with my near sight 2 years after diagnosis and have 3 different pairs of cheap readings glasses including a prescription pair and some Poundland ones, which I use most, for various activities and day to day variation. Distance sight is pretty good... optician said better than average. I find it quite frustrating swapping between glasses but manageable.

 

[Leadinglights]

Stained glass work must take lots of focus (no pun intended). And must be very satisfying creatively.
Do you do small pieces or are you talking restoration of huge cathedral type windows here?

And welcome to the club nobody ever wants to join!

I find it hugely satisfying and it has kept me sane during the lockdowns. I do mainly small things like suncatchers, mirrors, Tiffany style lamps and panels not restoration work although I could. I had just started going to a craft market when lockdown came about.