How long to wait to have a (regular) eye test?

[Becka]

I wear glasses, and best I can tell I have not had an eye test since 2016. That is the most recent prescription I can find anyway. So that is not good.

Although my near vision is fine, I need to wear varifocals to see anything close up when wearing glasses. Despite whatever may happen at the opticians, I still find I have to take them off things like reading or it just gets uncomfortable. It is what it is, but is not something I find good.

And my glasses are a wee bit bent out of shape, so I am sure at least one eye is having to do extra work than it was prescribed for. Which is really not good.

Besides which, my prescription has always changed from one test to the next, so my glasses will certainly be wrong no. Which does not sound good.

However, for reasons previously discussed, for over a year my glucose levels have been too high, and that obviously will have affected my stupid eyes. Which is why I have been putting off an eye test until after that is resolved. No point getting a new prescription only for it to end up being all wrong a few months later. Expensive too so decidedly not good.

While I have been having migraines on-and-off, I recently seem to also have a constant low level headache. This started shortly after being put on insulin. And my levels became much better. And so it occurred to me that it could be vision related. One time prescription change I got headaches, so ended up being retested for a new prescription. Even made me try a different optician the next time because I did not think that was particularly good.

So, having failed to find a satisfactory answer by searching online, does anyone know how long should you wait after normalizing glucose levels for your eyes to return to "normal" to reliably test them?

Fortunately I recently had my diabetic annual eye screening so no concerns there. And it did not show any worsening of the "some background retinopathy" which I have always had, so that was good.

 

[ColinUK]

You've waited since 2016 already so how much longer do you want to wait?
I'd go and have them tested now. Just because your prescription may have changed there's no obligation to get new lenses but at least you know what's what.
Many high street opticians do not charge for eye tests if you book them via their website so cost of the test shouldn't be a factor.

 

[Becka]

But to do that would mean already knowing when to go back and be retested to get the usable prescription. In which case why not just wait until then? My concern is not simply knowing but doing, as my current prescription is undoubtedly wrong. And my glasses are undoubtedly in need of replacing

It would as much a folly to be told everything is wrong and then do nothing as it would be to go back a week later and say I now need everything anew again! Not to mention it needs to be for real to justify breaking shielding.

So I would like to wait as long as is necessary for my eyes to be their normal selves and not going through a glucose induced change, but not a day longer. However I have accepted it will just have to be the average number of months for eyesight to settle.

 

[SB2015]

Hi @Becka I am unclear from your posts whether you are saying that you have not been able to normalise your glucose levels since 2016 and that is why you have not been back for a test.

If my levels rise, blurry vision is one of my first signs. This certainly caused issues when I was diagnosed, but once I got me levels generally within normal ranges my sight returned to what it was before. I do use varifocals and can see very little without them. I still use reading glasses lying in bed to read as my head is just in the wrong position to get the correct part of the lens in line.

 

[Maca44]

My eyes returned to normal after about 2 months but improved after a few weeks of meds and diet. If your levels are under control I would wait 2 months from that time to be safe. I rushed into it and spent £160 for nothing but that was before I was diagnosed type 2.

 

[Leadinglights]

I have had a similar quandary as I found my near vision was a problem (I also wear varifocals) when my blood glucose was coming down probably in hindsight too quickly. I took note of people saying don't rush off to the optician as they will probably settle down and I was also nervous of visiting for such a close contact examination. Besides which my prescription works out at £600 a pop. They have not really settled so I will have to see the optician asap. Incidentally when I first got varifocals they were clearly not adjusted correctly so didn't sit properly and it felt as if my eyes were in different heads and it made me feel queasy.

 

[Becka]

My eyes returned to normal after about 2 months but improved after a few weeks of meds and diet. If your levels are under control I would wait 2 months from that time to be safe.

Thank you, two months for me would be the end of the month so I will look to make an appointment for around then.

Hi @Becka I am unclear from your posts whether you are saying that you have not been able to normalise your glucose levels since 2016 and that is why you have not been back for a test.

No, I was just surprised how overdue I was for an eye test and so that it had been that long, seemingly since 2016, that it was a very good reason to go for one now. Well, when my eyes are normal so I can get a reliable test.

It is rather unfortunate timing really, I would have been due in 2018 so must have missed it. But then 2019 was a distracted time with family illnesses and I spent a lot of it travelling between and staying at my parents' house. That was then followed by a global pandemic, which I had to keep my immune-system away from.

Given the HbA1c results I have written down it seems that had been gradually going up since at least the summer of 2019, but it was the start of last year I noticed my fasting readings were too high. Annoyingly the memory on my glucometer was corrupt, so I could not check back further. But even before the launch of the pandemic, my requests for help were being ignored.

But it was also last year when I felt my sight getting worse, so I linked the two then but was unable to do anything about it. In the end it took until this January to be put on insulin because of a blood test last August! I guess as that rise in my levels was more gradual my eyes were able to adjust to being comfortable with my glasses so they did not cause headaches. However the fall has been rather more rapid that they have been unable to. At least that is why I think my eyes are the cause of them. But even if not, I need the eye test anyway so I need my eyes looking their best.

 

[pinnig]

I brought my BG down too quickly earlier this year and had dreadful vision thereafter. Couldn't see a thing. Its almost settled down. I wear varifocals. When I asked for advice from the DSN she said it should settle but would take a number of weeks. However she also said not to book an eye test for at least 3 months as any new prescription before then may not be accurate. I'd wait perhaps a little longer before getting a test and purchasing new glasses with a prescription change.

 

[Becka]

Three months? If that comes from a specialist then I cannot ignore that.

I guess the one benefit of shielding is that at least it is not possible to look too far away that I can leave my glasses off a lot of the time. And not getting Covid. Two benefits. The two benefits of shielding and that I can leave my glasses off a lot of the time and not get Covid. And fear. The three benefits of shielding…

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I suspect it might be one of those variable things which is different for different people, a few weeks for some, and longer for others. I wonder if it slightly depends on how elevated your BG have been and for how long? Certainly in the bad old days one of my tells for my BG being high for a week or so was fuzzy vision, but that would resolve in a few days, rather than months.

But ‘a couple of months’ is about my feeling for a general guide, so maybe aim for 10 weeks?

 

[pinnig]

I suspect it might be one of those variable things which is different for different people, a few weeks for some, and longer for others. I wonder if it slightly depends on how elevated your BG have been and for how long? Certainly in the bad old days one of my tells for my BG being high for a week or so was fuzzy vision, but that would resolve in a few days, rather than months.

But ‘a couple of months’ is about my feeling for a general guide, so maybe aim for 10 weeks?

I think the variation is in how long the lens will take to return to its normal shape and 'settle' so that your prescription can be be fairly accurately assessed. I don't think it will take 3 months for that to happen for me and I agree that the duration is likely to reflect just how long the BGs were high. I sense there's no absolute way to work out the time though.

However, the advice was not to spend money on new glasses too soon just in case, else you could spend £100s on new lenses only for them to be useless within weeks and have to repeat the process and the expenditure.

Aa we say in Scotland, be a wee bit canny. Hard one for me. I'm not blessed with patience

 

[pinnig]

Three months? If that comes from a specialist then I cannot ignore that.

I guess the one benefit of shielding is that at least it is not possible to look too far away that I can leave my glasses off a lot of the time. And not getting Covid. Two benefits. The two benefits of shielding and that I can leave my glasses off a lot of the time and not get Covid. And fear. The three benefits of shielding…

Bizzarely when I brought my BG down (too quickly) I could see better with my glasses off than on. A real sign of just how distorted my lenses (the ones in my eyeballs) were and what a mismatch my prescription in my glasses was. Couldn't drive, couldn't see the telly and the lap top. So no work and little leisure activities too. For the first time in about 40 years I felt quite liberated in not having specs on my face. Every cloud.... Back to wearing them full time now.

Although an appointment at the optician may be hard to come by why not give them a ring and see what they advise for you in your situation and see if they can book you in for a future date. At least you have some certainty about when that will be.