Freaking OUT!

[stech1]

Okay, this is the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me. I woke up this morning, put my glasses on and things did not look right. Thinking it was just sleep in my eyes or stuff on my glasses, I washed my face and cleaned my glasses. Things still did not look right. I sit down at my desk, checked my BG (156) and take medicine, all the while fidgeting with the glasses....

I began realizing that I could see BETTER without them... my eyes have been bad since I was 15 and (now 39) I've only been a diagnosed diabetic for 13 days.... my eye sight was like 20/300. Bad.... I can NOW read without glasses... see the monitor... I go outside and can see much better without the glasses... and we are talking literally, like 20/30 stuff... and its happened all in less than 30 minutes... if it started reversing, I'm afraid i'd be blind in an hour...

Is this diabetes related? Anyone know what is going on? I know it sounds weird, but I am dead serious. I don't know whether to jump up and down with joy or be scared to death!

[bryan42]

:) Dont freak out! But I would get your eyes checked, if this continues. I have the same issue, I wear contacts,and now require reading glasses for things up close. I have never been like that before my diagnosis? But yet, somedays I never need my reading glasses,and can read just fine without them?
I have had my eyes checked,and the doc just switched my prescription,and I still need glasses one day to read, but not the next! :( I dont get it either, but to be on the safe side, get checked out. You only have 1 pair of eyes, and Walmart NEVER runs a sale on them! :D

[sweetstick80]

If you DIDN`T wake up in the middle of a field all alone, a bit groggy and with your cloths on backwards we can probably rule out alien intervention. It then must be a miracle.
Congrats on your being able to see better no matter what the cause. Interested to see if it`s perminent or a temporary condition. Good luck....Jack

[stech1]

My finger is on the dial... its not quite 9am here.... last night when I went to bed, I had to use very powerful glasses to see, this morning, I literally cannot see with them... and its just getting better. The only thing that scares me is if it started reversing and did not stop, I would literally be blind in less than an hour.

Thanks Bryan for the advice!!! I am so glad your eyes are getting better too:)

[ubergeek]

Wow, congrats on the new found eyesight. Go to the eye Dr and have everything checked out....just be prepared, until you are completely controlled you might end up at the eye Dr again and again.

[stech1]

If you DIDN`T wake up in the middle of a field all alone, a bit groggy and with your cloths on backwards we can probably rule out alien intervention. It then must be a miracle.
Congrats on your being able to see better no matter what the cause. Interested to see if it`s perminent or a temporary condition. Good luck....Jack

LOL. that's a great perspective! I've been around diabetes almost my whole life and I just have never heard of anything like this. I am going to have an eye exam, but I am also waiting to call the doctor, to make sure there isn't some rare thing going on, cause this really is a dramatic difference.

[princesslinda]

Chris, I had noted occasional blurry vision (almost like looking through plastic wrap) on occasion before my diagnosis. Ophthalmologist told me it was just age (since I was over 40) and not to worry. After my diagnosis when my blood sugar was better controlled, I noted this improved (though not as dramatically as yours did). Had my annual eye exam a few weeks ago and did have to get stronger glasses as far as distance, but my eyes looked fine.

Of note, the ophthalmologist did say it was best to wait until blood sugars are under good control before having your exam for glasses, as until the levels are consistent, it's hard to get a good prescription. He said that when blood sugars are high, it actually changes the shape of the lens of the eye and this resolves when they are more normalized.

I would call my doctor and let him know whats going on.

[Julielouise]

Hi Stech1- I had the same thing happen to me. It was crazy, freaked me out too. I went to the eye doctor a month before diagnosis and was given a prescription for $300 lens, thank god I had old frames. I was in school and was having trouble seeing things in class and driving etc...
So I get diagnoised and go on all my meds. All of a sudden the new glasses don't work. Then I used my old glasses, they work.
Then I went a couple days of needing no glasses. I was so thrilled. Then the close up started going like you. I went to the dollar store and bought 5 different strength glasses. I found myself in the grocery store just standing there crying because I couldn't read any of the labels or price tags. I went to the eye doctor and was told I was wasting my time and to wait till it had been 6 weeks. I too was afraid I was going blind.
It was like you said changing by the minute. One pair would work one minute then needed a different pair the next.
Well now it has been 6 weeks and a few days I am wearing no glasses at all.
I am knocking on wood that this is where I stay. My doctor says it's because my lower blood sugar. It is amazing now, but **** to go thru. It made it so hard to function. Messed with my brain big time.
Anyway I am sorry you have to go thru this, I so know what you are going thru. I was going to post something about this and never got to it. Glad to see I am not the only one this has happened to. Thought I was going crazy.
Good luck. Hope for us it stays where no glasses are required. It's wonderful.
Hugs- Julie

[stech1]

Chris, I had noted occasional blurry vision (almost like looking through plastic wrap) on occasion before my diagnosis. Ophthalmologist told me it was just age (since I was over 40) and not to worry. After my diagnosis when my blood sugar was better controlled, I noted this improved (though not as dramatically as yours did). Had my annual eye exam a few weeks ago and did have to get stronger glasses as far as distance, but my eyes looked fine.

Of note, the ophthalmologist did say it was best to wait until blood sugars are under good control before having your exam for glasses, as until the levels are consistent, it's hard to get a good prescription. He said that when blood sugars are high, it actually changes the shape of the lens of the eye and this resolves when they are more normalized.

I would call my doctor and let him know whats going on.

Linda, I just called and talked the nurse a bit ago. She was just as mythed as I was. She said that she was going to talk to the doctor and get back with me. She said just about what you said, although the dramatic change in my sight is something she had never seen either. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Hi Stech1- I had the same thing happen to me. It was crazy, freaked me out too. I went to the eye doctor a month before diagnosis and was given a prescription for $300 lens, thank god I had old frames. I was in school and was having trouble seeing things in class and driving etc...
So I get diagnoised and go on all my meds. All of a sudden the new glasses don't work. Then I used my old glasses, they work.
Then I went a couple days of needing no glasses. I was so thrilled. Then the close up started going like you. I went to the dollar store and bought 5 different strength glasses. I found myself in the grocery store just standing there crying because I couldn't read any of the labels or price tags. I went to the eye doctor and was told I was wasting my time and to wait till it had been 6 weeks. I too was afraid I was going blind.
It was like you said changing by the minute. One pair would work one minute then needed a different pair the next.
Well now it has been 6 weeks and a few days I am wearing no glasses at all.
I am knocking on wood that this is where I stay. My doctor says it's because my lower blood sugar. It is amazing now, but **** to go thru. It made it so hard to function. Messed with my brain big time.
Anyway I am sorry you have to go thru this, I so know what you are going thru. I was going to post something about this and never got to it. Glad to see I am not the only one this has happened to. Thought I was going crazy.
Good luck. Hope for us it stays where no glasses are required. It's wonderful.
Hugs- Julie

Julie, thank you so much for telling me this. I have really been scared this morning. Its good to see that someone else has been in this boat. While right now, there is nothing negative about this experience for me, if it starts changing back and forth, I will know that its doing the same exact thing that yours did.

I, too, hope you can keep getting by without glasses. It feels so good, don't it?!? Thanks again, Julie!

[Penny]

I still have the problem. I have my last 3 pairs of glasses, and switch as I need them. The steadier I keep my numbers though, the more likely my eyesight stays the same. I can never go without them as one eye has an astigmatism (sp?).

[JMD]

Hi Stech1,
Same thing happened to me at the start...you have excess water and sugar and it makes your vision change as your numbers come down. I wouldn't worry about it just let your doctor know. It lasted about 2-3 days for me so enjoy it.
JMD

[notme]

Hey Stech, I have dramatic changes in my vision a lot. I am not sure what makes the difference, but it can be quite dramatic (not as dramatic as yours). My opthomologist has told me it is very difficult to make glasses for someone with diabetes. Vision changes are common. Most of the time it is for the worse, it seems you got better vision! If it is diabetes related, you may find your vision changes a lot and you just get used to the adjustments. Right now I am going through a blurry stage again. Drives me nuts!

I hope yours is permanent!! I would give anything to have my perfect vision back.

[slipperyelm]

Vision changes are fairly common when you are first getting your numbers down or when you are allowing your blood glucose to be awfully changeable. I have a friend who does almost nothing for her diabetes and some days she wears glasses, some days she does not need them.

Get you BGs down, you A1c down and your vision will probably settle down, too.

But yes, this is a hint as to how sensitive the eyes are to glucose levels. If this sort of thing is happening in our eyes, a simialr thing may be happening in other tissues (such as your nerves and blood vessel walls) even if you cannot sense it. Take it as a warning to keep on working on the diabetes. But also take it as a foreshadowing that your body's workings (such vision) can get better.

[LancetChick]

I also had a dramatic vision change a few days after diagnosis (can't remember how many days after, it was 21 years ago), but probably not for the same reason that your vision has changed. I'm type 1, and I had really been doing a number on my beta cells prior to diagnosis, and was extremely dehydrated. As insulin brought my blood sugars back into normal range, my body overreacted and started retaining water like crazy. I mean, my legs were perfect cylinders, with no way of distinguishing knee from calf or ankle. The water retention also put pressure on my eyes, and one day I noticed that my eyes were vibrating (what an experience). I wore contacts at the time, and took them out, and found that I had excellent vision! I didn't know quite how much improved my vision was until I got in the car and found that I had telescopic vision, and could read distant, distant road signs quite clearly. Unfortunately, I found that my near sight had changed for the worse, and I was unable to read the speedometer. About 10 days later my vision had returned to normal when the water retention stopped and my legs were back to their original size.

[labob]

I've been nearsighted for nearly 40 years. After I was diagnosed and started bringing my glucose levels under control, I suddenly was farsighted for a while. That was great (and fun) for driving, but it didn't last. Once I finally got my glucose levels really under control, meaning no sustained highs, but no lows, either, my eyesight went back to where it was before. My CDE told me not to waste money on new glasses until I had stabilized for at least a month, which meant that my vision was whacko for several months and I was more or less completely useless at work.

[volleyball]

Boy, I almost forgot about reading glasses. I thought Mother Nature had taken it's toll and I was due to reading glasses. I had had Lasik years before and my vision was still excellent but I could not read the fine print and my eyes were always excellent for that. I bought the lowest power reading glasses and was fine. After doing the low carb eating, my need for the glasses disappeared and haven't worn them since.
I think you had a build up in your eye that due to the pressure, changed the shape of the eye. The eye normally reshapes itself to focus far to near.

[gettingby]

I'm a type 1 but I've had to have glasses since I was about 6 or 7. I've noticed recently that I definitely still need them to drive and read or see the computer screen clearly but when checking for bubbles in my syringes, I have to take them off. I can't understand it.

Edit:
I've had type 1 for over 20 years and I am getting older so that may be why.

[LoriAnne]

Could it be glucose dumps in the eye when blood sugar is high but when lowered & under control, you no longer have glucose dumps thus vision is cleared? Just an idea....

[tanyatype1]

I had glasses for driving for about 10 years before being diagnosed. (type 1) Since diagnosis, my eyesight is close to 20/20. I felt for a while that I had "bionic" eyes! Just awesome! I still haven't thrown out my old glasses because I keep thinking that I might need them again,...but not yet!:top:

[Zapatka]

Prior to my Type 1 diagnosis, my blood sugars were in the 900s and I couldnt even read a book infront of me (in contrast to my usual 20/20 teenage vision)... as soon as my blood sugars came down after diagnosis, my vision was 20/20 again within a few days... evidently there really is sugar in the fluid of your eyes (something like that) which makes your lenses cloud up....

interesting thing, the body is ...

i talk like yoda when i'm working at 5am.