Hi all~I've posted in eye & vision, but haven't had any success with replies...Hope someone here can help me...

3 weeks ago my eye Dr. found 2 d0t hemorrhages in my right retina. I've been tested for the 3 main underlying causes:
1) diabetes (negative-fasting glucose-88)
2) high blood pressure (negative-112/70)
3)carotid artery disease (negative-per ultrasound).

I quit smoking 3 months ago-after 17 yrs!! I used to be able to go all day without eating. Since I quit, I started eating lunch & sometimes snack between meals. I've noticed that an hour or two after eating, I start getting dizzy (falling sensation), get "tunnel vision", muffled hearing, shaky hands, and irritability. I used to refer to it as my "3 o'clock slump". A piece of candy sets me right for a while. I think-from doing some research-that I may have reactive hypoglycemia. I have another meeting with my family Doc on Monday to discuss the next plan of action. I was going to bring it up to her & see what kind of test can be done to check it out, but I don't want to step on her toes or try to "self-diagnose" & have her tune me out.

My questions...Can hypoglycemia affect the eyes? Has anyone ever had a d0t hemorrhage? Does this sound like hypoglycemia? HELP~PLEASE!!!

Hi there.....the answer to your question is, no, hypoglycemia does not affect vision whether acutely or in the long run. Your symptoms do sound like hypoglycemia, and it is very possible that you do have reactive hypoglycemia..it is something that is fairly easy to test.

I hate to disagree but hypoglycemia can absolutely have an affect on your eyes. An episode can make you have double or blurry vision. This is temporary and goes away once your blood sugar comes up.

I would go in and let the Dr know what is going on. Let them know how bad you are feeling when these episodes occur. Do not be afraid to self diagnose or step on her toes. You are the one living in that body 24/7 so who else could be the expert? :D Hope you get some answers soon

I hate to disagree but hypoglycemia can absolutely have an affect on your eyes. An episode can make you have double or blurry vision. This is temporary and goes away once your blood sugar comes up.
Sorry, by effect, I thought the original poster was referring to a permanent effect (i.e. damage) to the eye. While chronic hyperglycemia leads to all sorts of ischemic and destructive changes to the small vessels of the retina, chronic hypoglycemia won't do this.

But you're obviously right that it can have an effect on vision acutely--I didn't mean to cast out this possibility.

12 years ago I started to have such symptoms. I went to the doctor and he sent me to an opticien and got glasses for first time. When I went to collect glasses and it was tested on me I was still getting blurred visions! The opticien not the doctor said hey you must be having diabetes! He sent me back to the doctor who then asked do you urinate often, any cramps now and then, you feel tired often etc etc then did blood test to confirm I was diabeteic. After treatment commenced the blurred vision diappeared.
What blood test did you do? If it was just for blood sugar level at that moment its deceptive. You need to do a hbac % which gives you an average for last 3 months to know if you have diabetes. For hypoglycema doctors do not like to say anyone got it.
see www.hastingspress.co.uk/hypo for more info
Cheers
Raja

Raja makes a very good point! He is referring to the Hb1ac percentage. The Hb1ac % works by way of the following principles

1. Red blood cells live for about 120 days before they die.
2. When you have a certain level of sugar in your blood, a chemical group becomes attached to all of te proteins in you body, including he ones on your blood cells. The chemical group is a glycosyl group.
3. By calculating the percentage of your blood cells (taken from a blood sample) that are glycosylated, the doctor can determine how your sugar control has been for the past 120 days.

A person with an Hb1ac below about 7% good sugar control.

Thanks so much for answering! I've had blood work done 3 times in the past 4 yrs! All have been after a 12 hour fast, and all were just regular glucose levels. Once was for Lyme's (positive), the other was for possible thyroid condition (negative). I will certainly ask the doc about the Hb1ac. I have another consult with her today. (Thanks, raja!)

By the way, the eye problem is semi-permanent damage, not just symptomatic blurring--it's supposed to go away eventually. I guess we have to keep looking for the cause...Thanks again for the replies.