I have had problems the last few months with my eyes being sensitive to light, but only after I have a rather heavy meal, usually lunch. I can be fine before I go into a restaurant, but then when I come out I have to squint very hard to even be able to walk to the car. I know this is related to bg levels, although I am usually not someplace where I can test.

I do have my yearly eye exams, and my last one was in Dec, with all being fine then.

What is the physiology of the eye, in reaction to high bg's? What happens to the blood vessels or the nerves when the bg's go higher than normal?

Could this mean that the diabetes is starting to affect my eyes? Should I have them rechecked, although I just had that done in Dec? It doesn't seem like a huge deal to me right now, as it only happens occasionally. I don't want to mess around with my eyes, though!

Thanks!
Ramona

Oh, I forgot to mention that I am also seeing very brief "lights" occasionally, too. It will just be like a shooting star in my vision, that lasts only a half second or a second, but it is enough for me to notice it and turn my head to see what is going on. Of course, nothing is ever there, though!

No headaches - I don't have migraines.

Thanks again,
Ramona

I don't think I can answer your specific question about the eyes, but my understanding is that high blood glucose levels can cause the eyes or the blood vessels in the eyes to swell, causing changes in vision.

You mentioned that you are sometimes in a place where you cannot test... In my mind, there is no such place :) I have learned to get over any concern as to what other people thing when I ***** myself and test. If I have to do it in a restaurant I will go to the restroom, but otherwise, I don't care who I am in front of, or who it offends. It is a medical necessity that helps me maintain my health.

Just wondering how other people feel about this issue???

I don't think I can answer your specific question about the eyes, but my understanding is that high blood glucose levels can cause the eyes or the blood vessels in the eyes to swell, causing changes in vision.

You mentioned that you are sometimes in a place where you cannot test... In my mind, there is no such place :) I have learned to get over any concern as to what other people thing when I ***** myself and test. If I have to do it in a restaurant I will go to the restroom, but otherwise, I don't care who I am in front of, or who it offends. It is a medical necessity that helps me maintain my health.

Just wondering how other people feel about this issue???
:wave: :wave: JD you're right on the money. i use to be concern about where I test, but not anymore. Besides most people understands, probably glad it's not them. As for the eyes, yes a huge meal could elevate glucose and cause problems with eyes. I also have been having "white lights" in the corner of my right eye, however, I had eye surgery last month and thought maybe it's healing. It is really important to control glucose for this main reason. I suffer retinopathy in both eyes and require surgery, but one eye at a time. Thank God i finally starting controlling my diet/glucose. :D Also, thank you for the BMR info you gave me a few posts back, it helped alot.

I agree that I test everywhere I am. I would rather deal with the looks and the questions than the high blood sugar late on

I guess you are right. I have not been testing much and I do not carry my bg machine with me. I had some concerns over the accuracy of my machine, and got out of the habit of testing. I get so frustrated with the variance between my machine and lab tests and wonder if I should really trust it.

My fastings are in the 140's and 150's by my machine, but I had a 130 reading from the lab. That morning I got 156 at home. I know that 130 is still not great, since I am on 2200 mg of metformin, but there doesn't seem to be much of anything that will budge those fastings.

Do you think I need to get my eyes checked, or just concentrate on keeping the bg under control?

Thanks,
Ramona

:Also, thank you for the BMR info you gave me a few posts back, it helped alot.

Your very welcome... it really does work. I eat 1800-2000 calories per day and the pounds are melting away. I am up to a total loss of 38 lbs in 15 weeks and I feel like I am eating all the time (every 3 hours).

As for the eyes... I don't have any specific symptoms other than that my vision is always changing. And I am controlling my bg now, so I never get very high, but still, sometimes I need glasses and other times I don't.

Its funny, because the last time I had an eye exam was before I was dxd... and the doc had trouble fitting me with a perscription. He would measure and then try the test glasses on and I could not see, then he would test again, get different results, this went on about 6 times... finally, frustrated, he just took an average and handed me the script and said, just try these and let me know. Now it all makes sense - I am sure it was the diabetes causing this. Not sure what he will do this time - I am due for an exam in July.

I would see an opthamologist, not an optometrist. I have heard stories of people who didn't get the correct diagnosis because they went to their regular eye doctor not the specialist. I am dealing with proliferative retinopathy and flashing lights is a warning sign that the blood vessels are pulling on the retina which could lead to a retinal tear or a detachment. I had perfect eyes one month and boom, it hit me, I had to get laser tons of it all summer and I still hemmorhaged in my right eye. Meanwhile, my vision was 20/20. There's no way you can tell unless your specialist does an angiogram where they inject a bit of dye into your hand and check to see if these vessels are leaking.

on another note, if your blood sugars go high, yes this can effect your vision, it will turn blurry. It will go away once your blood sugars are normal again.

I now realize how important it is to see a specialist, please do it at least to be safe