Diabetes Changed My Vision!
Fact or fiction – your vision can change from uncontrolled diabetes? Fact! Well, what does diabetes have to do with my eyes anyway? Let us tell you a little story.
Once upon a time, there was a lovely man named Bob. Bob never needed glasses to drive because he could see the distance nice and clear. One day Bob was driving and realized, “I can’t see the street signs at all!”. He thought, "Well I haven’t had an eye exam in over 5 years. I’m probably getting old and need a new pair of glasses.”
Photo courtesy of https://www.rateradardetector.org
That night he went online and booked himself an eye appointment (at MVC of course). The next day he went to his eye exam and told the doctor that recently he couldn’t see far away. Bob figured he needed a new pair of glasses but to his dismay this was just the tip of the iceberg!
After the optometrist checked Bob’s vision, prescription and most importantly his eye health, she told him something quite peculiar. “Yes Bob you do need glasses but they are only temporary. Your vision has changed because you may have diabetes!”
Bob gasped and said, “How is this possible?” The optometrist explained, “When your blood sugar is out of control your eyes change which causes your prescription to artificially shift.” The doctor sent out a report to Bob’s family doctor and sure enough Bob had diabetes.
When Bob returned to the eye clinic for a follow-up he was a changed man. His blood sugar was under control and he was able to see long distances again without glasses. From that day forward Bob made sure to come in annually to have his eyes examined.
This story may seem rare but at MVC we see this quite often. The eyes are often one of the first indicators that something is going wrong in the body. Less fortunate folks can experience permanent vision loss from bleeding in the back of the eye (retina) from diabetes. If the diabetes is out of control there are times where an injection in the eye is necessary to stop bleeding and further vision loss.
All diabetics should be seen at least yearly by an optometrist to ensure there are no signs of changes in the eye! At MVC we have amazing technology that allows us to look under the surface of the eye which is very important for diabetics. Do you or your loved ones have diabetes? Book an appointment with us today!