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vision problems

My child was diagnosed with type1 diabetes this past week. She is now having problems seeing things clearly and reading. The nurse has told us this is a common reaction and her vision may take up to six weeks to normalize. I haven't been able to find any info about this online. As she is in high school taking advanced classes, this presents a real problem... any suggestions?
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Avatar universal
Hi Karen,

I'm sorry to hear of your daughter's recent diagnosis and applaud you for already "being out there" in search of answers to your questions.  Those of us who volunteer and answer questions at this forum are parents of type 1's or themselves a type 1, but we are not medical professionals.  We can share with your our own personal experiences and hope that you will use this information in discussing your daughter's managment with her diabetes team.

One of the things you didn't mention was how high your daughter's blood sugars were at the time of diagnosis and if they did an A1c test to determine an average of her blood sugars for 3 months prior to her diagnosis.  In my situation, my son was 1055 when he was diagnosed and his A1c was over 12, so his blood sugars had been quite elevated for that 3 month period prior to his diagnosis.  One of the most difficult things he had to deal with early on was blurry vision.  Blurry vision is caused by the elevated glucose level in the blood and can take a while for the vision to return to normal.  I think in our case, it was between 4-6 weeks before he felt he could see clearly again.  We did make a visit to the ophthamologist just to be sure, but were told that it was just going to take time for the vision to stabalize.  It was a gradual thing and as his blood sugars stabalized and remained within his target range his vision improved.

A suggestion for the school issue is to speak to her teachers and emphasize that this is out of her control and hopefully soon she will be seeing clearly.  If you haven't been told about 504 plans, I suggest you look at www.childrenwithdiabetes.com   under the diabetes in schools section.  It will tell you of the importance of having this plan in place to prevent your daughter from having every possible advantage to do her best in school.  This is especially critical in high school when those grades really count.  If she has a 504, she can take SAT's and ACT's with special accomodations.  In my son's case, he took it in a separate room with a restroom, food, monitor, insulin, etc. available to him.  If he needed to stop, the clock stopped, he dealt with whatever issue he had and then the clock began again.  The only way to have these special considerations is to have a 504 in place.

please let us know how you all are doing . . . best wishes!
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Avatar universal
Thanks for your reply...her blood sugar was 545 when diagnosed and her A1c was 13...her vision had not been great, but now it's awful...talked to the school and they are formulating a 545 plan for her... Thanks
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Avatar universal
Karen,

good to hear back from you ~ the numbers you  noted would definitely explain her vision issues.  Glad to hear the school is with you on the 504 plan . . . you'll be happy that you put one in place.  take care
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