Sudden blurry or trippy vision degradation

[Superfluous]

I'm Male, 40. 5 ft 10, currently about 180lbs. I've been on GLP1s since August last year - currently on 7.5mg Tirz, 4mg Reta every 5 days (offset a few days). I started stacking Reta about 6 weeks back with the intention to move completely to Reta , starting on 2mg, then 4mg after a few weeks and I'm down about 10 lbs in those 6 weeks - so I chose to stay on the stack because it was working and not go full Reta. I'm now very close to target weight - I've a decent amount of muscle mass so I'm looking very lean now - probably close to needing to reduce dosages for maintenance.

Today while finishing up at work I noticed that my vision started going very wrong, bright lights in the office were blurry and I struggled to see properly. It almost felt as if I was on an LSD trip (I do know what one of those feels like) and the thought briefly crossed my mind I'd spiked myself with something. My boss had just flew in from abroad and I had agreed to go for a beer with him after work - I was feeling a little stressed but still went for the beer in a pub next to the office hoping it would clear up. About 15 mins after drinking the beer my eyesight started fixing itself. I had two beers then went home and all was better - until an hour after getting home it started again. I guessed the pattern was that consuming something helped fix it, so I ate a sugary biscuit, started making myself dinner and and it started clearing up within 15 minutes again (and now I'm good).

Before GLP1s I had no record of diabetes. I last got checked about 4 years ago for health insurance contract and I was in a safe range. Now after googling I suspect I might have low blood sugar / hypoglycemia. Today I had consumed a banana, a protein shake and 2 cappuccinos before the symptoms started later - I often mostly calorie restrict during the day so this is not unusual (several years of daytime fasting) - I wasn't starving myself, just not consuming a lot as usual.

So my question is to those of you have experience with both GLP1s and/or diabetes are these symptoms you recognise from low blood sugar, or anything else I should be worried about? Google has all sorts of scary alternative explanations including 'eye strokes'. I'll book myself in for a doctor and blood test at some point this week, I just have a busy week with my boss over, so I'm trying to see if I should maybe seek more immediate help - or I just make sure I eat a bit better...

 

[runawayjim123]

I did not have diabetes but used to get migraines as a child. After some time on Reta I have noticed getting the pre-migraine visual disturbances (called an aura). These match what you are describing.

As a child the aura would be followed by a bad headache lasting several hours, but I have not had any of those.

This has happened a handful of times, usually after a dose increase. As I don’t get the headache I have written it off as a side effect that goes away when I get accustomed to the new dose.

 

[scarywood75]

It's normal, it has to do with the reduced pressure on your eyes since you lost weight and a good bit of inflammation.

It's gonna stabilize once you weight loss slows down

 

[Superfluous]

I did not have diabetes but used to get migraines as a child. After some time on Reta I have noticed getting the pre-migraine visual disturbances (called an aura). These match what you are describing.

As a child the aura would be followed by a bad headache lasting several hours, but I have not had any of those.

This has happened a handful of times, usually after a dose increase. As I don’t get the headache I have written it off as a side effect that goes away when I get accustomed to the new dose.

There was a bit of reta leftover in the vial so I took it after my normal dose 2 days back - so yeah I upped my dose a bit. It's interesting that it's a potential symptom of dose increase. It's just the consumption of beer/food helping relatively quickly that made me point to my blood glucose levels. I did start to get a mild headache (but I took a painkiller and it's fine now) which also sounds like what you describe...

It's normal, it has to do with the reduced pressure on your eyes since you lost weight and a good bit of inflammation.

It's gonna stabilize once you weight loss slows down

My eye sight has been a bit wonky at certain times with weight loss and I did put that down to my iris needing to adjust to changes in blood vessels, but today was a lot more full on than needing to try a bit harder to focus - it was somewhat hallucinogenic.

 

[scarywood75]

There was a bit of reta leftover in the vial so I took it after my normal dose 2 days back - so yeah I upped my dose a bit. It's interesting that it's a potential symptom of dose increase. It's just the consumption of beer/food helping relatively quickly that made me point to my blood glucose levels. I did start to get a mild headache (but I took a painkiller and it's fine now) which also sounds like what you describe...



My eye sight has been a bit wonky at certain times with weight loss and I did put that down to my iris needing to adjust to changes in blood vessels, but today was a lot more full on than needing to try a bit harder to focus - it was somewhat hallucinogenic.

If you're like me, booze makes my inflammation skyrocket. So maybe it's the sudden change of pressure that you felt

 

[geoguy78]

I did not have diabetes but used to get migraines as a child. After some time on Reta I have noticed getting the pre-migraine visual disturbances (called an aura). These match what you are describing.

As a child the aura would be followed by a bad headache lasting several hours, but I have not had any of those.

This has happened a handful of times, usually after a dose increase. As I don’t get the headache I have written it off as a side effect that goes away when I get accustomed to the new dose.

I've been on tirz since last August, and I've never previously had migraines. Recently I experienced this prism in my peripheral vision on two consecutive days and went to the optometrist. I was told it was a retinal migraine, and it can be caused by things like dehydration, stress, etc. I think there's probably a correlation with the tirzepatide. The optometrist told me they aren't a big deal and to "enjoy the light show next time", but I still find it a tad disturbing...

 

[CrabbyD]

I'm glad that you posted. My vision has always been better than 20/20. Recently things are getting a little blurry, but it's occasional. I thought I was getting old.

 

[TooBigtoFail]

Had kidney stones after few months on Tirz. Dehydration.... Then few months later, Retinal detachment: eye pain, floaters, headache. My ophthalmologist told me to worry for two weeks after initial detachment as it could get worst. Was told is part of getting 'older'. Possible dehydration here also. Told me to watch out for flashes of light, blurred vision, lighting, migraines, and to call their emergency number for surgery...... No worsening but I now see a specialist whenever something unusual happens. Soon after, blood AST/ALT was acting up as I increased TIRZ, and stacked Cagri. Back to normal month after. Before Tirz, my only health issue was a BMI of 42. Nothing else. Coincidence with Tirz? I will never know. My medical advice: never listen to me and always see a doctor.