Coffee-drinker?

[Hula48]

I've had glaucoma since 1988, many ops and drops. Have noticed that my eyes get very misty from time to time, which is a pain when you are having tests to get your driving licence back etc. Thought, blood sugar? That's all I need... Nope. Turns out it's COFFEE that's affecting me! No coffee, no blur. I have been waiting for the "right time" to have a test at Specsavers then the Eye Clinic to get my licence back after a detached retina (never rains but it pours!) and by chance had a very late breakfast.... my eyes WERE clear... add coffee... blur! You'll all know the stress of the flashing lights and press the button stuff anyway... especially when your driving licence depends on it... so try it and see if it makes a difference to you. I never drink tea - it disagrees with me so can't tell you about that. So, water till I get to Specsavers (25 miles away, no public transport, can't drive... but I will get there!), then see the specialist.... fingers and toes crossed... (no, not eyes! That would be silly!) It's an easy trick to try, anyway. Hope it helps someone. 🙂

[Eyeworrier]

Interesting discovery. Have you tried fruit or herb teas? There are some very flavoursome ones around now. And I read an article yesterday waxing lyrical about rooibos tea - apparently beneficial for just about everything!

[RunnerWithPG]

There are some studies which have linked caffeine intake to higher IOP, so I guess that's a possibility what's happening with you. I had a trabeculectomy on my left eye last year which failed after 10 days and the IOP shot through the roof (56 mmHg!). On the day that happened my sight in that eye did go very misty for a while. I think the studies generally say that IOP increases by 1mmHg - 2 mmHg an hour after drinking coffee which isn't a lot, but I guess it could be significant if your baseline IOP is on the high side anyway. It's probably worth mentioning at your next hospital appointment in case it is an issue for you. (I'm not medically qualified by the way - just read a lot of research since my glaucoma worsened last year),

[Hula48 in reply to RunnerWithPG]

My next hospital visit will hopefully be after I have gone to Specsavers and passed their eye test! It's been a bit soul-destroying waking up and seeing fine.... then inexplicably (after drops and breakfast) NOT seeing fine. I have been experimenting with different things to eat for breakfast... I have other health conditions that mean I have to be a bit careful... but even if I have to live on bread and water till I get my licence back it would be worth it! Easier than having to sell up and move.

[RunnerWithPG in reply to Hula48]

Best of luck with the test!

[Hula48 in reply to RunnerWithPG]

Thank you! Will post what happens here.

[Beecalmed]

I often ramble so I’ll try to be brief.😉

I don’t drink caffeine (and couple cups tea only) after 12 noon. More to aid better sleep but caffeine (from coffee) has always made my eyes blurry but also heart pound and generally make me operate like Dill the Dog (if you’re old enough to remember The Herb Garden). 😂

I do think lack of water consumption makes my eyes blurry. I do not drink enough and have to remind myself.

Sugar I think is a very powerful thing and I now have removed it from everyday consumption. I think blood sugar fluctuations are not good for me.

Fasting too. Fine for some and part if the tools to push back diabetes, but I suspect it’s not good for me.

Biggest one for me is prolonged stress on the body. Life brings stress and it’s not always bad but is if you never have a break from it and are not enjoying life that takes a big toll on the body and possibly our IOPs.

Moderation in all things. Boring, but I’m discovering its key for a healthy life.

[Loki666]

To us tea drinkers, don't forget tea also contains caffeine, all be it at half the level of coffee. It's also interesting to know that a can of coke also has about a quarter of the caffein of a cup of coffee.

[Astilbe]

I find that I get jittery after a cup of strong coffee that I occasionally have when out .I drink decaf coffee and weak or decaf tea at home. I dislike herb teas, but like rooibos tea which has no caffeine. Chocolate has caffeine.

Very interesting subject. My eyes get blurry from time to time. I think that the water intake is important and like Becalmed I have to remind myself to drink more and actually finish my drinks too.

I think from many years experience that a raised eye pressure does cause blurriness, perhaps pressures vary during the day.

Yes, Dvla tests at Specsavers are a complete mare, the conditions I have endured are far from ideal.

[Hula48 in reply to Astilbe]

I think pressures can vary quite a lot thru the day. Unfortunately I seem to be able to tolerate quite high pressures without feeling ill... the first time I was sent to hospital by my GP (I drove myself) the eye doc said, "Can't be much wrong with you, you were working this morning, you've just driven 40 miles.... Oh! Oh! 62!! Better phone home, you're staying in!" And they have been higher than that. That was in 1992. So I think I'm pretty lucky still to be fit to drive.... just have to prove it! There are also better drops and much more lasering.

[PBX142]

Are you sure its the caffeine? I have blurry eyes and dont drink coffee and not much tea. I wonder if it's the drops themselves....if not the glaucoma. My blurriness is a kind of wafting mist that drifts across my eye....and might also be posterior capsule opacification from cataract surgery. I'm still trying to find out!

[Hula48 in reply to PBX142]

I can say it happens maybe 20 mins after drinking coffee (can't drink ordinary tea... upsets my tum terribly) lasts best part of an hour... sometimes longer... then clear, returns if I drink more coffee. Does not happen after fruit teas etc. Thought at first perhaps my eye drops or various pills.... I have (inadvertently) forgotten my pills, tho never my drops. It is like driving into mist.... very mild fog, not a pea-souper!... but lethal for eye tests. And eye drops are morning and night. The eye-fog descends any time of day.... after coffee! even decaf. So I'm on water just now and definitely all is clearer. I know I could drive adequately even with the mistiness, as in real life you are spotting cars, bikes, people... even mice crossing the road... (yes, I live out in the country!) but in the test it's pinpricks of light. My driving record is excellent... better say "so far"... and I reckon I've driven about 700 000 miles in UK and on the Continent. So, after a process of elimination, I know that after ordinary tea I will feel very ill indeed and after coffee I will have a slight, temporary clouding of my vision. Enough to cause problems on the eye test, but not enough to give problems reading or watching TV... or driving (so far!). I've had my cataracts done, but this was happening long before that. I have a tube in one eye (also a Schei's) and a trab in the other. Pressures OK, but I have drops night and morning. Annual sight tests.... more often if I think necessary. Anyway, it is worth a try for anyone who has intermittent hazy vision.... note what you eat and drink (inc pills & drops) and whether you have a hazy episode after particular foods/drinks. It may mean the difference between a Pass or a Fail.

[PBX142 in reply to Hula48]

That's so interesting! I have never drunk a cup of coffee in my life, funnily enough....am still wondering what the haziness is but am determined to get an answer at my next appt if it's glaucoma or drops related anyway. Am cutting out sugar in the interim because I do know that sugar is the worst thing for eye health!

[salla22]

I drink caffeine free coffee, 3cups a day, did not take long to get used to it.