How do you cope with the common cold as a diabetic?

greyposter

Well-Known Member
Messages
198
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty to animals.Bullies,Soaps.
You have got my sympathy.I've got COPD and know how ill I become with 'only a cold;'
 

Mommayorkie

Active Member
Messages
43
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
being ruled by my conditions.if it isnt one playing up its another. stopping me leading at least some sort of life.
One of my pet hates is people who have colds and insist 'it's only a cold for God's sake' and who battle it out at work spreading their wonderful cold around everyone.

For the past 4 years I've had a chest infection every year round about October/November when the temperature changes and everyone's coughing and sneezing. I have asthma and bronchiectasis and I'm knocked off me feet with a cold and the last one turned very quickly to pneumonia and I ended up being carted off in an ambulance from the local Walk In centre. Colds may not be much more than an inconvenience to anyone who doesn't have lung problems, which is fine for them if they want to battle on at work and spread the damned thing to all and sundry. But to those of us with lung problems sitting next to someone with a cold could mean we end up in hospital and a week or more off work. I wish to God people would not insist on being ever so brave and stoical when they're in the infectious stage, dragging themselves into work to spread their germs. Just be selfish and keep it to yourself please.

My other pet hate is people at work with colds who cough and sneeze into their hand and don't use a hanky and then handle their keyboard, office equipment and offer to make me a cup of tea. Yuk! Stay at home please and keep the cold to yourself.
I am totally with you on this one. as an ex nurse (long time back now) i used to get so mad with teachers and parents who insisted kids should still go to school when they have a cold. my youngest was forever getting them and i would just tell them hes staying off school till hes clear. because i will not be blamed for him passing colds on......... now asa 75 year old type 2 diabetic on forxiga tabs once a day, with asthma and copd i used to be forever getting chest infections. never got fluthough. think its 20 years since my last bout and i think that was down to moving from south of england up here to the north. and i dont have flu jabs . when i did (year before i moved here) i spent 6 months having one bout of flu after another. ive been diabetic now for 4 years. and apart from a 24 hour bug of somekind..(not a cold or flu) last year ive had no chest infections or colds. .... times its seemed like i ws getting one but didnt develope. iots over 2 years now since i haver had a full blown chest infection. if there were signs of one startubg i have used m,y rescue meds to ward it off. usually successfully. colds i avoid by asking people not to visit if they have any bugs at all. ... my dog walkers if they arent too bad, will come to take my little dog out, if he hasnt been out while they have been ill. but they stay away from me..wash their hands both before and after handling his coat/harness and lead. we are all very careful. my daughter is my carer. but because she now has 3 conditions which have knocked her auto immune system to hell, she dare ot come near me if she gets a cold or when i have one. as of now.
(yes first one in a few years started yesterday,)... what i do get very annoyed about is taxi drivers, the number of drivers who come to pick you up and have a cold is disgusting. your in a very small space with them, no windows are open... i usually open the one nearest me, heating on. etc,. and if i say anything all i get is we have to work otherwise we have no money. i point out to them that they are literally putting my life at risk. 1 because im elderly. 2. because i have lung problems, 3 because my immune system is not good and that i am diabetic and being ill can push my blood sugars up. and that i know i am not the only passenger who is in similar circumstances. its like talking to a brick wall. money becomes before passsengers welfare. no one who has been here in the past few days has got a cold,.ive checked. so has to be either the lasttaxi driver of the taxi who brought me home or someone on the shuttle bus we got to literally go 5 minutes away.
(too far for me to walk though)... but my bet is that taxi driver. he seemed to be doin a fair bit of sniffing. when i asked had he got a cold he said no was an allergy......... hm really?

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Mommayorkie

Active Member
Messages
43
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
being ruled by my conditions.if it isnt one playing up its another. stopping me leading at least some sort of life.
I am totally with you on this one. as an ex nurse (long time back now) i used to get so mad with teachers and parents who insisted kids should still go to school when they have a cold. my youngest was forever getting them and i would just tell them hes staying off school till hes clear. because i will not be blamed for him passing colds on......... now asa 75 year old type 2 diabetic on forxiga tabs once a day, with asthma and copd i used to be forever getting chest infections. never got fluthough. think its 20 years since my last bout and i think that was down to moving from south of england up here to the north. and i dont have flu jabs . when i did (year before i moved here) i spent 6 months having one bout of flu after another. ive been diabetic now for 4 years. and apart from a 24 hour bug of somekind..(not a cold or flu) last year ive had no chest infections or colds. .... times its seemed like i ws getting one but didnt develope. iots over 2 years now since i haver had a full blown chest infection. if there were signs of one startubg i have used m,y rescue meds to ward it off. usually successfully. colds i avoid by asking people not to visit if they have any bugs at all. ... my dog walkers if they arent too bad, will come to take my little dog out, if he hasnt been out while they have been ill. but they stay away from me..wash their hands both before and after handling his coat/harness and lead. we are all very careful. my daughter is my carer. but because she now has 3 conditions which have knocked her auto immune system to hell, she dare ot come near me if she gets a cold or when i have one. as of now.
(yes first one in a few years started yesterday,)... what i do get very annoyed about is taxi drivers, the number of drivers who come to pick you up and have a cold is disgusting. your in a very small space with them, no windows are open... i usually open the one nearest me, heating on. etc,. and if i say anything all i get is we have to work otherwise we have no money. i point out to them that they are literally putting my life at risk. 1 because im elderly. 2. because i have lung problems, 3 because my immune system is not good and that i am diabetic and being ill can push my blood sugars up. and that i know i am not the only passenger who is in similar circumstances. its like talking to a brick wall. money becomes before passsengers welfare. no one who has been here in the past few days has got a cold,.ive checked. so has to be either the lasttaxi driver of the taxi who brought me home or someone on the shuttle bus we got to literally go 5 minutes away.
(too far for me to walk though)... but my bet is that taxi driver. he seemed to be doin a fair bit of sniffing. when i asked had he got a cold he said no was an allergy......... hm really?

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Mommayorkie

Active Member
Messages
43
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
being ruled by my conditions.if it isnt one playing up its another. stopping me leading at least some sort of life.
sorry about the breach... this cold seems to be making me woolly headed. i started on my rescue meds today. 6 prednisolone this morning. amoxicillin 500 mg 3 times a day.(had 2 so far).. earlier today (ive been keeping check on my BS as last time i was on steroids my BS went up into the 20;s and it took 6 months to get back below 7 b4 breakfast.i was on diet only then. ) i have been low carbing since Feb 2017. and my Hb1Ac had come down from 66 to 54. that was back in august last year. this is now going to ruin all my efforts of that past year. gutted. yesterday my BS before meals was 7.1 when i got up. (OK i have a cold. thats to be expected.its usually below 7 at that time though do get a blip of just over sometimes. i didn't take it before lunch...only really supposed to take it before breakfast and before bed....6 pm (before tea) BS was 6.7 and i was feeling queasy so had some carbs. a banana and 2 slices seeded bread and butter for my tea At 9 pm (my usual supper time) it was 8.6 most unusual to be that low at that time.had my usual supper. chopped banana, rice krispies and semi skimmed lacto free milk (lower in carbs than normal milk) at 12 midnight before bed it was 12.7... thats normal; and my diabetic GP says its to be expected as a before bed reading. i couldn't get to sleep last night. and at 5 am made myself half a mug decaf coffee made with skimmed milk and 1 slice seeded bread and butter... i always have a couple of pontefract liquorice sweets while i read a while. these are /to help me avoid constipation the forxiga diabetic tablets cause me(i have IBS too). I didn't get to sleep till 7 am, and even then was fitful. and that was before i started my rescue meds. BS before breakfast this morning was 7.7.. again to be expected with eating carbs at 5 am, breakfast was my usual porridge and 12 grapes,plus skimmed milk coffee,, just over 2 hours later BS was was 7.1. @2.15pm. had 2 slices seeded bread with cream cheese and my usual 12 grapes and a skimmed milk coffee. , other drinks were diet coke.... @ 6.30 pm BS was 13.1 but was feeling queasy again and knew i had to eat..had small tin spaghetti in tomato sauce on 1 slice toasted seeded bread followed by my usual 12 grapes..at 9.30 pm BS was 17.7(can only think steroids have kicked in)held on till 10.30 pm taking my BS every 10 mins til it went down to 13.3 at 10.23 pm then instead of having a banana chopped into my rice krispies i just had the cereal and only 6 grapes. but i know i'm going to be hungry again .thats just not enough for me and the steroids usually make me want more food.. if i'm still awake 4 hours later i will need food again normally. if i've cut down what i've eaten carb wise ill need more before the 4 hours is up. to top all this just been told that we can no longer be prescribed rescue meds. new rules from the powers that be that control meds in uk. this means more chance of being hospitaLISED BECAUSE WE CANT CATCH A CHEST INFECTION AND ZAP IT BEFORE IT GETS HOLD.(I HAVE ASTHMA AND COPD AND USUALLY WE ARE ALLOWED TO KEEP PREDNISOLONE AND AMOXICILLIN AT HOME SO WE CAN START THEM ASAP AFTER WE REALISE WE ARE STARTING WITH A CHEST INFECTION.)... MY DILEMMA IS. IF MY BS IS UP ABOVE 12/13 YET IM DUE TO EAT, DO I PUT IT OFF A WHILE TILL IT COMES DOWN TO BELOW THOSE FIGURES OR WHAT? I HAVE TO EAT, I DONT KNOW IF THE ACHES N PAINS IM GETTING ARE DUE TO THE COLD. MY SPINAL SPONDYLOSIS OR WHAT? PLUS THIS QUEASINESS TOO. SCARED IT COULD BE KETONES. CAUSIN IT.
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Oh my goodness - so many carbs - please don't flaunt what you can eat before the diet controlled type twos - I'm sitting here with a streaming cold and feeling dreadful and clicked on this in the hope of some help with it, do have some pity.
 

Mommayorkie

Active Member
Messages
43
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
being ruled by my conditions.if it isnt one playing up its another. stopping me leading at least some sort of life.
Oh my goodness - so many carbs - please don't flaunt what you can eat before the diet controlled type twos - I'm sitting here with a streaming cold and feeling dreadful and clicked on this in the hope of some help with it, do have some pity.
i came on here for some help too. i am scared to death that the steroids i have to take for my chesyt infection will send my blood sugars awry once again. my meter keeps saying ketosis? i eat the amount of carbs my diabetic dietician told me to eat,. so i am following instructions on that. try dealing with bad colds which leads to chest infections every timne i get one because i am asythmatic and have COPD. but then this is what i have had befiore.on here. no help at all only remarks like yours.or none at all. thank you for adding to my depression. this site is bloody rubbish. think yourself lucky that you are now on diet controled only... well done. unfortunately steroids are to blame for my being on meds for diabetes. try dealing with over 6 serious comditions at ponce.each one affecting the others. as i am having t6o do. coupled with normal aging at 75.
'
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
You caught me at a very low point - for weeks I have been coughing so violently that I feel my head might explode as well as my bladder.
You wrote that you are eating low carb and then you list bread and bananas, rice crispies, more bread, sweets porridge more bread grapes spaghetti - all high carb foods and which type two diabetics need to avoid if they are to get normal BG levels.
You also seem to be having numerous meals - I eat twice a day early and late and nothing in between to let my body have a rest.
I can tell you how I get normal readings, but if you follow the advice of your dietician I can't see that happening any time soon.
I am really rather curious - just how many gm of carb are you eating a day?
My usual amount is 40 to 50, with 60 as an absolute maximum. Typically I have after dinner BG levels under 6mmol/l. I avoid most foods with over 10 percent carbs, and eat very sparingly of a few up to 20 percent.
 

Mommayorkie

Active Member
Messages
43
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
being ruled by my conditions.if it isnt one playing up its another. stopping me leading at least some sort of life.
sorry, i should have realised i apologise for my reaction .i too am feeling far from well and very worried right now. as well as having S.A.D so i soon get weepy at the mo.and mood swings.(which can also be caused by diabetes as you probably know already.) .its not good having a cold at best of times. when you are trying to cope with it affecting your other conditions its 100 times worse. the more conditions you have the more one thing impacts on another. i have been asthmatic since i was 49 then 11 years ago was told i had COPD. the year after landed up in hospital with a suspected heart attack which at my follow up appointment was then told it had only been a warning. that was 10 years ago last august. yet over the past 3 years or so, new GP's at my surgery have told me and still are telling me i DID have a heart attack going on letters in my files from the hospital. confused.com or what? things need different treatments if i HAD one to if i didn't. i was brought up on 4 meals a day. my body is used to it after 75 years. i find if i go longer than 4 hours between meals i start to feel ill, feel faint, and feel better once ive eaten. I get very very hungry even on what i listed.. and its low carb not no carbs. i tried going lower last time steroids affected me. i had 4 lots of them in as many months that time. took 6 months to get back down to 7 before breakfast. my bs this morning was 6.2 . which surprised me ill admit. last night before bed it was 16.8. and i had cut my supper meal down to half a banana(i eat that then for the potassium which i need to stop night leg cramps. it works too. not altogether but at least they no longer keep me from sleeping till around 7am/ thats usually when they start now.) plus half the amount of rice krispies. by 2am i was still awake and hungry. i cannot sleep on an empty stomach. protein does nothing to curb my hunger. i ater 2 slices seeded bread and butter.and 6 grapes. yet my bs ws still less than 7..i eat seeded bread because those seeds help to keep my bs down. and to be honest i would not want to be lower than i am usually. i would be so scared of having a hypo. my diabetic team keep telling me you cant have a hypo . from my knowledge of anatomy and physiology (trained nurse, both in orthorpaedics and general and worked in infectious diseases and burns units.) i am pretty sure that anyone. diabetic or not, if they dont eat right or at least eat too little can go hypo. anorexics are prone to them .
i have to take into account that there are certain fruits &foods i cant eat because of my acid reflux and IBS.,, the sweets as you call them (as do most people) are liquorice. a natural way to help with constipation which in my case is caused by the diabetic tablets i have to take.and funnily enough they do not seem to put my fasting bs up too much/ i tried sugar free liquorice and found they did........ sounds bizarre i know. but i do test if i try something different to see what effect it has. ..and believe me, it did get bad at first. sitting there for an hour trying to get rid of what was started is not funny and very scary, visions of ambulances/paramedics/ bowel operations going through your mind(nurses know far too much unfortunately. and what was a good thing back in my nursing days, no longer is but you cant just get rid of that knowledge from your head.once learned its there for good. well most of it is .) normally my bs is stable. but i am not pre diabetic now. but a full blown type 2... i am constantly trying to keep my levels on a level , but i am told its harder for us oldies as our organs and bodies are failing faster.. last year my kidney results were high. (went down once the stress i was under, lessened) but at the time i was told it was to be expected because of my age...... its a constant battle between all these different ailments ALL the time. not just when i have a cold. having a cold makes it so much worse as it doesn't just affect my diabetes.(i too suffer from stress incontinence all the time. When i get a chest infection i cannot leave the house. i have to sit on towels. Using incontinence pads then is just a waste of money. at least old towels can be boiled.) (my main meal is usually just chicken or fish plus veggies. almost no carbs in that. when i ate 50 carbs per meal i got ill last year. so i upped them to 60 it still worked as my last Hb1Ac had gone down from the 66 it had been while i had the stress of my daughter being so ill etc) to 54. had hoped my next one would be lower still but the steroids will make that difficult to achieve...btw. last year after i got ill i had my sis n daughter on my back telling me to stop low carbing (both diabetics but dont think they understand diabetes. my daughter thinks if i lost weight like she did by beginning of last year(9 stone she lost which meant her bs went down a lot. shes now classed as pre-diabetic plus my nurse practitioner /diabetic team leader isnt too happy at me lowering my carbs at all. all adds to the general confusion. i needed to offload yesterday. i often do. i am not allowed to talk to my daughter about my ailments. she wont have it. doesnt want to know. have more than what is mentioned here. even had cbt because of how many i was having to come to terms with, my sis had a stroke , nonpoint talking to her about them she doesnt understand anyway i have to fish to cook once ive been to the loo. hope your cold gets better and your bs stays as it was. dee
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
With all the carbs you are eating I'm surprised that you have BG as low as it is.
I can't - and don't eat the high carb foods you list - I am just puzzled that you write that you are low carbing, and then list so many high carb foods - have you checked the carb content of the licorice sweets? If they are the Haribo ones they are 8 carbs each.
The more carbs you eat the hungrier you will be - that is how it works - carbs cause BG to rise insulin to be released, BG levels fall, so you eat more and the same thing happens.
I eat a milled seed mix, a small spoonful added to omelette or salad - to eat them in ordinary bread would be disastrous, my BG would rocket. I can eat a couple of the Lidl protein rolls a week but that is all.
I have not eaten anything at all today, and I had some eggs yesterday, and a cup of coffee - I won't have a hypo because I am not taking anything which would push my BG low - my liver just releases glucose as required, as usual.
Your signature is still prediabetic - not type two, but I am sorry to discover that you have progressed to that.
I should really change my signature - it is over 6 months since I got a normal Hba1c result.
I really do think that you are eating a large amount of carbs and that you could lower your BG levels if you changed to lower carb foods. It really is a powerful tool to control BG.
 

Mommayorkie

Active Member
Messages
43
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
being ruled by my conditions.if it isnt one playing up its another. stopping me leading at least some sort of life.
With all the carbs you are eating I'm surprised that you have BG as low as it is.
I can't - and don't eat the high carb foods you list - I am just puzzled that you write that you are low carbing, and then list so many high carb foods - have you checked the carb content of the licorice sweets? If they are the Haribo ones they are 8 carbs each.
The more carbs you eat the hungrier you will be - that is how it works - carbs cause BG to rise insulin to be released, BG levels fall, so you eat more and the same thing happens.
I eat a milled seed mix, a small spoonful added to omelette or salad - to eat them in ordinary bread would be disastrous, my BG would rocket. I can eat a couple of the Lidl protein rolls a week but that is all.
I have not eaten anything at all today, and I had some eggs yesterday, and a cup of coffee - I won't have a hypo because I am not taking anything which would push my BG low - my liver just releases glucose as required, as usual.
Your signature is still prediabetic - not type two, but I am sorry to discover that you have progressed to that.
I should really change my signature - it is over 6 months since I got a normal Hba1c result.
I really do think that you are eating a large amount of carbs and that you could lower your BG levels if you changed to lower carb foods. It really is a powerful tool to control BG.
the foods i listed were what ive been eating over yesterday and day before. not since last february. steroids make you hungrier as it is. i think i said that for some reason yesterday i started feeling queasy about an hour before my next meal would be normally be due. took my bs and it was much lower than normal i felt terrible but ate a meal and felt ok again. i dont usually get that happen. i usually only eat 2 slices bread per day. and its not normal bread either its low carb bread.lowest i can find that has seeds in it. i cant eat salad. and to be honest i have never been able to eat a lot of protein. in one meal. i dont eat potatoes except on very rare occasions.i fill up on veg and my doctors are happy with my Hb1Ac and my daily fasting /bedtime BS. its only these darned steroids i have problems with/. as i said before i made myself ill 2 years ago trying to low carb no way could i eat so few carbs as you do. mavbe thats why your cold and cough is so bad. your immune system has been shot , not getting enough of the vitamins etc you need to have a good immune system.? just a thought. whereas mine feels so much better and the cough almost gone...time will tell when the course of steroids and antibiotics are finished. it has been known for me to need a 2nd even a 3rd course of both if its not knocked the bug on its head. but if caught early. itll be well on its way to their heaven or hell by now. its swings and roundabouts. when you have asthma and COPD as well as diabetes. unfortunately you have to treat as for the first two rather than the latter. but it is very worrying when your bs goes way up to 17/18 and nothing you do will bring it down. i cant exercise much because of the asthma/COPD and the spondylosis. i can walk a bit on the flat but i live on a hill. can get down it but not up it. and unlike the taxi drivers i mentioned in another thread who continually work with streaming colds n coughs not caring if their passengers are elderly. or have any one of a list of conditions where getting those bugs could at best make them very ill or at worst kill them. hospitals are dul;l to bursting as are ambulances in long queues outside A&Es around the country. people on stretchers in corridors not getting attended to cos of lack of staff. yet people who couldnt care less put the vulnerable at risk. like that.i wont go out when ive got a cold. dont believe in spreading it around.
 

Mommayorkie

Active Member
Messages
43
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
being ruled by my conditions.if it isnt one playing up its another. stopping me leading at least some sort of life.
You have got my sympathy.I've got COPD and know how ill I become with 'only a cold;'
thank you. you will know where i am coming from then if you are trying to cope with COPD , diabetes AND a cold. its not easy is it?
 

wiflib

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,966
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
thank you. you will know where i am coming from then if you are trying to cope with COPD , diabetes AND a cold. its not easy is it?

Hi there. I hope you are on the mend.

You diet is quite high in carbs actually, grapes are just lumps of sugar and the bread and cereals all hit your body hard and are converted into sugar in your blood so it’s not surprising you are so hungry, the wild BS swings and the addictive nature of carbs will do that.

When it comes to being exposed to the bugs of others, all you can do is try to protect yourself, people really do have to make a living and even ones days less pay could be the difference of being homeless or not. I’m a recently retired Midwife and I can tell you that staff have been on warnings of suspension or sacking for having cancer and mental health issues so going sick with anything other than life threatening sickness is incredibly hard, especially if you know that instead of the four Midwives there should be, without me, there would be one, and that’s how we end up in court, in front of the NMC or mentally, permanently damaged. Just like me.
 

Mommayorkie

Active Member
Messages
43
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
being ruled by my conditions.if it isnt one playing up its another. stopping me leading at least some sort of life.
hadn't thought of that i must say. in fact i didnt even know nurses were sacked or sanctioned in that way. lot of difference there to when i was nursing. we were told NOT to take our bugs onto the wards putting patients at risk especially.. not to mention other staff/ maybe i should wear a mask at all times when riding on a bus or in a taxi. as they do in china for the air pollution they get there
as i said in my answer lower down the foods i mentioned have been while i have been ill over the past 2 days. i have difficulty cooking or preparing a meal from scratch a lot of the time down to the spondylosis. and ready meals are very high in carbs. i groll chicken or fish most days and have that with veg . i cant be doing with cooking first thing. or any other time wen im not quite with it ..like earlier when i had done an omelette for supper ,trying to be good. i left the darned hotplate switched on.luckily i found it after going into kitchen and thinking.its blooming hot in here. then saw the light ws on on that knob. Just been reading an article on keeping carbs down (not atkins low though) and that said same as my dietician.. 50 to 60 g per meal with 20-30 for a snack in between meals should keep your BS level.and on track./ i do not snack during the day ever. as for grapes. my diabetic team know i eat those and the pontefract cakes too. and why.......... basically if i didnt eat grapes i would eat no fruit at all. i cant eat citrus because of the acid reflux i have. apples i cannot eat..(my dentures are ancient ,am in process of getting new ones at the moment. but even if i can eat them then they will still give me indigestion. i hate avocadoes . can only use in smoothies but my nurse practitioner (head diabetic nurse at our GP practice) has warned me off having those. besides i ws forever having to throw the other half away cos it went funny by time i dare use it again. plus they are vry expensive here now. berries are good except hours getting the seeds out from under my teeth. in smoothies you dont get that. ,. so apart from water melons which are tasteless grapes is the only other fruit i can eat. and at 12 per portion as a sweet they are ok. or so my diabetic team tell me.as i say. what i wrote there was what ive eaten while feeling ill. i dont hav anyone to cook for me when im ill. i live alone.and because i live alone i cant keep much fresh stiuiff in. most of what i have is in the freezer so i cant just go and grab some protein. etc,. salad i dont buy. it like most other foods kept in fridge go off before yu can use it all . and i dont have a car to just jump in to go to the shop.. or can walk there and back any more. taxis cost me £6 return which would make a 3 quid fillert of fish for instance cost 9 quid in the end. i cant afford to waste money that way. i have to try to remember to take the chicken or fish out the night before. i dont eat red meat.unless yu count ham as red meat. if i forget to get out next days dinner, then have to eat whatever is available and thats usually a sandwich. 2 slices of bread at 17g per slice. i am allowed 2 slices per day. normally. usually its cottage cheese goes in the sandwich as ive very little else thats protein unless i'm well enough to cook an egg to use in it,. if i buy too many types of foods to keep in fridge i land up having to throw it cos its gone off before i can use it all. perils of living alone in an inaccessible place. at least when you have disabilities. wsnt always that wat i would wlk the 5 miles to my daughters when i first moved here 20 years ago, you never think that hill will be hard to get up later in life. never dreamed i would still be here 20 years later .
 

Humma

Well-Known Member
Messages
55
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
As a non diabetic, fighting off a common cold was easy. Tons and tons of orange juice for the vitamin c, and a spoonful of honey to ease the sore throat. But neither of those options look very sensible now I'm a diabetic. So how do you cope with a cold?
Use daily i whole lemon thumbsize piece of ginger i piece fresh tumeric and juice to blend..... you`ll never be ill
 

Mommayorkie

Active Member
Messages
43
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
being ruled by my conditions.if it isnt one playing up its another. stopping me leading at least some sort of life.
Use daily i whole lemon thumbsize piece of ginger i piece fresh tumeric and juice to blend..... you`ll never be ill
i arent allowed to eat acidic fruts like lemons, oranges, grapefruit. due to acid reflux. can i use anything else in this mix above?
 

wiflib

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,966
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
There is nothing we can do or take to make a cold go away, it will do it in its own sweet time, all you can do is treat the symptoms and ride it out.
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Why would you - as a type 2 diabetic be concerned about keeping your levels steady?
I don't understand the thinking behind that advice from your medical team, surely you need to keep your carb intake down so as to reduce your over exuberant insulin production and insulin resistance?
For unmedicated type twos the problem is always to prevent highs, so no need to be pushing carbs.
There isn't any need for trips to the shops if you can get deliveries, and perhaps a request on a local Freecycle or selling list even might get you a fridge - the Red Cross might be able to help, they were very good when my mother in law had to leave her home as they cleared out the furniture, good and bad, dumped the bad and distributed or sold the rest. There is also the British Heart Foundation.
My own requirement is two meals a day one early one late and no snacks - and I stay under 6 but over 5 mmol/l all the time.
 

Mommayorkie

Active Member
Messages
43
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
being ruled by my conditions.if it isnt one playing up its another. stopping me leading at least some sort of life.
Why would you - as a type 2 diabetic be concerned about keeping your levels steady?
I don't understand the thinking behind that advice from your medical team, surely you need to keep your carb intake down so as to reduce your over exuberant insulin production and insulin resistance?
For unmedicated type twos the problem is always to prevent highs, so no need to be pushing carbs.
There isn't any need for trips to the shops if you can get deliveries, and perhaps a request on a local Freecycle or selling list even might get you a fridge - the Red Cross might be able to help, they were very good when my mother in law had to leave her home as they cleared out the furniture, good and bad, dumped the bad and distributed or sold the rest. There is also the British Heart Foundation.
My own requirement is two meals a day one early one late and no snacks - and I stay under 6 but over 5 mmol/l all the time.
i dont understand what your talking about. 1. you can go too low with your blood sugars.that happened with my sister and they had to reduce her meds. 2. what is wrong with keeping levels level if they are under 7? as i understand it, 7 is the top wack when you are diagnosed as pre diabetes. under 7 is normal.3. what makes you think i dont have a fridge?i do but unfortunately its not very big. i have very little storage space here because as ive said before my bungalow is very tiny. i never said i had no fridge. 4. i can get deliveries but they dont always deliver what i order. as i said before, last week was the fish i had ordered. time n time again they fail to deliver something .and you cannot get one item delivered. you have to do £25 orders with one supermarket 35 with 2 others . they dont accept less. and before anyone says it. no i cant either afford another 25 quid a week just for 1 item they've not delivered. nor do i have space here for more food items than i already have. . and i have to do online shop weekly now as my storage space was drastically reduced when they did renovations here a few years ago. i wont go into it but i lost a lot of shelf space .. so no, i have no need to go to freecycle etc for a fridge. and i do not know how you came to the conclusion that i did.......... as far as i'm concerned i've wasted more time on this and still didn't get an answer to my question. what can i, as an elderly , disabled, woman who cant exercise, do to keep my bs down while on steroids which are making it pretty high....... especially late evening.its a short course only of 6 tablets daily for 6 days, and i am on diabetic meds too (forxiga 10mg in a morning) which is another thing i wonder if you took on board going by one remark you made...anyway i am done with this site. thanks for trying to help but it didn't. all its done is make me more depressed./
 
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wiflib

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,966
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
i dont understand what your talking about. 1. you can go too low with your blood sugars.that happened with my sister and they had to reduce her meds. 2. what is wrong with keeping levels level if they are under 7? as i understand it, 7 is the top wack when you are diagnosed as pre diabetes. under 7 is normal.3. what makes you think i dont have a fridge?i do but unfortunately its not very big. i have very little storage space here because as ive said before my bungalow is very tiny. i never said i had no fridge. 4. i can get deliveries but they dont always deliver what i order. as i said before, last week was the fish i had ordered. time n time again they fail to deliver something .and you cannot get one item delivered. you have to do £25 orders with one supermarket 35 with 2 others . they dont accept less. and before anyone says it. no i cant either afford another 25 quid a week just for 1 item they've not delivered. nor do i have space here for more food items than i already have. . and i have to do online shop weekly now as my storage space was drastically reduced when they did renovations here a few years ago. i wont go into it but i lost a lot of shelf space .. so no, i have no need to go to freecycle etc for a fridge. and i do not know how you came to the conclusion that i did.......... as far as i'm concerned i've wasted more time on this and still didn't get an answer to my question. what can i, as an elderly , disabled, woman who cant exercise, do to keep my bs down while on steroids which are making it pretty high....... especially late evening.its a short course only of 6 tablets daily for 6 days, and i am on diabetic meds too (forxiga 10mg in a morning) which is another thing i wonder if you took on board going by one remark you made...anyway i am done with this site. thanks for trying to help but it didn't. all its done is make me more depressed./


The answer is to stop eating or drastically reduce your carbs but you have put lots of obstacles in the way of that.

Nobody needs to eat fruit, most of us make do with a few berries occasionally.

The reason you are hungry is because your diet is high in refined carbs so your blood sugar drops and you feel hungry again.

If you are not on any BS lowering meds, you don’t need to treat symptoms of a hypo, your liver is quite capable of coping with that.

It could be that because there are no paragraphs in your posts, it makes it incredibly difficult to pick out the information for anyone to offer you advice.

I wish you good health, but you need to take control of it yourself and not rely on doctors and nurses to dictate to you.
 

Oldvatr

Expert
Messages
8,470
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
sorry, i should have realised i apologise for my reaction .i too am feeling far from well and very worried right now. as well as having S.A.D so i soon get weepy at the mo.and mood swings.(which can also be caused by diabetes as you probably know already.) .its not good having a cold at best of times. when you are trying to cope with it affecting your other conditions its 100 times worse. the more conditions you have the more one thing impacts on another. i have been asthmatic since i was 49 then 11 years ago was told i had COPD. the year after landed up in hospital with a suspected heart attack which at my follow up appointment was then told it had only been a warning. that was 10 years ago last august. yet over the past 3 years or so, new GP's at my surgery have told me and still are telling me i DID have a heart attack going on letters in my files from the hospital. confused.com or what? things need different treatments if i HAD one to if i didn't. i was brought up on 4 meals a day. my body is used to it after 75 years. i find if i go longer than 4 hours between meals i start to feel ill, feel faint, and feel better once ive eaten. I get very very hungry even on what i listed.. and its low carb not no carbs. i tried going lower last time steroids affected me. i had 4 lots of them in as many months that time. took 6 months to get back down to 7 before breakfast. my bs this morning was 6.2 . which surprised me ill admit. last night before bed it was 16.8. and i had cut my supper meal down to half a banana(i eat that then for the potassium which i need to stop night leg cramps. it works too. not altogether but at least they no longer keep me from sleeping till around 7am/ thats usually when they start now.) plus half the amount of rice krispies. by 2am i was still awake and hungry. i cannot sleep on an empty stomach. protein does nothing to curb my hunger. i ater 2 slices seeded bread and butter.and 6 grapes. yet my bs ws still less than 7..i eat seeded bread because those seeds help to keep my bs down. and to be honest i would not want to be lower than i am usually. i would be so scared of having a hypo. my diabetic team keep telling me you cant have a hypo . from my knowledge of anatomy and physiology (trained nurse, both in orthorpaedics and general and worked in infectious diseases and burns units.) i am pretty sure that anyone. diabetic or not, if they dont eat right or at least eat too little can go hypo. anorexics are prone to them .
i have to take into account that there are certain fruits &foods i cant eat because of my acid reflux and IBS.,, the sweets as you call them (as do most people) are liquorice. a natural way to help with constipation which in my case is caused by the diabetic tablets i have to take.and funnily enough they do not seem to put my fasting bs up too much/ i tried sugar free liquorice and found they did........ sounds bizarre i know. but i do test if i try something different to see what effect it has. ..and believe me, it did get bad at first. sitting there for an hour trying to get rid of what was started is not funny and very scary, visions of ambulances/paramedics/ bowel operations going through your mind(nurses know far too much unfortunately. and what was a good thing back in my nursing days, no longer is but you cant just get rid of that knowledge from your head.once learned its there for good. well most of it is .) normally my bs is stable. but i am not pre diabetic now. but a full blown type 2... i am constantly trying to keep my levels on a level , but i am told its harder for us oldies as our organs and bodies are failing faster.. last year my kidney results were high. (went down once the stress i was under, lessened) but at the time i was told it was to be expected because of my age...... its a constant battle between all these different ailments ALL the time. not just when i have a cold. having a cold makes it so much worse as it doesn't just affect my diabetes.(i too suffer from stress incontinence all the time. When i get a chest infection i cannot leave the house. i have to sit on towels. Using incontinence pads then is just a waste of money. at least old towels can be boiled.) (my main meal is usually just chicken or fish plus veggies. almost no carbs in that. when i ate 50 carbs per meal i got ill last year. so i upped them to 60 it still worked as my last Hb1Ac had gone down from the 66 it had been while i had the stress of my daughter being so ill etc) to 54. had hoped my next one would be lower still but the steroids will make that difficult to achieve...btw. last year after i got ill i had my sis n daughter on my back telling me to stop low carbing (both diabetics but dont think they understand diabetes. my daughter thinks if i lost weight like she did by beginning of last year(9 stone she lost which meant her bs went down a lot. shes now classed as pre-diabetic plus my nurse practitioner /diabetic team leader isnt too happy at me lowering my carbs at all. all adds to the general confusion. i needed to offload yesterday. i often do. i am not allowed to talk to my daughter about my ailments. she wont have it. doesnt want to know. have more than what is mentioned here. even had cbt because of how many i was having to come to terms with, my sis had a stroke , nonpoint talking to her about them she doesnt understand anyway i have to fish to cook once ive been to the loo. hope your cold gets better and your bs stays as it was. dee

I was going to come in with a reponse in defence of a respected member, then I read your post here, and am pleased you see why i might have wanted to do that, and offered an explanation. Many of us here struggle with concommitant illnesses as well as diabetes and know the frustrations that what may work for one may not apply to your situation. None of us here are medically trained so are only able really to use our own experiences to offer, and we must not try to offer medical advice here that should be sought from your health care team.

As Resurgam says, the rice crispies are often bad news for diabetics and will spike most of us badly, Bananas are also to be treated with caution for same reason. It seems you are aware of Low Carb diets but maybe some more research would help you, Your target of 60g seems reasonable, so it may be something like the crispies that pushes you up. If you eat to meter for a while and test suspected foods for their effect on BS at 2 hrs after eating then this will help to identify the rougues,

To get back on topic, you can treat a cold and it will take a week to clear, Without trearment it takes 7 days. I find Vick vapour rub and possibly Friars Balsam steam bath if bronchial, plus the usual NSAIDS such as aspirin, paracetamol etc help. I personally use Lemsip but it has added sugars. The caffeine is a pick-me-up but Pro plus could be used instead.

As said previous, running a temperature when infected is our bodies protection mechanism kicking in, and running a temp is part of the healing process to kill off the bugs. But take care that it does not go too high and aspirin is better than the other two for lowering temp if necessary. Do no mix and match NSAIDS since this can lead to overdose. Also beware of using Ibuleve or similar topical creams since they contain pain killers that get into the bloodstream an will add to any other oral painkillers.

Edit to add: I forgot the Olbas Oil, coz I don't use it myself.
 
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