• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2026 Survey »

Confused and very worried ......medication interactions....serious symptoms??

Hi Enclave, thank you so much for your thoughts. You are very kind and I am very thankful :)

Not much change in mum today to be honest. She's not feeling any worse but not feeling any better. I am keeping her well hydrated and making sure that she's eating often too.

Her readings today are as follows:-

7am- BP:- 137/67
BG:- 6.2

10am (2.5hr after eating) BP:- 123/68
BG:- 6.8

2.30pm (2hr after eating) BP:- 130/71
BG:- 9.8

What do you make of those? Im not overly sure if that is good or bad?
 
The 2.30 BG of 9.8 is a bit high but that would depend on what she ate all the other readings seem fine Her BP is well within normal levels so maybe a UTI is what is wrong. I take BP tablets and when I have my blood pressure test about 6 monthly mine is usually around 130/140/80 and that is the higher end of normal on a BP chart and acceptable for an older person as I am
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Mum had her lunch at about 12.10pm and she was feeling a wee bit shaky on it and for some reason fancied a scone with a little strawberry jam, so that could possibly explain the high reading?

Mums diet is usually like this:-

7am:- Porridge and 2 toast (wholemeal with sugar free marmalade) and tea
10am:- Milky coffee (semi skim milk)
12.15pm:- Wholemeal bagel + cream cheese OR Granary Roll + Tuna (its always something nutritious)
3pm:- Sugar Free Ginger Biscuit + Tea (semi skim milk)
5.15pm:- (her tea always has a protein, carbs and veg) then a yoghurt

Then this past 2 nights she has been taking warm milk and horlicks as I stopped her taking the Herbal Nytol.

Another thing I did notice that was happening, her breath was terribly smelly in the mornings. Would this be part of the diabetes or a sign of something else?
 
caring-for-mum said:
Mum had her lunch at about 12.10pm and she was feeling a wee bit shaky on it and for some reason fancied a scone with a little strawberry jam, so that could possibly explain the high reading?

Mums diet is usually like this:-

7am:- Porridge and 2 toast (wholemeal with sugar free marmalade) and tea
10am:- Milky coffee (semi skim milk)
12.15pm:- Wholemeal bagel + cream cheese OR Granary Roll + Tuna (its always something nutritious)
3pm:- Sugar Free Ginger Biscuit + Tea (semi skim milk)
5.15pm:- (her tea always has a protein, carbs and veg) then a yoghurt

Then this past 2 nights she has been taking warm milk and horlicks as I stopped her taking the Herbal Nytol.

Another thing I did notice that was happening, her breath was terribly smelly in the mornings. Would this be part of the diabetes or a sign of something else?
Click to expand...
Gosh ... Your mums eating a lots of carbs and for that her sugar levels are good .. Do remember that carbs when eaten turn to sugar .. I think your mums doing well as my sugars would be so much higher with all the carbs! ..ooo scones and lots of double cream topped with strawberry jam ...yum ..the cream helps to reduce the impact of the carbs :rolleyes:

Edit to add .... UTI s can cause bad breath as can dehydration....
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You see we were never given any guidelines at all in how to manage things. The doctor just told us that mum is a type 2 diabetic and this is her medication. We were given a script to collect the Metformin and that was it. Everything else was left to us to find out and discover.

I am thinking strongly of taking mum to see a diabetic specialist/consultant for a consultation. I just want her seen to and for her to get the treatment and answers that she deserves.

Its mums symptoms that are worrying me as we just don't know what is wrong? I put the symptoms into Google and I was getting everything form pancreatic cancer to brain tumours!! Needless to say I was in tears thinking all sorts.
 
Try not to visit Dr Google .. its best to do that after you have been told whats wrong .. otherwise you will have extra stress, but think you have found that out the hard way. Has @daisy1 been along with her welcome pack ? it has more info in that than most Drs have the time to give. Sadly most T2 diabetes get very little advice and the advice they do get from the Dr is often out of date.

If your mums sugars are rising and falling like this then she could be having false hypos ..
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I agree dont look on Google.
I know its not easy but try to relax a bit,your mums levels sound good.you havent said how old she is.
If she knows you are upset she will worry about you.
Take care x
 
Please do take time to read around the different forums, especially about the low carb forum.
Also the recipes that have helped other posters achieve success stories in that forum.
Also read about how posters have (not) been treated by doctors, dsn, and sometimes specialists.
They have been given bad advice from the NHS guidelines.
The real reason for this website and its popularity is the advice given has achieved so much.
 
@caring-for-mum

Hello and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information mentioned by Enclave that we give to new members and I hope some of this information will help you to help your mum. Obviously not all of this information will be appropriate. I'm glad that you have had so many helpful replies already. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 140,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
This is brilliant.....thank you so so much. I will read this and take note of what I need to know. Thank you ever so much. X
 
A while back I was having problems sleeping and asked the Pharmasist about herbal Nytol and he said no I couldn't' t take it as herbal remedies should not be taken with prescription medcines. I also had a problem with a pain killer that interacted with medication, making me feel quite poorly. Once I stopped "mixing meds" I soon picked up again. Your Mum's problem could be something similar, please don't read any more 'Google' items, they just cause more worry if misread or misunderstood and we can sometimes read too much into them.
I do hope the doctor can get to the bottom of this and help your Mum feel better and also put your worries to rest
 
Good morning, thank you all so much for your care support and incredibly wonderful help. I really cannot thank you all enough. I have decided that for mums sake and my own, that I am going to book the appointment for mum to see the Consultant Endocrinologist and Diabetologist. We will be paying for it, but you really cannot put a price on your health. I do not know enough to help mum the way she needs and the way I want. Xxx
 
Good idea and keep in touch with us too. I am sure that reducing her carbs will help her feel better.
 
Thank you so much @zand, that means a lot. I now that along with the specialist, mum will also see a dietician. This will put us on the "right track" and hopefully have her feeling a lot better. Im only 29 and have medical complications as well, so its hard going in trying to keep us both well. I hope you all have a lovely Monday (mondayitis lol). xxx
 
The only thing I would say is that there aren't many dieticians around who don't just follow NHS advice of 'eat carbs and then more carbs' , so listen but be aware that the dietician may or may not be one of the few who really understand diabetes. Those that do are very good, but they seem to be few and far between.

Here's some links that I used to help myself along the way:-

www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

www.lowcarbdietitian.com/blog/carbohydrate-restriction-an-option-for-diabetes-management

www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/a-new-low-carb-guide-for-beginners.68695/

Oh and keep asking questions. :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top