How high is too high to drive?

[Deespee23]

Should have seen that coming.....cash or cheque?

 

[SWUSA_]

The Byrds (Gene Clark wrote that lyric)-How much is 10p in American? @Deespee23

 

[Shar67]

12 cents

 

[SWUSA_]

Ah, okay @ellagy you win. It would cost me $5.00 to cash the check.

 

[ellagy]

Cash please.... stick it in a box somewhere lol

 

[Brunneria]

Just chipping in on the OP's question (which has already been answered )

My concern isn't really high bg, it is rapidly rising or falling bg.

We had an unfortunate incident last year which scared the living daylights out of me:

Off on holiday, with a 5 hour car journey. We stopped, I was hungry, and ate a burger and fries.
Now, normally, I leave the bread and only eat half the fries, but that day, I was HUNGRY, and scoffed the lot.
BAD MOVE
Fortunately, I was wearing a Libre sensor, so could test while driving and track what was going on.
Started in the 5s, rose to about 13 within an hour or so. Then plunged within about 45 mins back to the 6s.
- and it was the drop that caused the problem.
I was stuck on the motorway, unable to pull over, barely able to keep my eyes open, feeling like death.
At one point I resorted to pinching the back of my hand, just to stay awake, and even slapped myself on the cheek a couple of times to try and get some adrenalin involved. Mr B kept talking to me. It only lasted about 10 mins, but that would have been enough to kill us both, if I hadn't realised what was happening and started with the pain treatment.

Pulled off at the first services I could, and Mr B drove the rest of the way, while I sunk into one of those awful deep knock-out sleeps and my bg dipped further.

The experience shocked us both, and made me realise that now that I keep my bgs low carb and steady, those rapid rises and falls have much more impact than they used to!!!

And I am never doing anything like that ever again.

 

[SWUSA_]

@Brunneria Wow, that was a close call. Mine dropped within 4 hours but I had taken Lantus to get it to go down. The lowest I got was 5.3 then I ate some lunch and drove us to do errands. This illustrates my fear of lows though-mom can no longer drive and I would be on my own with her stuck on the road somewhere if I had a bad low during the day. I have never gone below 4.0 to my knowledge though and only at night. Even when I am sick and can not eat my BG keeps going up.

 

[Graham Ellis]

My blood sugars are regularly high and I am in the process of increasing my insulin to couneract this but I often drive with figures as high as 14 depending upon the time of day. As an ex-enforcement officer I know of no legal decision that states what level of blood sugars are too high, however blurred vision or excess tierdness would allow you to be prosecuted for dangerous driving.

Under the new DVSA rules all type 2 drivers are required to test theior blood sugars prior to setting off on a journey and then again at 2-hourly intervals.

 

[spendercat]

My word, Brunneria, that was alarming, especially as you are diet controlled.
I have had the same effect on a long drive - slapping my own face to keep alert. I had assumed that the excitement/stress of the holiday was messing with my blood glucose, but I know that the wrong food (like two pieces of g/f toast) will send me up to 18, and I don't even have any noticeable symptoms, which is also worrying.
As you know, in the UK if you are diet controlled you don't even need to inform the DVLA

 

[Tabbyjoolz]

Brunneria, your experience sounds similar to many a long car journey with my husband before I was diagnosed and he was eating per the Eatwell plate.

He often "crashed" sugar wise after a meal at motorway services, Little Chef, etc. and it got to the stage where I would insist on driving after breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc. On one occasion he fell asleep at the wheel after overdoing it on the sugar following a hypo. Thankfully we were only going 15mph in village traffic and I was able to grab the wheel before the car mounted the pavement.

Since going LCHF, events like this haven't happened at all.

 

[rinfrance]

I fell asleep before I gave myself an insulin injection last night so my fasting glucose this morning was 10.6. I have taken the insulin 3 hours ago now but am wondering how high is too high to drive? I do not get lows below 4.0 in part because I fear them and eat enough to keep my blood glucose higher. I have read many postings here and all seem to deal with lows but surely there is a cutoff for highs as well? I read the UK regulation for insulin users to test at least twice a day and not have more than 1 hypo in the last 12 (months?). I meet that regulation. I am in the USA and had to declare my diabetes and insulin use here but am just required to carry candy in the glove box. It's sort of a nuisance because my mother who has dementia remembers where the candy is and continually takes it out and eats it. I would not drive with blurry vision which I get when my BG is really high but what actually is the cut off?

The fact that you got a 12 does not in itself pose a problem, in fact many people who have not been diagnosed with diabetes but in fact a "pre diabetes" may say have something like a steamed pudding and after have bread and butter pudding, 30 minutes later they may have a BS of 14 yet after 2 hours it has dropped to 8 and after 6 down to 4. Your liver may have and probably did subscribe to the high level, you may also have had a cold, your BS may also be an abnormally high say 8 before you were diagnosed as DB. What I am saying is do not get paranoid, we are all different. The main test is your vision and reactions. Having sugar may even be a situation whereby you are overdosing with sugar. Never just take sugar stuff, if you want to check do so but do not just take sugar!

 

[SJElsey]

What a relief to hear of others with high readings, I have Steroid induced type 2 and my readings start between 5 and 7 in the mornings then anything up to 20 during the day then back to about 11 to 14 at bedtime, I can eat a really healthy salad and it will be high another day I can eat a roast dinner and some chocolate and its down to 12, I was diagnosed a year ago, my GP has said not to worry eat anything in moderation, I am all over the place, my eyes do blur when it's high but not been told not to drive, I am not on insulin as had a reaction to it, after one shot half an hour later thought I was have a hypo dreadful, I need to eat every few hours but never know what to snack on only fruit, I always feel better when had a meal, but worry about the high readings.

 

[SWUSA_]

What a relief to hear of others with high readings, I have Steroid induced type 2 and my readings start between 5 and 7 in the mornings then anything up to 20 during the day then back to about 11 to 14 at bedtime, I can eat a really healthy salad and it will be high another day I can eat a roast dinner and some chocolate and its down to 12, I was diagnosed a year ago, my GP has said not to worry eat anything in moderation, I am all over the place, my eyes do blur when it's high but not been told not to drive, I am not on insulin as had a reaction to it, after one shot half an hour later thought I was have a hypo dreadful, I need to eat every few hours but never know what to snack on only fruit, I always feel better when had a meal, but worry about the high readings.

Have you tried Greek yogurt with a sprinkle of peanuts or sunflower seeds? Nuts in general make a good snack but just an ounce or two ounces at a time.Nuts with fruit will slow down the sugar spike from the fruit. I had a pork chop for a snack last week. We had an extra one left over from dinner that day. Cheese is very low carb and satisfying.

 

[SWUSA_]

I do remember the day I went on insulin I was driving and my blood sugar was 495 mg/dl or 27.5, that was for sure too high as I was unable to read road signs and having trouble parallel parking. I only drove because I had an appointment to be interviewed to be included in a pre-diabetes study implementing early insulin intervention. My blood sugar and blood pressure were both too high to be included in the study but they gave me an insulin shot and set me up with the diabetes clinic in the next day. I have been on insulin since that day and am feeling much better than then.I thought I had the flu then but my symptoms started to subside as soon as I got insulin.

 

[brenda walker]

For the past 2 years I have not been in single figures. If I forget to take meds one night it will go above 20. For many years I would suffer low bs and get all sweaty,confused and even faint and have twice gone into the back of a car on my way home from work. I fear low bs not high. But then I don't travel far now. It's only the past month that my GP has given me strips on prescription.

 

[brenda walker]

Under the new DVSA rules all type 2 drivers are required to test theior blood sugars prior to setting off on a journey and then again at 2-hourly intervals.[/QUOTE]
I find this quite interesting. I have had type 2 for many years and only tested by GP once a year, being told it is not necessary for me to test. It is only recently that I get the strips on prescription, so therefore never tested before driving.

 

[SWUSA_]

Under the new DVSA rules all type 2 drivers are required to test theior blood sugars prior to setting off on a journey and then again at 2-hourly intervals.

I find this quite interesting. I have had type 2 for many years and only tested by GP once a year, being told it is not necessary for me to test. It is only recently that I get the strips on prescription, so therefore never tested before driving.[/QUOTE]

Are you getting better control with testing? I found it helped me a lot-as I began to discover what sent me high I could modify or avoid it. I am in USA and just required to keep"food, fruit, or candy within reach while driving" in my state. No testing is currently required for me at all but it is part of exam if you have an accident I have been told.

 

[spendercat]

I had a look n the website and all I could find was that if you are type 2 you don't need to inform them, and if you are taking Metformin ask your doctor if you should tell them.
My insurer says they don't care, not even if I was type 1.

 

[tim2000s]

If your involved in an accident and knowingly drove at bg over 12, the cps could prosecute under section 2 road traffic act, you would have to prove that you were not impaired by having high BG, burden of proof is on you.
Imagine a jury being told what symptoms of high BG are and you saying I was fine the accident wasn't my fault.

Which piece of the road traffic act or DVLA guidance is that covered in? For them to use it in court there has to be an offence committed when driving at that level, i.e. some piece of legislation or guidance being contravened. It isn't, so it wouldn't get used. And for huge numbers of people, being at bg levels between 12 and 20 is quite normal, sadly.

 

[Sarah69]

I cant see what difference it makes if your blood sugar levels are high, better that than too low I'd of thought!