Blood sugars and driving.

[Glaswegian]

Hi guys hope we are all well, my friend told me that if my blood sugars are below 4.0, im best not driving, is that true? Im a carer and its kind of important in my job. Thanks guysView attachment 42102

My consultant told me keep a blood sugar tester in the car. Your bloods must be at 7.00 to enable you to drive safely. I have followed his advice ever since and check my blood before I drive anywhere. (I used to think I was ok if my bloods were at 5!)

I have had Diabetes for 58 years now and of course have my DL changed every three years. Do hope you have notified the DVLS and your insurance of your condition, otherwise you are not covered to drive.

 

[hh1]

My consultant told me keep a blood sugar tester in the car. Your bloods must be at 7.00 to enable you to drive safely. I have followed his advice ever since and check my blood before I drive anywhere. (I used to think I was ok if my bloods were at 5!)

I have had Diabetes for 58 years now and of course have my DL changed every three years. Do hope you have notified the DVLS and your insurance of your condition, otherwise you are not covered to drive.

I don't know what the DVLS is, but if your handle means you live in Scotland the rules may be different from here in England, where it's definitely above 5, not 7. Considering the NICE guidelines for waking and pre-prandial bg levels are between 4 & 7 and only above that two hours after eating it's unlikely there'd be a rquirement to elevate bg to above 7 in order to drive.

 

[HSSS]

Wow such a lot of misunderstood facts being given out by professionals to members here and then shared onwards. Perhaps erring on the side of caution but still not factually correct. See my earlier post for the actual legal rules In the U.K with the links to the source documents not just my opinion.

 

[Zilsniggy]

you should be OK to drive, getting better as you get used to lower levels of glucose.
I think that you might be as well to tell your insurance company you are diabetic, as a precaution, but as the usual advice to type two diabetics is not to bother testing it seems that no one is much bothered about our blood glucose levels.
Try drinking more water in the hot weather - I find it makes me feel a lot better, but you don't need to be concerned about legal limits, as they don't apply to us.

I think you'll find that if you are started on any prescription medication for diabetes, no matter the type, you should inform DVLA and insurance. They may not do anything about it, but it is your legal responsibility to do so.
DVLA have all the relevant information regarding driving and other medical conditions on their website. They may ignore metformin, since it doesn't directly lower blood sugar. They can be informed online:

https://www.gov.uk/diabetes-driving

 

[Zilsniggy]

last year I was issued with a leaflet from the DVLA by my diabetic team regarding driving. You must be at least 6 Or above to drive.

Isn't htis following a hypo?

 

[Zilsniggy]

My consultant told me keep a blood sugar tester in the car. Your bloods must be at 7.00 to enable you to drive safely. I have followed his advice ever since and check my blood before I drive anywhere. (I used to think I was ok if my bloods were at 5!)

I have had Diabetes for 58 years now and of course have my DL changed every three years. Do hope you have notified the DVLS and your insurance of your condition, otherwise you are not covered to drive.

Over 7.00 isn't correct. Please check the DVLA website for current information
https://www.gov.uk/diabetes-driving

I suspect your consultant has erred on the side of caution if you are or were prone to hypos, but his advice is not correct according to DVLA.

 

[Zilsniggy]

I don't know what the DVLS is, but if your handle means you live in Scotland the rules may be different from here in England, where it's definitely above 5, not 7. Considering the NICE guidelines for waking and pre-prandial bg levels are between 4 & 7 and only above that two hours after eating it's unlikely there'd be a rquirement to elevate bg to above 7 in order to drive.

DVLA isn't a devolved agency, therefore their rulings are UK wide.. I suspect the Consultant has inflated this ruling to avoid any legal repercussions should his patient have a hypo while driving............either that, or he's seriously out of date!

 

[Resurgam]

For type twos not on insulin or glucose reducing medication, ignore all the information about levels as it doesn't apply to us.