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Advice again please

I

Iamamotherof2

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7
I have just been put on gliclazide 30mg per day as well as 2000mg metformin per day, am feeling a bit nervous having read that if my exercise regime goes up at any time, that I could experience a hypo. How do you calculate this and manage it accordingly , do I need to worry ?, I get a lot of exercise during the day as I work in the community visiting, but the exercise level depends on my work load for the day, I don't skip meals, but there can sometimes be quite a gap between them simply because I've been busy, and I can also be on call, I just don't want to make a silly mistake here.
 
I started out on 1000mg of Metformin, then added 160mg Glic after about a month. I do experience hypos, even with minimal exercise such as walking round the shops and have now reduced to 120mg Glic a day.

I know it can be hard when you are working - I make sure that I only take my Glic if I'm sure I will be eating within the next half hour. The worst lows I've had are when I've been working from home - so engrossed in my work that I've forgotten to eat lunch. You've said that sometimes there is a gap between meals as you're busy - perhaps you could carry some snacks with you to tide you over? Nuts, cheese and cocktail sausages work for me!

I don't want to worry you unnecessarily - I make sure that I test regularly and have a snack if I'm getting lowish. If you're on Glic hopefully your doctor should be prescribing test strips for you...
 
Hi, Yes gliclazide can cause a 'hypo' if you havent eaten enough.
I found this out to my cost in the middle of halfords.
After this episode I always took a snack with me.
Small bag of almonds, mini cheddars, chopped up apple etc...
If started feeling weak and bit sweaty would test and if low, rest up and eat a snack wait 20mins-half hour then go on my merry way again.
It's so easy to forget untill the symptoms kick in, and then you do need to have some snacks tucked away in your handbag.
Anna.x
 
Love this forum, reassurance is never far away, thank you evilcat and anna, shall take your advice and cross my fingers too , did laugh at the idea of my gp prescribing strips, when i've mentioned in the past that i test(cos it makes sense to me) i have had my head bitten off and been told i shouldnt be testing and to stop stressing over my bg levels, yeah right :!: , right now am managing with the help of a good pharmacist, commonsense and you guys, thanks again.
 
Do you drive?

If you do I would insist that your GP give' you a prescription for test strips, as Gliz increase insulin production hence the increased risk of hypo's, the need to treat the hypo is because even though you are T2 the body may not be able to adjust itself back to normal until all the excess insulin have been soaked up by carbs..

If you drive a car you should be testing before you drive to ensure that your BG is above 4mmol/l pref above 5mmol/l but the important bit it isn't going to drop below 4mmol/l while you are driving, if you have a accident because your BG falls below 4mmol/l you could face a charge of driving under the infulance of drugs or alcohol!!!

If gp get grumpy, ask him for a letter that says he says it is his opinion that a diabetic on Glitz, can ignore advise given by the DVLA concerning a diabetic on this drug and/or insulin.. As you will hold him accountable if it happens.. Hopefully will be persausive enough to get your strios
 
I'm on 320mg of Glic and have never been near a hypo that I'm aware of in 5 years which shows how much we vary in the way our diabetes works. I can only assume Glic for me has little effect on insulin production but a friend went hypo on only 80mg. Having a meter is essential when on Glic just to be sure what's going on especially after exercise and with meal gaps
 
Thanks also jopar and daibell, i shall certainly be putting that point across now. Can i ask at the risk of sounding totally dopey,what the different feelings are with hypos and hypers as 2or 3 times in the last 6 months, all of a sudden i have come over feeling very weak and wobbly, so hungry i could've eaten a horse and have just had to sit down, and once it was quite severe and i did actually feel in a state of collapse, was literally just on my way to work with that one and had to ring in sick, that was the first time it happened, never been as severe since then. I have asked my gp if it was diabetes related and he said no, but i didnt believe him and went and bought some glucose tablets to carry, the only trouble is i dont know how either is supposed to feel. Sorry to go on, but feel like i am getting more sense on this forum.
 
That sounds like a hypo to me - whenever I feel like that I always test and I'm usually under 4 mmol so I have a snack. With hypers if it's a one off occurrence I can't normally tell unless I test. If however I'm high for more than 1/2 a day or so, I get very tired and thirsty.
 
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