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Feel funny - could it be signs of hypo

C

caz72me

Member
Messages
15
Location
United Kingdom
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I'm sat at my desk at work and about 10 mins ago felt like my heart was racing and then came very close to feeling like I was gonna to faint, I quickly grabbed a boiled sweet from my desk drawer and ate that, still feel a bit woozy but not as bad. Could it be symptoms of coming close to a hypo? find it weird if it was cos I only had lunch 20 mins ago, consisting of 2 bagels with extra light philidelphia on

Caroline
 
Hi Caroline

It could be a hypo.

Have you tested your BG levels? If not, why not?

If you are type II and have not been supplied with a meter and test strips, make sure that you ask your doctor or nurse about this as soon as possible. Without testing to see what your levels are doing, you've no way of knowing whether you are hypo or not (or indeed whether your control is good or bad).

Good luck!

LJ
 
Thanks for the reply, no they did not issue me with one and I am type 2, just told me if I feel shaky or anything to have something with glucose or sugar in. I have ordered a little freestyle freedom meter online but it won't be here for a few more days, hopefully that'll give me a better idea of whats going on in my body.

thanks

Caroline
 
hi
Newly diagnosed as T2. Bought myself a meter so that I could monitor progress, but my GP will not prescribe replacement drums. Seems strange, any one else come across this?

Jaz
 
Hi there,
I was the same too before i was put onto insulin,not being given a meter,
I think it's ludicrous that they won't even give you test strips on prescription even if you buy your own machine!
I ended up with 6 machines because it was cheaper than buying the test strips alone.

I just wanted to try and watch my diet at the time to see how low i could get it and with no help from the nhs at the time.
Caroline, is it metformin you are taking?
I never got the chance of a hypo when on metformin and so i dont know if it can even give you a hypo unless your bs is pretty low anyway,mine wasn't low.
stephen
 
Hi Guys - this seems like madness to me! I am type 1 diabetic and have never bought a blood test machine in my life - although i do 4-8 tests every day. Do you guys see a diabetes specialist nurse? I only ever need to ask and she gives me a machine - then when you fill in the registration dospament you automatically get free upgrades. The doc should surely prescribe you your test strips too? Mine does, I guess I am one of the lucky ones - I used to complain he would only give me two tubes of strips but I think I will count myself lucky from now on!
 
Its the diabetes nurse that I see, but have only seen her at my initial appointment as newly diagnosed, she put me on gliclizide which one of the side effects can be Hypos. Blood glucose meters were not even mentioned at our meeting and its only because all my family members with diabetes live in Ireland and have the meters that I decided to look them up on google. One question for those of you who have the meters, what do you do with the sharps, I can buy sharps bins off ebay but do you take them to your local hospital or where do they go? (I work at a hospital lol and still don't know [:0])

Caroline
 
Guys,

It is a common problem for Type IIs not to be issued with meters, or worse to get the meter (after all you can buy one for about £15 in the UK) and then not be prescribed test strips or lancents.

However, NICE (the national institute for clinical excellence) now states that ALL newly diagnosed Type IIs should be encouraged to test BG. How on earth are you meant to manage this condition otherwise.

I trust the moderators won't mind me providing a link to some excellent advice on this issue. If necessary, take along the necessary guidance to your GP and DEMAND A METER AND TEST STRIPS.

All the advice you could need on the subject is here:

http://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/testing.html

Good luck!

LJ
 
You have to buy your own BG monitor but you should get your strips and lancets on prescription normally 50 strips at a time,i get everything free as im on levothyroxine otherwise the strips are expensive around £25 at a time

PS DOES ANYONE USE THE CHAT ROOM
 
I sometimes "feel all peculiar" about half an hour after a meal which is carb-heavy (i.e. my morning porridge) which I have interpreted as a glucose rush. When I go the other way, which happens around 4:00 pm daily, (about 3.9 usually) I also feel intense hunger pangs and my hands shake which is the only way I can tell the difference between the two. I interpret this, rightly or wrongly, as a movement in the glucose levels in my blood either way rather than being at a high point or a low point. I think two bagels with only philly extra light, there is not enough protein to balance the carb, bearing in mind the GI advice that protein lowers the overall GI of a meal. When I have looked at the carb/sugar content of bagels in Tesco they seem significantly higher than two slices of, say, Hovis Country Granary bread. If you feel like this again, testing is the way to figure out what is happening. People on gliclizide are considered more likely to have hypos so should be able to get the test strips on prescription. Its metformin where the docs are a bit too keen to misinterpret the NICE guide lines and as you can see from my pm readings (I am on metformin) you can go very low on it! I have got a small stash of strips and am trying to eke them out as my scrip for them has been withdrawn and nothing I can say has made any difference.
Jan
 
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by caz72me</i>
<br />Its the diabetes nurse that I see, but have only seen her at my initial appointment as newly diagnosed, she put me on gliclizide which one of the side effects can be Hypos. Blood glucose meters were not even mentioned at our meeting and its only because all my family members with diabetes live in Ireland and have the meters that I decided to look them up on google. One question for those of you who have the meters, what do you do with the sharps, I can buy sharps bins off ebay but do you take them to your local hospital or where do they go? (I work at a hospital lol and still don't know [:0])

Caroline
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Hi Caroline

Regarding sharps, go to your GP and ask for a sharps bin, which is free (get the smallest size if it's only for lancets). Ask there how sharps are disposed of locally as it varies from area to area. I used to take mine back to the Drs but now I have to ring the local council when I need one collected and they send someone round on Thursdays collecting the sharps bins. I leave mine outside the house. Of course I use needles for injecting so have a fair few to dispose of.... I haven't changed the lancet in my lancing device (finger pricker) for months and months....in fact I still have about 90 out of the 100 prescribed years ago... most diabetics will admit to the same!

Re: getting free meters. Yes, the practice nurse or DSN will often hand out freebies because they get them off the meter manufacturer's reps. The manufacturers don't really make any money on the meters, they make their money on the test strips, so if you have one of their brand of meters, you'll be using their strips. Simple market logic.

FWIW <b>you</b> may have to pay £25 - £27 for a tub of strips but they actually cost the NHS £13 - £15. Which is still a lot of money and is the reason why the PCTs are advising Drs not to prescribe them to T2s. Incidentally, if you do have to buy strips as a diabetic you should not pay the VAT on them which brings the price down a bit. Most high st chemists aren't geared up for this but a lot of the on-line pharmacies are.

If you care to use the link Lady J posted you'll find all the ins/outs and ways of persuading your Dr to prescribe. I typed it all out there once - it's too long to keep on doing it :)



Patti
On Levemir/Novorapid. Last hba1c 5.3
 
Patti, tsk tsk!

Changing your lancets makes it slightly less painful, I find (but admit that I had my original meter for months before I found I needed a new prescription for lancets!)

LJ
 
Well my meter has just been delivered by the postie, will have to sit down for 10 minutes and read the instructions, it came with 10 test strips and lancets so can get started and have sourced some replacements a cheaper than the £25 mark on ebay. Am also monitoring my blood pressure as that has been high for years so think I will draw myself up a table to record both results on and make notes on what I have eaten and what exercise etc. That link was fab and have printed out the instruction for testing, even though the NICE guidelines are long and drawn out there is some interesting info in there regarding what the GP Practice should offer their diabetes patients .. to be honest my diet advice was rubbish, I was just told to eat starchy carbs and eat more fruit and veg ... I think I would benefit from some proper nutritionist's advice, especially as I don't eat meat or fish so I'm a bit stuffed with keeping up my protein intake as suggested on here. I'm also allergic to nuts so some good advice would help me alot. Thanks all for your help :)

p.s. Just got myself a Nintendo Wii, very good for exercise, I was determined to win the tennis and was quite knackered by the time I succeeded!! Beats the trek out in the cold to the gym lol!!

Caroline
 
Hi Caz

Well done you on the exercise front, as well as for getting yourself a meter sorted. Definitely definitely go back to the GP and pester him about a prescription!

Sadly even the NHS nutritionists tend to advocate high-carb diets, which for many type IIs simple aren't a viable option. Indeed, the American Diabetes association (who took the same stance) have recently published research to suggest the opposite: that lower carb is the way forward.

It's difficult if your veggie, but protein can be found in a variety of sources, adn there are some good veggie alternatives out there. Without a doubt it is easier to cook for yourself from scratch than to eat processed stuff because at least you know exactly what goes in there!

Happy testing!

LJ
 
my doctor prescibes lancets and strips without much stress, but she was the one told me to test 4 times a day ! had to buy the bg monitor but my chemist r great n they did me a reduced one coz the box was ripped, £7.

as for exercise, ive got a really good exercise bike in my bedroom i get on it n watch jeremy kyle every morning, i do 10k, its getting easier n easier so now im watching out for some adult only swim sessions
 
Mels - 10K a day ... well done lol, all my exercise has to be in the evening after work and as I like to have my son in bed by 7.30pm it can be quite a rush around to fit it all in, but I like to try and go swimming a couple of times a week, I find it chills me out and hardly feels like exercise at all :D

Caroline
 
Lady J,

I would love to see the ADA research paper - would you happen to have a link to it?
 
lol thanx caz, im fancying swimming but im still abit self conscious, my sisters offered to go with me but im just plucking up the courage, dropped 2 clothes sizes so far tho, my husband says my bums smaller lol wooooohooo
 
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