Handling the common cold when diabetic

[trollhunter]

Hi all, long time t2 lurker here.

I have one of those ****** colds where all you do is feel like you are coughing up a lung. I have managed only 8 hours sleep in the last 48 hours and am so fed up with it. As well as bizarrely tired/not tired, but very hungry and too scared to eat anything.

I have sugar free lozenges, but has anyone come across sugar free cough syrup? The stuff I am using is not doing my numbers any good and I am in a bit of a diabetes burnout period anyway which I know is not helping matters.
Am using lemsip/cold capsules/paracetamol (obs not all at the same time but they are having very little effect). My friend Vick has made its appearance which helps some. I have to be careful with coffee and it's caffeine levels vs. the medicines that also contain caffeine and I am slowly going nuts with this. I hate being sick at the best of times, although I am aware numbers do go up when people are ill so trying not to stress over that either.

Any tips, tricks and recommendations would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[Boo1979]

Robitussin cough meds - most / all are sugar free
Prop yourself up vertically ( upper body) in bed using pillows - wierd aleeping position, but I find it stops stuff settling in the lungs, helps with breathing and reduces coughing fits

 

[lessci]

Lots of steam, and a hot toddy of your choice for bed (Personal favourite whisky in tea)

 

[torchman2]

Hi all, long time t2 lurker here.

I have one of those ****** colds where all you do is feel like you are coughing up a lung. I have managed only 8 hours sleep in the last 48 hours and am so fed up with it. As well as bizarrely tired/not tired, but very hungry and too scared to eat anything.

I have sugar free lozenges, but has anyone come across sugar free cough syrup? The stuff I am using is not doing my numbers any good and I am in a bit of a diabetes burnout period anyway which I know is not helping matters.
Am using lemsip/cold capsules/paracetamol (obs not all at the same time but they are having very little effect). My friend Vick has made its appearance which helps some. I have to be careful with coffee and it's caffeine levels vs. the medicines that also contain caffeine and I am slowly going nuts with this. I hate being sick at the best of times, although I am aware numbers do go up when people are ill so trying not to stress over that either.

Any tips, tricks and recommendations would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

Try aspirin (if you are not allergic to it, of course!).

Bonus is, it improves insulin resistance. If you try it, would be interesting to see what your BG numbers do over the next 12-24 hours. Sickness also makes you stay inside. Lack of light will worsen BG numbers too. So go for a walk in the mornings if you can.

 

[trollhunter]

Thank you guys for taking the time to reply. Have been trying the propped up to sleep and it has helped a bit. Having a small splash of JD in the lemsip as well. Slept for a whole 4 hours before the nasal tap decided to overflow! Will go on a hunt for the Robitussin medicines as choice is limited in the village.
Take care of yourselves and thank you.

 

[DCUKMod]

@trollhunter - You could have a chat with your pharmacist and see what they have in their arsenal that's sugar-free. They can be very helpful indeed.

A few weeks aog, my OH had really rotten cold (i managed to swerve it, thankfully) and he wanted a decongestant. They're not something I favour as they can, in those prone, increase the likelihood of sinusitis developing due to their drying up function, but he wanted some.

I dispatched myself off to Boots to find the caffiene free versions as he never has caffiene after 2pm. Boots do an own brnad version, only available from the pharmacy (not on the general shelves) that has far more of the decongestant ingredient, Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride, and no caffiene, and no pain relief either.

MrB declared them a winner. He did only need a very small number until the worst of it passed.

Whatever you do though, make sure you consult the labels, or a pharmacist for any of these things are the pseudoephedrine can be tricky with blood pressure meds.

 

[Cap'n M]

Trollhunter, try Co-Codamol as a cough suppressant, up to the 8x500mg Paracetamol limit. Codeine is an antitussive, particularly if you can get your hands on the 30/500 tablets, rather than the OTC 8/500 OTC version.

 

[Alison Campbell]

Trollhunter, try Co-Codamol as a cough suppressant, up to the 8x500mg Paracetamol limit. Codeine is an antitussive, particularly if you can get your hands on the 30/500 tablets, rather than the OTC 8/500 OTC version.

Is that not a bit extreme for a cold?

 

[Cap'n M]

Is that not a bit extreme for a cold?

No. He has a troubling cough and is asking for sugar-free anti-cough advice. I have used codeine tablets in this way, for instance with "Khumbu Cough" and I understand the pharmacology.