• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Illness

N

nicolapatten

Member
Messages
12
This may be a stupid question but are there other ways illness affects diabetes other than it making your sugars rise? I've had cold for the last few days and it doesn't seem to have risen my sugar levels too much but I keep feeling like I'm having a hypo (shaking/hungry/weak/bad tempered and insanely tired like I can't stand up for more than a minute) but have been checking my blood regularly and am in the 7's or 6's?? I gave into temptation yesterday when I was about 5.2 and had a biscuit reasoning that perhaps my meter was wrong and it did seem to make me feel better but it usually seems pretty reliable :?

I am newly diagnosed so this is the first time I've been ill since and I am wondering if this is what to expect every time I have a cold!
 
Having diabetes makes some people slower to get better. It seems to be related to BG. If you keep at around the non-diabetic level, the effect is less. Hard to do if you are ill, but it can be done
Hana
 
Thanks for the reply Hana! I have always been a bit of a weakling when it comes to colds and the like so I suppose this is just another factor in that! I have been quite lucky where the sugar levels are concerned I think - high 7's after meals seems to be about as high as it gets and mostly in the mid 5's so I should probably count myself lucky really! (Although I suppose this is the honeymoon period I keep hearing about!)
 
Viruses vary so much and there are some nasty ones around just now. Some interfere with blood sugar more than others (either by raising it all the time, or by raising the insulin dose needed with food). A medic also told me some viruses make blood pressure rise, whereas others make it fall or make you more sensitive to any blood pressure meds. Maybe also your body has got used to the slightly higher levels due to the cold, and is reacting (like a false hypo) to them coming down again.
 
So another confusing thing to keep us on our toes then! I spoke to my specialist yesterday and she reckons I may have the flu (ironically only a few weeks after getting the flu jab!) yesterday my sugar levels were higher than normal and today I've been having hypos all day :roll: Nasty viruses should pick on someone their own size! (although I'm not far off at the moment :lol: )
 
Back
Top