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Newby Suffering Hypo's

T

Tooshay

Newbie
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Hi. I've only been diagnosed with T2 for 10 days now with BG originally in mid 20's. My doctor has put me on 80mg of Gliclazide half tablet twice daily and 40mg of Simvastatin one tablet at night. My doctor has been excellent and has put me on repeat prescription for monitoring my levels. Current levels averaging around 9.

However, no-one told my wife or I that I would be suffering Hypo's as we thought only Type 1's could suffer these. I even suffered the early stages of one yesterday at the doctor's when my level dropped to 4.7 which I'm sure would have fell even further only for the biscuits he gave me. I'm following all of the dietary advice and have cut out all artificial sugars. To top all of this my eyesight is also blurred, but I'm reassured this will return to normal soon.

Does anyone know if these Hypo's (cold, sweaty, shaky, disorientated and faint) are just because my BG levels are reducing daily through my healthy diet and will soon stabilise one I reach my 4 to 7 target? I've read that this is a side affect of Gliclazide but my doctor doesn't want me to swap as I lost over a stone before diagnosis which has now arrested at 12st 13lb. Any advice would be most welcome.

Many thanks...

Tony
 
Hi Tony :)

If your BG levels have been high for a while you will feel just as bad as they start coming down. It does get better! Do follow the ‘Advice to newly diagnosed T2s’ which Cugila posted on your other thread as it will help you enormously. 8)
Make sure that you eat enough but be careful with the starchy carbs. I can't handle them at all at present but you may be different and the only way you will know is by testing before you eat and then again 2 hours afterwards.
Have a really good read around and if you have any other questions just ask as there is usually someone around who can help you. :)
 
Hypos can be a result of taking Gliclazide. I went on it three weeks ago (80mg once a day with breakfast) and found my BG in the low 4's by late morning and shaky and "odd". 4.3 for me is hypo territory (I know its different for everyone, and may change for me with time). So I've started having a couple of oatcakes with a bit of cheese spread with my mid-morning coffee, and this seems to be keeping my BG up a bit higher and most days I avoid hypo now.
The up-side of the Glic is that (together with the Metformin) its got my BG's down to reasonable levels for the first time this year... HbA1c now down to 7.9, and I reckon it'll be better than that next time, so I reckon the hypos are worth it, especially as I can easily tell when they are coming on. However, to be on the safe side I now always test before driving, and always carry dextrotabs and a couple of biccies when I leave the house.... I think you should, too.
 
Thanks guys for the advice. Someone else also mentioned Dextro tablets so I bought some and ensure they're close at hand. It's all still very new to me and after 43 years free of diabetes I feel I have to get to know my body all over again.

My wife read an article yesterday about a local lady who has had Type 2 for many years who went Hypo and into a coma and is now brain damaged. Apparently, she had a urinary infection and hardly ate for 3 days prior to the incident but always respected her diabetes, according to her husband. I was led to understand that Type 2's can't go into comas but it seems that I've been misinformed. Nonetheless, I'm an optimist by nature and am sure this must have been exasperated by her infection. However, has anyone else heard of other Type 2's going into a Hypo coma? I'm not so much worried about myself but I would like to know. Reading at the moment is still difficult due to my blurred vision.

Thanks...

Tony
 
Give it some time. When I started to low carb I did not feel well when my bg level was under 5. Especially while exercising it would fall too much and I wouuld get all the symptoms you say. Didn't even take any drugs. Now that my bg is pretty good most of the time I feel great at 4.5. I guess it just takes a while to become your new normal. Helga
 
Tooshay said:
Thanks guys for the advice. Someone else also mentioned Dextro tablets so I bought some and ensure they're close at hand. It's all still very new to me and after 43 years free of diabetes I feel I have to get to know my body all over again.

My wife read an article yesterday about a local lady who has had Type 2 for many years who went Hypo and into a coma and is now brain damaged. Apparently, she had a urinary infection and hardly ate for 3 days prior to the incident but always respected her diabetes, according to her husband. I was led to understand that Type 2's can't go into comas but it seems that I've been misinformed. Nonetheless, I'm an optimist by nature and am sure this must have been exasperated by her infection. However, has anyone else heard of other Type 2's going into a Hypo coma? I'm not so much worried about myself but I would like to know. Reading at the moment is still difficult due to my blurred vision.

Thanks...

Tony
Click to expand...

Hi Tony,

This is the article that your wife is referring to.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10603377
 
I read the article and am worried now. What medication would she probably have been on? I think I would recognise a hypo in the rare event that I had one and have glucose tablets in my handbag just in case. Before being diagnosed I used to have what I think were hypos at the end of the morning after having had a large bowl of cereal for breakfast. I think I must have had a high every morning which provoked a low. Mountain peaks and valleys. This happened most days and I had an imperative urge to fill up with rubbish food when it happened. I didn't dare drive home for quite a long time. Since being diagnosed and knowing what to eat I haven't had this since. I am type 2 by the way, well controlled.
 
Try not to worry Daisy - the article doesn't say whether she was on meds or not - and there is a very important statement in the article

"Dai Williams, national director of Diabetes UK Cymru, said: "What happened to Margaret is tragic but it is, thankfully, a very rare complication."

Keep reminding yourself of that! :)

She may have been on gliclazide or some other hypo inducing drug - if she continued to take her meds but not eat this would cause problems - When I was ill my GP said if I was finding it difficult to eat I had to stop the Glic until I felt better, but if I could try to eat and keep taking the meds that would be better - I continued to take it and made myself eat and I was fine!

Anyone who does suffer any sickness and take any meds should always take medical advice before changing anything
 
Thanks for that, loving life. I am taking Metformin which is supposed not to be hypo inducing but you never know if you can't eat because you are ill. I read you must continue taking your medications. I would obviously contact my doc if I could get hold of her.

The article did talk about taking medications in general:

"It is an important reminder that people on certain medication for Type 2 diabetes can have hypos which, when identified early, can be treated very quickly with a quick-acting carbohydrate as long as the person is conscious."
 
Tooshay i'm only sixmonth's in front of you and on simmilar meds i also found the same effects, i have qaurtered my gliclizide and spread it out across the day and found that worked for me less peaks and troughs, it may be worth a try,, if its not recomended i'm sure someone will say but it worksfor me, hey for the first month after i was diagnosed i was so blind i couldnt see the line across the pill to split it!!! you have any idea how many i ruined,, lol, your vision should come back though. Tio 8)
 
You're right Tio, somebody is going to tell you it isn't recommended, basically it is not what anybody should be doing as there is no way of knowing what the actual dose of the drug is that you are taking.

Removing tablets from foil packaging or exposing uncoated tablet surfaces may increase the rate of degradation of the active drug. This has important ramifications as the patient may get a lower than intended dose and adverse effects may be increased by degradation products. The tablet dissolution rate and absorption characteristics may also be affected when tablets are split. This applies particularly to coated and controlled-release tablets. While the cumulative dissolution may be similar between whole and halved tablets the initial rate of dissolution may be increased with unpredictable clinical consequences.
Click to expand...

Therefore we urge members not to follow this practice that Tio is recommending of quartering a tablet. It is not a medically approved practice and in certain circumstances and medications can be unsafe and highly dangerous.

cugila
Forum Monitor
 
Your post doesn't need removing Tio. It will serve to inform any new members what is and what isn't a good idea. If it works for you that is your choice. The warning after your post will suffice.

cugila
Forum Monitor
 
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