I am a newly diagnosed T2 (August this year).
I have been quite successful at getting my pre-breakfast BG down to between 5 or 6 over the last few weeks with 3 X Metformin and 2 X Clyclazides a day.
However last week I had one day that was abnormally high - strangely this coincided with a change in my routine, I was leaving home at about the same time as usual but without eating as I had a breakfast meeting planned. The only difference was that on that morning I cleaned my teeth before doing the morning test. (like most people I usualy do it after breakfast)
Now I didn't really believe that would make the difference, so yesterday I did a test before cleaning my teeth which came out at 5.5 and then just 20 minutes later (I didn't have time to wait any longer) the reading was 6.9! I wonder how much higher it would have gone?
Now in every single brand of toothpaste in our local supermarket SORBITOL is the second or third largest constituent. Sorbitol is 'sugar alcohol' typically made from the catalytic hydrogenation of Glucose/Fructose mixtures. Its use in toothpaste is as a humectant (stops the paste drying out) and as a texture and taste modifier. Although much study has been done on the absorption of Sorbitol in the gut I could find nothing on the likely effects of massaging it directly into the teeth, gums and oral mucossa as you do when brushing your teeth. The fact that some will be absorbed seems quite likely as this is a prefered route for administration of some drugs and Diabetes UK even suggest massaging honey or jam in the (inside of the) cheek as a recovery from a hypo. Of course its much more likely to get into your blood stream if you have mouth ulcers, damaged gums etc and I am sure a good number of diabetics suffer with these too.
This is based on just one experience, can anyone else out there reproduce this effect, how high might it go?
I remember going to the doctors for my first fasting glucose test, nothing to eat since the previous night - but like most people I did clean my teeth before going out!!
I have been quite successful at getting my pre-breakfast BG down to between 5 or 6 over the last few weeks with 3 X Metformin and 2 X Clyclazides a day.
However last week I had one day that was abnormally high - strangely this coincided with a change in my routine, I was leaving home at about the same time as usual but without eating as I had a breakfast meeting planned. The only difference was that on that morning I cleaned my teeth before doing the morning test. (like most people I usualy do it after breakfast)
Now I didn't really believe that would make the difference, so yesterday I did a test before cleaning my teeth which came out at 5.5 and then just 20 minutes later (I didn't have time to wait any longer) the reading was 6.9! I wonder how much higher it would have gone?
Now in every single brand of toothpaste in our local supermarket SORBITOL is the second or third largest constituent. Sorbitol is 'sugar alcohol' typically made from the catalytic hydrogenation of Glucose/Fructose mixtures. Its use in toothpaste is as a humectant (stops the paste drying out) and as a texture and taste modifier. Although much study has been done on the absorption of Sorbitol in the gut I could find nothing on the likely effects of massaging it directly into the teeth, gums and oral mucossa as you do when brushing your teeth. The fact that some will be absorbed seems quite likely as this is a prefered route for administration of some drugs and Diabetes UK even suggest massaging honey or jam in the (inside of the) cheek as a recovery from a hypo. Of course its much more likely to get into your blood stream if you have mouth ulcers, damaged gums etc and I am sure a good number of diabetics suffer with these too.
This is based on just one experience, can anyone else out there reproduce this effect, how high might it go?
I remember going to the doctors for my first fasting glucose test, nothing to eat since the previous night - but like most people I did clean my teeth before going out!!