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

Which hypo treatments are available on prescription?

WHM

Well-Known Member
Messages
45
Location
East Yorkshire
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
As many may be aware the manufacturers of Lucozade are halving the quantity of glucose in Lucozade by half from 1st April to avoid paying the newly introduced sugar tax.
Is anyone aware of which hypo treatments are available on prescription? I know Glucogel is but not sure about Glucotabs or Glucojuice for example.
Having to drink 200ml of Lucozade for treating a hypo will mean twice the cost and extra trips to the toilet (don't suppose the makers will reduce the price by 50 %!).
 
I haven't seen anything on prescription apart from the Glucogel.
 
Ooh! Just think ... Jelly Babies on prescription ... Only joking, of course.


If it's because you're on such a limited budget, then some spoonfuls of sugar in squash, cup of tea, etc would surely get you out of a hypo?
 
HI. Does it really need to be a glucose drink? Unless a hypo is very sudden or extreme I would have thought several Dextrose tablets would do the job? They are cheap and small and I always carry some.
 

Dolly mixtures or shrimps and banana shapes are about 40 p a bag in supermarkets, 3 bags are often £1. I believe over 60's can still get glucotabs on prescription, if diabetic and take medication.
 
Those dried fruit things my non D wife uses in her "nibble box" to take to her work, work ruddy great fer me!

There have been a shed load of threads on "sugar tax". But he ho! Here we go.....
 
Jaylee said:
Those dried fruit things
Click to expand...
My mum used to put sultanas and raisins in spotted **** dog she made. Pretty cheap to buy here, a lot of sugar cane farmers around the Bundy are keeping an eye on this sugar tax as they follow suite on what the UK and US do.

There's got to be a better drink than Lucozade, as that was a **** drink even when I was young.
 
WHM said:
I know Glucogel is but not sure about Glucotabs or Glucojuice for example.
Click to expand...

Hi @WHM

As far as I'm aware there's only Glucogel available on prescription.

Regards to a glucose drink, last year I purchased some Glucojuice from Amazon, buying in quanties of 12 or more is much cheaper than buying the product individually from the likes of Boots, it's great as each 60ml bottle has 15g of fast acting glucose and the bottle isn't too bulky to carry around.
 
Dextro Energy tablets are also cheaper on Amazon. I buy a box and they last ages. Even if you prefer Lucozade or drinks, I find glucose tablets are always convenient to have as they're tiny to carry.

I think I did read about someone having Glucojuice on prescription her a while ago, but I would think that's rare as anything sufficiently sugary will do.

And yes, it is annoying about Lucozade! I don't understand why they don't keep one or two flavours as they are, and jus modify the rest.
 
The reason I ask about availability of treatments is that the most serious side effect of insulin is hypoglycaemia. As currently the NHS will not fund any CGM except in very limited circumstances then I don't think it's unreasonable to receive treatments on prescription.
 
The thing is the remedy for hypoglycaemia isn't a drug, it's a high glucose food or drink so is something we can easily buy for ourselves. I went to my doc with a dry cough a couple of weeks ago and he recommended using synthetic saliva for a while. Since that's not a drug either he said I would need to buy it myself, at a cost of £10.50. I was just glad for his advice and happy to pay for it myself.
 

Hi,
I can appreciate hypos can be hell...
Just noticed from your previous posts your a pumper & a keen "road cyclist".. They don't take the funding for this tech lightly.
If you are having issues with your control? It may be more prudent to change "focus" & put your diabetes team to good use & have a little tweak with the regime?
 
GlucoGel®, Dextrogel®, GSF-Syrup®, Rapilose® gel are available on prescription.
 

That's true, but the treatment for a hypo isn't really medical. A can of regular Coke will do fine.

I agree that it would be nice to have, say, the Libre funded for those on insulin but that's more likely to happen if money isn't being 'wasted' on things like glucose juices that we can buy ourselves I don't even bother to,get the Hypostop gel any more as it's so gross I'd probably spit it out in an emergency. I use everyday drinks/foods and glucose tablets.

If your a keen exerciser, you might want to look at the Runsweet website. Adjusting your basal for exercise (if you don't already) can work really well too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…