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Cold Remedies

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
clairemm

clairemm

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I haven?t got a cold at the moment, but I usually get one every couple of months, so I thought better to have a 'sugar free? cold remedy in ready. I asked a pharmacist and he said that all sugar free one's he knew of contained decongestants and he would never recommend a diabetic takes any type of decongestants.

Has anybody any experience of this or know why we shouldn?t have decongestant?

on a side note I?ve just realised since diagnosis and treatment I haven?t had a cold, which considering everyone around me has had them for months is amazing, perhaps Metformin is making me invincible?! 😛
 
Pharmacist wouldn't sell me decongestant. Said decongestants and metformin don't play nicely together. Sold me a useless nasal spray instead.
 
Never heard that as a T1 (and happily take decongestant/lemsip/flu caps), so maybe it is connected to Met?
 
I was at the hospital pharmacy and they wouldnt sell me lemsip capsules only paracetamol.😡
 
have you thought of using something likr karvol capsules or olbas oil? I find they help immensly. You can even get olbas infused paper hankies, I get min in Boots but others have got them in other places.
 
I was told by my doctor years ago that decongestants raise both blood sugar and blood pressure and that as I have issues with both, it would be a bad idea to take them. However, now that both are reasonably well controlled I ignore the advice these days and have suffered no ill effects. I only ever feel rough enough to need them for a couple of days, so not that bad in the long term methinks.
 
when I feel that rough I see the doctor, sometimes I think he gives me stuff to get rid of me because I get very persistent. i am bad at being ill.
 
Even if you can't take oral decongestants with metformin, you can relieve a stuffy nose in other ways etc breathing in steam by holding your head over a bowl of hot water and covered with a towel, or just staying in a steamy shower for a while.
 
Copepod said:
Even if you can't take oral decongestants with metformin, you can relieve a stuffy nose in other ways etc breathing in steam by holding your head over a bowl of hot water and covered with a towel, or just staying in a steamy shower for a while.
Click to expand...

my favourite is the steamy shower
 
I take Lemsip and have not experienced it raising my blood sugar. I'm not on oral meds though.
 
When I have a cold I have paracetamol, Halls cherry menthol sugar-free sweets and olbas oil as a decongestant - a few drops on a hanky or on your pillow works wonders 🙂
 
thanks for all the extra info, guess i just have to pay more attention to general medications in future. i nearly took a sleeping tablet last night (rather strong prescription ones from prevoius non diabetic life) before i remembered that it probably wasnt a good idea anymore.

shock of dx must have worn off now, i keep forgetting i'm diabetic and on tablets now.

kept forgetting when making the family xmas cakes at the weekend too, i licked my finger after adding treacle to mix, my eyes were twitching for ages, most sugar i've had in ages.lol
 
I was recently told that I can't take decongestants but was told it was because I am on Domperidone, rather than because of my diabetes. :confused:
 
My GP is against decongestants as they tend to raise BP. This sounds sensible as many diabetics are treated for this. Paracetamol or a tot of whiskey but never together are my remedy.
 
newbs said:
I was recently told that I can't take decongestants but was told it was because I am on Domperidone, rather than because of my diabetes. :confused:
Click to expand...
Is that similar to Dom Perignon? On prescription? Note to self... ask GP!
 
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