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pocket pills

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gandolph

New Member
i have just been diagnosed diabetic ,and i am wondering is there a pill /tablet like a toffee that you can carry for emergencies.
 
@gandolph can you explain a bit more about yourself and what type of emergency you are referring to?
Is your diabetes being treated by blood sugar lowering medication such as insulin?
Or are you looking for something to manage very high blood sugars?
 
There are Dextro glucose tablets @gandolph They are often used to treat hypos (hypoglycaemia ie low blood sugar) usually as a result of blood sugar lowering medication like insulin. If you’ve just been diagnosed, your blood sugar is likely to be high rather than low.

Have you been put on any medication for the diabetes?
 
If you mean to stop you going low then you can buy glucose tablets or jelly babies. But whether you need them or not depends on what type of medication you are on.
 
Inka said:
There are Dextro glucose tablets @gandolph They are often used to treat hypos (hypoglycaemia ie low blood sugar) usually as a result of blood sugar lowering medication like insulin. If you’ve just been diagnosed, your blood sugar is likely to be high rather than low.

Have you been put on any medication for the diabetes?
Click to expand...
i am on gliclazine tablets at the moment. as i said i have only just been dianosed with it. so i might be jumping the gun.
so i am just asking these questions as they arise. please bear with me.
 
helli said:
@gandolph can you explain a bit more about yourself and what type of emergency you are referring to?
Is your diabetes being treated by blood sugar lowering medication such as insulin?
Or are you looking for something to manage very high blood sugars?
Click to expand...
i am probably being a bit panicky i dont know exactly what type of diabetic i am , and there is no emergency (probably
wrong word) trying to find out more about it.probably asking the wrong questions. Thanks for your concern.
 
gandolph said:
i am on gliclazine tablets at the moment. as i said i have only just been dianosed with it. so i might be jumping the gun.
so i am just asking these questions as they arise. please bear with me.
Click to expand...

Ah, ok @gandolph 🙂 Well, Gliclazide can cause hypos (low blood sugar) so you’re right to think about carrying something sweet with you.

The Dextro tablets I mentioned above are glucose in a lozenge form. You should be able to get them in most chemists. If you don’t want to get those, normal jelly babies will do, or any similar chewy sweet. Personally, I think it’s easier to carry a pack of Dextro, but if you have a little container you could put a few jelly babies in that. Don’t choose hard sweets. You need something you can eat quickly and safely. Another alternative is one of those 150ml mini cans of Coke.

Ask whatever you want and when you want 🙂
 
I use Lift tablets. They are similar to Dextrose but come in plastic tubes rather than paper wrappers.
If you want something small to keep in your pocket, I know some people carry the mini bags of Haribo.
 
If you choose the mini bags of Haribo, always carry 2 or 3 mini bags. You need to take about 3 Glucose tablets or 3 jelly babies to treat a hypo and then test again 15 mins later to check that your levels have come back up, so you should always carry your test meter kit with you too and if you drive, keep hypo treatments in the car as well as your pockets.
The other thing to note is that you start absorbing glucose from the sweets or tablets in your mouth, so chewing them thoroughly is probably quicker than a couple of chews and swallowing.
I use jelly babies during the day most of the time or Fizzy Worms but I always keep Dextrose tablets by the bed in case I drop low overnight. It is important to take your testing kit with you when you go to bed, so that it is to hand to test during the night if you wake up feeling unwell and have your hypo treatment within reach too. You don't want to have to get out of bed and wander around looking for these things if you wake up hypo.
Dextrose and Lift tablets are both available in major supermarkets as well as pharmacies. I buy Lidl jelly babies or Fizzy Worms and both work well and are cheaper.
 
Inka said:
Ah, ok @gandolph 🙂 Well, Gliclazide can cause hypos (low blood sugar) so you’re right to think about carrying something sweet with you.

The Dextro tablets I mentioned above are glucose in a lozenge form. You should be able to get them in most chemists. If you don’t want to get those, normal jelly babies will do, or any similar chewy sweet. Personally, I think it’s easier to carry a pack of Dextro, but if you have a little container you could put a few jelly babies in that. Don’t choose hard sweets. You need something you can eat quickly and safely. Another alternative is one of those 150ml mini cans of Coke.

Ask whatever you want and when you want 🙂
Click to expand...
i am not realy sure if i am high or low sugar, as i said only been at this a week. but the Doctor put me on gliclazine,
are they ok . just a bit confused. THANKS EVERYBODY FOR YOUR HELP.
 
Have they given you a test meter to test your blood with a finger prick? If not, then they should, particularly if you drive a car as there are rules about making sure your levels are safe to drive, but also keeping yourself safe in everyday life.

The tablets you have been given, encourage the pancreas to produce more insulin. Insulin lowers the Blood Glucose (BG) levels, so when you have high BG levels that extra insulin can help to bring levels down, but sometimes they can drop too low and you feel unwell and need some glucose to bring levels back up to a safe level. You can also feel unwell with high BG levels so it is important to be able to tell when your levels are high and when they are low so that you can take appropriate action.... hence using a meter to test your blood.
 
gandolph said:
i am not realy sure if i am high or low sugar, as i said only been at this a week. but the Doctor put me on gliclazine,
are they ok . just a bit confused. THANKS EVERYBODY FOR YOUR HELP.
Click to expand...

If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, that means, by definition, that your blood sugar is high. Diabetes = high blood sugar.

You have been put on Gliclazide to lower your blood sugar to a more normal range. That’s good - however occasionally it can lower your blood sugar too much. If your blood sugar gets too low that is called a hypo (hypo=low blood sugar). If this happens to you and your blood sugar is pushed down too low, then you need to take a Dextro tablet (as above) or jelly babies. These will quickly put your blood sugar back up into a more normal range.

Diabetes is never low blood sugar - it’s always high blood sugar - but some medications to treat the diabetes can occasionally cause blood sugar to go too low (eg Gliclazide). That’s why people on such medications need to carry Dextro or sweets and why they need to test their blood sugar at home with a glucose meter.
 
Last edited:
@Inka You don’t need to inform the DVLA if on gliclazide, but it is important to be able to test and check your levels if you feel shaky, lightheaded, or otherwise feel odd
 
Lucyr said:
@Inka You don’t need to inform the DVLA if on gliclazide, but it is important to be able to test and check your levels if you feel shaky, lightheaded, or otherwise feel odd
Click to expand...

Oh, thank you @Lucyr My mistake. I’ll go back and edit my post to avoid confusion to the OP and other readers or googlers.
 
Lucyr said:
@Inka You don’t need to inform the DVLA if on gliclazide, but it is important to be able to test and check your levels if you feel shaky, lightheaded, or otherwise feel odd
Click to expand...
Depends on the type of license, if it's an LGV/PCV you do xx
 
rebrascora said:
Have they given you a test meter to test your blood with a finger prick? If not, then they should, particularly if you drive a car as there are rules about making sure your levels are safe to drive, but also keeping yourself safe in everyday life.

The tablets you have been given, encourage the pancreas to produce more insulin. Insulin lowers the Blood Glucose (BG) levels, so when you have high BG levels that extra insulin can help to bring levels down, but sometimes they can drop too low and you feel unwell and need some glucose to bring levels back up to a safe level. You can also feel unwell with high BG levels so it is important to be able to tell when your levels are high and when they are low so that you can take appropriate action.... hence using a meter to test your blood.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that , this is where i get confused. i haven't' got much information on this Yes i have test meter,
and i test every morning before breakfast-& nighttime 2 hours after tea/food. dose this mean exactly 2 hours or
3/4 hours as long as it is after 2.the other night we were late eating..(8pm) so i have to wait until 10pm. to test.
this is way past my bedtime. so i did it when i got up in the night. about 1 30am. is this wrong/right. i dont know.
i have also got written down ,under 4 or over 20 call the doctor. I have been great on those numbers so far.
but is there a happy medium.
thank you.
 
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