Is this too low to drive ?

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Dizzydi

Dizzydi

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
BS was 4.6 this morning - am I right this is too low to drive now I am injecting?

This was pre breakfast at 7.00 am - I had my breakfast at about 7.30 am after putting some tuttie on.

This last week they have all been between 4.9 and 5.3.
 
Hi I can only say what i would personally be ok with and i cant reply for everyone and i am far from an expert and could be very wrong here but i would have said it was ok - depending on your distance obviously, I think 4.6 is a good reading and then having your breakfast too. I would comfortably drive on that but again i could be very wrong to which i will keep an eye out on other replies - i might learn something new too.

Em 🙂
 
DVLA says if blood sugar is below 5, then you need to have a snack before driving.

If it was me and I was 4.6, i would have something to eat and re-check to see that I was above 5 before driving.

Will move this to driving section
 
Yep Nikki is right you must be 5 to drive! Legally.

If anything happened god forbid, they would check your meter and testing times, if not 5 then you need a snack and test hourly when driving long distances.

I always test before driving, my licence is to imprtant for me to loose!

I test before breakfast so that i can bolus and check again before leaving the house, this may only be 30 mins or 1 hour after eating, but occasionally I have been too low to drive at these points!
 
sofaraway said:
DVLA says if blood sugar is below 5, then you need to have a snack before driving.

If it was me and I was 4.6, i would have something to eat and re-check to see that I was above 5 before driving.
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Does this mean that she would have been ok to drive as she was 4.6 then had her breakfast?
 
Thanks for info - I suspect I would have been ok as it was only half hour since breakfast.

I will ensure that I test again in future before driving to work 😱
Being on insulin is all new to me (14 days today)
 
Emzi said:
Does this mean that she would have been ok to drive as she was 4.6 then had her breakfast?
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Probably, as the breakfast would have raised to above 5.

I do my first test of the day about 30 minutes before I leave for work. I then have my breakfast. I then have time to do the restest and get myself to 5 if I need to. If I am initially above 5 then I won't test again before I leave.
 
Anyone know if you had a crash and your bloodsugar was high if you'd get in trouble? And if so, what is the 'high' limit?

Just wondered that the other day when i drove home feeling a bit dizzy and when i got in realised i was high :S
 
when i was on the dafne course, the woman said if ur below 5.5 then u werent aloud to leave and drive.. u had to make sure u were above that...

i always make sure i have something to eat if im that low before i drive.

i wouldnt drive at 4.6 personally and my driving is also important to me too.

i love it :D
 
I picked up a leaflet from the GP on this

It has got the guidelines in from the DVLA and gives info on what to do in the event of a hypo etc.

The leaflet stated bs above 5 for driving and if in the event of a hypo while driving, pull over, take keys out of engine, get in the passager side. Treat Hypo and wait 45 minutes before driving again.
 
On the paperwork they send you it doesn't mention driving whilst high at all.
Yeah I hate that 45 minutes thing, especially if I was only 3.8 or similar. I was late for work a couple of weeks ago because I got int he car and tested and was hypo so couldn't drive. Happened twice recently actually.
 
as you all say it's personnal, I would drive at 4.6 and have when lower, but I make sure I have eaten too, I generally munch to make sure I'm on the high side, lowest was 3.3 when I got out the car then it felt like I floated out, not good, so much more vidulant (sp?) now.

Play safe, stay safe🙂
 
waiting 45mins before driving is ridiculous. if you feel ok then drive i say, i cant see how they would test your blood after an accident anyway.
 
sofaraway said:
On the paperwork they send you it doesn't mention driving whilst high at all.
Yeah I hate that 45 minutes thing, especially if I was only 3.8 or similar. I was late for work a couple of weeks ago because I got int he car and tested and was hypo so couldn't drive. Happened twice recently actually.
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if you were 3.8 and you ate some sugar you should have felt better within about 10 mins, i would have got in the car and let the sugar increase my levels while i drove.
 
Still, wise to stick to DVLA rules - they issue / re-issue licences, after all. Sure, you / I feel better 10 mins after sugar, but that's not the same as being safe to drive.
 
So here is a question. Does this include T2. i,e Could I be charged if stopped at the wheen with a level below 5. I am d/e controlled on no meds at all.
The reason I ask is because I have been told by my gp that they would NEVER prescribe test strips to a T2 and do not believe I would hardly ever need to test.

If this is the case and I followed their advice - how on earth would I know if my levels are low. I do know i have been below 5 but when driving home from the gym. I didn't realise at all that i shoudn't drive - my GP tells me zero. Grr.
 
stewardsons said:
if you were 3.8 and you ate some sugar you should have felt better within about 10 mins, i would have got in the car and let the sugar increase my levels while i drove.
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Personally I would never do that. I would want to see a 5 on the meter before I'd get in the car. I don't drive, admittedly, but I wouldn't be willing to take the risk with my life or others. I've had hypos where it's taken me a long time to come back up, so I wouldn't be sure I could guarantee that I'd be above 5.

My view on the matter - surely even a minor chance that your sugars could mean something happening to you or another road user means that it's worth being a few minutes late for something?

Just my two cents.
 
If you are D&E only then there is no restrictions placed on you by the DVLA. The reason why is that if your Blood Sugar falls to a hypo type level your body will take care of things stop producing insulin and release glucose into your blood stream.

If you are on meds this doesn't happen, and you have to take other actions to increase your blood sugar.

The reason why you have to wait 45 minutes (and that is 45 minutes from the point you are no longer hypo) is that it can take that long for your brain to start functioning correctly again.
 
Excellent explanation Margie. Thank you .
 
i understand the 45 mins for the brain to start functioning if you drop very low but if its just down to 3.8 or something then treat it with sugar then you can get on pretty soon after. there is no point in waiting 45 mins, what do the DVLA expect you to do in this time? ring someone for a chat,read a book or just twiddle your thumbs?
 
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