Is this too low to drive ?

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I think they expect you to be ABSOLUTELY confident that you're safely above 5 rather than leaving it to guesswork.

I know for a fact that when riding pillion on a motorbike, I drop VERY quickly, so push myself a little higher before riding. I'd never ride solo if I wasn't sure I was at least 6 or 7.
 
stewardsons said:
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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But with the possibility that your meter can be up to 20% out, how do you know your 3.8 is really 3.8? Also, how do you know that you're not dropping lower? I don't drive, but I'd be really uncomfortable driving until I knew my BG was above 5 at least in that case, because like SacredHeart, I've had lows that have taken a while to come back up. For me, the risk is just to great, and it's not something I'd want to have on my conscience if I caused an accident.
 
Thought of this thread today, happened twice to me that I got in my car to drive and was 4.x Was quite annoying because the first time it was just before lunch and I was about to drive from one work base to another, so had to have a couple of glucotabs and a cereal bar to get me over 5. I often try and test 10-15 minutes before I am due to drive so that I have time to get it up if needed.
 
Sometimes I find myself ready to cycle a couple of miles and realise that with BS of around 5.0, if I were driving I'd have to wait, but on a bike, I can stuff a few jelly babies down and pedal off gently and safely.
 
I got a leaflet from the DVLA when my new (restricted) licence arrived, which says that you must not drive below 4, and that if you are below 5, you should have a snack before you set off.
 
Richard, that makes perfect sense, I was 4.4 earlier this week at the end of a day, I wasn't worried because when I have days like that I hold pretty well that low, although to be sure I did have a munch before driving off, I had an orange and a boost duo, then about 10 mins later when I had finished loading up and sorting everyone out we headed off, when I go home I was 9! Not so great!
 
Cheers for the figures Copepod, I ate the whole thing, and yes 9 wasn't so bad you're right.

The journey was only 40 miles, but an hour and a half at least! I was hungry anyway, and it helps keep me awake if I'm tired to eat! But I always keep 2 duo style bars in the car in case, so cheers again for the figures.
 
Surely figures were printed on the Boost packet?!? I didn't have a bar to hand, hence looking on web. I keep cans of iced coffee in car for when I need a bit of CHO and a bit of caffeine, plus less prone to melting than chocolate. They aren't exactly iced when I drink them, but stay cool in lockers under back seat foot wells.
 
Experience of this

Hi

I was 5.9 before I got in car, so I had a large chunky piece of teabread (without any injection), I took my dogs for usual walk and drove 1/2 mile home an hour later.

I felt hypo, as I remember veering toward the white line in middle of road. I pulled over, I stopped and I gave myself some sweets. The driver behind me was an off duty fireman, who decided he was going to stop and take over....
he called the police and an ambulance. I then off course, had ended up having unwanted 3rd party interference, AND a hypo at wheel.

Outcome of all this:- ambulance did not take me to hospital as I was treating myself, I was coherent and answering questions and scored 14/14 on their response testing. The police would not let me drive home, and took me and my dogs home.

I had to notify DVLA.

I have had 3 months of hell waiting to find out if my licence would be revoked. I had not caused any accident otherwise my licence would have been revoked immediately.

I have fought with GP's and Consultants that thought they could complete DVLA forms without ever having looked at my daily blood tests, only ever looking at my HBA1C's. I ended up with a lovely Consultant writing me a letter supporting me to keep my licence and completing the 8 tick box questionnaire from DVLA which had questions on it as: What type of diabetes, what medicine, is patient hypo aware, can paitent see. No space on form to say should I keep my licence yes/no....so the Consultant wrote a letter for me.

I then had to wait on somebodies desk at the DVLA Office's for 8 weeks, becuase they have a huge backlog of questionnaires to go through. I kept my licence.

A few points to this:-
DVLA says to stop and test every 2 hours,......I have to test more often than that to be sure.
I had been 5.9 and had a huge, chunky piece of barabrith (no bolus) before my initial drive. However as I hadn't been away from the car for their '2 hours' I thought I was safe to get back in and drive the 1/2 hour home.

Thinking you may lose your licence turns your life upside down...........
silver lining is that I am now on a pump.....and I was fortunate that I did not lose my licence.....

However, I would never drive anywhere or even oipen the door to my car to even get it off the driveway now without being between 6 and 7, and my jelly babies are underneath my handbrake for the easiest access.

I was lucky......I had been walking with a friend before driving off and neither one of us realised I was hypo before driving off from the walk. It was just a 1/2 mile drive......a very har lesson to learn, as the very brief description of incident here doesn't actually list all the details of the fight that I had to do to keep my licence.

It does not give you any idea of what it is like to be surrounded by 2 police cars and an ambulance and 3 nosey people's cars. It does not give any idea of the shock and uncontrollable depression and crying that followed, as losing my licence would have had an awful effect on my life. I had a huge fight to keep my licence, and the stress and depression that went along with it, belive me it is better to be the higher levels of 7 than anywhere near the 4's.

Your concentration and your mind do not work as well when you are driving below 5. Your reactions are slower. You could kill yourself or others. Concentrating on the road and driving lowers your levels........please never go through what I have been through......I was lucky.

Under 6 and snack on a twix........only way to be safe for you and others......
 
45 minutes!!!

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?

The reason why the DVLA want you to sit and wait is because it can take up to 45 minutes to get your full senses back enough to drive......... 'Just 3.8' is far too low, you could take quick carb to correct and double dip hypo.

Please see my experience listed above this.........blood testing machines are not exact, they are a guideline and can have up to 10% inaccuracys to them.....if your level reads 3.8 it could actually be up to 10% wrong.......

I hope my experience above this posting persuades people NOT to ignore the DVLA and to make sure that they and others are safe.....
 
Thanks for posting your experience. It illustrates very clearly that you have to be absolutely sure you are going to be OK, even if it means running high for the duration of the drive, because even if you are allowed to keep your license there is a huge amount of heartache and disruption to endure.
 
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