The wobbles

[vince13]

I'm on insulin and metformin now but was on metformin and gliclazide twice a day (maximum dose of each) prior to that. I used to go very low just before lunchtime (12ish) and get sweaty, shakey and confused and when I tested I was almost always below 4 which is (I understand) considered hypo.

It is well known that Glic can encourage hypos in type 2s and you should have been warned about this by someone in your Care Team - both Drs and nurses always emphasised that glic can cause hypos.

Please -if you are feeling like this - make sure you always have either a small carton of full strength orange/apple juice with you (this works quickest I always found) and 5 or more jelly babies or glucose tablets.

I don't drive but someone on here who does will, I'm sure, warn you about pre-driving testing for hypos etc. Badger your team for test strips etc - it's only fair for them to help you take care of yourself.

 

[Jill-Louise]

I'm definitely getting more advice and support from you guys than at my own doctors ! Thanks Vince, i will take onboard what you have suggested.

I think that i have to now believe that i do have diabetes and not try and push it under the carpet....

 

[Alan S]

I'm definitely getting more advice and support from you guys than at my own doctors ! Thanks Vince, i will take onboard what you have suggested.

I think that i have to now believe that i do have diabetes and not try and push it under the carpet....

One of the saddest things I read regularly on the UK forums is "My GP told me i didn't have to test regularly as i'm only a T2 !!!!!!" or similar.

Jill-Louise, do whatever you must to get an adequate supply of strips. The good people here can offer advice on how best to do that. But do it. If that means a change of doctor, or even if it means having to shell out cash, still do it.

Then read this (click on it): Test, Review, Adjust

PS. It's the gliclazide, not the metformin. Before you read on I'll mention that I'm just a diabetic, not a medic. If you have any doubts about my suggestions check with your doctor.

Glic is a sulfonylurea. Part of its mechanism is to stimulate release of insulin from your beta cells. If the dosage is not carefully matched to your menu then too much insulin can be released at the wrong time and you can go low or hypo. Whether you actually did go low when you had the wobbles is something you cannot know without a meter, but the odds are that you did. Your concern about driving is also valid. Please start testing a lot more to see what is happening in your blood glucose over the course of a day, after meals and during exercise or physical activity.

If you have those symptoms again stop whatever you are doing and test. If you are low (in your situation that is probably anything under 4.5; when you are well-controlled it may be the mid-3s) then eat or drink about 15gms of carb, wait 15 minutes and test again. If you are improving continue doing what you were doing when you feel better. If you haven't improved, add another 15 gms and repeat the 15 minute wait. If you don't have a known 15gm source immediately available make your best guess with the nearest thing available.

Do not over-correct with lots of carbs. That is the way to get on the roller-coaster, going much too high as a consequence with the possibility of reactive lows after that.

 

[Copepod]

Five days ago i was put on gliclazide 80mg as well as the metformin 500mg.
The problem i seem to be having is that without any warning i get what i can only describe as the wobbles !
I'm wondering if it's the new medication. I don't seem to have to be doing anything strenuos as i had it whilst at work (i work in an office).
Today i had a wobble whilst out and about. I don't normally get any sign of it happening but today was different. As i got out of my car i had a real floaty feeling and then within a few minutes i was having a wobble.
Has anyone else felt like this ?

Thanks in anticipation

Jill-Louise

Key point here is a hypo feeling on getting out of car - I'm assuming ypu were driving? As others have said, glicazide can cause hypoglycaemia, so you should always check you blood sugar before driving. For speed, you probably need to buy a meter - most come with around 10 strips, which will keep you going for a while. Some companies give them away free; some diabetes specialist nurses have sample meters to give away, but all that takes time. As you have a diabetes diagnosis, you are exempt from paying VAT on meters, although not all chemist shops are aware. Feel free to remind your GP of need to test before driving when you ask them to prescribe blood glucose test strips. However, it is possible that, as you started glicazide so recently, your body is actually feeling hypo when your levels are not below 4.0mmol/l, just that you feel low, having got used to higher levels - the only way to know is to test.

 

[KateR]

I'm a T2 on gliclazide and when I first started it I used to get the shakes in late morning. Luckily I was able to bring forward my lunch and that fixed it. I don't get it so much now though.