Sick Day Management

Nakita · 01-20-2006, 06:31 PM

I've been treating my diabetes with Lantus 60 units daily for about four days now. I've added Actos with metformin. I've been sick for about four day also. Cramping stomach, nausea, yucky stomach, no energy. I've recently started on Lyrica for neuropathy. I know the side effects are dizziness and blurry vision and I should get over these side effects in a few days, but they are really kicking my butt. I can barely walk.

The Lyrica is great for the pain though. I don't have the pins and needles feeling in my feet and hands anymore and I'm certainly sleeping better, in fact, I'm sleeping all the time. I can hardly concentrate to write this post. You wouldn't believe the number of times I've backspaced to rewrite, and I'm ususally an excellent typist.

So anyway, my fasting glucose this moring, well this afternoon when I finally woke up, at 12:13, was 135. Much improvement. I'm sticking with the 60 units for a few more days to see if it stabilizes. I have no desire to eat though, with the nausea. I did force myself to eat my cereal so I could take my meds.

What do you all do on sick days? What do you eat when you don't feel like eating?

Mommyof4 · 01-21-2006, 12:13 PM

Sorry to hear that you are feeling so bad. I hope by now that it's better. Having a sick day plan is important. You never know when something is going to hit.

My sick days start with clear foods. I get diet 7-Up, regular jello, and sugar free jello. I start with the sugar free but if my blood sugar drops, I go to the regular to bring it back up. Eating very small bites and spreading them out will usually allow them to stay down.

After I can tolerate that, I go to the BRAT diet. This consists to bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. All of these foods are pretty easy on your stomach. The importat thing is to not let yourself get dehydrated as that will add to the misery and drive your blood sugar up. High blood sugars will only add to the nausea.

You have to phase yourself back to a normal diet. Good luck and I hope it's over by now

SamQKitty · 01-21-2006, 02:08 PM

Nakita,
It may be the metformin that is making you sick. It does sometimes cause gastric upset, but it usually goes away after a while. If not, you might want to ask your doctor for Avandia instead...it accomplishes the same thing, but tends to have a bit less side effect on the gastric system.

Ruth

desertdiabetic · 01-21-2006, 02:23 PM

I have not had any ill side effects of metformin so I speak not from walking in your shoes. The side effects should subside before too long. Actually Avandia does word differently on your system and really works best used along with metformin. What medications doctors prescribed really is strange. I read here how some poeple take only metformin 1 time daily, usually at night. Most often twice a day, morning and at night. My doctor prescribed 3 times a day. I have only heard one other person that takes it three times like I do. I also take Avnadia with it twice a day, which appears to be the normal dosage. I don't see the reasons why there is such a difference in the dosages. I am pleased with the dosage I am getting. Believe me, I don't like taking medicines and have changed what my doctor has prescribed for high blood pressure and cholesterol. I lost enough weight were my blood pressure is normal and my cholesterol dropped to normal also. I take the medicines because of the beta cell situation - I don't want any more of them to die because of overworking.

Anyway, off the topic pretty much. SamQKitty brought up the metformin because you have been on it for such a short time, makes sense to look there first.

Nakita · 01-21-2006, 08:41 PM

I've been on metformin for two years with the actos and with avandamet, which is Avandia plus metformin. I went to the ER last night and the doc there thinks it's my gall bladder, did some x rays, some blood work, gave me a shot of demerol and phenergren and sent me home with a script for vicodin. Guess what? Vicodin doesn't touch the pain once the demerol wore off. I hurt like all get out...I'll have to go back to the ER tonite again. I'm scheduled for a sonagram on Wed and a scopy thing on thurs. I've had all the gall bladder tests, scoped up and down from both ways, nuclear med scans, MRI, ultrasounds, etc....everything was fine in December. But then I was having horrible nausea and GERD, now i'm having PAIN...