# Hi. Struggling to manage sugar levels during heavy cold



## joy1959 (Mar 20, 2016)

Hi. Diagnosed about 18 months ago. Managed really well for about a year with just diet etc but then had a few months of varying sugar levels and feeling really rough. Now on Metformin with none of the nasty side effects thankfully. However, sore throat, nasty cough and congestion - have struggled to find medications to treat symptoms without affecting bool sugar levels. Also, do others agree that stress and lack of sleep can affect blood sugar levels?? Welcome advice from those of you who are managing better than me!,


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## Lynn Davies (Mar 20, 2016)

*sniff, cough, hack*  I know just where you are coming from *sigh*


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## robert@fm (Mar 20, 2016)

I don't know about lack of sleep, but stress is a known factor in poor BG control, as are lurgies of various kinds.

Here's hoping that you begin to see some improvement when the cold has passed.


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## Copepod (Mar 20, 2016)

Welcome to the forum joy1959. Any infection, including a cold / sore throat etc will raise blood glucose levels. Some medications do include sugar, so are best avoided. Best to ask a pharmacist for advice about what over the counter medications are suitable. However, they tend not to mention non medication treatment of colds and sore throats eg gargling with hot salty water, which usually takes away pain of sore throat for about 30 minutes; hot drinks such as lemon and ginger tea, perhaps with added tot of whisky before bed are often as effective as tablets or Lemsip type things, plus they're much cheaper and taste better, in my opinion!


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## Mark Parrott (Mar 25, 2016)

I found some beecham's stuff that was sugar free. Just add hot water. No artificial sweeteners either, so tastes rather bitter.  But it works.


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## Amigo (Mar 25, 2016)

Hi Joy, there's an evitability about less stable blood sugars with illness and I'm not convinced it's due to cold meds which have negligible amounts of sugar in the dosages taken (unless you're sucking sugar laden cough sweets all day of course 

I'm diet controlled and came out of hospital a few days ago after a severe and life threatening bout of pneumonia. My BG's were rising prior to this and there was nothing I could do to get them down. Stress also impacts I think.

In hospital the one thing they gave me to help the incessant coughing (I also have laryngitis) was sugar free Simple linctus in hot water. Other than that, paracetamol, gargling and hot steam treatment for colds.

I was fortunate that my levels remained stable in hospital but they have to rise significantly to get the staff interested I discovered. The Consultant told me that the diabetes was the least of his worries in the circumstances and not to stress about it because it would be a temporary and natural blip. Obviously it may be very different for type 1's or insulin users.

Infection seems to cause our BG's to rise which in turn can feed the infection and unless your doctor suggests increasing the level of Metformin, it seems to be a case of accepting that some things are out of our control during illness. Get well soon.


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## joy1959 (Mar 25, 2016)

Hi all. Many thanks for comments - heading in right direction. Only coughing when I eat, sneeze, laugh, sleep ... Seriously - over the worst now I hope. Stuck to paracetamol, hot water/lemon, sugar free lincutus and a good old strepsil (sugar free) every now and again. Question - why does sugar free seem to cost slightly more when there's an ingredient less .............. The words barrel and over spring to mind!


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## Mark Parrott (Mar 25, 2016)

The same reason why gluten free is more expensive. You're getting less for your money.


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## @Fractis (Mar 27, 2016)

I've been in bed the last few days with a head full of snot and double digit BG numbers , so you have my sympathy

There doesn't seem to be much I can do when I am like this to manage BG. I do my best to stay away from anything carbs, keep lots of fluids in me and rest as much as possible.

Hope you are feeling better soon!


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## Northerner (Mar 28, 2016)

joy1959 said:


> Hi all. Many thanks for comments - heading in right direction. Only coughing when I eat, sneeze, laugh, sleep ... Seriously - over the worst now I hope. Stuck to paracetamol, hot water/lemon, sugar free lincutus and a good old strepsil (sugar free) every now and again. Question - why does sugar free seem to cost slightly more when there's an ingredient less .............. The words barrel and over spring to mind!


Good to hear you are on the mend Joy, I hope you are fully recovered very soon  

I've often thought the same about Low GI bread...

Down at the bakers, I’ve heard it’s been said,
There’s a good special offer on Low GI bread.
So I put on my coat and set off down the road
For something to lower my glycaemic load.

And there in the window in prominent view
Was a sign confirming what I’d been told was true:
‘Live your life healthy, for you’re a long time dead –
Come in and sample our Low GI bread!’

The devil inside me said ‘I wonder if they know?
They say ‘Low GI’, but what makes it so?’
So I questioned the counter girl, would she comply?
She looked rather puzzled, then gave this reply…

‘Well, the ‘Low’ means there’s less, and the ‘I’ means ‘Inside’,
But as for the ‘G’ I can’t really decide…
Could it be Garlic or Ginger or Goat?
Or (scraping the barrel!) a Gloucestershire stoat?’

‘Or Gherkins or Grapefruit, or maybe Goosefat?’
I suggested ‘Glycaemic?’ – ‘No, I don’t think it’s that –
Gammon? Or Gumbo? Or Guava? Or Gin?’
(She was beginning to wish that I hadn’t come in!)

Then a lady beside me said ‘Why would I pay more
For bread that has less of what went in before?’
That caused the girl’s listing of ‘G’ things to stop,
So we both turned round briskly and vacated the shop!


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## joy1959 (Mar 29, 2016)

Brill! But the laughing made me cough!! (Think I've now managed to pull a muscle in my back with all the coughing)
Thanks to all kind replies - much appreciated.
I'm sure a few decades (?) ago I would have shrugged off a cough/cold much quicker than this - This weekend I became strangely addicted to the sofa and the entire run of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.........


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## sheila kimber (Apr 5, 2016)

joy1959 said:


> Hi. Diagnosed about 18 months ago. Managed really well for about a year with just diet etc but then had a few months of varying sugar levels and feeling really rough. Now on Metformin with none of the nasty side effects thankfully. However, sore throat, nasty cough and congestion - have struggled to find medications to treat symptoms without affecting bool sugar levels. Also, do others agree that stress and lack of sleep can affect blood sugar levels?? Welcome advice from those of you who are managing better than me!,


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## Copepod (Apr 5, 2016)

Welcome to the forum Sheila Kimber. Please introduce yourself in Newbies section, if you'd like.


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## KookyCat (Apr 6, 2016)

Glad you're feeling better Joy, my theory is they charge more for sugar free so the indignation you feel distracts you from the manky taste


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