Hello all. I’ve been diagnosed Type II (diet, exercise(I’m trying…),
and Glucotrol XL) since last September. I’ve been lurking here for a
month or so. I wanted to say thank-you for all the help you’ve been.
Reading the advice and experiences here has helped me shorten the usual
denial phase and get me started in the right direction…
But now a question…
I’ve had strange reactions to the Glucotrol XL. My BG’s are still in the
130′s so I don’t think it’s hypo related. What happens when I take the
pills is my mental capacities slow down. It’s kind of hard to explain,
it’s like I have to concentrate extra hard just to get along. Some
examples: I’m a speed reader, and with the medication instead of being
able to scan a page, I have to force myself ro read every word to have
any comprehension. I play guitar with a small choir, it’s taking me more
than twice as long to learn new music and be able to follow the
conductor. My wife is getting frustrated as I ask the same question
multiple times in a short period of time. In a normal conversation I
find it hard to find the right words (my mind goes blank). When customers
at work come to town for design discussions I need to discontinue the
meds for a couple of days in order to do my job.
It’s kind of frustrating. These are not listed as common side effects of
Glucotrol. My doctor feels that it is from my body adjusting to the
medication. The effects are not as severe now as when I first started it
(tho I may just be getting used to compensating…)
Have any of you had similar experiences to oral medication? Could this
just be an adjustment from BG’s 350+ to 130′s?
Thanks for listening, I appreciate any advice you can offer.
Mike Type II Diet, Exercise, Glucotrol XL 5mg
______________________________________________________________________
Michael A. Reck McHugh Freeman
Project Leader 20975 Swenson Drive, Suite 400
r…@mfa.com Waukesha, WI 53186
(414)798-8600 FAX (414)798-5427
I had a bitch of a time for the first 6 months I was on Glucotrol…
Not the same problems you’re having, with lack of concentration,
confusion, and mental slowness, but there were a lot of times I just
didn’t FEEL right…
My BG’s were usually in the 120-170 range when I was tested at the Dr.’s
office, but nonetheless I’d get late afternoon blood sugar crashes, to
the point it be not only shaky, but shivering from hypoglycemia–yet, most
of the time, I was higher than I wanted to be.
It’s taken me a year to work up the nerve to monitor my BG 3
times a day.
We’re talking severe needle phobia here. But I have discovered that I DO
get hypoglycemic–just later in the day than my Dr. ever checked me. So ‘I
try to eat something every two hours, at least in the afternoon, and I’m
much more alert and energetic.
At times it’s really difficult, and I often forget to eat for hours at a
time, or just cannot drop what I’m doing to fix a snack, but I’ve made it
a priority; if I don’t let my eating schedule sort of run my life, I
really don’t feel well.
I’m not familiar with your exact profile fo side-effects, but it’s
possible you are having swings in BG that you or your Doctor are not
catching. Try changing the timing and frequency of meals, and see if
that helps.
DIANA DILLS
In a previous posting, Mike Reck (r…@stimpy.mfa.com) writes:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> it’s like I have to concentrate extra hard just to get along. Some
> examples: I’m a speed reader, and with the medication instead of being
> able to scan a page, I have to force myself ro read every word to have
> any comprehension. I play guitar with a small choir, it’s taking me more
> than twice as long to learn new music and be able to follow the
> conductor. My wife is getting frustrated as I ask the same question
> multiple times in a short period of time. In a normal conversation I
> find it hard to find the right words (my mind goes blank). When customers
> at work come to town for design discussions I need to discontinue the
> meds for a couple of days in order to do my job.
> It’s kind of frustrating. These are not listed as common side effects of
> Glucotrol. My doctor feels that it is from my body adjusting to the
> medication. The effects are not as severe now as when I first started it
> (tho I may just be getting used to compensating…)
> Have any of you had similar experiences to oral medication? Could this
> just be an adjustment from BG’s 350+ to 130′s?
Yes to both these questions. I had a similar problem with an oral
medication (glyburide) in first monthsof using it summer ’90. The same
problem occurs occasionally now. But now my meter readings are _not_ low.
I feel low but the meter readings do not show low. The endrocin. says
that I cam not "low". Low is what the meter shows.
I can treat the symptoms you desribe in yourself as though I were
low–by eating.
All of this has raised for me the question of whether elevated
blood sugar is a condtition for my optimal physiological functioning even
though it may not be consisten with maximal lifespan.
BUT it has also been my experience that rapid swings in BG levels
produce mental difficulties so DO HANG IN AND SEE HOW YOU ACCLIMATIZE to
lower BG levels.
When I started medication I was running 16/17 on arising. & I was
symptomatic as old phukke.
Even if I appear not to be able to bring my morning BGs down to
what the endrocin wants without unacceptable mental "side effects" I feel
so verymuch bette.