ugh sucks. i'm sorry. i haven't been sick since being diagnosed (just last month) but what i generally do is drink copious amounts of water, hot tea, clear fluids and try to flush it out. also, rest as much as possible.

I'm not 100% confident in the flu shot, so I've never had one. Do you best to avoid getting a cold/flu. Wash your hands like crazy like mrron2u says. Don't drink Nyquil, way too much sugar. They have sugar free cough drops and sugar free cough syrup. Drinks LOTS of fluids. Get plenty of rest!!

http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/cold-flu-treatments-diabetes

My kids have passed on their colds to me, and last night I took a dose of Nyquil and went to bed (to watch The Walking Dead again) and rest. I spoke to my Dad, who has diabetes as well, and he told me that Nyquil will spike my sugar and to speak with the DE about which drugs to take, Sure enough, my GL was 247 this morning.

So-- what do you use when you are sick? I'm dying here.

My doctor said it's ok for me to Mucinex ... the plain kind .... that loosens mucous when I have a cold. I also use saline solution (warm water and 1/2 tsp salt) as a gargle. For stuffy sinus, I use a Nettie pot. Drink plenty of hot teas and warm broths. I also get a lot of benefit from taking a shower ... all that steaminess really helps me feel better. Vicks on my feet helps a lot, as well as just a very light smear on the tip of my nose (like, after I 've rubbed some on my chest). And ... Sleep. .... and this sounds really funny, but you know when you get that awful pain up your nostrils when you breathe in ... well, I found shielding my nose with a paper tissue really helps as my breath warms the air before it goes up the nose. (both the vicks on the the outside of the nose and the tissue are tricks my dad used to use. He'd actually let his glasses secure the tissue over his nose so he didn't have to hold it in place. ... looked weird but it worked.

I do believe there is a cold syrup that is for diabetics. I would go to wal-mart and see...they normally have a lot.

Walgreens, Kroger, Walmart and other chain pharmacies that I often turn to, offer alcohol/sugar free Diabetic Tussin products for use towards nasal and decongestant relief.

http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/diabetic-tussin-cough-suppressant-&-expectorant-dm-maximum-strength-liquid/ID=prod6009752-product

That's great information, thank you! I was wondering the same thing, as well as about shots/meds that should affect blood sugar. For instance, I often have to take an anti-pain shot in the back or shoulders, which I understand raises sugar. In addition, I am currently on a, um, "regularity" medicine :embarassed: that contains sucrose, and makes me wait before taking other drugs (read: my blood sugar controller pill), or wait until a while after taking them. What's a person supposed to do in this situation, knowing that doctors are supposed to know about those interactions? I hate having to wait until late night/early morning to take something, or skip it if I woke up/fell asleep too late.
Maybe I've missed a common-sense point somewhere?

i dont understand your post or its relativity to OPs question.
have i missed a question somewhere?

That's great information, thank you! I was wondering the same thing, as well as about shots/meds that should affect blood sugar. For instance, I often have to take an anti-pain shot in the back or shoulders, which I understand raises sugar. In addition, I am currently on a, um, "regularity" medicine :embarassed: that contains sucrose, and makes me wait before taking other drugs (read: my blood sugar controller pill), or wait until a while after taking them. What's a person supposed to do in this situation, knowing that doctors are supposed to know about those interactions? I hate having to wait until late night/early morning to take something, or skip it if I woke up/fell asleep too late.
Maybe I've missed a common-sense point somewhere?

i dont understand your post or its relativity to OPs question.
have i missed a question somewhere?

Sorry. I was just saying that I understand OP's pain regarding sugar in medicines and had the same questions. I, too, wonder what a poor girl's supposed to do in that situation. I feel like doctors/pharmacy teams should know about those dangers before offering those meds.
Sorry for the confusion!

It's about trends.
If you've got good control otherwise, the occasional medication that raises you, isn't usually much of a problem.

Is it acceptable?...that's personal...and for me, NO

It makes me cranky if I have to do something that jacks up my BG, especially when I expend so much energy trying to keep it low & on an even keel.

I work to find alternatives. Nothing I can do about shark week though.
That usually jacks me up, but since I cut carbs down to less than 20g (net) per day, it's not only stable, but low

@ zc: Which meds are you on that jacks up your BG?...and how jacked up does it get?

OP: I'd stick with tablets or caplets, increasing Vit C can be a good thing too, hope you feel better :flowerforyou:

That's great information, thank you! I was wondering the same thing, as well as about shots/meds that should affect blood sugar. For instance, I often have to take an anti-pain shot in the back or shoulders, which I understand raises sugar. In addition, I am currently on a, um, "regularity" medicine :embarassed: that contains sucrose, and makes me wait before taking other drugs (read: my blood sugar controller pill), or wait until a while after taking them. What's a person supposed to do in this situation, knowing that doctors are supposed to know about those interactions? I hate having to wait until late night/early morning to take something, or skip it if I woke up/fell asleep too late.
Maybe I've missed a common-sense point somewhere?

i dont understand your post or its relativity to OPs question.
have i missed a question somewhere?

Sorry. I was just saying that I understand OP's pain regarding sugar in medicines and had the same questions. I, too, wonder what a poor girl's supposed to do in that situation. I feel like doctors/pharmacy teams should know about those dangers before offering those meds.
Sorry for the confusion!

It's about trends.
If you've got good control otherwise, the occasional medication that raises you, isn't usually much of a problem.

Is it acceptable?...that's personal...and for me, NO

It makes me cranky if I have to do something that jacks up my BG, especially when I expend so much energy trying to keep it low & on an even keel.

I work to find alternatives. Nothing I can do about shark week though.
That usually jacks me up, but since I cut carbs down to less than 20g (net) per day, it's not only stable, but low

@ zc: Which meds are you on that jacks up your BG?...and how jacked up does it get?

OP: I'd stick with tablets or caplets, increasing Vit C can be a good thing too, hope you feel better :flowerforyou:

As I mentioned, my once-in-a-while pain shot can get me, and the cholestyramine (sp?) that I'm using for "regularity":sad: :embarassed: says it contains glucose. I don't know how much BG I get from them, since I'm afraid of the pain that comes w/ testing but drs. do say that they affect sugar.

Gah.
If you don't test, there's no way to know.
I can tell you this for sure though, without the temporary pain of a needle stick as needed through out the day to keep my BG's on track, I'd have a great deal of MORE painful things to endure in my future.
Guaranteed.

tsazani wrote: »

My advise is to keep your normal procedures. Your BS will be higher while sick. If you use fast acting insulin. Cover appropriately.

Yep! Good advice. This is exactly what I do when sick.
Other than that, some pill forms are better for diabetics (i.e. MucinexDM since it has a cough suppressant rather than a cough syrup equivalent that has sugar).