Feel Helplesss sometimes...

[fighter71]

Hi,

Recently, I had cough-cold followed by headache. I realized that I cann't use over the counter medicines now as I am diabetic. Most cough syrups, headache medicines and even eye drops seem to mention, "not good for diabetics". I felt helpless for a while. Is it true that all diabetics have a totally different set of over the counter medicines which should only be taken after consulting the Doc. ?

Does anyone knows of a list of over the counter medicines for all the above that can be used without any harm ?

:ahhhhh:

[camjen1]

I have gotten a few diabetic over-the-counter medicines but I feel they don't work as good. I just decided to take the consequences and take the stuff that is actually going to work. I very rarely see a spike in my BS and if I do I correct it. That's all! Everything these days has warnings about diabetes and I wouldn't be surprised if in the future diabetic supplies will also have the label.:laugh:

**Edit** I just now realized you are a T2 so I see now how it is much harder to decide as alot of T2's don't have the luxury of correcting whenever they want.

[Harold]

Some of the stuff that says not for diabetics have the label for CYA. It maybe for nothing more than the sugar coating on the pills or flavoring to make it more palatable. About the only thing you can do is try them and test to see what the effect is. You will probably be suprised how many have no affect. Be sure to check the do not take with these medications list before you try them.

[grace girl]

You should ask your doctor. There are a lot of otc med's that you can take. I hesitate to list any because sometimes it's just an individual thing. I got a list from my doc.

[kgm0612]

I take all OTC cough/cold/flu medications in pill form without any problems. I do, however, buy the clear, sugar-free Robitussin cough medicine.

I would definately check with either your doctor or your pharmacist.

Karen

[Jaclyn]

my dr told me to take Coricidin for cough-cold. worked great too the same day.

[fighter71]

Thanks all for the replies.

I used the normal Robitussin cough syrup. Thanks kgm0612 for letting me know that a clear, sugar-free version exists for the same.

Grace_girl, it would be great if you could share your list with us, specially the ones you feel were very efffective.

Any other suggestions are also welcome.

[PeterL]

I was told that it is because many of these OTC drugs make you drowsy, and the concern is about not noticing symptoms of a hypo. Many also have warnings of drowsyness and warn you to be careful operating machinary and driving.

[rzrbks]

Jaclyn

my dr told me to take Coricidin for cough-cold. worked great too the same day.

me too, that'sa de only OTC he OKed.

I keep sugar-free cough syrup on hand and I use throat spray when needed.

[Diana]

I work in a pharmacy and I take anything and everything for colds, coughs flus and all the rest. There are a couple of reasons why so many over the counter medicines have warnings about using them with diabetes. So one issue may be sugar content. In my opinion this is not normally a big deal. A normal dose of cough medicine may be around 10 to 20ml, which even if it was almost 100% sugar isnt really all that enormous when you think about it. Of course, I am aware that I am posting in the T2 forum here, where I have T1 and can bolus for extra carb consumption. Your mileage may vary, etc etc. But if its sugar you are worried about, there are almost always sugar free versions available. Or just take a tablet form if one is available.

So, the second factor is that some ingrediants like nasal decongestants (pseudoephedrine, etc) can raise or lower your blood sugar, or cause you to feel as though you blood sugar is raised or lowered, when in fact it is not. Again, for me, this is not an issue - the way I look at it, a slice of bread can raise my sugar, a walk around the park can lower it, and I can bloody well test to be sure. Again, your milage may vary, this is coming from the perspective of a T1, etc etc. Though be warned- the ' low' feeling that you can sometimes experience can be pretty unsettling.

Ok, so other factors to take into account with over the counter meds, that may be more relevant to T2. Some over the counter meds dont go well with prescription meds. I'm not going to try to say what doesnt go with what here, as I'm not a pharmacist, but each medication that you are on, you should educate yourself about, and heres a tip; ask your doctor if there is anything you cant take while on this medication. Dont ask what you can, ask what you cant. Ask for drug names, not brand names. Get the doc to write them down, and take the list into the pharmacy with you, and show the assistant. Just let her/him know that you cant have anything with those particular ingrediants in it.There may well be nothing that will actually cause a problem, in which case go for your life. In my case, all I take is insulin. Insulin itself does not have any contraindications for OTC meds, you just have to be careful about those raising and lowering effects I mentioned.

The other very important thing- many many over the counter meds for colds and coughs are no good at all if you have high blood pressure, heart problems, or take certain types of antidepressants. So, if you have any of these, again, talk to doc. Not that any of these are diabetes specific, but a lot of the time in the pharmacy when a person has T2, they also have a few other health conditions to take into account.

Apart from that, there are very little diabetes specific reasons I can think of that would stop you from taking anything on a pharmacy shelf. Some cold and flu meds make you drowsy, but they do exactly the same to the rest of the population. If you are prone to not waking up for lows, common sense would indicate that you shouldnt take these.

And heres a helpful way of getting the right medicine for your cold or flu. Have a think about this before you go in. What exactly are your symptoms? Be specific. A runny or blocked nose? sore throat? watery eyes? sneezing? chesty cough? dry cough? headache? general aches and pains? Different medicines are made for different purposes. A chesty cough mixture will do squat for a dry cough. Dont just take a medicine because someone said it was suitable for people with diabetes, take it because its what you need! Make good use of the assistants in the pharmacy, you would probably be suprised at what they know. But know before you go in there if there is anything you should not take because of your particular medications. If you tell the assistant that you have diabetes and take medicines x, y and z on weekends, you will be referred to the pharmacist, who will probably tell you to go and talk to your doc about it. Talk to the doc first and go in there informed. Yes, I know the pharmacist is qualified to say what you can and cannot take with various meds, but they are often a bit reserved about giving all kinds of stuff to people with diabetes without a docs advice.

Ok, one last your milage may vary, and do remember that I am speaking from the perspective of a healthy person with diabetes. If you have any other health conditions, always check check check with your docs. This includes eye probs, circulation probs, and all that fun. Other than that, happy shopping.

Sorry for the huge post, but its a subject I'm really interested in. I've worked in a pharmacy as an assistant for almost 6 years and there is probably nothing on the (Australian) market for colds, coughs and flus that I havent used. You should see my first aid kit!
=)

[fighter71]

Diana,

Thanks for the huge explanatory post. It would be of great help.