Diabetes Talking

Question:

Does anyone know if using Glucotrol XL causes blurred vision?  I have diabetes Type 2 and have been using Glucotrol XL every day.  Now my vision is blurred but I do not know if this is caused by Glucotrol. Thank you for you kind advice.  Lisy

Get your doctor to check your eye grounds ASAP – if not sooner. Good luck. d

Response:

Thank you, Julie .  Lisy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Does anyone know if using Glucotrol XL causes blurred vision?  I have diabetes Type 2 and have been using Glucotrol XL every day.  Now my vision is blurred but I do not know if this is caused by Glucotrol. Thank you for you kind advice.  Lisy Unstable blood sugar is what causes blurred vision.  Get it under control and you’ll see better.  – Type 2 http://www.redshift.com/~juliebove/

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Does anyone know if using Glucotrol XL causes blurred vision?  I have diabetes Type 2 and have been using Glucotrol XL every day.  Now my vision is blurred but I do not know if this is caused by Glucotrol. Thank you for you kind advice.  Lisy

Indirectly it may. As it brings down the BG levels, it may take longer for them to come down in the eye, which results in osmotic pressure being applied to the eye (water is drawn into the eyeball because the sugar concentration is higher inside), which changes the shape of the eye. Most  T2 diabetic ssee fairly significant changes in vision in the first several weeks after they get BG’s under control. Eventually the BG levels in the eye go back to matching the blood levels, and the osmotic pressure goes away, and the eyeball returns to the original shape.

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Gee… and I was hoping for a better shape… <G Ben E. Brady Brady & Associates, LLC www.firewallreporting.com

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Does anyone know if using Glucotrol XL causes blurred vision?  I have diabetes Type 2 and have been using Glucotrol XL every day.  Now my vision is blurred but I do not know if this is caused by Glucotrol. Thank you for you kind advice.  Lisy Indirectly it may. As it brings down the BG levels, it may take longer for them to come down in the eye, which results in osmotic pressure being applied to the eye (water is drawn into the eyeball because the sugar concentration is higher inside), which changes the shape of the eye. Most  T2 diabetic ssee fairly significant changes in vision in the first several weeks after they get BG’s under control. Eventually the BG levels in the eye go back to matching the blood levels, and the osmotic pressure goes away, and the eyeball returns to the original shape.

Response:

Thank you for your kind reply.  In December 2000, before taking medications, my tests measures around 220.  Since then, I have been taking Glucotrol and Glucophage everyday and now my tests are around 120-140.  Lisy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Does anyone know if using Glucotrol XL causes blurred vision?  I have diabetes Type 2 and have been using Glucotrol XL every day.  Now my vision is blurred but I do not know if this is caused by Glucotrol. Thank you for you kind advice.  Lisy What are your bg’s now and before? getting in control often blurs your vision for a while as your eyes return to normal from being bathed in high glucose. Give us some of your numbers from before and now and a better  idea can be given.. How often do you test? " The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do"

Response:

Does anyone know if using Glucotrol XL causes blurred vision?  I have diabetes Type 2 and have been using Glucotrol XL every day.  Now my vision is blurred but I do not know if this is caused by Glucotrol. Thank you for you kind advice.  Lisy

Unstable blood sugar is what causes blurred vision.  Get it under control and you’ll see better.  – Type 2 http://www.redshift.com/~juliebove/

Response:

Does anyone know if using Glucotrol XL causes blurred vision?  I have diabetes Type 2 and have been using Glucotrol XL every day.  Now my vision is blurred but I do not know if this is caused by Glucotrol. Thank you for you kind advice.  Lisy

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Does anyone know if using Glucotrol XL causes blurred vision?  I have diabetes Type 2 and have been using Glucotrol XL every day.  Now my vision is blurred but I do not know if this is caused by Glucotrol. Thank you for you kind advice.  Lisy

What are your bg’s now and before? getting in control often blurs your vision for a while as your eyes return to normal from being bathed in high glucose. Give us some of your numbers from before and now and a better  idea can be given.. How often do you test? " The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do"

Response:

I’m on Glucotrol XL. But I was wondering? How long does the meds stay in your system. I was sick last week and wasn’t really eating so my doctor said stop the pill until I start eating again and don’t worry if my levels go to 200. I was taking in the correct carbs drinking things like Gatorade ( I was dehydrated) I stopped for 4 days and on the fourth day at dinner I was bad. I had a steak, Baked potato plain, corn, sugar free apple pie, and 2 scoops of reg Ice cream. Before dinner I was 105. 1 1/2 hours later I was 137. Sounds too low to me. Thanks for reading, Gordon

Response:

I’m on Glucotrol XL. But I was wondering? How long does the meds stay in your system. I was sick last week and wasn’t really eating so my doctor said stop the pill until I start eating again and don’t worry if my levels go to 200. I was taking in the correct carbs drinking things like Gatorade ( I was dehydrated) I stopped for 4 days and on the fourth day at dinner I was bad. I had a steak, Baked potato plain, corn, sugar free apple pie, and 2 scoops of reg Ice cream. Before dinner I was 105. 1 1/2 hours later I was 137. Sounds too low to me.

I was taken off XL after a persistant low, so I’m judging by my bodies reaction…. The package insert says it lasts 12-16 hours.  I’m trying to do a statistical process control chart based on my fasting bGs – and with trying to do diet and exercise, I really tried to keep about the same regimn I was on on the XL.  From my graphs, it looks like it took about 11 days for the effects to clear the system. I.e I was averaging fasting of 97ish.  First 11 days off meds averaged 96.6.  Average since then is about 110-112 (I haven’t put the results of my week in France into the chart yet). FWIW and YMMV —–Burton No time spent with a Cat in your lap is ever truly wasted! Remove the anti-spam cat to e-mail me…

Response:

I’m on Glucotrol XL. But I was wondering? How long does the meds stay in your system. I was sick last week and wasn’t really eating so my doctor said stop the pill until I start eating again and don’t worry if my levels go to 200. I was taking in the correct carbs drinking things like Gatorade ( I was dehydrated) I stopped for 4 days and on the fourth day at dinner I was bad. I had a steak, Baked potato plain, corn, sugar free apple pie, and 2 scoops of reg Ice cream. Before dinner I was 105. 1 1/2 hours later I was 137. Sounds too low to me. Thanks for reading, Gordon

I don’t remember for sure what Glucotrol is, but I belive it’s glipizide.  Last summer I had to go off my oral med’s for a time to see if they were the cause of my stomach pains.  It turned out, after 3 weeks off my med’s that I had a stomach ulcer which was causing my pain.  It also turned out that my BG’s were only up about 10% after the three-week interruption in my oral med regimen.   One reason, apparently, is that the body adjusts to the diet (which didn’t change) and the med’s effect the changes over time, but don’t immediately send the BG’s up because the body hasn’t stored sugars in the same way as before.  I’m on glipizide and metform, of which the latter was added after the three-week interruption.  Since I’d already lost a fair amount of weight since starting on the oral med’s, the effect of discontinuing my med’s was that the system could store the glucose as it had in the distant past, as showed up after I started the med’s again. Once I was on the med’s again, the BG’s dropped to their previous levels.  They had never been outside the "normal" range anyway, as it appears yours aren’t either. In short, a 3-week interruption allowed about a 10% increase in overall averages, but those went away in about two weeks after getting back on the med’s.  That’s not enough to worry about.

Response:

What research are people paraphrasing when they say "if you stay over 150 for more than 4 hours…"? I’d like to have a peek at it.

I hear that all the time in here too. And others say "over 180 for four or more hours." I’d sure like to see some scientific corroboration of any such statements. AFAIK, the only real thing we have to go on with regard to complications is the DCCT. I think people are just extrapolating opinions from the DCCT research. Or someone makes a half-guess statement in here, and several others pick up on it and repeat it, and next thing you know we’re all believing it is fact. It does make sense, but I still want to see some proof if there is any. NOTICE: The e-mail address is deliberately incorrect. Make the ISP read "spiritone.com" by adding an "e."

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This may give a few clues: http://www.diabetes.org/publications/spectrum/96v9n01/23.htm From Research to Practice/Introduction Introduction  –  Charles M. Clark, Jr., MD, Guest Editor <snip These data add substantially to the proposition that the level of hyperglycemia, per se, predicts the development of microvascular disease in all patient groups. The groups studied were younger patients on insulin, primarily with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM); older patients on insulin, primarily with NIDDM; and older patients not on insulin, all with NIDDM. In all outcomes measured, there was a strong correlation between microvascular complications and glycated hemoglobin. Such data sustain the proposition that there is no such thing as "mild diabetes" and that in NIDDM, as in IDDM, microvascular complications are a function of chronic hyperglycemia. Until recently, there were few studies relating the incidence of macrovascular disease to diabetes control. This has been partially corrected by the Scandinavian studies of Kuusisto and associates. The Finnish study of elderly patients is summarized in the commentary by Dr. William Duckworth and Dr. Ward Chambers (p. 37).In this study, HbA1c was a powerful predictor of both coronary events and coronary deaths. The data are striking, with the mean odds ratios in women with NIDDM versus nondiabetic individuals being 11.7 for death and 4.7 for nonfatal myocardial infarction. Similar data for men were 0.43 and 1.4, respectively. Only HbA1c and duration of diabetes were significant predictors; the increased risk was seen at an HbA1c above 7%. There was also observed a correlation between type of treatment and the incidence of events, with diet-treated patients having the lowest incidence, insulin-treated the highest, and oral-agent-treated being intermediate. Perhaps the most striking finding in these elderly patients was the lack of significance in predicting coronary events of the traditional risk factors of smoking, excess weight, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. As Duckworth and Chambers point out, it is not that these risk factors should be ignored, but rather that increased emphasis of glycemic control is necessary. <snip Susie "The rule is perfect: In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane." ~ Mark Twain

Response:

I’m on Glucotrol XL. But I was wondering? How long does the meds stay in your system. I was sick last week and wasn’t really eating so my doctor said stop the pill until I start eating again and don’t worry if my levels go to 200. I was taking in the correct carbs drinking things like Gatorade ( I was dehydrated) I stopped for 4 days and on the fourth day at dinner I was bad. I had a steak, Baked potato plain, corn, sugar free apple pie, and 2 scoops of reg Ice cream. Before dinner I was 105. 1 1/2 hours later I was 137. Sounds too low to me.

If you want to know how long the Glucotrol lasts, get a bunch of data. Record how long since you had your last pill with each reading. Then, when you have a bunch of that data, do a graph of BG vs time since last pill. You may need to use curve fitting to see the trend, but what you are looking for is a curve of BG that goes down, stays down a while and then gradually comes back up. When it’s pretty much back up to your starting level is about how long your body cycles the medication. Note that the graph above can be thrown off by your daily BG cycling. So, if you can, vary the time you take your pills while accumulating the data. Same dose over 24 hours, of course. Probably what you are going to find is that it’s pretty much done within 12 hours. That’s a good reason for taking a split dose to spread it out. And, dose timing should be related to your 24 hour cycle for best effect. Anyway, there’s some food for thought. Walt

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This web page (provided to me by a helpful OtterCritter), should shed some light: http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/glipxl.htm David S. Cargo

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I keep running across rather resolute pronouncements on m.h.d. that a bg in excess of ‘X’ for over 4 hours leads to damage, complications, etc. When I inquired as to what medical research is being used as a basis for this information, I was told to read thru previous messages as it had been posted many times. This is what I found when searching DejaNews under a number of keyword term combinations: I think the basic idea is that if you stay over 150 for more than four hours you’re doing damage to your body.

Told to search previous messages for a cite. Keep your blood sugar below 180 as much as possible, as a sustained BG of 180 in excess of 4 hours leads to complications.

No cite. My doctor told me there have been studies that indicate the BG above 130 for +4 hours can cause trouble. I’ll ask her for a cite.

Didn’t find the cite. (Incremental damage begins when BG is out of control for 4+ hours.)

No cite. I honestly don’t know if there’s any truth to these statements or not, but until someone can offer me some cites to solid medical research to build an opinion about it, I will continue to ask questions regarding the source of this information. Anyone got any solid cites or references I can look up to find something that would substantiate any of the above statements? I’m all ears (or eyes Robin

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What research are people paraphrasing when they say "if you stay over 150 for more than 4 hours…"? I’d like to have a peak at it.

Scroll through the whole ‘avoiding complications’ series it was posted several times. Beanie Type 1 Diag 10/98  (Humulin H and NPH)

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I think the main question was how long does the medication stay in your system after you stop taking it? I guess what I was saying was that after 4 days of not taking meds they should have been out of my system. Then eating what I did with no meds my #’s should have been much higher than they were. I’m still in a denial stage and seeking some answers. Hoping someone will tell me I’m not what they say I am. Thanks, Gordon

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I think the main question was how long does the medication stay in your system after you stop taking it?

I can’t tell from reading the product literature, Gordon. It looks as if it’s most effective within 24 hours after having been taken, but there might be a residual effect beyond then. I guess what I was saying was that after 4 days of not taking meds they should have been out of my system. Then eating what I did with no meds my #’s should have been much higher than they were. I’m still in a denial stage and seeking some answers. Hoping someone will tell me I’m not what they say I am.

People staring at pixels on a screen are not exactly in the best position to make that judgement. We (or I) don’t know what data your doctor used as a basis for diagnosis; what your daily bg readings have looked like from diagnosis up until now; what effects your weight loss have had on your sensitivity to insulin; etc. Not all T2 diabetics require meds and can do a fine job thru diet and exercise. This is more often true for those whose bgs stabilize without meds rather than a blatant misdiagnosis. Until you’ve had a thorough medical consultation and/or sought out a second opinion, it would probably be a wise idea for you to continue to keep an eye on what you’re eating and monitor your bgs accordingly. Wishing you a healthy and prosperous ‘99! Robin

Response:

I’m on Glucotrol XL. But I was wondering? How long does the meds stay in your system. I was sick last week and wasn’t really eating so my doctor said stop the pill until I start eating again and don’t worry if my levels go to 200. I was taking in the correct carbs drinking things like Gatorade ( I was dehydrated) I stopped for 4 days and on the fourth day at dinner I was bad. I had a steak, Baked potato plain, corn, sugar free apple pie, and 2 scoops of reg Ice cream. Before dinner I was 105. 1 1/2 hours later I was 137. Sounds too low to me.

105 and 137 are good numbers….not too low at all.  200 is bad.  I think the basic idea is that if you stay over 150 for more than four hours you’re doing damage to your body. Beanie Type 1 Diag 10/98  (Humulin H and NPH)

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Bean     I think he felt the second reading was too low based on what he ate for dinner and I tend to agree with him. I’ve said it once already in another post if you think the reading is wrong use a test solution and test the meter if the meter is ok then test yourself again and see if it has changed. Mike Norris Jr.

Response:

I’m on Glucotrol XL. But I was wondering? How long does the meds stay in your system. I was sick last week and wasn’t really eating so my doctor said stop the pill until I start eating again and don’t worry if my levels go to 200. I was taking in the correct carbs drinking things like Gatorade ( I was dehydrated) I stopped for 4 days and on the fourth day at dinner I was bad. I had a steak, Baked potato plain, corn, sugar free apple pie, and 2 scoops of reg Ice cream. Before dinner I was 105. 1 1/2 hours later I was 137. Sounds too low to me. 105 and 137 are good numbers….not too low at all.  200 is bad.  I think the basic idea is that if you stay over 150 for more than four hours you’re doing damage to your body.

Sick day numbers are generally much more flexible than what one would strive for when feeling well. The primary goal for those on insulin and sulfonylureas is to not go hypo, which can be a challenge on a normal regimen if you’re dehydrated, have no appetite, can’t hold down food, etc. I certainly wouldn’t feel guilty about going to 200 for a day or two if I was flat out in bed with the flu or illness. What research are people paraphrasing when they say "if you stay over 150 for more than 4 hours…"? I’d like to have a peak at it. Robin

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