the gerri miracle vitameatavegamin for health
LOL!
sometimes this happens to me… I think its just that my body is working so hard to fight the bug. I mean… a coal burning heater needs more coal to burn right? So maybe your cells are really using the glucose to fight off the bug?
I am on antibiotics alot 
what i have noticed that they affect digestion in a way that sometimes I simply think that digestion does not take place complete. Many antibiotics cause the stomach to relax speeding digestion so normal food uptake is reduced the opposite of slower digestion.
Also for sinus issues the only thing that keeps me off antibiotics every single day is salt water sprays i,e, saline spray. Not the medicated just pure salt water. If you use them do not lay down for an hour afterworlds.
Be loved
Hey Gerri,
I had something similar before I was diagnosed - an antibiotic that caused hypo episodes (although I didn’t know that was what they were at the time or that I was diabetic). It was a sulfa drug called Bactrim for a slight UTI- turned out I was allergic too it (my face swelled up) but I had uncontrollable shaking, heart racing, some blurry vision while on it and I found out many weeks after the fact (and by that time i was diagnosed) that it can cause low blood sugar. Unfortunatley, it says nothing about it on the drug fact sheet of couse. I had antibiotics for UTIs before and never was allergic before so I guess I never had Bactrim before so didn’t know I was allergic to sulfa drugs prior to this. But the nurse knew I might be diabetic (that was when I found out I had sugar in my urine) and she still gave it too me -but based on the research I did this drug does not seem to be well documented in its effects on people - some doctor still make patients keep taking it even when they report ‘side effects’ that are actually allergic reactions or in many cases seem to cause symptoms that could be hypo episodes. I bet they never check anyones blood sugar. I eneded up in the ER and they switched me to Cipro but I had to wait for the Bactrim to leave my system - I felt so crappy until it was finally gone. Now, I know they were hypo episodes - I am surprised I made it through. I had no idea what they were - I thought it was part of my allergic reaction.
I really hate that drug and I think they should make it illegal as it is in other countries.l. It really messed me up and I have never felt the same since.
Anyhow, this website has has listes of drugs that might cause hyper or hypo episodes. Your antibiotic in on the list (scroll down to the bottom for the hypo list). So seems like this is common (or at least known).
http://www.dlife.com/diabetes/information/type-2/diabetes-treatment…
Even though you are happy with your low numbers. it is of course not a great idea for someone to stay on antibiotics long term. They mess up your body’s bacteria. I remember one antibiotics I took years ago was supposed to be for water in my ear did nothing but give the worst yeast infection I ever had. I started taking probiotics after I finished with the Cipro so I didn’t get a yeast infection.
Too bad they can’t figured out how to create a non-antibiotic treatment that does this for you like the antibiotic is doing now. 
Anyhow, for any sinus trouble, I always use a neti pot with sea salt water. It works wonders. I know it seems ridiuclous and stupid - it really works. I finally got mine back (since moving) and my nose has been dry and I have had a bit of post nasal drip and I can’t wait to use it. It gets rid of all of that. I was skeptical at first. But I was so surprised how well it works. My nose and throat felt cleare within using it after a few days.
Thanks so much for all the info, Kimberly!
I wouldn’t want to stay on antibiotics for any longer than needed. I put off taking any med for as long as possible because they usually make me feel worse. Yea, would be great if there was a non-antibiotic that could reduce insulin needs this much.
I have a neti pot. Love it! Feels great.
I’ve had a cold/sinus infection/respiratory infection for the last 3 weeks. My bgs have gone up 30-40 points on the average. I am only on metformin so when they are high there is not much I can do. I’ve been eating less because I’m not hungry but that seems to make it worse, since then I get liver dumps. It’s beginnig to clear up now and I’m seeing numbers come down a little but not where they were 3 weeks ago.
Sorry, Jeannie. Know how you feel because I’m on day 16 or 17 & still am sick. Glad yours is going away. Can’t say that the antibiotics have helped much, other than causing lows.
Hope you’re feeling all better soon!
Domo…you made me smile today. Thanks, needed that! You are hilarious.
Sarah,
That’s a possibility. I’ve always had highs when sick before.
Gamma globulin is a blood product, so the downside would be if it wasn’t carefully screened for HIV, Hepatitis etc.
How are you doing, Gerri…still maintaining great numbers?
yeah!! sign me up!!!
Sorry to hear you’ve been under the weather - but what a fascinating turn of events, huh?
It’s been interesting, but isn’t everything about diabetes:)
The lows have been scary.
Still on antibiotics. Not great numbers. No highs at all, but some really low lows:) Today’s the last day of pills, so I’m curious what residual effect, if any, there may be. Bet I’ll be sky high tomorrow.
Thanks for asking!
Really! Let’s hope all blood is being ultra carefully screened.
I apologize in advance for both scientific jargon and length, but hey! Its SCIENCE. I read a lot of scientific journals about diabetes-related issues, and your discussion caught my attention b/c i have heard of it before… in this case, it affects T1s and T2s alike!
So you know, this is a somewhat less popular antibiotic, but remember that they ALL have very similar chemistry, so there is certainly experimental evidence to support your unfortunate experience. But hey, like they say, have some CAKE!
Several articles have associated the administration of fluoroquinolones, especially gatifloxacin, with alterations in glucose metabolism.1 However, contrary to other quinolones, there are no randomized controlled trials assessing the incidence of hypoglycemia with levofloxacin. Levofloxacin has been previously reported to cause hypoglycemia in 7 patients. In 4 of these instances, delays in recognizing the etiology of the hypoglycemia led to unfortunate consequences .
The persistent and severe hypoglycemia over 6 days, the lack of response to a dextrose infusion despite the fact that the patient was on steroids, and the elevated serum insulin levels despite low blood sugar values imply a different mechanism for hypoglycemia other than a combination of risk factors such as renal failure, hepatic dysfunction, and therapy with glucose-lowering medications. Application of the Naranjo adverse drug reaction probability scale to this case determined that the hypoglycemia was possibly due to levofloxacin.
The inappropriately uninhibited levels of insulin in our case were consistent with an effect of levofloxacin on beta-cell function and data from animal studies that have demonstrated that fluoroquinolones directly stimulate insulin secretion from pancreatic B-cells.3
Despite the frequent use of levofloxacin, awareness about the potential hypoglycemic effect is poor. In a recent survey, 80.4% of physicians were unaware that levofloxacin could cause hypoglycemia.1 We describe the eighth case of hypoglycemia associated with levofloxacin. Interestingly, the diabetic patient in our case had severe and persistent hypoglycemia despite the fact that she also was receiving a high dose of corticosteroids for treatment of bronchitis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published case of such severe and persistent hypoglycemia caused by levofloxacin in a diabetic patient being treated with a combination of high dose of corticosteroids and continuous infusion of intravenous dextrose.
In conclusion, hypoglycemia associated with the use of levofloxacin is an uncommon occurrence but can be very persistent and severe and often responds only to discontinuation of levofloxacin. Increased awareness can prevent significant mortality and morbidity associated with this rare but life-threatening side effect of this widely used antibiotic.
It certainly looks like this class of antibiotic could cause this sort of reaction. But, I doubt Gerri took these. Gatifloxacin has gone off the market (http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/PreventiveCare/3212) and this older class of antibiotics had been black boxed because of this effect. But this does raise the possibility that maybe that Gerri has reacted to the antibiotic she took even though it is may not be listed as a known side effect.
Really fascinating. I still wonder about Gerri’s musing on possibilities for therapy in the future. I don’t have a scientific brain - but this sure makes me wonder. I wasn’t clear from the above - did it actually stimulate beta cells?
Does continue to make me wonder what the biochemical reaction is in antibiotics that causes hypoglycemia. If they cause greater insulin sensitivity, that would hold hope for T2s. I’ve had chronic lows since taking them. Finished the last of the antibiotics last night, so I’ll know soon how long this effect lasts.
From the article: “A study reported in the March 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found that patients in their 70s treated with Tequin were four times more likely to develop hypoglycemia and 17 times more likely to be hospitalized for hyperglycemia than similar patients treated with Biaxin (clarithromycin) or Zithromax (azithromycin).”
So, it seems that some antibiotics can go either way regarding BG effects. I was on clarithromycin.