HealthInfo Canterbury
Managing diabetes when you are sick
If you are sick, you may need to change your normal diabetes routine.
When you are unwell, your body releases hormones that can increase your blood glucose (sugar) levels. Diabetes tablets can also have unwanted side effects when you are sick.
If you take:
- metformin and get very sick, especially with vomiting and diarrhoea, stop taking your tablets and talk to your doctor
- sulphonylureas (glipizide, glibenclamide) and get very sick, stop taking your tablets and talk to your doctor
- insulin, you will need to test your blood glucose levels more often. You may need to adjust your usual dosage. For more information, see our page about managing insulin when you are sick.
Self-care when you are sick
If you are unwell:
- drink plenty of fluids to avoid getting dehydrated
- make sure you still eat well
- if you have testing strips, check your blood sugar more often (every 2 hours if you take insulin).
Important
See your doctor urgently if:
- you are vomiting a lot or constantly
- you can't keep your blood sugar levels above 4 mmol/l
- your blood sugar levels remain high
- you have type 1 diabetes and your blood sugar levels remain above 15 mmol/l after two extra doses of rapid-acting insulin (if you have been prescribed it), or if ketones are increasing or stay high
- you get worse or develop new symptoms.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Page created July 2019. Last updated December 2019.
Review key: HIDIA-21832
