Dear doctor: I carried out medical tests and I was found to be a diabetic with sugar levels of 121mg/dl. I went to a pharmacist friend who gave me tablets. But every time I take them I sweat, get dizzy, my heart races and I feel lifeless. Are the drugs causing me this trouble?
—Farouk
Dear Farouk: Diabetes is a condition of having high blood sugar in one’s blood. When a person is found to have blood glucose level of 126 mg/dl or greater on two separate occasions, then he will be said to have diabetes. In general, people who have blood sugar of 100-125 mg/dl usually have no symptoms of diabetes but are at risk of developing diabetes and have to minimise fats and increase physical activity to avoid or delay getting diabetic. Most prone to this disease are the obese, physically inactive, have a family history of diabetes, are Blacks, women who have given birth to babies of 4kg or higher, have high blood pressure or high blood fat. These people require regular monitoring of blood sugar. At 121mg/dl, you needed another fasting blood test instead of drugs.
If you are given drugs by a pharmacist without a doctor’s prescription, it is self-prescription which may be dangerous to your health. It is likely that the drugs you were given are causing your blood sugar to be low which is dangerous and can cause death in minutes because the brain only uses sugar for the vast energy needs.
In the meantime, stop taking the drugs and visit a doctor. Embark on physical exercise while minimising sugar and fat intake.
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