My fiance has been having type II diabetes, and his madication has
changed from one glucotole in the morning and one glucophage in the
evening to taking 2 glucophage, one in the morning and one in the
evening. Then he is experiencing SICKLY SWEET taste on his lips and
mouth. He says he smells like Anti-freeze for the car. What is this
symptom?

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Request for Question Clarification by aceresearcher-ga on 09 Nov 2002 07:31 PST

kayolawrence,

If your fiance is experiencing any problems WHATSOEVER, he needs to go
back to his doctor. He should NOT try adjusting his medication dosage
himself. If he is reluctant to go to the doctor, I imagine you can
persuade him by telling him that you love him, and that you want to
keep him around for a VERY long time.

Good luck and best wishes to you and your fiance,

aceresearcher

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Request for Question Clarification by mcfly-ga on 09 Nov 2002 07:47 PST

Kayolawrence,

Apologies for not making clear in my previous comment that I was not
recommending altering your fiance's medication.  I 100% concur with
aceresearcher's opinion above.

mcfly

Hello kayolawrence,

The first order of business is, as acresearcher and mcfly have
suggested, is get your fiancé to a competent medical doctor. The
doctor will test, evaluste and adjust  your fiance’s medication as
needed. The physician will also recommend diet and exercise and
regular meals with 2-3 small high-protein snacks a day to further
control his diabetes. Once the medications are adjusted, your fiancé
needs to stick with the regimen outlined by his physician. Has your
fiancé had any infections lately? Type II diabetics are often prone to
ketoacidosis following a serious infection.

The sweet taste and odor you describe sounds very much like diabetic
ketoacidosis, easily confirmed by blood and urine tests. Ketoacidosis
occurs when the body tries to rid itself of excess acetone (a form of 
ketone).When the body is unable to utilize carbohydrates for energy,
(due to a lack of insulin) it utilizes fat/adipose tissue. Ketosis
occurs when hormones such as glucagon stimulate  a rapid breakdown of
the fatty acids (from adipose tissue). The pH of the blood beomes too
acidic (less than 7.3) , thus the name “ketoacidosis”. Ketoacidosis
can lead to coma and be life threatening. An elevated blood glucose
can also cause a sweet taste in your mouth.

http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_information/ketoacidosis_symptoms.php

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000320.htm#symptoms

http://www.webhealthcentre.com/diabetcor/di_keto.asp

http://www.healthcentral.com/mhc/top/000320.cfm

http://www.daref.org/z1017.html

Glucophage itself can cause a metallic taste in the mouth: 
http://www.emedicine.com/asp/med_frame.htm?link=http://search.delmar.com/cgi-bin/htsearch?method=and&config=nursespdr&restrict=&exclude=&words=none

Read about glipizide here: 
http://www.emedicine.com/asp/med_frame.htm?link=http://search.delmar.com/cgi-bin/htsearch?method=and&config=nursespdr&restrict=&exclude=&words=none

Today there are a variety of home glucose monitoring analyzers, along
with urine dipsticks which can enable your fiancé to monitor his
condition. He should ask his physician about the possibility of
obtaining these tools. Many insurance plans cover the costs. Diabetes
is a serious medical condition, which needs constant monitoring. Most
diabetics are able to live productive lives with education, diet and
exercise, monitoring blood glucose, and regular doctor visits. Your
fiancé and you should become very familiar with the symptoms of
ketoacidosis, enabling you to take prompt action in avoiding a
diabetic crisis.


http://www.healthsquare.com/ftdiabetes.htm

http://health.discovery.com/diseasesandcond/encyclopedia/1817.html

http://www.diabetes-and-symptoms.com/index.php3


Please urge your fiancé to visit his doctor!

If any part of my answer is unclear, please ask for an Answer
Clarification before rating!

Good Luck, 
crabcakes


Search strategy:
Diabetic ketoacidosis
Sweet taste in mouth
Type II diabetes

Hi Kayolawrence

When I started looking into this question, the first thing that became
apparent was that I found no references online to a drug called
'glucotole'.  I wonder whether it may actually be called 'glucotrol'?

Glucotrol, or Glipizide as it is otherwise known, is an oral
antidiabetic which may be taken to lower blood sugar levels when
exercise and diet alone do not provide adequate control.  It does this
by making the pancreas release more Insulin when necessary and also
increasing the body's sensitivity to Insulin.  Hence blood sugar
levels are reduced through promotion of Insulin.

However, Glucophage (Metformin) works differently by lowering blood
sugar by preventing the liver from producing too much sugar in the
first place.  It does not effect Insulin levels.  The benefit of this
is that, when used as the only antidiabetic medication, hypoglycaemia
is much less likely to occur.

Using this information I would speculate that maybe the change-over
process to solely Glucophage requires a little more fine tuning and
that the sickly sweet taste is caused by excess blood sugar.  This
would suggest that maybe your fiance's Endocrinologist may plan to
further increase the dose of Glucophage.

I would stress at this point I am NOT a medical professional and my
limited knowledge of Diabetes is no substitute for seeing a doctor if
symptoms persist.

Hope this may put your mind at rest a little,

mcfly-ga :)

Any type I or II diabetic patient must monitor their blood glucose
levels on a regular basis.  This is true no matter what the medication
nor what the routine of dosage.

The taste referred to , sounds distinctly like what is clinically
referred to as "acetone" breath.  If indeed this is "acetone breath",
your friend needs to consult with a diabetic professional to either
adjust his medication dosage and /or change his medication. Since your
friend has an Rx for a diabetic medication, I would suggest, if I may
do so, that he contact this medical provider to have his blood
chemistry re-evaluated, his medication possibly changed and if
additionally needed the dosage /routine re-evaluated.

If further clarification is needed on any of these points, please feel
free to contact us here, at Google.

Comment #2:
The taste of "anti-freeze" may be the consequence of ketosis,
experienced, when the diabetic condition is not under adequate
control. Moreover, ketosis is the cause of the "acetone breath", since
acetone is one, amongst many possible biological ketones found in the
human body.

Last Comment:

My professional experience is as a pharmacist with clinical diabetes
training and as a PhD research biochemist.