Another newbie - hello.

[friendlyfish]

I suppose I have known for many years that I probably have low blood sugar problems. But they seemed small when I became ill with Fibromyalgia and discovered I also have Aspergers.

When I have tested my blood sugars they seem to change a lot. I read the Jenny Ruhl books on low carb and decided to try a DIY glucose tolerance test (i don't recommend this). I showed the results to my GP last year but she wasn't overly interested because I do not have diabetic levels.

Just today, having been watching and reading stuff by Jason Fung and Gary Taubes recently, I decided to pop into diabetes.co.uk (because the HbA1c converter is really easy to use). I ended up out of curiosity in the Hypoglyceamia forum, and then into definitions of Hypoglyceamia. So I got out my graph from February last year.

below 3.6 after OGTT - mine went to 2.9 after 3hrs
drop of 1.6 or more in 30 minutes - mine dropped by 2.6 twice.
My glucose readings in that 4 hour DIY test showed 4 peaks during the 4 hours.

I plan never to repeat that DIY test.

But daily I get mini hot spells, that seem to be related to rapid changes in blood sugar after a meal, especially one with higher carbs or protein. When I fast I do not get these hot spells.

Also I get energy crashes - when speaking and walking become almost impossible. The other day I had one after an unexpected visitor. I had to lay on the sofa until I could move and my speech was more fluent, then I managed to measure my blood sugar, it was 4.0 (40 minutes after the energy crash).

Anyway, I intend to do more research on here and the web so I can take this more seriously than I have been. My GP was not very interested, but her expertise are not in this area. If I raise this issue with her again I will need more background and an understanding of the best ways forward.

I am glad I found this forum. Thanks for listening.

 

[urbanracer]

Welcome to the forums @friendlyfish , hope you find something useful here.

Good luck.

 

[Lamont D]

Hi and welcome to our forum @friendlyfish

There is lots to read and learn from our forum.
Our symptoms are diverse but our experience is no matter what type of hypoglycaemia, we will try and help you get control of the condition.

You have lots of questions, one of us will try to help you.

I recommend creating a food diary and then you can present it to your doctor's.
Most GPs are not trained to diagnose blood glucose disorders.
Most doctors wouldn't know what hypoglycaemia is!

Again welcome to our unique club.

 

[friendlyfish]

Thank you.

It is good to be here.

I agree a food diary is very helpful. Especially to see how food has changed and how blood sugars are changing.

I have a question. The Abbott Libre meter - how good is it for relative hypoglyceamia monitoring?

My blood sugars can change so quickly, they can drop by 1 mmol/L in 10 minutes, and it is hard to spot this happening with my stick monitor (SD Codefree) - I cannot do a test every 10 minutes - at least not often - it drives me barmy. So it is hard to work out which foods are helpful and which are making things worse. Some foods are obvious, breads, pasta, potatoes are likely, but raspberries seem to increase some symptoms sometimes. And I can have symptoms even when I think I've eaten a fairly low carb meal (e.g. 500 calories, 25g protein from salmon, 15g carbohydrate from vegetables and coconut water, plus coyo coconut yoghurt).

So I am wondering if a Libre meter will help me work out which foods I am reacting to - because I am finding that difficult with just the Codefree monitor.

For me the rapid changes seem to cause the most symptoms - especially when I am out. I want to better understand when they happen and why. Can the Libre pick them up?

Thanks.

 

[AndBreathe]

Thank you.

It is good to be here.

I agree a food diary is very helpful. Especially to see how food has changed and how blood sugars are changing.

I have a question. The Abbott Libre meter - how good is it for relative hypoglyceamia monitoring?

My blood sugars can change so quickly, they can drop by 1 mmol/L in 10 minutes, and it is hard to spot this happening with my stick monitor (SD Codefree) - I cannot do a test every 10 minutes - at least not often - it drives me barmy. So it is hard to work out which foods are helpful and which are making things worse. Some foods are obvious, breads, pasta, potatoes are likely, but raspberries seem to increase some symptoms sometimes. And I can have symptoms even when I think I've eaten a fairly low carb meal (e.g. 500 calories, 25g protein from salmon, 15g carbohydrate from vegetables and coconut water, plus coyo coconut yoghurt).

So I am wondering if a Libre meter will help me work out which foods I am reacting to - because I am finding that difficult with just the Codefree monitor.

For me the rapid changes seem to cause the most symptoms - especially when I am out. I want to better understand when they happen and why. Can the Libre pick them up?

Thanks.

I'll tag @Brunneria for you, she she has RH and is also a Libre user.

 

[Lamont D]

Thank you.

It is good to be here.

I agree a food diary is very helpful. Especially to see how food has changed and how blood sugars are changing.

I have a question. The Abbott Libre meter - how good is it for relative hypoglyceamia monitoring?

My blood sugars can change so quickly, they can drop by 1 mmol/L in 10 minutes, and it is hard to spot this happening with my stick monitor (SD Codefree) - I cannot do a test every 10 minutes - at least not often - it drives me barmy. So it is hard to work out which foods are helpful and which are making things worse. Some foods are obvious, breads, pasta, potatoes are likely, but raspberries seem to increase some symptoms sometimes. And I can have symptoms even when I think I've eaten a fairly low carb meal (e.g. 500 calories, 25g protein from salmon, 15g carbohydrate from vegetables and coconut water, plus coyo coconut yoghurt).

So I am wondering if a Libre meter will help me work out which foods I am reacting to - because I am finding that difficult with just the Codefree monitor.

For me the rapid changes seem to cause the most symptoms - especially when I am out. I want to better understand when they happen and why. Can the Libre pick them up?

Thanks.

We all have to find which foods we can tolerate.
I bow to bruns experience in using the Libre.

 

[Brunneria]

Thank you.

It is good to be here.

I agree a food diary is very helpful. Especially to see how food has changed and how blood sugars are changing.

I have a question. The Abbott Libre meter - how good is it for relative hypoglyceamia monitoring?

My blood sugars can change so quickly, they can drop by 1 mmol/L in 10 minutes, and it is hard to spot this happening with my stick monitor (SD Codefree) - I cannot do a test every 10 minutes - at least not often - it drives me barmy. So it is hard to work out which foods are helpful and which are making things worse. Some foods are obvious, breads, pasta, potatoes are likely, but raspberries seem to increase some symptoms sometimes. And I can have symptoms even when I think I've eaten a fairly low carb meal (e.g. 500 calories, 25g protein from salmon, 15g carbohydrate from vegetables and coconut water, plus coyo coconut yoghurt).

So I am wondering if a Libre meter will help me work out which foods I am reacting to - because I am finding that difficult with just the Codefree monitor.

For me the rapid changes seem to cause the most symptoms - especially when I am out. I want to better understand when they happen and why. Can the Libre pick them up?

Thanks.

Hi and welcome!

(And thanks @AndBreathe)

@friendlyfish

I would love to see your oral glucose tolerance test blood glucose readings mapped on a graph! Just curiosity, you understand. I am not medically qualified to comment. But then i don't think many doctors are qualified to comment on Reactive hypos and weird ones like us

You asked about the Libre - yes, i think it is the best thing i have ever used to help understand what is going on.

Regarding the raspberries, you may (obviously this is speculation!) be dealing with food intolerance.

And yes, the rapid highs and rapid drops are what give me the symptoms.

Here is a link to a thread i started around last Christmas, when i got my Libre. You will see how useful it has been for me.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/thr...aching-me-sooo-much-about-my-t2-and-rh.89347/

 

[Kaz261]

Hi @friendlyfish and welcome to the forum. You're in good hands with Nosher and Brun

I started using the Libra yesterday and so far I'm very impressed. I got it for the same reason. My fast changing glucose levels seem to be the cause of my symptoms, but without pricking your finger every 15 mins you cannot get an overall picture.

I've already learned that I'm possibly more controlled than I thought I was (although it's only day one and I have been good!). I've also learned that the breakfast Ive been eating for months might not be as good as I thought. Unlike conventional glucose monitors, the Libra is also able to tell you if your level is rising or falling quickly or if it's stable. I've found that particularly useful already.

I intend to experiment a little to see if there are any foods that I've currently placed off limits, that I might actually be able to tolerate.

Good luck with it all.

 

[Lamont D]

Hi @friendlyfish and welcome to the forum. You're in good hands with Nosher and Brun

I started using the Libra yesterday and so far I'm very impressed. I got it for the same reason. My fast changing glucose levels seem to be the cause of my symptoms, but without pricking your finger every 15 mins you cannot get an overall picture.

I've already learned that I'm possibly more controlled than I thought I was (although it's only day one and I have been good!). I've also learned that the breakfast Ive been eating for months might not be as good as I thought. Unlike conventional glucose monitors, the Libra is also able to tell you if your level is rising or falling quickly or if it's stable. I've found that particularly useful already.

I intend to experiment a little to see if there are any foods that I've currently placed off limits, that I might actually be able to tolerate.

Good luck with it all.

Make sure you put your results on here for us Kaz.

And why not do a little experimenting!

What was the breakfast?

 

[friendlyfish]

Hopefully, I have managed to upload a pdf of the graph and report I wrote for my GP.

I have been wondering whether I am reacting to fructose with the raspberries?

 

[Brunneria]

Hopefully, I have managed to upload a pdf of the graph and report I wrote for my GP.

Welcome to the club.

 

[friendlyfish]

Welcome to the club.

Thank you

 

[Lamont D]

Hopefully, I have managed to upload a pdf of the graph and report I wrote for my GP.

I have been wondering whether I am reacting to fructose with the raspberries?

Fructose can be one of the sugars that can spike you quickly.
You should be able to see it if you try it whilst on your libre.

 

[Kaz261]

Make sure you put your results on here for us Kaz.

And why not do a little experimenting!

I'll post today's results once I've figured out how to do it!

Breakfast was Greek yogurt, raspberries, blueberries, almonds, a little muesli (no added sugar and all dried fruit removed) and a sprinkle of cinnamon. I'll try it again tomorrow to make sure I wasn't just having another off day!

My mid morning Apple hardly affected me, but a teaspoon of peanut butter did! I can see this being a very interesting and enlightening couple of weeks

 

[Lamont D]

It could be either the fruit or the no added sugar muesli.
No added sugar, still means there is sugar in the ingredients.

Enjoy your experience and give us your verdict good or bad.

 

[friendlyfish]

I just managed to capture a fast drop with a meal which contained about 15g carbs, with 25g protein, about 30g fat. One hour later I was feeling extra tired and weak so I tested and it was 5.8, not low. But I was still feeling weak and getting weaker, so I tested 5 minutes later - it had gone down to 5.0.

I have already ordered my Freestyle Libre, I also ordered some of their glucose test sticks so that I can get the Libre to show test stick value on the sensor graph. I am looking forward to understanding this better.

But at least knowing these wobbly knees are due to rapid blood sugar changes - that is really useful.

What do other people do when the blood sugar rapidly drops shortly after eating? It seems pointless to eat any more because my stomach is still full? What solutions have you tried?

 

[Lamont D]

The answer you are looking for is what most of us try to achieve every day.
That is to avoid the rise first.
We try and avoid spikes and stay in relatively normal blood glucose levels, that way, no spike! If we don't spike, we don't go low. So it's really crucial to be as low carb as you are able to cope with.
It's not easy, but you can live without the carbs!
15g of carbs is way too high for me, you have to find out how high you can tolerate.
This is just another learning lesson.
You feel awful because you have lowered your carbs quickly, some call it carb flu.
This will pass.
Are you eating more frequently? Are your meals too big? Just small bites regularly throughout the day will suffice.

I just managed to capture a fast drop with a meal which contained about 15g carbs, with 25g protein, about 30g fat. One hour later I was feeling extra tired and weak so I tested and it was 5.8, not low. But I was still feeling weak and getting weaker, so I tested 5 minutes later - it had gone down to 5.0.

I have already ordered my Freestyle Libre, I also ordered some of their glucose test sticks so that I can get the Libre to show test stick value on the sensor graph. I am looking forward to understanding this better.

But at least knowing these wobbly knees are due to rapid blood sugar changes - that is really useful.

What do other people do when the blood sugar rapidly drops shortly after eating? It seems pointless to eat any more because my stomach is still full? What solutions have you tried?

 

[Kaz261]

I also find the level of activity after eating also affects me. I've always thought my symptoms were purely the result of a fast spike and fast drop but this isn't always so in my case. Sometimes my meal barely raises me at all, therefore within an hour my levels can be 5.0 (with a similar drop to what you've experienced today) and I'm feeling like a hypo is looming. The Libra will help identify if that is happening with you.

Also, I'm finding that no two days are the same. Yesterday I had a fast spike and drop (within an hour) after breakfast which in my case includes approx 25g carbs. Today, the same breakfast hardly spiked me at all and the drop was steady. The only difference was that I slept better last night and this morning wasn't quite as stressed and frantic.

We're all different and you need to work out what's best for you and your lifestyle. Some days you get weird readings and symptoms and there doesn't seem to be any reason for it.

As Nosher said, eating every 2-3 hours should help.

Good luck with the Libra, I hope you find it useful. I've had a couple of odd low readings that have been 1-1.5mmol lower than my blood glucose monitor measured. Try to go a little by how you feel as well.