Hi everyone I was just thinking to myself, when my blood sugars go to 4 or just below I usually eat something like grapes or whatever I have to hand but sometimes feel like I am having to eat every 3 hrs whether hungry or not? Should I be taking a Detroxe tablet instead of eating at times like this??? I was diagnosed in April at a number of 96, after 3 months it's gone down to 48 and I've lost over 2 stone so doing well but still get very confused sometimes!? Am I doing it right or not?? Cx
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Food or Dextrose tablets?
- Thread starter dan1jess2
- Start Date
Hi 
What medication are you on?
What way of eating are you using?
And do you get hypo symptoms when your blood glucose is at 4?
Also, do you go 'too low' at a set time after certain foods?
What medication are you on?
What way of eating are you using?
And do you get hypo symptoms when your blood glucose is at 4?
Also, do you go 'too low' at a set time after certain foods?
Hi @'brunneria'@ I hope that's right I can't remember how to reply.
I am on metformin twice a day, I just eat a well balanced healthy diet basically cut out off the rubbish and measure carbs but not excessively I still need carbs or I go too low all the time. I do get hypo symptoms as I get to 4.5 and below, I always go low about 3 hours after breakfast xxx
I am on metformin twice a day, I just eat a well balanced healthy diet basically cut out off the rubbish and measure carbs but not excessively I still need carbs or I go too low all the time. I do get hypo symptoms as I get to 4.5 and below, I always go low about 3 hours after breakfast xxx
if you feel well on a bloodglucose of 3.5 then you dont have to take any sugar at all, it is very seldome dangerous for type 2 diabetics to have a blood glucose of 3 and thereover og even as low as 2, as long as you only take metformine, you liver will probably counteract and send in some sugar reserves from your liver.
when people take insuline it can be dangerous because the blood glucose can go on lowering from 3 and downwards and that can be dangerous and life threatening. or brain damaging...
when people take insuline it can be dangerous because the blood glucose can go on lowering from 3 and downwards and that can be dangerous and life threatening. or brain damaging...
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I don't feel well under 4, even at 4.5 I feel weird shaking, cold, a strange feeling. Obviously you don't want it going any lower do you so would u eat or just take a tablet? In that situation? I was told if it goes too low you can go unconscious, I'm concerned about that as I have children with me a lot of the time xx
Thanks for the background info.
The usual rule of thumb (for insulin users) is that it isn't actually a hypo unless it goes well below 4 mmol/l. Above that (insulin user or not) even if you get hypo symptoms, it is considered a 'false hypo'. The way to deal with false hypos is to allow your body to gently learn that it isn't a terrible thing to go back to having 'normal' blood glucose levels. Non diabetics regularly have blood glucose in the 3s and 4s, but often when we have D, our bodies get so used to the raised blood glucose that the lower numbers seem weird, and the false hypos happen. One of the ways that prolongs and encourages 'false hypos' is to treat them with glucose and quick release carbs, because it stops the body from getting comfortable at the lower levels.
Diabetics who don't use strong blood glucose lowering drugs (Metformin is not a strong drug) have a very efficient capacity to prevent hypos by releasing glucose from where it has been stored in the liver, so will never go too low, even if they feel wobbly.
There are a couple of medical conditions (including Reactive Hypoglycaemia) which can cause hypos in non insulin users, but these are rare.
What do you consider to be a 'well balanced healthy diet'? Because that means very different things to different people
what do you eat in a normal day?
The usual rule of thumb (for insulin users) is that it isn't actually a hypo unless it goes well below 4 mmol/l. Above that (insulin user or not) even if you get hypo symptoms, it is considered a 'false hypo'. The way to deal with false hypos is to allow your body to gently learn that it isn't a terrible thing to go back to having 'normal' blood glucose levels. Non diabetics regularly have blood glucose in the 3s and 4s, but often when we have D, our bodies get so used to the raised blood glucose that the lower numbers seem weird, and the false hypos happen. One of the ways that prolongs and encourages 'false hypos' is to treat them with glucose and quick release carbs, because it stops the body from getting comfortable at the lower levels.
Diabetics who don't use strong blood glucose lowering drugs (Metformin is not a strong drug) have a very efficient capacity to prevent hypos by releasing glucose from where it has been stored in the liver, so will never go too low, even if they feel wobbly.
There are a couple of medical conditions (including Reactive Hypoglycaemia) which can cause hypos in non insulin users, but these are rare.
What do you consider to be a 'well balanced healthy diet'? Because that means very different things to different people
what do you eat in a normal day?
catapillar
Well-Known Member
If you use insulin and you are 3.9 you are hypo. It doesn't need to be "well below 4", anything under 4 is hypoglycaemic, how you choose to "treat" a 3.9 is obviously going to be a bit different to how you'd deal with something well below 4, but it is still hypo if you're on insulin.
Energize
Well-Known Member
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It seems this is what NHS defines Hypoglycaemia as:
"
Hypoglycaemia, or a "hypo", is an abnormally low level of glucose in your blood (less than four millimoles per litre). When your glucose (sugar) level is too low, your body doesn't have enough energy to carry out its activities.
Hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) - NHS Choices
www.nhs.uk/conditions/hypoglycaemia/Pages/Introduction.aspx
"
"
Hypoglycaemia, or a "hypo", is an abnormally low level of glucose in your blood (less than four millimoles per litre). When your glucose (sugar) level is too low, your body doesn't have enough energy to carry out its activities.
Hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) - NHS Choices
www.nhs.uk/conditions/hypoglycaemia/Pages/Introduction.aspx
"
Thanks for that. Its interesting. I've seen posts from T1s on here saying differently. I remember someone quoting their endocrinologist who was of the opinion that a hypo started at 3.6. Not that I'm disagreeing with you. There just seems to be conflicting info discussed on the forum.
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Kristin251
Expert
If I'm under 4 I evaluate when my last bolus was then I plan accordingly. I rarely need sugar, just some good. Veggies can be enough. If I took large doses of insulin and it was within 3 hours I would eat some carb in the form of veggies. That being said, knowing how our bodies work is very important. For me over treating slight hypos is bad. I just eat and test, eat and test. Lettuce raises me so not much need for sugar. I love lettuce!
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OK, here's my 2p worth on this, which will appear quite different to some of the other posts on here, but here goes.
@dan1jess2 - I was diagnosed almost exactly three years ago. My progressive blood numbers are in my signature, so I won't repeat them on here. As you can see my numbers have changes quite a bit and stayed changed, without any medication. Now I will state right up front that as well as working hard on it, I have been very lucky in that my body appears to have been able to repair itself and to almost reset itself to react differently, in a positive way, to some of the things I eat and drink. Not everyone's body can achieve that repair, but a good number can.
My numbers through the day (and night) are usually very low, and I spend a lot of my time in the very low 4, an almost equally similar amount of time in the mid-high 3s and a bit of time in the low 3s, with some 2s thrown in. I don't have any hypo feelings at all, although when I get down into the 2s, it's usually as a meal is cooking and I'm hungry, so I can be prowling around the kitchen/cooker/ cook (often my OH) waiting to eat.
If I do feel a bit off, I just have a cup of tea, with some milk. That just brings me up enough to make me feel a bit more comfortable and it means I don't go nibbling.
I like to think my body is now behaving (as far as my blood numbers go anyway), pretty much like a non-diabetic person. There have been few studies done on non-diabetic people and their blood sugar activity (why would anyone want to invest a lot of money in something that doesn't need fixing?), so there's limited information out there, but I believe, from stuff I have read, that non-diabetics bloods do vary, and can go low, but their bodies kick in to buoy up their blood numbers, until they eat again.
However, enough about me, and onto you.
As I understand you are only taking metformin (not insulin or the like), it is unusual for medically worrying hypos to occur only on metformin. Sometimes as our numbers start to come down, from running "higher", our bodies object. They like to run in a comfort zone, and it looks like your comfort zone starts around the mid-4s. Going below it is very unlikely to do you any harm.
Of course, why go low after breakfast could be a number of things.
It could be that what you are having for brekkers is giving you a bit of a spike, then a drop, and if the drop is relatively quick, it can feel uncomfortable. If you're having cereal/museli or toast based breakfasts, I would wonder if that was the case. In most T2s those foods can be tricky in the mornings, when insulin resistance can be higher than later in the day.
If you are having that sort of breakfast, I might be inclined to think about seeing what happens if you try something like some eggs (scrambled, boiled, whatever), with our without some scrumptious bacon and see if that changes anything. Those sorts of brekkers can lead to a lower rise (which often discourages the sharpish drop), and also helps us stay feeling fuller for longer.
Or secondly, if you are having a less carby brekkers, it could be worth maybe just increasing the portion a little and see if just plain old eating a little more helps?
Personally, I have never snacked, or eaten between meals. I'd just get fed up of all that eating, but that's peculiar old me. I'd rather try to modify my meals to keep me steadier in between.
Perhaps it could be useful trying to have something simple like a cup of tea, with milk, when you first begin feeling a bot "off", and see if that just takes you "off bottom", until your next meal.
In any case, I would be avoiding Dextrose tablets like the proverbial plague. To me, they taste vile! I'd be more interested in exploring the root cause of the issue, rather than "treating" they symptom.
Good luck with it all. feeling rough, regularly, isn't good, for sure.
@dan1jess2 - I was diagnosed almost exactly three years ago. My progressive blood numbers are in my signature, so I won't repeat them on here. As you can see my numbers have changes quite a bit and stayed changed, without any medication. Now I will state right up front that as well as working hard on it, I have been very lucky in that my body appears to have been able to repair itself and to almost reset itself to react differently, in a positive way, to some of the things I eat and drink. Not everyone's body can achieve that repair, but a good number can.
My numbers through the day (and night) are usually very low, and I spend a lot of my time in the very low 4, an almost equally similar amount of time in the mid-high 3s and a bit of time in the low 3s, with some 2s thrown in. I don't have any hypo feelings at all, although when I get down into the 2s, it's usually as a meal is cooking and I'm hungry, so I can be prowling around the kitchen/cooker/ cook (often my OH) waiting to eat.
If I do feel a bit off, I just have a cup of tea, with some milk. That just brings me up enough to make me feel a bit more comfortable and it means I don't go nibbling.
I like to think my body is now behaving (as far as my blood numbers go anyway), pretty much like a non-diabetic person. There have been few studies done on non-diabetic people and their blood sugar activity (why would anyone want to invest a lot of money in something that doesn't need fixing?), so there's limited information out there, but I believe, from stuff I have read, that non-diabetics bloods do vary, and can go low, but their bodies kick in to buoy up their blood numbers, until they eat again.
However, enough about me, and onto you.
As I understand you are only taking metformin (not insulin or the like), it is unusual for medically worrying hypos to occur only on metformin. Sometimes as our numbers start to come down, from running "higher", our bodies object. They like to run in a comfort zone, and it looks like your comfort zone starts around the mid-4s. Going below it is very unlikely to do you any harm.
Of course, why go low after breakfast could be a number of things.
It could be that what you are having for brekkers is giving you a bit of a spike, then a drop, and if the drop is relatively quick, it can feel uncomfortable. If you're having cereal/museli or toast based breakfasts, I would wonder if that was the case. In most T2s those foods can be tricky in the mornings, when insulin resistance can be higher than later in the day.
If you are having that sort of breakfast, I might be inclined to think about seeing what happens if you try something like some eggs (scrambled, boiled, whatever), with our without some scrumptious bacon and see if that changes anything. Those sorts of brekkers can lead to a lower rise (which often discourages the sharpish drop), and also helps us stay feeling fuller for longer.
Or secondly, if you are having a less carby brekkers, it could be worth maybe just increasing the portion a little and see if just plain old eating a little more helps?
Personally, I have never snacked, or eaten between meals. I'd just get fed up of all that eating, but that's peculiar old me. I'd rather try to modify my meals to keep me steadier in between.
Perhaps it could be useful trying to have something simple like a cup of tea, with milk, when you first begin feeling a bot "off", and see if that just takes you "off bottom", until your next meal.
In any case, I would be avoiding Dextrose tablets like the proverbial plague. To me, they taste vile! I'd be more interested in exploring the root cause of the issue, rather than "treating" they symptom.
Good luck with it all. feeling rough, regularly, isn't good, for sure.
Daibell
Master
Hi. With regard to food or Dextrose it really doesn't matter which you take to bring your sugars up. As Dextrose is an empty carb (but quick acting) it's probably more useful to have piece of fruit as you do get some fibre with it?
Thanks everyone for your comments really appreciate your opinions and comments, I think the mornings I am having a spike and quick drop which is when I am at my most unstable, I will look at other breakfasts give that a go. The nurse told me 4 was on the floor and don't go below I think that has stuck in my head and I am paranoid about passing out when with the children on my own or driving etc, although I too am getting a little fed up keep having to eat even when I am not hungry. I may make an appt with my diabetic nurse perhaps I could Lower my medication rather than eating all the time! Somehow I'm still losing weight which is very confusing. As for my healthy diet I eat meat mainly white, fish, veg salad, no alcohol, red meat once a week, I do eat bread wholemeal and potatoes/rice etc all brown and measured though, even bananas don't spike me? I suppose we are all different eh? Thanks guys xxxx
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Four is certainly the accepted floor for T1s, or those taking more powerful drugs than Metformin.
I do wholly agree with your thoughts on a discussion about the meds you are taking, although she may want to either wait until your next HbA1c or indeed ask you to have another set of bloods, just to check things in general.
To be completely honest, aside from the fact you're feeling a bit ropey when you have your lower numbers, I would be delighted to be having them, as it would suggest to me my body was able to bring sugars down, as well as go up!
Can I ask what you routinely have at breakfast time, and that's when your issues arise?
Thank you @'andbreathe'@ I may well go back, I am delighted to be low tbh my first hba1c was 96 in April 16 and the next one after 3 months of healthy eating exercise and eating no rubbish was 46 they were really pleased with me and said not to come back for 6 months, I have lost over 2 stone and now at a healthy weight for my height so maybe that has helped my body kick start again?? Who knows eh it's all new to me. I love my cereal and really struggle to have anything else at breakfast eggs upset my tummy and I hate yoghurt!? I have tried all cereals and found shredded wheat I can eat but it does spike after an hour but then crashes back down after 2 hrs?? Is that ok or should it not spike after an hour? The nurse said to just look at the 2 hr not worry about the hour one??? I have also found if I eAt breakfast after being up for an hour or so it doesn't spike so much, I used to eat as soon as I got up so I could fit it in as I work and have to get the kids to school so mornings are very busy for me with little time, waiting an hour or so makes my bloods better? All trial and error I suppose? I'm a bit of a control freak so hate not being in control, I suppose I'm not doing bad as its only been 6 months since being diagnosed xx
donnellysdogs
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I believe in "under four and on the floor" and "over five to drive". Used these sayings for years.
Me, as I have very limited eating I have sugar cubes in my handbag. At 3g per cube, I judge for myself how many to have depending upon when I ate etc. However, at home I have aldi's dark choc cherry mousse bars of chocolate stacked in the fridge. I know if I am above 3.5 to have one square during the day. If I'm between 3 and 3.5 I will eat two squares and under 3 have the whole bar.
Hypo's are actually treat time for me. I used to have milk and sugar in a tommee tippee mug (love this!!)... But as chocolate is a real treat I would rather have that.
Yes, the fat in it does delay response time. However, I feel safe at home.I also have the choc bar at night as I can guarantee 1 square at night if above 3.0 will see me good till morning.
I spoke recently to nurse about this and she was happy that I have stuff I like as a treat and that we are all different with our reactions. I need something that will breakdown over a longer period of rising as my stomach releasing glucose etc is different to most people.
Me, as I have very limited eating I have sugar cubes in my handbag. At 3g per cube, I judge for myself how many to have depending upon when I ate etc. However, at home I have aldi's dark choc cherry mousse bars of chocolate stacked in the fridge. I know if I am above 3.5 to have one square during the day. If I'm between 3 and 3.5 I will eat two squares and under 3 have the whole bar.
Hypo's are actually treat time for me. I used to have milk and sugar in a tommee tippee mug (love this!!)... But as chocolate is a real treat I would rather have that.
Yes, the fat in it does delay response time. However, I feel safe at home.I also have the choc bar at night as I can guarantee 1 square at night if above 3.0 will see me good till morning.
I spoke recently to nurse about this and she was happy that I have stuff I like as a treat and that we are all different with our reactions. I need something that will breakdown over a longer period of rising as my stomach releasing glucose etc is different to most people.
