Why my blood glucose low after a meal

[JohnEGreen]

Funny thing my bloods where 6.0 before my evening meal Have just tested and am at 2.5 according to my meter and as luck would have it was last strip in the pot I think it was a rogue reading but feel quite sickly at the moment.

 

[Alexandra100]

Funny thing my bloods where 6.0 before my evening meal Have just tested and am at 2.5 according to my meter and as luck would have it was last strip in the pot I think it was a rogue reading but feel quite sickly at the moment.

You could eat a few fast-acting carbs just in case, but IMO 2.5 is very unlikely unless you are T1 or taking insulin or an insulin mimicking medication. I'm no expert, though.

 

[Alexandra100]

When the 2 hour post prandial reading is lower than expected, the first thing to do IMO is to go on testing to see if the rise is just postponed. You could be suffering from delayed stomach emptying, or just the effects of a fatty meal, which may take longer to digest. When I first started testing, I used to get 2 hour results that were the same as or lower than my pre-prandial ones. This was because the meal had not yet left my stomach! Gastro-paresis can be a result of damage to the vagal nerve by high blood sugars. It can be reversed by long-term correct blood sugars.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Funny thing my bloods where 6.0 before my evening meal Have just tested and am at 2.5 according to my meter and as luck would have it was last strip in the pot I think it was a rogue reading but feel quite sickly at the moment.

Did you open a new pot and re-test?
If that reading was more or less correct it sounds like reactive hypoglycaemia to me. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this happen a lot with you, albeit not quite so low?

 

[JohnEGreen]

@Bluetit1802 Yes did manage a retest was no error felt sick as a dog head ache dizzy and nauseous took some glucose tabs and chocolate raided wifes chocolate draw don't tell her. after a while was back in the 6's but that was after a long lie down and still felt poorly for a while back to normal this morning.

Yes it does happen to me at times go very high then very low in a short time but this was freaky never down to that level before.

I am thinking RH is a distinct possibility.

 

[Olufisayo]

Ok I tested before my meal 5pm and my blood was 6.1
Had a large meal potatoes veg and chicken Im taking Metformin 50mg which I take before eating
2 hours later I tested and it was 2.7
I felt bad and new my blood was low
So I made a sandwich 30 mins later my blood tested 8.1
And yes I do exercise I run 20 miles a week
This as been happening a lot lately
I been Type 2 for 4 years now and normally have good control

Metformin 50mg?

 

[Bluetit1802]

@Bluetit1802

Yes it does happen to me at times go very high then very low in a short time but this was freaky never down to that level before.

I am thinking RH is a distinct possibility.

I agree with you. Eat some carbs, spike, then crash. From what I read on here, the crash makes you feel awful even after the levels have gone up, and this can last a few days. It seems to be an over-excited pancreas pouring out far too much insulin.

I think you need some advice from one of the RH experts.

 

[Lamont D]

@Bluetit1802 Yes did manage a retest was no error felt sick as a dog head ache dizzy and nauseous took some glucose tabs and chocolate raided wifes chocolate draw don't tell her. after a while was back in the 6's but that was after a long lie down and still felt poorly for a while back to normal this morning.

Yes it does happen to me at times go very high then very low in a short time but this was freaky never down to that level before.

I am thinking RH is a distinct possibility.

Hiya mate,
A so called expert here! (Not really, just had the experience of it all and came out smiling the other end!)

At this stage I would advise you to not change anything, do your testing pedantic.
What is your usual fasting levels?
You need to test pre meal then one hour, two hours, even three or four hours after, just to see what is happening.
If you are getting hypoglycaemic episodes, you need to get a referral and find out which foods you are intolerant to and avoid them. Then get your blood levels in and around normal levels in stability.
Even some foods that are low GI, may be upsetting your blood glucose levels.

Give us an idea what you are having on a normal day and i'll see if it's something that I would avoid.

 

[JohnEGreen]

Hi Lamont D thanks for your input mate to be honest am still feeling a bit woozy but yesterday was a bit of a so and so.

Have not been keeping a log or testing as stringently as of late. And been a bit lax on the crbs.

But yesterday started the day with kippers and scrambled egg then mid day was persuaded by that little carb devil that sits on your shoulder going go on eat eat why shouldn't you so had a small meat pie didn't seem so bad then dinner was braised lamb but I made the sauce a bit carby with root veg and had a couple of roast potatoes with it.

Was 6.0 before the meal then when I tested afterwards 2.5 bummer.

I am going to test more over the next few days or week and keep a food log because this is happening to me more often of late and it seems to be mostly if I am relatively low on carbs for most of the day then eat a more carby meal later in the day.

Just to add I quite often test at one hour but had been persuaded by some valid arguments on the forum that it was not necessary to do so so I tested at 2 hours so have no idea how high it went before it dropped so drastically.

Sorry seems to be a lot of so and so's in that couple of paragraphs.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Just to add I quite often test at one hour but had been persuaded by some valid arguments on the forum that it was not necessary to do so so I tested at 2 hours so have no idea how high it went before it dropped so drastically.

RH actually needs more rigorous testing so you have data. Testing at an hour and half hourly after a carby meal will help you analyse the reasons why you are crashing, and from what height. It isn't the same as common or garden T2, and a food log is a good plan.

 

[hankjam]

Hi John, joined this thread the now. This is sounding pretty awful. Hope you crack what's going on soon as it sounds like a new set of balls in the air to me.
I wish you well.

 

[JohnEGreen]

Hi @hankjam thanks yes it's messing me up but I feel I aught to apologise to the OP for sort of high jacking his thread. but as what is happening with me seems similar to the OP situation it may give both of us some insight.

My graph over the last thirty days is a bit sketchy if that's the right word but does seem to be showing a pattern of levels intermittently going high then quite low.
Tonight I went up to 9.5 still waiting for the drop.

 

[JohnEGreen]

Next test after that went down to 4.6 then fbg this morning of 4.9 definitely going to start testing more often and keeping a log for a while. @kevin2 you could do the same and we could compare notes.

 

[lindisfel]

As a reactive hypoglycemic I would peak at one hour after first bite and crash at two hours. Potatoes are BIG no no and I don't take any meds.
If you continue to take refined carbs to get out of troughs you will really ride that b.a. roller coaster if you have R.H.! Carbs are not an optional extra.
D.

 

[JohnEGreen]

Thanks @lindisfel I'm starting to understand that now when I hit that 2.5 I panicked a bit I mean I've been pretty low in the past but not quite that low before.

 

[hankjam]

@JohnEGreen Sorry if I missed this in a previous posting, and we may want to start another thread, I would be interested to know what scanning device you're using and your motivations and experience of starting with it. I ask as I'm thinking of doing same.

I seem to remember from somewhere else @Bluetit1802 commenting that the linearity of some devices is not great outside the central ranges, lows are too low and highs are two high.

 

[Bluetit1802]

@JohnEGreen Sorry if I missed this in a previous posting, and we may want to start another thread, I would be interested to know what scanning device you're using and your motivations and experience of starting with it. I ask as I'm thinking of doing same.

I seem to remember from somewhere else @Bluetit1802 commenting that the linearity of some devices is not great outside the central ranges, lows are too low and highs are two high.

Freestyle Libre. I can't speak for highs being too high because I have never been that high. However, the lows (and I mean low 4s and under) do seem to be too low. In the band I aim for (4.5 to 7) they are lower than my meter, but not by a great deal, maybe 0.5mmol/l, although this can vary from sensor to sensor. What I do find though is each sensor is consistent with itself, and consistent with the meter as far as the amount of rise from before to after eating is concerned if not the actual levels.

 

[JohnEGreen]

To be honest I am finger pricking at the moment am still considering a libre but have not taken the plunge yet.

I am using the CareSens Duo at the moment basically because it blue tooth connects to my phone app and I can export the graphs via email. On Sunday I had used the last strip in the pot and had not received my new order.

But with wifes help managed to rummage through draws and found a few spare strips for my codefree and a couple for the Caresens so was able to verify the reading with the code free not exactly the same reading but in the same region that is in the 2's.

Since I have been using the Caresens I've found it quite reliable but on Sunday it could have grown fangs and bitten me with the shock I got.

I think the libre now goes back to the top of my shopping list.

 

[NicoleC1971]

You need to write in that sub forum and ask for advice from the other members. They are the experts.

Meanwhile I'll tag @Lamont D

My friend with reactive hypo s steers clear of carbs and mentions mashed potatoes (which you also mention in your meal) as a particular trigger...Is the exercise a recent thing? Perhaps you are becoming less insulin resistant and threfore may need less metformin although the metformin itself should not have p roduced such a low blood sugar.