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Shock this morning

lozy

lozy

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi,

I've been off carbs for about a fortnight (and have lost weight as a side effect) but haven't been testing my blood very often - when I have it's been normal, around 5-6.2. (Type 2: Metformin, Glimeperide). This morning before breakfast I was shocked to find a reading of 7.6 - I'd expected something much lower. I'd eaten absolutely nothing "illegal". Is this common or am I doing something wrong?
 
It could be due to any number of reasons, and it’s not unusual to get rogue readings occasionally.

If it happens too frequently then maybe it indicates an issue, but as a one off I wouldn’t stress too much.
 
Hi Lozy
Did you take a reading before breakfast? The comparison between before and after a meal is as important as the actual level of the readings. And what exactly did you eat for breakfast, just checking for hidden carbs?
 
Did you repeat the test?. I always do this if I see an unexpected reading - one that is well outside the norm for that time of day. We all get rogue readings occasionally, whether it be from a corrupted test strip or human error.

There is no need to worry unless this becomes the trend, but maybe some more regular testing would be advisable. You are very early on in your journey.
 
lozy said:
Hi,

I've been off carbs for about a fortnight (and have lost weight as a side effect) but haven't been testing my blood very often - when I have it's been normal, around 5-6.2. (Type 2: Metformin, Glimeperide). This morning before breakfast I was shocked to find a reading of 7.6 - I'd expected something much lower. I'd eaten absolutely nothing "illegal". Is this common or am I doing something wrong?
Click to expand...
I'd definitely have repeated the test.. yesterday I got an 8.3 (v odd for me) retested 5.6 must have been something on finger.. (I am a bit lax about hand washing before testing..... yes I know).
 
I must add to my above post.

Am I reading you correctly that the test was fasting as soon as you got up, and that you are normally between 5 and 6.2 at this time of day? Or are you just testing randomly? What levels do you see when fasting on getting out of bed?
 
All sorts of things happened in the early days for me - highs and lows were happening apparently at random, it took some time to sort out what gave me the best control and the averages then started to fall, even though I was eating the same things regularly.
As you are still in the early stages of low carbing your metabolism is probably still staggering along in a state of shock.
I suggest concentrating on avoiding highs, keeping to moderate amounts of carbs and testing regularly at the same points in your day so you can get an overall impression of your progress week by week, as single readings are less important than the overall pattern.
 
I would even stress that the fasting bg test should be done while still in bed just after waking up.
Just waiting around for a while can see the bg go up because of the liver-dump prepping the body for a new day.
 
Update:
Before my midday meal I was feeling a little hypo so I did a blood test (at 12.07pm) - 9.6, which, again, was a bit of a shock.
I had my meal and about 30 minutes afterwards did another blood test (at 13.21pm) - 7.4
I always wash my hands before doing a test and I'm beginning to wonder if there could be something in the soap I use that may be affecting the reading? Before the second test I used only water and didn't dry my hands with a cloth afterwards.
 
By the way, I received notifications for the first couple of replies to my question but not the later ones so I didn't know there had been more replies. Sorry for not responding and thank you.
 
When washing my hands pretesting I never use soap just running water under the tap and then dry with a clean towel as I have found some of the soaps used in the past have skewed the readings. Just my experience other may have found different.
 
I do use toilet soap and running water, then rinse very thoroughly under running water, and dry thoroughly.

If you see a very unexpected reading outside your normal range it is worth doing a re-test (or maybe even a third) to confirm the first.
 
My bad...... But I hardly ever washed my hands before finger-pricking (back in those days before the Libre)
Only if really having had them deep into nasty obviously and still visible dirty stuff would I care to wash my hands before testing.
If just running a decent personal hygiene you wouldn't need to at all.
Your bg test result will not be impacted by it. The only real important thing is that the fingertip is dry from any liquid substance before you start. Let me expand a bit on that and why other dirt doesn't really matter much:

Though we see a ton of different test strip brands, with difference sizes, shapes and prices - They all function the same way both mechanically and bio-electro chemically. (yep, they are good at marketing, those billion dollar profit companies...)
A test strip consist of a multitude of distinct material layers that each serves its own purpose. We can all see and experience the top layer, which is the sponge that soaks up your blood sample droplet. Next it runs through a couple of filter layers (here your garden dirt wont pass :)). And then it comes into the reaction area of the stick. It is composed of 3 components: the glucose oxidase enzyme that reacts with the blood glucose (and it can only react with glucose), a catalyzer chemical that speeds the electrons along the test strip electric circuit, which enables an accurate reading can occur before the reaction fades out, and then also a chemical compound that preserves the enzyme and mediator chemicals. Below this you have the gold and palladium coated circuit that transfer the reaction electrons to the meter for analysis. And the meter's computer chip converts the current into a numerical reading for you to read. So just keep your finger tips in reasonable condition, make sure they are dry and you are good to go!
 
Celsus said:
My bad...... But I hardly ever washed my hands before finger-pricking (back in those days before the Libre)
Only if really having had them deep into nasty obviously and still visible dirty stuff would I care to wash my hands before testing.
If just running a decent personal hygiene you wouldn't need to at all.
Your bg test result will not be impacted by it. The only real important thing is that the fingertip is dry from any liquid substance before you start. Let me expand a bit on that and why other dirt doesn't really matter much:

Though we see a ton of different test strip brands, with difference sizes, shapes and prices - They all function the same way both mechanically and bio-electro chemically. (yep, they are good at marketing, those billion dollar profit companies...)
A test strip consist of a multitude of distinct material layers that each serves its own purpose. We can all see and experience the top layer, which is the sponge that soaks up your blood sample droplet. Next it runs through a couple of filter layers (here your garden dirt wont pass :)). And then it comes into the reaction area of the stick. It is composed of 3 components: the glucose oxidase enzyme that reacts with the blood glucose (and it can only react with glucose), a catalyzer chemical that speeds the electrons along the test strip electric circuit, which enables an accurate reading can occur before the reaction fades out, and then also a chemical compound that preserves the enzyme and mediator chemicals. Below this you have the gold and palladium coated circuit that transfer the reaction electrons to the meter for analysis. And the meter's computer chip converts the current into a numerical reading for you to read. So just keep your finger tips in reasonable condition, make sure they are dry and you are good to go!
Click to expand...
The problem is more likely to be from foodstuffs rather than 'dirt'. Here's a quote from a journal article entitled, "Factors Affecting Blood Glucose Monitoring: Sources of Errors in Measurement:-

Hand washing has always been a problem, but now, with microsample meters, the smallest amount of contaminant can significantly raise the blood glucose. With a sample of 0.3 μl, 1 μg of glucose (the weight of a dust particle) will increase the blood glucose by 300 mg/dl. For example, one day when I came into work, the laboratory director met me at the door. She was very upset and complaining that our blood glucose meter must be inaccurate. She did not have diabetes, but when she checked herself, the meter reported a value over 300 mg/dl. We went to her office, where there was a banana peel sitting on her desk. She had eaten the banana and then tested herself, without washing her hands. I had her wash her hands and test again. The next 10 values were 80–83 mg/dl. After retouching the banana peel, she tested from the touched area and found a value of about 350 mg/dl. Based on that episode, we performed a laboratory analysis in which we painted pigskin with a 5% and 25% solution of various materials, let them dry overnight, put a drop of blood on the pigskin, and tested it for glucose using a glucose oxidase system.15 As seen in Figure 15, Chips Ahoy cookies (and many other candies and cookies) raised the value significantly. Keri lotion lowered the value slightly, and Ivory soap had no effect. Since patients generally do not wash their hands, this contamination can be a major source of inaccuracy.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2769960/​
 
I used alcohol wipe on the finger and let it dry before pricking. This works well.
 
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