Having A Hypo Or Faulty Blood Glucose Monitor?

Brie912

Active Member
Messages
33
Hi, I've been having some unexpected BG readings lately. The last few days, I haven't been able to get a reading above 7, even though I've been eating chocolate, crisps and toast (wouldn't normally, but it's the only way I've been able to get BG up). I've been getting readings under 5 a lot and unless I've eaten something high in sugar, I haven't been able to get it up and keep it up. Normally I have a low carb diet and I get occasional readings under 5, but eating a low carb meal or snack sorts it out. The last few days, that hasn't worked and I've been eating high sugar foods without getting readings above 7. I've had a couple of readings of 4.2 and 4.1 but when repeated a minute later has gone up to high 4 or low 5.

Anyway, now it's saying BG is 3.8 and I don't feel shaky like I normally do when it gets under 5. I don't know what's going on. I got HbA1C results on Friday and in 3 months I've gone down from 96 to 46, which I'm thrilled with. Could this have something to do with why I'm having trouble keeping my BG up? Or is it more likely to be a faulty BG monitor? And can I use any quality control solution to test it? Because I've got some at work (healthcare professional perks!) for the ward's BG monitors. I'm going to treat with orange juice and some microwave chips anyway.
 

Juicyj

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
9,018
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Hypos, rude people, ignorance and grey days.
Hello @Brie912 The only way to know for sure is if you have another meter you can check it against, generally meters have a margin of difference so under the circumstances it's best to do another test and if the second test concurs then treat as a hypo, not sure if you're on insulin or other medications though ? If so you need to consult your diabetes nurse/specialist to get your medication adjusted.
 

4ratbags

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,334
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
When my HbA1c went from 100 down to 34 I found the same. BS would always be in the 4's and I could eat chocolate etc and it didnt affect me at all. Typically a hypo is under 3.7 so your not quite in hypo territory yet. I found that my body adjusted to lower bs and that when a reading in the high 3's would have normally affected me it had to get down to the high 2's before I noticed. I know it's easy to grab the orange juice and chips to try and bring your bs up but be careful as it's easy to fall back into old habits and to use low bs as an excuse for eating what you want, I found this out the hard way
 

Alexandra100

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,738
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
The last few days, I haven't been able to get a reading above 7
Why do you want to get your bg up so high? Are you T1 or T2? Are you on insulin or another med that carries a risk of hypos?