What just happened

[wozey]

Hi everyone
I’ve been sent home from work today, I worked through lunch and felt a bit hot and got up to get some air, next thing people are fanning me down because I had passed out. I was given a can of Coke and it perked me up but I was assured that I wouldn’t have anything like this with type 2 so I’m a little worried and confused. Done a finger stick when I got home and I was 12.6 but I did have the can of Coke so guessed it would be high, called the doctor to be told I’d have to phone up at 8am. I’m sure I was just too hot but don’t know if I’m right to just brush it off and ignore it

 

[Lamont D]

Hi, @wozey hope you are feeling better now!

Hi everyone
I’ve been sent home from work today, I worked through lunch and felt a bit hot and got up to get some air, next thing people are fanning me down because I had passed out. I was given a can of Coke and it perked me up but I was assured that I wouldn’t have anything like this with type 2 so I’m a little worried and confused. Done a finger stick when I got home and I was 12.6 but I did have the can of Coke so guessed it would be high, called the doctor to be told I’d have to phone up at 8am. I’m sure I was just too hot but don’t know if I’m right to just brush it off and ignore it

We can't say what it is, because we are not allowed to.
But because of the circumstances, it could be a lot of things.
What was your hba1c levels?
Is the symptoms you had similar to the symptoms that sent you to the doctors?
What meds are you on other than metformin, what meds did you stop?

Keep safe.

 

[catinahat]

Must have been scary for you, hope you are feeling better now.
Low blood sugar is not a symptom of diabetes, its caused by diabetes medication. Metformin is not usually associated with causing hypos, because as I mentioned before it doesn't work by actively reducing blood sugar levels.
If you had your meter and been able to test when you were feeling ill, you would have known if it was caused by low blood sugar. Without knowing your levels at the time, it's difficult to say if your diabetes was to blame.
I've not heard of others passing out due to low blood sugar, I know serious hypos can cause people to go into a coma, but that's different to passing out.
Not everything is caused by diabetes, when I had the same problem a few years ago it was my heart not the diabetes causing the blackouts. So you need to get yourself checked out, just incase.

 

[wozey]

Hi, @wozey hope you are feeling better now!

We can't say what it is, because we are not allowed to.
But because of the circumstances, it could be a lot of things.
What was your hba1c levels?
Is the symptoms you had similar to the symptoms that sent you to the doctors?
What meds are you on other than metformin, what meds did you stop?

Keep safe.

No idea what the hba1c was the appointment was very rushed, it was said but I didn’t take it all in and it was found because of a routine blood test so was a bit of a shock. Not had anything like this before

 

[wozey]

Must have been scary for you, hope you are feeling better now.
Low blood sugar is not a symptom of diabetes, its caused by diabetes medication. Metformin is not usually associated with causing hypos, because as I mentioned before it doesn't work by actively reducing blood sugar levels.
If you had your meter and been able to test when you were feeling ill, you would have known if it was caused by low blood sugar. Without knowing your levels at the time, it's difficult to say if your diabetes was to blame.
I've not heard of others passing out due to low blood sugar, I know serious hypos can cause people to go into a coma, but that's different to passing out.
Not everything is caused by diabetes, when I had the same problem a few years ago it was my heart not the diabetes causing the blackouts. So you need to get yourself checked out, just incase.

Yes I appreciate your patience with me, I’ve had my heart checked out recently due to upper back pain but all tests clear on that. I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on and it’s incredibly frustrating that the people that should be supporting me haven’t really done much of that to begin with

 

[catinahat]

Yes I appreciate your patience with me, I’ve had my heart checked out recently due to upper back pain but all tests clear on that. I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on and it’s incredibly frustrating that the people that should be supporting me haven’t really done much of that to begin with

To be honest, if you expect the health service to fix your T2 you are going to be disappointed. T2 is all about your diet and lifestyle, the only one who can fix that is you.
A couple of things have come to mind about your problem today.
There is something called false Hypoglycaemia, if your blood sugar has been high for a while, when you change your diet to low carb, the drop in sugar levels can bring on hypo like symptoms, even though they get no where near hypo levels, your body reacts as if it had.
The other thought I had was maybe a drop in blood pressure caused you to pass out, I had to stop all of the blood pressure medication I was on when I changed to a low carb diet.

 

[wozey]

To be honest, if you expect the health service to fix your T2 you are going to be disappointed. T2 is all about your diet and lifestyle, the only one who can fix that is you.
A couple of things have come to mind about your problem today.
There is something called false Hypoglycaemia, if your blood sugar has been high for a while, when you change your diet to low carb, the drop in sugar levels can bring on hypo like symptoms, even though they get no where near hypo levels, your body reacts as if it had.
The other thought I had was maybe a drop in blood pressure caused you to pass out, I had to stop all of the blood pressure medication I was on when I changed to a low carb diet.

I’ve gone full on low carb, believe me I’ve been taking all the advice I’ve been given. I’ve realised it’s all down to me that’s why I’m online asking the questions and putting the effort in. If I’ve given you the impression I’m waiting others to do it for me then I’ve given you the wrong impression

 

[Lamont D]

I was thinking along the same lines about a false hypo, or a sugar crash or blood pressure.
Also, when adopting low carb, you go through a period of what is known as carb flu. This is something akin to feeling rough and could include the symptoms you describe.

I was drawn to your initial post cos that was very similar to what started my journey twenty odd years ago. But I hadn't started low carb for another decade or more. I was given a prediabetes conclusion and told to change my lifestyle.

Don't be assuming your doctors know what is wrong with you.
There's so many reasons and lack of understanding that your GP hasn't been trained for, that is why they rely on dsns. And the nurses only follow the outdated NHS guidelines.

That is why this site exists!

 

[KennyA]

Hi everyone
I’ve been sent home from work today, I worked through lunch and felt a bit hot and got up to get some air, next thing people are fanning me down because I had passed out. I was given a can of Coke and it perked me up but I was assured that I wouldn’t have anything like this with type 2 so I’m a little worried and confused. Done a finger stick when I got home and I was 12.6 but I did have the can of Coke so guessed it would be high, called the doctor to be told I’d have to phone up at 8am. I’m sure I was just too hot but don’t know if I’m right to just brush it off and ignore it

Hope you're OK now. As you know nobody on here can or should diagnose, but if you'd been feeling hot and needing some air prior to fainting, that doesn't match any T2 symptoms I've experienced.

In other words, it isn't always the T2.

 

[jjraak]

Hi everyone
I’ve been sent home from work today, I worked through lunch and felt a bit hot and got up to get some air, next thing people are fanning me down because I had passed out. I was given a can of Coke and it perked me up but I was assured that I wouldn’t have anything like this with type 2 so I’m a little worried and confused. Done a finger stick when I got home and I was 12.6 but I did have the can of Coke so guessed it would be high, called the doctor to be told I’d have to phone up at 8am. I’m sure I was just too hot but don’t know if I’m right to just brush it off and ignore it

That must have been worrying

Only thing I can add, is once I went LCHF, if my bg dropped I felt awful .

Now do bear in mind, when I checked it clearly wasn't THAT low (5.0) but it was lower then my body was used to

And is it likely, that going LCHF, you maybe have just lowered your food intake, that little bit too much early on, that you may have just fainted ?

Not saying you did, but I remember it being a common reason, back in the day for anyone fainting ..mmhh.


After all, the food we eat is just shovelling coal into an engine,
And of course some work is more intensive, than others

And cutting back a little too much may be something our body doesn't like and needs a little longer to adjust to ?

As said, we can't diagnose, but just a few ideas to consider before your doctors appointment

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I’ve gone full on low carb, believe me I’ve been taking all the advice I’ve been given. I’ve realised it’s all down to me that’s why I’m online asking the questions and putting the effort in. If I’ve given you the impression I’m waiting others to do it for me then I’ve given you the wrong impression

Your profile says you're on oral tablets....? I went low carb and had tablets... And while my endo swore it couldn't happen, (more fool me for believing her) some of them can indeed cause a hypo. Like gliclazide for instance, which forces the pancreas to produce more insulin. Potentially more than you need, making you crash. Metformin is absolutely fine, but you really need to check the leaflet of your pills. If it says you may hypo, maybe not combine it with your low carb diet, and alter your regime? (I stuck with the diet and quit the pills with my GP's blessing.)

Good luck!
Jo

 

[wozey]

That must have been worrying

Only thing I can add, is once I went LCHF, if my bg dropped I felt awful .

Now do bear in mind, when I checked it clearly wasn't THAT low (5.0) but it was lower then my body was used to

And is it likely, that going LCHF, you maybe have just lowered your food intake, that little bit too much early on, that you may have just fainted ?

Not saying you did, but I remember it being a common reason, back in the day for anyone fainting ..mmhh.


After all, the food we eat is just shovelling coal into an engine,
And of course some work is more intensive, than others

And cutting back a little too much may be something our body doesn't like and needs a little longer to adjust to ?

As said, we can't diagnose, but just a few ideas to consider before your doctors appointment

Yes I agree with that, I’ve gone extreme with it, probably should have slowly cut back maybe but I just wanted to improve the numbers quickly but I prefer to say I passed out lol

 

[Liam E]

Yes I agree with that, I’ve gone extreme with it, probably should have slowly cut back maybe but I just wanted to improve the numbers quickly but I prefer to say I passed out lol

I broke myself into it over a few months.

Prior to getting T2 I was eating around 300g of carbs a day.

I did a month of 120g a day, a couple more weeks at 100, then 70 then 50. I kept it 50 or for well over a year. Doing it that way I had no problems at all and my body had time to adapt, and me a chance to change my shopping habits.

You may have experienced a vasovagal syncope episode unrelated to blood sugar. Look that one up and see if it fits.

 

[Lainie71]

Yes I agree with that, I’ve gone extreme with it, probably should have slowly cut back maybe but I just wanted to improve the numbers quickly but I prefer to say I passed out lol

The same thing happened to me when I went all out and cut the carbs. I managed to get to the bathroom before I was seeing stars! Its happened a few times but seems to have settled. If I eat something I shouldn't have, I will feel a rush of warmth within 10 mins and I know its been too carby. Sweeteners also have that effect, make me shake and feel warm like a panic attack but not a full on panic attack! Hope you feel better soon xxxxx