How do I recognise a Hypo?

[coby]

I always seem to fall asleep right after my lunch and dinner. My eyes just suddenly go really heavy and the next thing it will be half an hour later or more and I'm still sat here with open laptop on my knee.
I also (but not always) go sweaty hot too.
Sometimes it's a light lunch such as two hard boiled eggs with cup oif tea and maybe a slice of malt loaf or a chocolate hobnob.
Is this what a hypo is?
Does it mean I've eaten the wrong things?
I do not test.
Thanks for any help offered

 

[Brunneria]

Talking about T2s, not on strong meds:

Sometimes we fall asleep from high or low blood glucose.
Really, the only way to know is to test.

But as a general rule, if it happens just after fast release carbs (malt loaf or hobnob) then it is probably high blood glucose.
And if it happens before food or longer than several hours after food, it is probably low blood glucose.

My grandfather and father both developed type 2 in their 60s. The most obvious sign of it was falling asleep after meals. Getting blood glucose under control would stop this from happening.

 

[slip]

The chances of a T2D on metformin having a hypo is very very minimal - your BG level is probably high after food which is causing the sleepiness.

Please seriously think about getting a Blood Glucose meter to at least test your BG before and 2 hrs after eating, that will give you some idea of what your current diet is doing to your BG levels, and then see about cutting out the bread, rice, pasta and sweet foods.

 

[Emile_the_rat]

I always seem to fall asleep right after my lunch and dinner. My eyes just suddenly go really heavy and the next thing it will be half an hour later or more and I'm still sat here with open laptop on my knee.
I also (but not always) go sweaty hot too.
Sometimes it's a light lunch such as two hard boiled eggs with cup oif tea and maybe a slice of malt loaf or a chocolate hobnob.
Is this what a hypo is?
Does it mean I've eaten the wrong things?
I do not test.
Thanks for any help offered

This does not sound like a hypo. A hypo are usually very uncomfortable and nothing like just falling asleep. I am not sure what you mean by sweaty hot, do you mean regular sweating like when you're sitting outside a hot summer day?
When I get a hypo I feel the total opposite, I get all cold shivers, like sweating, but my body get all cold, and I start to shiver and shake. And when you try to stop shaking it just gets worse. I also get very drowsy and unconscious of my surroundings, and will get started by high sounds. People have also commented that a talk indistinctly, and that they don't understand what I'm saying. You also will have trouble standing straight , so you would feel the need to sit down. So basically a hypo are pretty hard to miss, so if you just feel tired and are unsure if you had a hypo you most likely didn't had one.

Yes, I know many poeple don't remember the ending of a episode of a severe hypo, but you're usually aware at the point when the hypo starts, were all the symptoms kick in. So to me it sounds like you feel regular tiredness or something sleep related

But of course I can be wrong, because hypos are different from person to person. Just saying that I think it does not sound like a regular hypo.

 

[AndBreathe]

I always seem to fall asleep right after my lunch and dinner. My eyes just suddenly go really heavy and the next thing it will be half an hour later or more and I'm still sat here with open laptop on my knee.
I also (but not always) go sweaty hot too.
Sometimes it's a light lunch such as two hard boiled eggs with cup oif tea and maybe a slice of malt loaf or a chocolate hobnob.
Is this what a hypo is?
Does it mean I've eaten the wrong things?
I do not test.
Thanks for any help offered

Coby - I would agree with everything @Brunneria says. Likewise, I think it would be extremely useful for you to self test, even if only to explore these episodes. The malt loaf and/or Hobnob could maybe be a bit unhelpful to you.

Personally, I tested quite intensively for a while to get a real handle on what was going on, but that's not for everyone.

 

[4ratbags]

Definately get yourself a meter to test your BS as that is what happens to me when BS is high but it knocks me out for 4 hours. With the use of a meter you will be able to ascertain what food affects you and those you can tolerate.

 

[luna50]

Hi @coby

On this site you can read about the sign off Hypoglycemia (The Hypo).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoglycemia#Signs_and_symptoms

 

[Jaylee]

I always seem to fall asleep right after my lunch and dinner. My eyes just suddenly go really heavy and the next thing it will be half an hour later or more and I'm still sat here with open laptop on my knee.
I also (but not always) go sweaty hot too.
Sometimes it's a light lunch such as two hard boiled eggs with cup oif tea and maybe a slice of malt loaf or a chocolate hobnob.
Is this what a hypo is?
Does it mean I've eaten the wrong things?
I do not test.
Thanks for any help offered

Laptops can generate heat.. Sat with it on your lap may block the vents where the fan is, cutting the air flow cooling the motherboard & "chipset"? Generating more heat... Usually there is a "thermal cut out" to protect the unit, switching it off. Though, they can still get hot..

So, you fell asleep after a cuppa and a hobnob with a heat generating source on your lap in possible balmy weather..

I'll stick my neck out & say invest in a blood glucose meter.

.... And a fan assisted laptop tray?!!

 

[coby]

Talking about T2s, not on strong meds:

Sometimes we fall asleep from high or low blood glucose.
Really, the only way to know is to test.

But as a general rule, if it happens just after fast release carbs (malt loaf or hobnob) then it is probably high blood glucose.
And if it happens before food or longer than several hours after food, it is probably low blood glucose.

My grandfather and father both developed type 2 in their 60s. The most obvious sign of it was falling asleep after meals. Getting blood glucose under control would stop this from happening.

Aww thank you sooo much for that explanation Brunneria becaust this sudden 'falling asleep' thing has been bothering me. I always thought that Malt loaf was healthy? As for Hobnobs ... again .. because they are full of fibre I thought I was eating the healthy option???

 

[coby]

The chances of a T2D on metformin having a hypo is very very minimal - your BG level is probably high after food which is causing the sleepiness.

Please seriously think about getting a Blood Glucose meter to at least test your BG before and 2 hrs after eating, that will give you some idea of what your current diet is doing to your BG levels, and then see about cutting out the bread, rice, pasta and sweet foods.

I never eat Pasta or rice ... don't like them, and I only eat wholemeal bread, which my diabetic nurse assured me was fine?

 

[coby]

Definately get yourself a meter to test your BS as that is what happens to me when BS is high but it knocks me out for 4 hours. With the use of a meter you will be able to ascertain what food affects you and those you can tolerate.

I wish I knew how to reduced carbs to that! I have no idea what has carbs in apart from bread so I can't work out what I have.

 

[coby]

Laptops can generate heat.. Sat with it on your lap may block the vents where the fan is, cutting the air flow cooling the motherboard & "chipset"? Generating more heat... Usually there is a "thermal cut out" to protect the unit, switching it off. Though, they can still get hot..

So, you fell asleep after a cuppa and a hobnob with a heat generating source on your lap in possible balmy weather..

I'll stick my neck out & say invest in a blood glucose meter.

.... And a fan assisted laptop tray?!!

Ha haa I always use a laptop tray The sweaty thing comes on at times when I'm not on the laptop too. It;s like menopause heat.

 

[Brunneria]

If you get yourself a meter (the cheapest ones are SD codefree, I think) then you can test your own personal reaction to carbs and start to avoid the ones that give you such high readings that you go to sleep.
- it could change your life!

In the meantime, anything with carbs in will affect your blood sugar and send it up. The main culprits for high blood glucose in type 2 diabetics are bread (white or brown), rice (white or brown), potato, pasta (white or brown), cakes, biscuits, breakfast cereal, sweet fruit like bananas, grapes and pineapple, puddings, desserts, fruit juices, and anything with sugar in.

Basically if it is stodgy, starchy, comfort food or sweet. lol.

At the bottom of my signature there is a link to a fantastic website called www.dietdoctor.com, and a page that explains (in 60 secs) what carbs look like, and how to avoid them.

Hope that helps!