Type 2 Various readings.

[Marggie]

Hi as my blood sugar levels are always low before I go to bed I decided to take them on the 3 monitors that I have. The readings are 5, 5.3 & 5.9. Two of the monitors I did do test on them and both showed they were working okay. I don't know which one to believe. Any ideas ?

 

[Alison Campbell]

Hi Margiee, those look like normal reading to me unless you are on lowering medication and at risk of hypoglycemia.

Meters are not as accurate as lab tests and can be out by plus or minus 15%. My understanding is that each drop of blood is unique snap shot in time and there is not much use in comparing the meters for accuracy in this way.

 

[chalup]

Those are not low, they are dead on normal. Keep doing whatever you are doing

 

[Winnie53]

After using an expensive glucose meter, I purchased a cheap one. I tested five times with one meter, then five times with the other. I then did an average of each 5 tests on each meter to compare. By comparing averages, the cheap meter was 10 mg/dl lower than the expensive meter. But other members of our diabetes group has found that the cheap meter can test high too.

Author Jenny Ruhl recommends taking your meter with you when you go to the lab to get your A1c and glucose level tested. If you test with your meter just before or after your blood draw - (you could test 5 times then too) - you'll get an idea of how accurate your meter is after you get your lab test results back.

What matters most is monitoring the rise and fall of your glucose levels throughout the day beginning with waking, then pre-meal and 2-hours post-meal. Congrats on your normal glucose levels.

 

[pleinster]

Hi as my blood sugar levels are always low before I go to bed I decided to take them on the 3 monitors that I have. The readings are 5, 5.3 & 5.9. Two of the monitors I did do test on them and both showed they were working okay. I don't know which one to believe. Any ideas ?

Yes. Get to sleep and feel good about your levels (any one of those three)!

 

[gavin86]

If you did 3 tests on exactly the same meter, you'd probably get a similar range, so as others have said, try not to stress.
I did some extensive testing and found my meter varied by +/- 0.4 quite often. So eg: one reading could be 4.9, then 10 seconds later the same meter with a new strip, using the same drop of blood, might say 5.3, or, 4.5.

 

[Marggie]

Thank you for all your replies. I know the readings are good but the thing is if my readings drop below 5 in the night I have a hypo. I normal eat a few jelly babies if it is near 5 but I don't want to eat any if there is no need to. If the actual reading is 5.9 I wouldn't need to eat anything.

 

[Alison Campbell]

Can you tell what medication you are taking for diabetes?

 

[Marggie]

Can you tell what medication you are taking for diabetes?

Yes slow release Metformin. Tried standard Metformin but as I already have IBS I couldn't take it.

 

[Marggie]

Yes slow release Metformin 2 times a day 500. Tried standard Metformin but as I already have IBS I couldn't take it.

 

[Alison Campbell]

It's not impossible but quite rare to hypo on metformin, how low does your blood sugar go in the night?

 

[Bluetit1802]

Any one of those readings could be accurate, and all of them could be inaccurate. There is no answer to your question. There is very little difference between them, and certainly not as much as plus or minus the 15% allowable.

Why are you worrying about having a hypo on Metformin? It is extremely rare to do this, and really you are no more likely to hypo than any non-diabetic. Additionally, under 4 is technically a hypo, not under 5. As a T2 on Metformin only, your liver will look after you and keep your glucose levels stable.

Did you feel "off" when you were testing?

 

[Marggie]

It's not impossible but quite rare to hypo on metformin, how low does your blood sugar go in the night?

4.4 I have had it happen to often for it not to be a hypo. I wake up feeling nauseous and clammy. I have this gittery feeling in my stomach and feel really unwell and unsteady on my feet.

 

[catapillar]

4.4 I have had it happen to often for it not to be a hypo. I wake up feeling nauseous and clammy. I have this gittery feeling in my stomach and feel really unwell and unsteady on my feet.

4.4 is not hypo. Under 4 is a hypo, over 4 is not.

 

[chalup]

4.4 is an excellent reading. Your body is just used to running high. If you quit feeding those numbers your body will get used to normal and you should stop feeling ill at those levels.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I agree these could well be false hypos where you feel you are experiencing a hypo simply because your body is not used to seeing such good levels like 4's and 5s.

 

[Winnie53]

@Marggie I'm a bit confused. You're listed as "insulin dependent type 2 diabetic" under your avatar. Are you injecting insulin? Long acting only or short acting too? Also, what type of diet are you using to manage your type 2 diabetes and how long have you been on it?

 

[Bluetit1802]

@Marggie I'm a bit confused. You're listed as "insulin dependent type 2 diabetic" under your avatar. Are you injecting insulin? Long acting only or short acting too? Also, what type of diet are you using to manage your type 2 diabetes and how long have you been on it?

According to her profile, she is on Metformin only. There is a glitch in the forum whereby when some T2 newbies arrive and tick the T2 box on their profile, it shows under the avatar as insulin dependent. This has been reported many times. Also, not everyone sees the insulin dependent bit under the avatar. I don't. This has also been reported many times.

 

[Winnie53]

Thanks Bluetit1802.

 

[Marggie]

@Marggie I'm a bit confused. You're listed as "insulin dependent type 2 diabetic" under your avatar. Are you injecting insulin? Long acting only or short acting too? Also, what type of diet are you using to manage your type 2 diabetes and how long have you been on it?

Sorry I am not on insulin. I never saw that.

I was diagnosed as Type 2, 2 years ago. I am on slow release Metformin and have cut my carbs down. My HbcA1 ( sorry I know that's probably not right) is down to 5.7.