False hypo symptoms

GrantGam

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,603
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello,

Many diabetics get hypo symptoms at different BGL's and some don't even get hypo symptoms at all.

If you could tell us a few things then we'll be able to help:

-How long have you been diabetic?
-What was your HbA1c on diagnosis?
-What is your normal BGL (on average, roughly)?

I'm asking this because typically when you have a high HbA1c/avg BGL then you're more likley to feel a sense of hypoglycemia when you're actually at a decent level. I remember when I was initially diagnosed (although T1D) I felt really shakey and sweaty even at around 8mmol/L.

Cheers,
Grant
 

rstonepal

Well-Known Member
Messages
57
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Diabetic Educators, people who do not listen, people who do not actively try to make their situation better, people who think I am in their textbook, people who think I am a standard T1D.
Does anyone have any hypo symptoms even when there blood sugar reading are not low
I think I know what you are asking as I called them false hypos also. I also call the other ones false hypers. They happen for no reason. Thankfully, I found out what those false hypos are from. I live in the US so our measurements are different, but, my daily average BG is 115. When it drops to 50, that is when I feel it, my hands and arms go painfully numb. I have been in this condition since January 2016 and it is due to me having an adverse reaction to the brand of insulin I must use under my health insurance mandate. It took 18 months for us to find, I have hypo reactions when I use Humalog. I had this same problem with Pork insulin. I went on Novolog and the hypos I had afterwards were real, down in the 50s.

My false highs are from my pump. I am on a Tslim insulin pump. They indicate the insertion site should be changed every 3 days. I am unable to wear it that long. When I hit that second day, my 115 shoots up to well over 250 and stays there. When I am not paying attention, I just dose. I end up dosing enough to put an elephant into hypo and nothing happens. All I have to do is put in an new site and plug in. I am still trying to find the cause for this one as, when I swap out the site, without dosing, everything I took that day seems to hit my system within 30 minutes, then I seriously go hypo.

If I misinterpreted this and you are wondering why you feel hypo at, oh, say, 150. that is a matter of getting used to the lower BG. Prior to CGMs, my average BG was 350+. I was told that as I lower that, I will feel hypo, do not react. I was told to live through that feeling and eventually it would stop at the higher levels. It took me a few months of panicking but I made it through. My A1C is 6.7 because I have been ill, BG has been high.
 

Mep

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,461
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
I think the ones I get like that are when my sugar is dropping fast. Eg. if I was to check 15 mins later or so I'd be a lot lower. My body is usually spot on with warning me. I can't say I've ever had a false hypo as such. But my body does start to warn me when I'm dropping fast. It's usually around my 'safe' number which is 5 mmol that I start feeling like I may hypo... you know that sense of urgency and panic. But maybe you're talking about something different? Does your sugar stay in normal range for a while and you feel like you're having a hypo? I've never had that myself. My sugar does drop quick when under 5 though... that's why I aim at keeping it above 5 at all times.
 

PauJones

Member
Messages
12
I do get it when my levels drop quick also I've been around 8 sometimes and in double figures and I feel like I'm low the main symptom is I get a awful feeling in my legs what's hard to describe as I do if I'm having a hypo
 

Bogusman

Well-Known Member
Messages
47
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Too numerous to mention
Yes, I know what you mean. My usual low feeling is like, eh, butterflies in my stomach but sometimes when I check my blood, expecting it to be a 3.1 or thereabouts, it turns out to be 11+ or something like that, so it is probably just playing with us...as usual!
 
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rstonepal

Well-Known Member
Messages
57
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Diabetic Educators, people who do not listen, people who do not actively try to make their situation better, people who think I am in their textbook, people who think I am a standard T1D.
As I mentioned previously, the brand/type of insulin does this to me constantly. I managed to acquire 3 bottles of Novolog and have been back on that for 3 days now. My hypos symptoms, my blurred vision, my grotesque swelling of ankles, hands, face and eyes, the pain in my hands and my ridiculous BG bouncing has subsided. While the constant hypo feeling is gone, I have had T1D so long, I know it will return.
 

Dude26

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I have had false hypos. All the symptoms and levels around 6 - 6.5 it was a mystery until I found that I also have a problem with high blood pressure. Since having medication for this the symptoms seem to have stopped.
 

Janet_rabbit

Active Member
Messages
36
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
intolerance, hatred, fighting
Yes I also get 'hypo warning symptoms' without low sugars - especially tingling, sweating and panic. I just wish I always got them when I actually am going hypo! As others have found, sometimes these symptoms come when the sugar is changing rapidly - perhaps dropping from 12 to 6 - so they can be a useful warning of that. My other problem is that I often feel my sugar is high, with thirst and need to run to the loo, when it isn't high at all. I guess we just all have the same 'warning' symptoms for other reasons and it is hard to know what they mean at any given time, without frequent testing. :(
 

sledgegreen

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I had an episode last year which I thought was a hypo, but which turned out to be low blood pressure. I had been monitoring my BP, but didn't realise how dramatically low it had been that day until I plotted the graphs a few days later (I wasn't monitoring BG levels at the time).

In Jan this year, I had a similar episode. This time I went home and checked my BP - it was low, and continued to fall over the next couple of hours, so I called 111. They sent me to the on-call GP at the local hospital, who did various tests and then told me to stop taking my BP meds (I was being treated with a cocktail of drugs for high BP) until I had seen my own GP. She told me to restart one drug, but not the others. My BP rose to shocking levels, so since then she has been adding additional drugs or adjusting doses each month, and my BP is now close to target.

I haven't had any similar episodes since then, so I think they were caused by my BP medication being stronger than was needed. The good news is that a couple of other nuisance symptoms cleared up as well, which had previously been attributed to Metformin.

The symptoms I had during these episodes were dizziness, confusion (I realised that I was having more difficulty than usual comparing prices whilst shopping) and fatigue.
 

nettymezz

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I've just gone on insulin a couple of months ago, T2. Just yesterday I had an episode where I thought I was hypo but was actually 8.7 when I tested. I put it down to having the lowest reading I've had for a while, previous readings have been high teens low twenties. I can work with that but I am getting pins and needles in my right hand, reading some of the posts on here it would seem that this is a normal side effect so this is reassuring to me. I guess you have to just get used to symptoms and deal with them accordingly. I'm glad I found this site and thank people for sharing their experiences.
 

colpaxclarke

Member
Messages
14
Does anyone have any hypo symptoms even when there blood sugar reading are not low
Hello there, newly diagnosed in the last few weeks. I have been getting symptoms of hypos when I have been in the mid 4's to mid 5's. Cold sweats and shaking etc. I'm assuming this is because I'm first starting out and my body isn't used to being this low so fast? I had my first proper hypo yesterday and it was horrible! Never want that to happen again!
 
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Mep

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,461
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello there, newly diagnosed in the last few weeks. I have been getting symptoms of hypos when I have been in the mid 4's to mid 5's. Cold sweats and shaking etc. I'm assuming this is because I'm first starting out and my body isn't used to being this low so fast? I had my first proper hypo yesterday and it was horrible! Never want that to happen again!

Welcome :) Yes, most likely you're getting that feeling at normal range, especially if you usually run high. Also it could have to do with the speed of your sugar dropping too. As time goes by you will get to learn what is what and how things affect you. A lot of us do differ with things... you'll get to find what is right for you. I hope you have good health care professionals to guide you too as that does help. This forum is a great support too. I wish you the best. :)

I'll tag @daisy1 to give you the forum information for new members.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@PauJones

Hello Paul and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.