Feeling of lows when blood glucose normal

[Bigchilli]

Hi folks
Quick background
Diagnosed type 2 in June this year
H1bc of 80
After 4 months of strict diet I got it down to 36 without medication

When I was initially diagnosed I was literally having to eat every 2-3 hours
I would wake up during the night feeling floppy(my phrase for low sugar symptoms)
Shaky, dizzy, irritable and others that get worse the longer it goes on
Obviously this has improved massively but it's not went away,happened last night
The last few times I've felt like this I tested around 6mmol but I felt like I was low
Have a snack and 30mins later feel fine
I literally spent years having these symptoms (I never really had any symptoms of high blood sugar,thirst frequent urination etc)
I was supposed to get fasting bloods done for over a year prior to diagnosis but I was unable to fast for 12hours

Anyone experience similar or have any ideas
Any advice would be great

 

[Resurgam]

At 6mmol/l it is probably a false hypo, as your body is used to higher levels.
The longer you keep to a low carb diet, the fewer they ought to become - and the smaller the amount of carbs required to get rid of the feeling.

 

[PW1]

The feeling of low can also occur when the blood sugar changes quickly. I have prediabetes and reactive hypoglycaemia. I can feel ‘off’ with both high and low blood sugar - when there has been a rapid change. Another difficulty can be catching a low on the blood sugar meter if the liver has responded fast - so I can get low, but the liver responds with a dump of blood sugar and then I measure higher than I actually was (now and then I’ve managed to see this happening on either the Libre or with blood sticks). It can take me a while to recover from this low feeling, even when my blood sugar has settled.

 

[Lamont D]

As has been said it could be a false hypo, symptoms are very similar of a blood crash without actually going hypo.
Because of the time since diagnosis, I would also think that you have started to feel the fluctuations more than just after diagnosis. Your awareness to blood glucose levels rising and falling has become more pronounced.
You have done really well to get your Hba1c levels down.
Keep tracking your blood glucose levels, and if you are not sure what is happening, keep asking.

 

[Lamont D]

The feeling of low can also occur when the blood sugar changes quickly. I have prediabetes and reactive hypoglycaemia. I can feel ‘off’ with both high and low blood sugar - when there has been a rapid change. Another difficulty can be catching a low on the blood sugar meter if the liver has responded fast - so I can get low, but the liver responds with a dump of blood sugar and then I measure higher than I actually was (now and then I’ve managed to see this happening on either the Libre or with blood sticks). It can take me a while to recover from this low feeling, even when my blood sugar has settled.

Hi, have you read the RH forum and got control of your RH symptoms?

 

[Antje77]

If your hba1c is currently 36 your average BG should be around 6. Which makes it impossible (edit: make that unlikely) to have a false hypo at 6 mmol/l. I'd look into other reasons than BG why you feel floppy.

 

[Resurgam]

If your hba1c is currently 36 your average BG should be around 6. Which makes it impossible to have a false hypo at 6 mmol/l. I'd look into other reasons than BG why you feel floppy.

I don't quite understand the logic of that - if the BG is dropping rapidly then 6 could feel like a hypo, if it is sinking gently down to - for instance, 5, and staying there overnight a Hba1c of 36 could be the result.

 

[Antje77]

I don't quite understand the logic of that - if the BG is dropping rapidly then 6 could feel like a hypo, if it is sinking gently down to - for instance, 5, and staying there overnight a Hba1c of 36 could be the result.

I get your point, but with such a low hba1c it seems very unlikely to feel hypo at 6, whatever the circumstances. So I'll change 'impossible' to 'unlikely'.

 

[Bigchilli]

Thanks for the responses
I'm still trying to get my head around it all
I've been self testing for a few months and most results have been around 5-6mmol which is good
The episodes are much less frequent but if I go 3-4 hours without eating they will start and get worse until I eat something
Any strenuous activity will bring it on quicker

Not sure the relevance but back in June when I went for my fasting blood tests(that prompted my diagnosis)
I said to the nurse it would be low as I had these shaky week symptoms after fasting 12hrs and it was 14.4mmol

 

[Bigchilli]

6 months before I found out I was type 2 these were so frequent I used to carry glucose tablets and lucozade with me everywhere I went

Now it's once or twice a week
I'm wondering if it's more a mental thing

 

[LindiePops]

6 months before I found out I was type 2 these were so frequent I used to carry glucose tablets and lucozade with me everywhere I went

Now it's once or twice a week
I'm wondering if it's more a mental thing

I would try testing your blood pressure. I have high blood pressure and take medication for it. I found that sometimes I would feel like I was having a hypo but blood glucose was fine. When it happened when visiting the Doctor, it turned out my glucose was fine but my blood pressure was low. It still happens to me every now and again. May be worth checking yours out

 

[Antje77]

The episodes are much less frequent but if I go 3-4 hours without eating they will start and get worse until I eat something
Any strenuous activity will bring it on quicker

Could be a stupid question, but are you eating enough? When I'm hungry but have normal bg it sometimes feels almost like a hypo.

 

[Bigchilli]

Yeah eat plenty
Often happens during the night if I can't sleep and lay awake for a few hours
Regularly check blood pressure always fine

 

[RuthP]

It could be you have an electrolyte imbalance since following low-carb - not enough sodium, magnesium and/or potassium... I don’t particularly like adding salt to my food so I buy size “000” empty gelatin capsules and fill them with salt and take a couple a day which has helped with my feelings of dizziness and clammy sweats and brought my blood pressure back up too. I also supplement with magnesium.