What is considered too low for glucose?

X

xjdriver

Newbie
Messages
2
Hi

I am a new member and a Type 2 diabetic. My BG was up at 15 to 18 mmol/L. I bought the FreeStyle Libre sensors and use them fairly regularly (they are very expensive) to see how I am doing. My doctor put me on Metformin - 4 x 500g tablets per day.

I have been on diet and have lost 20kg (2 stone) in 2 months (which was the 15% bodyweight recommended in Roy Taylor's book - Life Without Diabetes as "Step 1" in order to kick-start the pancreas and liver into doing their job properly provided they are not too damaged already). I have been using the Exante diet for 2 months to lose the weight and I am determined to get into remission.

My BG has now averaged around 5.1 for the last month which is great and I am hoping to reduce (or stop) taking the Metformin once I have had my 3-month checkup with the diabetic nurse and my doctor.

Clearly my reduced weight is contributing to my better health and I am determined to keep it off. However, on the FreeStyle Libre sensor I am seeing that my BG is dropping to less than 4.0 (worst was 3.5) during the sleeping hours between 12am and 5am. Is this a problem? Is it too low?

Thanks for reading this far! Any comments welcome.

Regards, Chris
 
Rokaab

Rokaab

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,161
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
If you are only on metformin for diabetes then mid to high 3's are fine (for the majority of people), but also note that the libre can often show lower than your sugar level is when less than 5, also lying on the sensor can cause it to show lower than it is as well (I think quite a few find the libre shows lower than it is overnight due to that)
 
xfieldok

xfieldok

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,182
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
The libre is infamous for inaccurate readings under 4. You should always check with a fingerprick.
 
X

xjdriver

Newbie
Messages
2
Great feedback. Thanks, guys. I did not know that the Libre has this “quirk” but it makes sense. I was beginning to wonder.
 
S

sno0opy

Well-Known Member
Messages
383
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Yea, on the finger pricking, your not in insulin so you can't get too low. It's really really unlikely to have what would be described a hypo. If your meter is reading belown 5.5 or 5 just be pleased that's I'm the normal range for fasting.

If you didn't eat for 3 days you wouldn't go low as your body converts fat to glucose as part of its normal function, that's not affected by diabetes.
 
S

Sea Dog

Newbie
Messages
1
sno0opy said:
Yea, on the finger pricking, your not in insulin so you can't get too low. It's really really unlikely to have what would be described a hypo. If your meter is reading belown 5.5 or 5 just be pleased that's I'm the normal range for fasting.

If you didn't eat for 3 days you wouldn't go low as your body converts fat to glucose as part of its normal function, that's not affected by diabetes.
Click to expand...

Just being picky - your body can't convert fat to glucose, if need be it converts protein to glucose.
 
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