how low is low?

[blothom]

Ok, so I have been reading posts for about 2.5 months now, and I am really confused as to how low do your bgs have to be, to be "low".I always understood that you had to be above 5 to drive, and 5.6 is "normal", so I thought that anything below say 4.5 would be low. I get hypo warnings at about 3.9 (blurry vision, shaky hands) at which point I test to check, then take some orange juice, and retest 15-20 mins later. However, on here it seems that everyone has a different idea of what is low, with some people running at 3.5 and feeling that is fine. Is it purely a personal thing, or are there set points at which I should worry? I have only been on insulin for 2.5 months, and I rely on my driving licence, so I am quite scared of having hypos. Should I aim to try to level at 6 - 7, so that I don't drop too low to drive?

 

[mo1905]

Aiming between 6 & 7 sounds very sensible. Some folks go lower but that is their choice. Prolonged levels of low BG levels and you can lose your hypo awareness. If you need to drive regularly, I would not wish to drop below 5. Some can go as low as 3 and feel fine. I would not like to live that way. Good luck !
Mo


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[amberzak]

The ruling I was told was that if you feel low, then you are low. When I was first diagnoses, because I had been having such high sugars, I felt low when I had a reading of 6, because my body was used to being higher. Equally, a friend if mine regularly runs at a reading of 4, which is too low for me.

I always though of 2.4 as a hypo, but I've since been told its 3.9. I aim to have my sugars no lower than 5 and no lower than 7 before I go to bed (because of the many sleeping hypos I had).


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[ElyDave]

I prefer to run as low as posisble and with my insulin as low as posible, apart from when I'm doing sport or driving. I'd prefer to avoid the long term complications of running higher but take the risk of hypos occaisionally.

Yesterday my levels were below 5 for most of the day except when I was driving and on my cycle trainer, same today.

EDIT
in terms of low, I find that I start to feel symptoms around 4.1-3.9, maybe a bit lower. When I'm getting down to 2.6, which I did AFTER breakfast one morning, I definitely know it.

 

[Daibell]

I'm the same as ElyDave. My hands start to tremble a bit just below 4.

 

[hale710]

Same as the above, I stick to a 4.5-7 range as much as possible. I notice I'm low from about 3.7 downwards

 

[noblehead]

Much like Mo1905 I prefer to stay above 5 most of the time, if I end up in the low 4's when my previous insulin has been exhausted I always have a small carby snack (5g oat cracker) to get back up to the 5's.

I wouldn't wish to be in levels below 4 ever and not treat it as a hypo, maintaining your hypo awareness is paramount when injecting insulin and by avoiding low levels ensures that you maintain it, that is especially so for those who rely on their driving licence such as you Blothom.

 

[blothom]

Thanks everyone - it is reassuring that my natural instinct to aim for 6-7 is probably right for me, especially as I was at 24+ before going on to insulin. For me, 6 is low! And I definitely know when I get below 4, very clear signals. I shall carry on fine-tuning as I go, but I have too healthy an appetite to go low-carb/low insulin just yet.

 

[hanadr]

Doctors will diagnose reactive hypoglycaemia at about 2.9. this is a low glucose syndrome.
I had to deal with a hypo of my husband's at 3 in the morning a few weeks ago. He dropped to 1 and we were away from home without everything i needed. I endeed up calling paramedics after an hour of trying to get the BG up. it's the only hypo he's had lately and we never puzzled out what caused it.
For normal purposes, I'd think that below 3.5 was low, but not dangerous. People used to high blood glucose may feel hypo at numbes above 5. I'd call that a fqalse hypo.Nevertheless, that person may not be fit to drive. I did experience hypos at around 4, when first diagnosed and on Gliclazide. No hypos nowadays. No Gliclazide.
Hana

 

[Sabantha]

I've always been told below 4 is low, I class as hypo and treat accordingly I have 2 small children and can't take risk., I suffered terrible hypos during my whole pregnancy and fitted 2x as had no symptoms both just read 'Lo' very very dangerous to get that lo. I HATE HYPO FEELING, TERRIFIES ME :-(


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[phoenix]

I continue try to keep fairly low levels but I am also very aware that it is a matter of treading a fine line. Perhaps I'm a still a little between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Early on, I kept really low glucose levels ( lowest HbA1c 4.9%). I exercised a lot and when low just topped up with glucose when necessary.I could come out of a solo swim in the pool in the 2s , I felt fine but did have a few thoughts about what if my OH didn't realise I hadn't come back.
I then had a couple of occasions when I felt mildly hypo but discovered that my meter actually said 'lo' , one of these was when I was riding a bike which really struck home. After that I became more proactive at avoiding those very low levels
I was lucky to be given a pump and a combination of topping up with more carbs, and reducing basal rates/insulin before exercise meant I could avoid those very low lows. ( though I still haven't mastered multi day hill walks.)
I still aim to be between 4 and 5 pre meals and still see levels between 3.5 and 4mmol/l a couple of times a week but now very rarely below that. I don't live in the UK and still don't worry about setting off for a drive in the 4s because I've never driven without my levels tending to rise. (stress? but I also test very regularly) Also, and perhaps this is a difference to the UK, my consultant only circles and discusses levels below 65 on my log (3.6mmol/l)

and if any of you speak French and do a lot of exercise , you might like to look at a question I asked on a French form (in bad French) This was a hospital forum and answered by a doctor (google translate isn't too bad) The answer was I now think totally correct.

gestion du diabète pendant un semimarathon le 10 Mars 2006 (scroll down, I'm Helen)
http://www.diabetenet.com/index.php?Rubrique=111

 

[vic hill]

blimey if i was at those levels i would eating all day long to get them up.
also depends what type of blood sugar machine u use free style libre always 2/3 units lower than acc -chek blood sugar meter ie FSLIBRE SAY 6 acc chef will say 7/8
sorry but if i was also driving i need to be at about 8/9/10 so i have plenty in of buffer if i was low from using brain energy
but we are all different at 4 my eyes get very blued on insulin for 65 years and on the high side i have been up to 25 not good 5 unit of fast acting to get in down vic
stay safe