Another Confused type 2- Hyper/Hypo

[Deano_uk]

Had a bit of surprise a few weeks ago as I hadn't been to doctor or felt the need to for about 18 years. I went to register with our surgery last week after a house move (7 Years ago )and they did some tests as I hadn't been seen for so long and found glucose in my urine and so tested my blood and my level was 21

I had to fast over night and go back for more blood tests and even the t was 18. Strangely didnt really have any symptoms so had no idea. I was immediatley diagnosed as being type 2 and put on 1000 Mg of metformin 3 x per day

Bit of a shock but just the kick in the butt I needed to sort my life out so I've been doing an hours walking every night to get some much needed exercise and I've also totally changed my diet. I've already lost 8Lbs in about 10 weeks so I'm quite pleased with the gradual weight loss.

As I said I never had any real symptoms but I can look back over the course of a few years and see where I have had what could be descibed as Hypos.

Yesterday I was working from a different office a couple of hours away from home and had forgotton to bring any tablets with me so missed my lunch time dose. I felt okay had my tablets with my evening meal and went to bed feeling fine.
In the middle of the night I woke up sweating and feeling I wanted to be sick. I was shakey and somewhat delireous talking utter rubbish, my breathing fast and I was constantly Yawning, my feet were burning hot.
This lasted about 30 mins and then I began to feel fine again, It took a further hour to calm my wife down who was petrified and wanted to call an ambulance.

This morning I woke feeling fine and decided to test my blood which I do once a week normally to see if there is any progress. My blood Glucose was 14.4 which is about my average fasting level at the moment.

What I'm confused about is that all my symptoms would point to a Hypo rather than a hyper but I'd be amazed if I could get that low to have one.

Also would missing 1 dose of metformin cause this or is unlikely to be related ?

This is the first time I've felt any real symptoms since being diagnosed so I'm a little confused.

Deano

 

[ebony321]

Hi,

i'm not type 2 but i know a little regarding what your saying,

With type 2 the syptoms are much slower and kind of creeps up on you.. so when you say you had no symptoms it could be that your body was getting used to feeling kind of ******!!

It can be a massive shock!! but It's great you've taken it in your stride and decided to change your lifestyle by walking and dietary changes!! so well done on your weight loss!!

Did you test your blood glucose whilst that was happening overnight? i know it may be a silly question as you probably weren't in the right state of mind but it would be a good idea to teach your wife (if she doesnt already know) how to test it then you may have some indication if this was due to your blood glucose levels?

Symptoms of hypo's and hyper's can be very similar, sometimes i think i'm low then test my BG's and its high or vice versa. quite odd sometimes!!

i have no experience in taking metformin so hopefully someone who can give you a better answer comes along

It's normal to be confused with having alot to take on, but you'll eventually learn how your body feels when high/low. but ultimately the only way your going to know is to test your BG's. so if you feel a little light headed, shakey etc then test your BG.

If you miss your medication in future keep an eye on your BG's every couple of hours too. then you'll know what happens to you!!

hope some of this helps

 

[ellenc]

Hi Deano I too had no systoms when I was diagnosed 22 years ago. It was found that I had diabetes when I went to see a skin specialist because I had a mark on my shin. I wasnt even tested he walked in and said immediately you have diabetes, this stunned me. He sent my to a diabetic specialist and my reading at that time was 24. Pleae read my letter in the forum regarding what I consider acceptable blood levels and a bit of advice on food. I find that anything with a high fat content puts my levels up which I found surprising, so stay off pastry, crisps and use low fat margarine spreads etc. Hope my advice helps.

 

[k9kitty]

Hi Deano,
I have been taking Metformin since April and found that missing a dose didn't do much except upset my stomach more when I took the next dose when it was due. This medication does affect people differently though. The best thing to do is keep a note your of symptoms/reactions when they occur and show your nurse or doctor when you next see them.

Metformin did bring my bg levels down too quickly during the first month of taking it. My bg was below 4 mmol a few times and I became shakey, all over the place etc and my doc took me off the night time dose and this worked for me, so do mention what is happening with him/her when you can and see if they agree to the change in dosage.

Well done on the weight loss too, that's a really good start.

 

[Sue Morton]

Hi, when you first take metformin and it begins to control your blood sugar and you yourself are helping to correct things by what you eat your body is all of a sudden being changed and you will in the first month (possibly longer) feel ill and have these shaky etc feelings I know I did and did feel quite ill but then gradually your body gets used to the levels as you start to control your levels and they go down.

I once forgot to take my metformin after breakfast and remembered an hour later as I suddenly started to feel shaky and ill tested my BS which was 14.6. I had forgotton a couple of times before but never had that reaction before why I had it that time I don't know.

You should be testing more then once a week - I have to buy my tabs for testing as my doctor wont give me so I couldn't afford to test before and after a meal what I did was test after I had eaten 2 hours to 3 hours to see what my BS was it helped to let me know what food I was eating that made my blood sugar go up - after a meal it should be no higher then 8.4 so anything higher you need to eat slightly smaller portion or cut out one of the items. There is a lot of information on this forum about low carb diet which does seem the way to go but some feel different. Each person is different and you need to find what food you react to that puts your BS up. Once you have this sorted things are a lot different. But each time you have a different food then test to see your reaction.

Some doctors say Type 2s don't need to test which is rediculous as how are we to know what our BS is if we don't - bet its only these doctors that don't percribe the tabs that say this.

Also if you over exercise your body thinks it needs energy so you liver will dump sugar into you so again you have to find a level that your liver doesn't do this.

I wish you well it is hard to find exactly what what and to begin with and is very confusing as whats good for one is bad for another so we need to see how we react to everything even stress can send your BS up. Keep in touch with the forum it really helps to see other peoples views and when your feeling low which you will do occassionaly it helps put you back on the right track.

All best
Sue