BG 4.4 is this low ?

Bri

Active Member
Messages
26
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Just got home after a wobbly drive home , ate apple cake , and still feel wobbly. On metformin 500 mg x2 a day . is this a low reading ? It fellt like impending doom ! Saw my life flashong past me . My BG is usually high ! Been grazing all day as well ....
 

Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
4.4 is a great 'normal' non-diabetic reading. I would be delighted with it.

But if your body usually has higher readings, then you may have experienced what is known as a 'false hypo'. These happen when the bg drops below familiar levels. They feel very real, but you aren't at risk unless you drop below the mid 3s.

How much higher do you usually run?
 
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Liam1955

Master
Messages
10,964
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Insulin
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Anti-Gay People, Self Centre People, Two Faced People and Bad Language.
Hi @Bri - Think I would have pulled over to the side of the road or layby and checked my blood sugar. I ALWAYS carry glucose tablets with me - just in case. Maybe this is something you ought to do from now on.
 

Bri

Active Member
Messages
26
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
4.4 is a great 'normal' non-diabetic reading. I would be delighted with it.

But if your body usually has higher readings, then you may have experienced what is known as a 'false hypo'. These happen when the bg drops below familiar levels. They feel very real, but you aren't at risk unless you drop below the mid 3s.

How much higher do you usually run?
Thank you ! That's reasuring ! I panicked ! When I wake up it can be 9.5 ... Thought I was going to pass out on the way home . Was quite panicked .....
 

Bri

Active Member
Messages
26
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hah ! Yes , I thought the drug would level it all out ! Not dip into a dark hole ! Bless my wife , she gave me haribo jellies , and insisted I keep them in the car ! I nearly pulled over and rung 999 ! Was an awful impending doom feeling ! .... Thank you Liam !! I hate not being in control ! ;)
 
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Yorksman

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,445
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
If you ate nothing at all for a few days, your BG readings would drop down to around the 4.0 mark and then your body would create new glucose from stored lipids to top you up. Your BG readings rise again. Its the rate at which they climb, how high they climb and how long they take to come back down which determines whether you have diabetes or not.

You can overmedicate and your BG can go too low but its generally not a problem for type 2s on metformin. It's more a problem for people taking very strong meds or insulin who overmedicate.

Metformin doesn't really even things out in the way you mean. What it does is slows the rate of digestion and hence the rate at which glucose is released and helps your body's sensitivity to insulin. It's all about the top end of the range, not the bottom end. For most type 2s, the bottom end sorts itself out.
 
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