Hi, I have been having funny turns lately so saw the gp who ordered a hbA1c test, whilst I was having it taken at my local hospital I had another turn and they called the diabetic nurse, who did a finger prick test and my result was 3.7, so she said to eat something and that I was probably diabetic. Well today I received the results of the test and my reading was 45, from what I can see online this means that I am only pre diabetic, so my query is why would my blood sugar keep dropping so low that I nearly pass out? I'm confused and due to the current Corona situation, the drs aren't helping.
A DN who doesn't know that a T2 (or any kind of diabetic) isn't going to have spontaneous lows, but highs, is one who needs her head examined. Now, there are several things that can explain your pre-diabetic HbA1c: If you're low on red blood cells (anemic), it can come out higher than it truly is. On the other hand, if you keep having these funny turns, with low blood glucose, you could have Reactive Hypoglycemia. RH is a condition where your pancreas overreacts and pumps out too much insulin, resulting in a hypo. It usually would happen, then, if you've eaten something high in carbs. Carbs turn to glucose once ingested, and if your blood sugars go high, your pancreas dumps too much insulin in response, making you go low. So then the question becomes, what did you eat, before this happened? Somewhere in the 4 hours or so before it hit, maybe even just two?
The thing is, for some people with RH, it can progress to diabetes type two. That's because their bodies have so much insulin floating around, they become insensitive to it. (That's the difference between T1 and T2... One's don't have insulin, two's have lots but can't properly use it anymore). That's a possible explanation for your relatively high HbA1c, and that's why you want to get yourself a meter, and request a Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (The long one, not the short one, as it can miss the dip and you don't want to crash on your way home..). Odds are your blood sugars peak high, and then drop like a stone, making you drop with it. There's a solution to this though, so rest easy. It's the same way T2's get their blood sugars under control if they opt to do it without medication: A low carb/high fat diet. If you have no peaks, you don't have lows either, as your pancreas wouldn't be over stimulated. That'd keep you from passing out.
https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html is my own little quick start guide, see whether that resonates and is something you'd like to try. But whatever the case, get yourself a meter and check what your blood sugars are up to, before a meal, and in the hour and second hour after the first bite. Normally I'd say two hours after only, but you want to know how high the peak gets before it dips. You'll want those numbers for your GP if you're asking for further testing. (A lot of GP's don't know what a OGTTest is, after all...)
This is just a guess though. You do need to get tested to be sure whether RH is what is going on, get your red blood cell count while you're at it, to make sure the HbA1c wasn't incorrect, and go from there. If it is RH and prediabetes, you need to know so you can do something about it. After all, why let things get out of hand? If you faint at the wrong time that could be quite bad, and if you don't have to become a T2, all the better, right? (And yes, T2 is avoidable!)
Hope this helps...!
Hugs,
Jo