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dizzy when blood sugars are 5.2. Help.

noreversegear

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Is this normal to feel dizzy when my blood sugar goes down to a more normal level? Lately, each morning I wake up, my blood sugar is around 7.2. Then I eat and it goes to 10-11.2.

I have been playing with my diet and have figured out so far that I can still have some regular carbs as long as I don't eat a huge meal.
So today, I ate a meal around 5pm. After 2 hours, my sugar was 10.2.

Then a couple hours more (9pm), I started feeling really dizzy. When I stood up, I thought I was going to fall. Maybe it's not dizzy.... but more lightheaded?

I checked my blood pressure and it was normal.

And I checked my blood sugar and it was 5.2.

I'm not on any medication, and have no other health problems (that I know of).

Was I feeling dizzy/lightheaded because it went down a lot? Or because it fluctuates? I know 5.2 isn't exactly "low", so I don't understand that lightheadedness or dizziness. This happened to me another day also. My sugar went down to 4.9 by itself and I felt dizzy.
 

When you've been running high for a while, your body objects when you take it to lower levels, by giving you the symptoms you experienced. It's commonly known as a false hypo. Over a short while, it will ease. If you google "false hypo", you'll find loads on information.

Your post meal 10.2 is still rather high, so looks like there's still a bit of work to be done to wrestle that into line.

Good luck with it all.
 
It might also be an idea to check your meter against low or medium range control solution.
 
I had that problem when my BS was going down dizzy swetting,I used to eat dried fruit until I got a meter and relised what it was and I shouldnt feed it ,and just eat regular meals
It soon passed,I would never have known if I hadnt got help from the forum.
 
yes definitely sounds like a false hypo - they will disappear quickly and then you will start to get the opposite and feel rubbish when you hit the 10s. So don't worry about the 5s and sort out those 10s. Obviously you cant quite handle that meal in the portion size you had so try something slightly different of a little less of a little of the most carby.
 
I used to get false hypos at the start but now my body is used to lower BGs it is fine. I don't know anything about your story, but if your HbA1c is high-ish and especially if you are overweight, I would ask whether you have considered medication. Metformin helped me a lot with getting my weight and BG under control and it still helps me. Obviously it depends on what your situation is and whether you want to take meds, but it's one option for helping you manage, at least at the start.
 
As stated above your body takes time to adjust to the lower levels but once it does the lightheadedness will pass. Definitely work on what you are consuming as in the 10's is rather high 2 hrs post meal.
 
@CatLadyNZ if you read the OP profile he has been prescribed metfartin but wishes to try to correct his BG levels with diet. I am sure he will consider met and other drugs if/when he needs to.

@noreversegear can you let us know what you ate and we may be able to suggest alternatives that you can test to help with your control.
 
If I had readings like yours I'm afraid I would be concluding that nope I haven't got the hang of this carbs thing yet.
I would think the light headedness would be associated with the highs and then the lows so I'd be cutting down on the carbs and the highs before worrying about the drop to what isn't low by any stretch of the imagination.
 

If you read my post you will see I said "I don't know anything about your story", which indicated that I hadn't read her profile or any of her previous posts. I don't usually read people's profiles before I post. When I was first diagnosed, my GP recommended dietary changes and Metformin, both of which I have found helpful. I was relieved that I didn't have to ask her for this med, and that she already knew it would be helpful for me. I haven't had any problems with it.
 
@noreversegear It is still a false hypo, it may make you feel weird, they will pass and it shows that you are lowering your levels slowly. However, those peaks are not good for your long term health so they are what you need to work on now. Keep it up
 
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5.2 mmol/l is no cause for concern and won't cause dizziness (physiological). Sounds like your brain may be playing tricks on you. I once had a reading of 32 mmol/l and felt very ill so take your readings in context please.
 
People who have been derailing this thread need to bear in mind that the OP is asking for help. Your posts have either been edited or deleted.
Any more thread derailing and the matter will be taken seriously. Use the PM system to settle your differences.
 
I was also getting anxious about light-headedness and jitteriness which my brain took to be anxiety, which made me feel more anxious, and tearfulness. Someone here (sorry to have forgotten who) told me about false hypos, and that made a lot of sense. The first time I felt really bad, before the false-hypo information, I drank a small glass of milk and ate 3 jelly babies, because I thought it was a real if mild hypo. I had a ****** few days just pushing though the dizziness, jitteriness, tears and telling myself they weren't real but I noticed yesterday that most of that feeling had gone. Maybe we just have to learn to ignore the false-hypos.
 
Hi,

Not to undermine how you felt at the 5mmol mark. I agree with the above on the "false hypo".
You have built a tolerance to the higher BS levels as the "new norm"..? Any healthy reduction in BS will feel strange at first.
A little like a functioning alchaholic or drug addict "going straight"? The changes will be disconcerting initially, but the benefits in the long run will outweigh the short term FH symptoms as the body & brain adjusts...

Keep testing!
 
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