Fake hypo

sorchao said:

Usually high 7s, so not actual proper hypos.

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Wow, 7 is quite a high number. If I am 7 before a meal then I won't eat any carbs at all - because that would guarantee putting me up at the levels (7.8 to 8.0) at which it may be damaging my eyes etc.

sorchao said:

Usually high 7s, so not actual proper hypos.

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If I were in the high 7's then more carbs would be the last thing I'd be ingesting.. I prefer being in the 4's and 5's at all times.

I had a few false hypos and found that a drink of something warm usually helped - warm squash, even without any sugar helped - though that was in the winter, early 2017 - if it was particularly bad I ate three grapes and that seemed to do the trick.
I did not always treat them with sugar as I did not want to be maintaining levels and a need for carbs.

To clarify something here, yes, I appreciate that 7 is higher than normal, but I’m currently running in the 8s fasting first thing in the morning, because when I dropped below that I got constant false hypo symptoms that got worse the longer I stayed below 8ish and I was unable to have any sort of a normal life, let alone work (e.g. when I had a fasting BS of 6, I had fake hypo symptoms for approx. 80% of the day). In consultation with my doctor, we agreed to keep my fasting levels around 8ish until the false hypos wore off and I could drop my average fasting readings down into the desirable zone of 4-7. This has not yet happened after 4 months, so she is referring me to an endocrinologist to see if he can make sense of it all.

My question was how long do the false hypo symptoms generally last after diagnosis/bringing your averages down to the desirable range - a couple of weeks, a few months? I’m trying to get a sense of how unusual my case is, rather than how/whether to treat the false hypo symptoms. I’m guessing from the responses that four months of this is pretty unusual. So, if you have had false hypo symptoms after diagnosis, how long did they last for?

sorchao said:

To clarify something here, yes, I appreciate that 7 is higher than normal, but I’m currently running in the 8s fasting first thing in the morning, because when I dropped below that I got constant false hypo symptoms that got worse the longer I stayed below 8ish and I was unable to have any sort of a normal life, let alone work (e.g. when I had a fasting BS of 6, I had fake hypo symptoms for approx. 80% of the day). In consultation with my doctor, we agreed to keep my fasting levels around 8ish until the false hypos wore off and I could drop my average fasting readings down into the desirable zone of 4-7. This has not yet happened after 4 months, so she is referring me to an endocrinologist to see if he can make sense of it all.

My question was how long do the false hypo symptoms generally last after diagnosis/bringing your averages down to the desirable range - a couple of weeks, a few months? I’m trying to get a sense of how unusual my case is, rather than how/whether to treat the false hypo symptoms. I’m guessing from the responses that four months of this is pretty unusual. So, if you have had false hypo symptoms after diagnosis, how long did they last for?

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I have never had a false Hypo. My understanding is that they are rare among Type 2's - even those taking oral medication. Real Hypos are almost unheard of in Type 2's unless they are taking a form of Insulin.

Just stumbled on this thread as I have been experiencing hypo symptoms most days since diagnosed in April but there is no pattern to them they are very random. I nearly always find my BG to be 5.8 when I experience them. I usually eat a small piece of cheese or handful of nuts but find it changes nothing, exercise always helps.

Still learning and trying to understand my blood glucose readings which range from 4.8 to 7 with the occasional 7+. Exercise never puts my readings up high or gives me a hypo feeling.

ianf0ster said:

I have never had a false Hypo. My understanding is that they are rare among Type 2's - even those taking oral medication. Real Hypos are almost unheard of in Type 2's unless they are taking a form of Insulin.

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Just to add that real hypos defined as blood glucose lower than 4.0) can be a side effect of oral medications known as sulphonylureas such as gliclazide and tolbutamide as they stimulate the production of insulin.

This can be tricky when doing low carb and must be addressed initially by bringing the BG up immediately then discussing meds with your nurse or doctor as you may need a reduction which I found out myself recently.

Hi @Steelbert

T2D here

i was getting such symptoms before i was DX, then i got them after as well, but they have since diminished.

Contrary to others , i always treated..
just felt awful otherwise.
yes it may have prolonged my lowering of sugars, but the cost of ignoring it, to me wasn't worth it.

For me, i doubt they ever really stopped.
BUT i now think it's like a cold sore.....you know when you get that 'Tingle.'

Same with the False hypo...well anyway that's how i see it now,

So when i get those feelings..it's not every day, but deffo every few weeks or so
.i know it's my body having a temper tantrum,
( in and around the mid 5's when i have tested ...i probably circle mid 5's and low 6's most days..rarely get to the 4's..so mid 5's aren't unusual and most pass unnoticed...)

so i just eat something, even if i'm not hungry..like a slice or two of chorizio or cheese
that seems to have the desired effect after 5 mins or so.

Good luck managing them.

Hi jjraak,

How long after you were diagnosed did it take before they diminished to that level? I’m four months in with no sign of anything shifting, and it’s driving me mad...

sorchao said:

Hi jjraak,

How long after you were diagnosed did it take before they diminished to that level? I’m four months in with no sign of anything shifting, and it’s driving me mad...

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i never kept a record..( wish i had of done now...i have probably mentioned them once or twice inside a post, but not of themselves, so hard to search)

just for clarity.
diagnosed in aug 2018 as T2D metforin and diet only.
LC at first to test the water (oct 2018), then LCHF..(nov 2018 )
better fats as i describe it to myself

i do know last august and before i got the lows ( as i now think of them ..may not have been low Bg, but something was OFF )
it was a clammy, shaky feeling, where my body just felt a bit disconnected with things.

It may be off tangent, here, but i suffer similar when a bad cold/flu is approaching.
that feeling that my body is not in sync with my senses, if that makes sense..
( for example, i'd step forward, THEN feel my self moving..sort of out of time , is the best i can do sorry )

may have one a month, since diagnosis, but with so many changes going on, it was hard to pinpoint what was just hunger,etc from a low.
i probably settled down in Jan, when my blood hb1c hit 42.
it was then i relaxed a bit as i knew the regime was doing me good.
so from then on adapted fully to LCHF.

but even then i felt the onset of a low, and took appropriate actions for myself.
again perhaps once a month, no designated time, pretty random..daytime/late evening
rarely morning.perhaps part of my bodies rhythm that it now doesn't like at some point, who knows.
(will now keep a much better record to see if i can identify anything particular)

without intending to muddy the waters even further.
i bought a fitness tracker that records my Spo2, hr AND BP
i knew it wouldn't match my BP cuff at home or thje doctors one for accuracy,, but i really just wanted to monitor the trends...and so far it's done ok, in that respect.

been feeling a bit off colour (currently off sick) early august.
last day of work felt awful, put it down to T2d, but had eaten as usual, day as per normal
BP on tracker recorded a drop, no meter with me.
got home read 5.4 on meter...bp back up but still lower then normal
ate some jelly and cream, went bed.
felt rough next day, called in sick.

Not had another incident since, but i will be monitoring the Bp to see if that plays a part.
Bp normal as per doctors at last hba1c mid july 2019

So post is long, but i would have loved to have spoken to anyone affected in the same way when i came on here.
seems others get it but it passes...and i am reminded that for all of us , this IS an individual journey and we'll all react in different ways to differing stimuli

best wishes yours settles down or you can manage it better..

Hope the long ramble makes some sense and helps point you in the direction you need to go.

Thanks for your reply jjraak, it’s very reassuring to know that I’m not the only one in a position like this. And yes, I totally agree that everyone’s journey is different, and we all have bodies that react differently.

I’ve finally been in to see my endocrinologist and he reckons that this is indeed my brain’s reaction to ‘low’ blood sugar, after marinating in sugar for some time (my words, not his!) He’s happy for me to keep running at my current level for a few more months, treating the lows, and see if my brain manages to readjust itself to the new sugar levels, as I don’t have any adrenal symptoms, just the wobbly, floaty perception stuff. He says that this is an issue with a very small % of people, when you drop BS too quickly over a short period of time (I went from fasting 12-15s to 8s in 2 weeks), and that you have to give your brain chemistry time to adjust. He did also ask about blood pressure, but seemed happy enough that mine has always been a little on the low side.

Fingers crossed that my brain chemistry manages to catch up soon...

An update from me - the good news is that my pseudo hypo symptoms basically just stopped one day a couple of weeks ago. I was expecting a slow tail off, but I literally had three pseudo hypos one day, and none the next, which I find totally weird, but I’m not objecting! I’m now starting work to drop my BS down into the normal range SLOWLY, as I don’t have any desire for another go around with this. Such a relief to not be semi-permanently shaky and wobbly.

sorchao said:

An update from me - the good news is that my pseudo hypo symptoms basically just stopped one day a couple of weeks ago. I was expecting a slow tail off, but I literally had three pseudo hypos one day, and none the next, which I find totally weird, but I’m not objecting! I’m now starting work to drop my BS down into the normal range SLOWLY, as I don’t have any desire for another go around with this. Such a relief to not be semi-permanently shaky and wobbly.

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That is great, @sorchao

Having just read through this thread, and found your last post, I am delighted for you
But I thought it was also worth mentioning that some people (myself included) get 'false hypos' when blood glucose levels drop too fast. Doesn't matter whether they drop from 15 to 7 or from 9 to 5, if the drop is sharp, then that lovely 'hypo feeling' can kick in.

Obviously, I don't know what you were eating, and whether your blood glucose fluctuations were enough to cause your false hypos, but that is another possibility, that you may want to bear in mind in future - expecially if you ever get the false hypo feelings crop up again.

Hope that helps!