• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

First hypo

5uzie

Member
Messages
17
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi guys, got my diagnosis as type 1 around 6 weeks ago and had my first hypo at 2.8, out of the blue! Treated it and all was fine. However, today I got into a tizzy that it was happening again and was ready with coke in hand to treat but meter is showing bg of 7.8.
I've been getting great readings, for a newbie, so it's a total shock as I convinced myself it was a hypo.
Is there such a thing as a fake one? Or can it be anxiety as I'm scared of another? Basically I'm asking ***?
 
*** is normal at the beginning - could be anxiety - it's not always safe to judge a hypo just on how you feel. You did the right thing and tested before treating so didn't treat - good for you. I always test as sometimes a hyper can feel odd too.
 
False hypos are a thing! you may have been high and then dropped to 7.8 quickly, sometimes its the speed of the drop not the ultimate low that tricks the body in to panicking hypo land.

I suspect though in this case it was more anxiety.
 
5uzie said:
I've been getting great readings, for a newbie, so it's a total shock as I convinced myself it was a hypo.
Click to expand...

But what a relief it wasn't a hypo

It can happen and anxiety doesn't help matters, just keep the Coke handy @5uzie,

btw, well done for getting good bg levels so soon.
 
Thanks so much all of you. Managed to man up and get on with it after my false alarm! It was a relief to say the least! 6.6 before dinner and delighted.
Appreciate your support once again.
 
I'm a PTSD sufferer and have lived with panic disorder since '93. So, when I was diagnosed a TypeII about 5 years ago and put on glyburide, distinguishing hypos from a panic attack can be sketchy. My BG can go down to 2.8 or 3, so I just have to suck it up and test all the time there is doubt. I know I'm having a hypo with certainty though cause I have one symptom give away, my vision goes all blotchy as if I'm looking through a transparent yellow tie-dye t-shirt. Pretty creepy.
 
I was the same when recently diagnosed. If your sugar levels drop rapidly your body can't react as quick and it can feel like you're having a hypo. Best to just keep an eye on your levels and if they're above 4 try and persevere. If the symptoms are too much just try and gradually lower it.

It all gets easier in time! (Kind of)
 
@5uzie I thought I was the only one!! I have them a lot. Sometimes I think it's a drop in blood sugar without going too low and other times I think I make them up out of paranoia! Welcome to diabeticville. Happy to chat
 
@pearceam Hi... this happened to me too! I didn't drop low but I was hungry prior to lunch at work. I had feelings of being weak, shaky, lightheaded and panicky... a quick test showed that I was o.k. and I calmed down. My nurse said that this was likely a rapid drop in glucose levels and is our bodies way of telling us to eat soon!
 
5uzie said:
Thanks so much all of you. Managed to man up and get on with it after my false alarm! It was a relief to say the least! 6.6 before dinner and delighted.
Appreciate your support once again.
Click to expand...
May be, sugar went low, but liver released sugar and made it high. It happened with me, When it happened I was feeling fuzzy, panicking anxiety, but not shaking. My meter show 8.4. I visited emergency but they also could not discover hypo. I suffered a lot

 
I'm dealing with this every single day. In the beginning it was low.... I was having the most stressful period of my life. But that is dealt with for now, and the past few months I felt hypos that turned out to be hyper. Few days ago I was below 3.0 and felt the same way as when hyper. I can assure you that if you do your best to treat diabetes diligently, then this will be the biggest pain in the a** that you'll ever have to deal with, and you can live a normal life. You MUST test your levels even when the first thing you want to reach for is a glucose tab or orange juice etc. There's no way around it. Anxiety can mimic hypo and vice versa.
 
Last edited:
HEY @5uzie - Yes, there is such a thing as a false hypo. I was getting them all the time when i was first diagnosed. From what I know they come about when you BS drops below its normal range - so if you keep your sugars at 9, you may feel like you are hypoing at 5 or 6, just because your body isn't used to working at that level yet. ALWAYS check your sugars before treating, and take into consideration what insulin you have in your system - you may only need 5-10g of carbs to get comfortably back in range without going high.

Anxiety can also make you feel like things are worse then they are, do your best to note all the little sensations and tingles and headaches you may get when you feel low, it may help to distinguish lows from stuff that feels like lows in the future... They all feel slightly different to me, but only slightly

Try to stay off the rollercoaster of low, overtreat then high, over correct then low - repeat - its the worst!
 
It's definitely normal, I've had diabetes for 18 years and even I get fake hypos haha
 
It may have been a false hypo, but maybe not. Remember two things:

Meter results are not always accurate. If you had a bit of "coke spray" on your hand after opening a bottle of coke, your reading could have been incorrect. (This is why they tell us to wash our hands before testing - not that many of us do.) If in doubt, always test again.

The body tries to release glucose when you are low. You may have had a mild hypo and by the time you tested your body had already picked you up to 7.8. In this case, DON'T treat it but keep an eye on it to make sure you don't go low again.
 
Wow your lucky you got diabetes only at 32 thats quite old....why didn't we only get it at least after 50
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…