Hypo v hyper

[Vince01]

Hi all,
I'm T2 for 2 years and can't get my head around hypo and hyper.
I've been having ,well one or both, and I can't tell the difference. Both seem to have the same effects, a bit of a head ache, shake legs, night sweats,I've never been thirsty with either. But do keep hydrated.
I'm on a semi low carb diet take 500g metformin twice a day and one statin.
I have readings of 5.4 I know that is probably hypo have something to eat,3 boiled eggs with a piece of bread then later,4/5 hours still feeling the same, meter readings 8.4 so, usually I have more carbs for dinner then feel fine.( More carbs 40 to 50).
It's confusing as I don't know if to lower carbs or eat more, symptoms are the same either way. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

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[Rokaab]

I have readings of 5.4 I know that is probably hypo have something to eat

5.4 is not hypo territory btw, though if your sugar levels have been high for a long time it may be a false hypo, or its something else causing your symptoms
5.4 is actually a perfectly good number

3.8 or lower is considered hypo territory for those on blood-glucose lowering medications (metformin is not and does not cuase hypos for the vast majority of people from what I've read)

 

[catinahat]

Hi Vince.
Low blood sugar is not a symptom of diabetes, quite the opposite. Usually when people with diabetes suffer with low blood sugar it is caused by over medication, getting the dose wrong for their insulin or other blood sugar lowering meds.
Metformin works by limiting how much sugar your liver releases from its stores, It cannot do anything about the glucose that has already entered your blood from food, that's why it is considered a fairly safe drug, its not known for causing hypo's.
5.4 mmol/L is a lovely normal sugar level, no where near a hypo, 4mmol/l is considered to be hypo for people who are taking the more aggressive drugs because their bloods could be heading danger low and at 4mmol they need to take action to bring them back up.
If your only medication is metformin you usually have nothing to fear from a level in the 4's, I have occasionally dipped into the 3's without any issues.
What you are more than likely experiencing is something called a false hypo. When your levels have been high for some time, your body reacts to normal levels as if it were a hypo because its used to the higher levels.
A false hypo can feel just like the real thing and be very uncomfortable but it is not dangerous.
The best thing you an do is tough it out, eventually you will get used to the new lower numbers.
If you feel that you must eat something, try to make it something like protein or fat, some cheese or full fat plain yoghurt. That will gently bring up your levels without causing them to go too high, chocolate, sweets, bread and so on is the worst thing you can do, it just gives your body the sugar high its craving

 

[Juicyj]

Hi @Vince01

As suggested above 5.4 is not a hypo, your levels are fairly well controlled, I would suggest a visit to your GP to check if there is anything else going on there as sweats/shaky legs could be a symptom of something else and only a GP can check this.

 

[KennyA]

Hi all,
I'm T2 for 2 years and can't get my head around hypo and hyper.
I've been having ,well one or both, and I can't tell the difference. Both seem to have the same effects, a bit of a head ache, shake legs, night sweats,I've never been thirsty with either. But do keep hydrated.
I'm on a semi low carb diet take 500g metformin twice a day and one statin.
I have readings of 5.4 I know that is probably hypo have something to eat,3 boiled eggs with a piece of bread then later,4/5 hours still feeling the same, meter readings 8.4 so, usually I have more carbs for dinner then feel fine.( More carbs 40 to 50).
It's confusing as I don't know if to lower carbs or eat more, symptoms are the same either way. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Sent from my SM-A137F using Diabetes Forum mobile app

5.4 is perfectly normal, and not hypo. My reading this morning was 5.3, where it usually is these days. Is your 8.4 reading before or two hours after food? Either way it would be a touch high for me. Metformin and statins can also affect BGs, but I have no experience with either. Also - I'm on a steady ~20g carbs/day, so bear the difference in our carb intakes in mind.

If you are raising and lowering your carb intake, you might be liable to what's called "false hypos" - your BG isn't actually ever low, but because levels have fallen from a previously substantially higher level, the body reacts as if it actually is low: the system therefore often responds by dumping glucose and triggering hunger. If you then take in additional carbs, yes, the feeling will go away but only because you've raised your blood glucose to the previous higher level, which will then fall - and the cycle begins again.

It's a bit like that trick with putting your hands into bowls of hot and cold water - you can make the body falsely feel the hot/cold difference even though it's not actually any different.

My guess would be if you're constantly adding and subtracting carbs from your diet chasing particular figures, you might not be allowing your system to get used to what you're doing and stabilise. A gradual and measured reduction might work better, or you might want to tough it out through the initial headache and let your system stabilise that way.

Best of luck - you should concentrate on establishing what works for you.

 

[Vince01]

Thank you all for your inputs, they do make sense, I think a readjustment of my 'panic' reaction is in order, maybe stop with the finger pricking and just get on,not worrying about the readings. (Doesn't stress cause bg to go up?)

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[Juicyj]

Thank you all for your inputs, they do make sense, I think a readjustment of my 'panic' reaction is in order, maybe stop with the finger pricking and just get on,not worrying about the readings. (Doesn't stress cause bg to go up?)

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It would be wise to check these symptoms with a GP, your bg levels are nothing to panic about, stress can have an impact but not to the degree you need to worry about them, it's perfectly normal for a non diabetic to see swings too with their levels and even report a drop to 3.8 mmol/l.