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I am always hypo

I

iowna76

Newbie
Messages
4
Hi,
I am new to this. About 2 years ago a friend tested my blood sugar, just to teach me how to do it. I am a nurse/care assistant. At that time my blood sugar was 1.9 mmol/L. She got worried and made me sit and have some jelly beans and juice. I then went for a blood test (the fasting and two hours later test). The doctor told me it was a little low for the fasting test, but the rest is just ok, and he told me not to worry. I never really bothered with it after that.
I do feel very thirsty at times and do go to the toilet a lot. I thought that was normal cause I drank a lot. I then bought a blood glucose monitor and have been testing my sugar for the past year. Lately my sugar level as gone low. There was some mornings before breakfast it would be 4.6 to 5.9 mmol/L. But there were a day pre breakfast it was 1.9 mmol/L, I got worried and waited and then tested again it was 3 mmol/L. On that same day I tested pre lunch and it was 7.3 mmol/L. What is wrong?
Yesterday pre dinner it was 1.7 mmol/L. I then tested again and it was 2 mmol/L. I took jelly beans ang some juice. Post dinner it was 6.2 mmol/L.
What should I do? Is this diabetes?
 
having such lows for anyone is a bit abnormal. 1.9 is really low. Go see your GP and get a referral to an endocrinologist. Perhaps your body is producing too much insulin which could be down to hormones or something else. Being that low can also cause complications in the eyes etc so dont leave it.
 
I do feel light headed sometimes, and it feels like a headache is coming. I do feel thirsty. I will speak to my doctor about this.
 
Hi Iwona!

Firstly, as others have said, if you are concerned see your doctor. There are all sorts of conditions that can cause low blood sugar e.g. reactive hypoglycaemia. However, there are a few points of clarification I'd like to make:

1. Diabetes does not cause blood glucose to go low - it causes it to go high. I.e. untreated diabetes causes hyperglycaemia not hypoglycaemia. Diabetes is caused by insufficient insulin (Type 1/1.5 or progressed Type 2) or inability to utilise insulin effectively (Type 2). The medication some of us use to treat and manage diabetes can cause our blood glucose to go low e.g. injected insulin, sulphonylureas etc., but in itself, diabetes is about high blood glucose.

2. Although anything under 4mmol is classified as a hypo by the medical profession, it really isn't. The doctors etc like diabetics on blood glucose lowering medication such as insulin to keep our blood glucose above 4 as our bodies cannot turn-off injected insulin so our blood glucose can fall dangerously-low very quickly. A non-diabetic does not have this problem and it is perfectly normal for their blood glucose to fall below 4 frequently during the course of a day and night. This is not harmful. Normal fasting blood glucose is between about 3.5 and 5.5 (although 5.5 is a little high). If a person who is not on blood glucose-lowering medication fails to eat when they need to, no harm will come to them. They might feel hungry, shakey and headachey, but their body will not let their blood glucose fall dangerously low. They will get what is known as a 'liver dump' whereby the liver dumps some of its stored glycogen into the blood stream and the blood glucose will rise.

3. A fasting level in the 2s or 1.9 as you experienced is low - although not dangerously so as long as your body is functioning normally and you are not on any blood glucose-lowering medication, but should be checked out. However, it could simply be that your meter is reading a little low. Meters have quite a big tolerance on them - around 15%.

Anyway, I hope things work out OK at the doctor!

Smidge
 
Hi Smidge,
Thank you for that. That would put my mind at ease. I would go for a check up. Mornings before breakfast I would test my blood and sometimes it would be about 5.6mmol/L. I read what you wrote about fasting blood sugar. Before lunch sometimes is 7.1mmol/L and another day 7.3mmol/L. Before dinner would be 7.8mmol/L. Do you know what the range should be before lunch and dinner?I
Thanks Smidge.

Iowna
 
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