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LCHF - hypo danger ?

IanD

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,429
Location
Peterchurch, Hereford
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Carbohydrates
I've never had a hypo in 14 years of T2. Today I was working in the garden, & about 2 hours after lunch (pork shoulder steak, onions & courgette, followed by 2 dried apricots) I came in for a cup of tea & check my BG at 4:30 p.m. it was 4.8.

I decided to experiment so continued working without a snack. When I stopped at 6:30 it had risen to 6.3

Instead of dropping from 4.8 to a hypo, my system obviously recognised the danger & generated more BG as needed.

The same applies when I play tennis. 2 - 3 hours tennis, & my BG rises to over 7.

What is YOUR experience? Do YOU get hypos with LCHF ?
 
IanD said:
What is YOUR experience? Do YOU get hypos with LCHF ?
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The liver rush can happen at any time you go without food or if you exert yourself too much. The only reason it is sometimes called the Dawn Phenomenon is because most people don't eat overnight and get a liver rush first thing.

I did have the odd hypo but it was because I was on Glimipiride at the time. Once I was taken off it I had no problems.
 
i can self induce a "hypo" (symptonless) by working, its normally around 4pm and im 3.4 give or take, just by not eating anything but my salad since brekkie, but if i exercise (run) its always higher
 
No, Id say it is close to impossible to get proper hypos without insulin treatment or the tablets that make the pancreas work overtime so no hypos due to LCHF or any other kind of low carb diet. I can go as low as 3.8, used to be normal for me, now only rarely but that is not a hypo.
 
If I fast walk on my treadmill I often drive my liver to release. I only go to about 5.2 now and then back down to about 4.2 then back up
 
I went hypo a few weeks ago but that's because I was talking too much metformin - 2 tablets a day and had lost loads of weight. Now on 1 tablet and fine. Was 3.3. Could barely speak, felt very dizzy, wanted to go to sleep. NHS sent paramedic. Apparently a hypo is anything under 4, according to this website.
 
I knocked myself out during a 10k race last year (ending up incoherent on my hands and knees, and need to be supported for the final 2 miles). I don't think that it was diabetes related though - it's just that I'd raced 20 miles in a week, and had eaten just enough carbs to keep me out of ketosis.

If you are in ketosis and not taking insulin or any other insulin promoting drug, then you should be more or less immune to hypoglycemia. That's what ketosis is (a defense against hypoglycemia).
 
I think everyone is capable of hypo's but unless on insulin, your own body will eventually recognise the low and compensate.
 
I got up at 5.30 today and went for a 2 mile walk. Had a glass of water after the walk, then a cup of tea at 8 am. I didn't have breakfast because I wasn't hungry and I am experimenting with eating 2 or 3 meals a day to see which I prefer. At the moment it seems to be 2

I ate half a slice of ham and 2 strawberries while I was in the kitchen at around 1 pm. I meant to eat lunch then but did other things and forgot. Then my husband and son said they would like to take me for a short walk, So I intended to eat as soon as I got back. At my suggestion we did a long walk - 2.5 miles briskly then a further 2.5 miles a little more slowly. Towards the end of the walk I felt a few pains in my liver - like the ones I often get with early morning liver dump. I tested my BG when I got home and it was 5.2. The best it has been for several weeks. I finally ate at 6 pm when I felt hungry - we went to a carvery, so I had turkey and lots of veggies. I put a roast potato on my plate, but left it as I felt full without it.

Did I do the wrong thing waiting to feel hungry before I ate? It actually felt quite good, but is it harmful ?
 
I regularly find myself at 3.6/3.7 these days, and I feel fine. Ive also have postprandial a in the 3s. I've once felt rough at 3.4, but I later discovered I can induce the same feeling if I drink filter coffee when I'm hungry.

I was 3.9 before my evening meal this evening. I doubt I'll be low later as I had some plantain for the first time since diagnosis. After one slice I could easily have left the rest as it had an underlying sweet taste I no longer savour, but if am interested to my numbers later.
 
No that was all great. Hunger is your bodies signal to you to give it fuel. I bet you will be a little sore from all that walking today.
 
Andrew Colvin said:
No that was all great. Hunger is your bodies signal to you to give it fuel. I bet you will be a little sore from all that walking today.
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Yes, A little! Only did a mile this morning. Fasting BG back to 5.3!!!!! It's been around 7.8-8.5 recently, and 6.7 at best. If I havn't lost more weight when I get weighed this week I will scream.
 
zand said:
Did I do the wrong thing waiting to feel hungry before I ate? It actually felt quite good, but is it harmful ?
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Your BG level after your walk shows that your body copes with that kind of treatment well and I can't see the harm. I would expect you to be losing weight by doing this.

Nursie advocates eating little and often to ward off liver dumps but I suppose that is for people that go too high during a dump. Anyone with this problem might find it harder to lose weight.

All seems to be going well for you.
 
Squire Fulwood said:
Nursie advocates eating little and often to ward off liver dumps but I suppose that is for people that go too high during a dump. Anyone with this problem might find it harder to lose weight.
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I actually like (exercise induced) liver dumps. I know they result in a temporary BG spike, but I'd rather that happened with my insulin sensitivity is higher post exercise than having the same amount of glucose drip drip dripping into my blood throughout the day.

I think that one of the reasons that low-carb works is that it keeps your liver relatively empty.
 
I have lost more weight this week....5 lbs. I think I will be doing lots more walking before eating in the future.
 
Walking is excellent isn't it. I bought a treadmill and walk after and before meals. Keeps my liver and muscles ready yo accept the glucose

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
I used to get hypos all the time as a child, eating a fairly low sugar, low fat diet. Never diagnosed (doctors never believed it or just prescribed a boiled sweet, which just increased the highs and lows, instead of evening them out. Idiots). Therefore no medication. Believe me, hypos ARE possible without medication!

I am classing a hypo as white, shaking, wobbly, numb cheekbones, lost words, irrational anger, or apathy, or hopeless misery. No energy, all body aches and up to 3 days before feeling 100% again. I've never been so low that I've passed out, but have fallen incredibly deeply asleep and felt like death afterwards, but that was long before I got a glucose monitor, so no idea what the numbers were.

Hunger was always a frightening experience, because there was such a fine line between wanting food and NEEDING it.

Strangely, the closer I came to diabetes, the better I felt - glucose levels were higher, so fewer hypos. Such a relief. It was like being on holiday. For me, prediabetes and type 2 is wonderful compared with being hypoglycaemic.

I never hypo in ketosis, or on a LCHF diet, but I can hypo on low carb, low fat, or if I have to eat carbs for a few meals, and then can't eat when I need to. Fat is the key. It is like a buffer. However, combine fat with carbs, and you just get fatter...
 
My experience follows Brunneria and borofergie. Even though I'm Type 1, so much more vulnerable to hypos, I believe I only get hypos on LC diets when I stray, and eat too many carbs. The carbs swings seem harder to control when they happen in the middle of a low carb diet. Maybe it's because I'm "in denial" about having had the carbs, or maybe there is actually something metabolic going on, such as stopping the ketosis. I would say that when I am "in the groove" with low carb, the frequency of hypos is much less, and I like borofergie's view that ketosis is protective against hypoglycaemia, because your brain has shifted to be less dependent on glucose.
 
zand said:
I have lost more weight this week....5 lbs. I think I will be doing lots more walking before eating in the future.
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That's fantastic! You have made my day! Big hug!
 
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