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Levels all over the place

Chuckles21

Chuckles21

Well-Known Member
Messages
57
Location
burton on trent
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I am type 2 and only on tablet form of medication at the moment and my glucose is ranging from 5.5 to 15.9mmol it's all over the place and on the odd occasion I wake up shaking and sweating buckets felling sick and dizzy so the question is this normal or should I see the doctor to increase my meds?


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IMHO, you should always seek medical advice if you feel that ill.

If it helps, what you describe isn't something I've experienced. I haven't been diagnosed T2 for very long and I've been on Metformin and testing for 3 weeks. In that time, my highest glucose reading was 14 and the lowest 4.2. I can't say I've felt that unwell (although I've sometimes not been on top of the world, either).

I do know that what I eat hugely influences my glucose levels, with exercise being another factor to be taken into account. Someone on here said when she felt the signs of high levels coming on, she got her walking shoes on and went for a brisk stroll. I took that to heart and I've found that it works for me.

I've gone onto much lower carbs, cut out sugar and everything sweet completely, and eaten less but more often through the day. On those days when my levels are low and reasonably stable I've felt very much better in myself. The trick, I think, is to learn how to do that more often. I'm hoping that some long overdue weight loss might help.
 
Chuckles21 said:
on the odd occasion I wake up shaking and sweating buckets felling sick and dizzy
Click to expand...

Sounds like a hypo (low blood sugar) which is usually when your sugar is below about 4.0 mmol/L. If this is the case you should immediately consume a couple of jelly babies, tablespoon of honey, cup of fruit juice or soft drink (not diet). The sugar in these things will quickly enter the blood stream and rectify the problem within a few minutes (test your sugar every 10-15 minutes until it is above 4, and eat more if necessary, but be careful not to send your sugar too high).

In a healthy person blood sugars almost never go outside the range 4-8 mmol/L. The further they deviate from that range the worse it is for your health. So yes, do try to get your sugars under control. I'm not certain increasing your medication is the best answer though, you may want to try eating several smaller meals instead of a few large ones, aim to reduce the GI (gylcaemic index) of your meals, or try to reduce your carb intake. These options all reduce the amount of sugar that hits your bloodstream at a particular point in time, so it's easier for your body to process it. If you have any questions please ask!
 
The MAIN contributor to blood sugars is your carbohydrate intake. Although there are differences in the rate of absorption of carbs from different foods, if you eat a whole lot of any type of carbohydrate your sugars will go up.

There are basically two types of carbohydrate: sugars and starches. Sugars taste sweet; starches are found in bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, and in smaller amounts in other foods.

Cutting out bread probably won't help if you eat more potatoes or rice or pasta instead. (Or if you consume a lot of juices or soft drinks or sweets.)
 
You didn't say how long you had been diabetic and what sort of medication you are on as you can have hypos with some tablets and with others you don't. What you have to remember is that anyone with regular very high blood sugar levels can feel hypo even when their levels are still quite high just because their body has got so used to high levels. This is called a false hypo and should NOT be treated with glucose or anything else unless you are absolutely sure that you are having a proper hypo (below 4). If or when you get the "hypo" feelings again you need to check your levels to see what they are. I've had sugar levels up in the 15s and more at times and even when my sugar level has been 7 or more I have sometimes experienced hypo symptoms but, unpleasant as they feel, because I am not hypo I have had to ride through it, even though the temptation is to take something to feel "better". It's always better to have lower levels, although having said that, my diabetic nurse was far more concerned about the hypos I was having than the hypers because if it's bad to have continuously high sugar levels I don't suppose it's very good to have a lot of low ones either. You can also lose your hypo awareness if your levels are frequently low so then you have to run them a bit higher for a while to get the hypo symptoms back. Oh dear if only it wasn't so complicated!
 
Been type 2 for nearly 12 months now on metformin and sinvastatin along with fatty liver and heart disease and recently had the mumps and shortly after an alergic reaction to penicillin so as soon as I am off the antihistamines and steroids I will look at the diet more and try and sort my sugar levels out as they rise from 5.2 in the morning when I wake up then rising to 14 at night and have the odd wake up call when my sugar level falls and I get shaky hot and Sweaty and feel like I am drink so any help would be great thanks


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