I have only just been diagnosed with T2 and understandably a bit overwhelmed, but also confused by something in particular. During the past few years I have quite often had symptoms of mild hypos, but on my limited understanding so far this is usually as a result of being on diabetic medication. Why would I experience low blood sugar if I am diabetic without treatment of medication?
Newly diagnosed and confused
- Thread starter Mike2
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Hiitsme
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- Diet only
Hi @Mike2 and welcome.
I will tag @daisy1 for her helpful information for newbies.
The only way to know if you are having a hypo is to test. Do you test? If so what reading gives you those feelings? There are conditions where blood sugar levels go high after a meal and then go very low. I think it's called Reactive Hypoglycemia and there is a section on this forum. This is rare but possible and other members would be able to advise you.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/reactive-hypoglycemia.70/
I don't get hypos but when bringing my readings down I could feel very slightly that way. This can be called a false hypo.
I would advise you to get a meter and check what your actual readings are.
Do ask questions are we will try and help.
I will tag @daisy1 for her helpful information for newbies.
The only way to know if you are having a hypo is to test. Do you test? If so what reading gives you those feelings? There are conditions where blood sugar levels go high after a meal and then go very low. I think it's called Reactive Hypoglycemia and there is a section on this forum. This is rare but possible and other members would be able to advise you.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/reactive-hypoglycemia.70/
I don't get hypos but when bringing my readings down I could feel very slightly that way. This can be called a false hypo.
I would advise you to get a meter and check what your actual readings are.
Do ask questions are we will try and help.
Freema
Expert
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since I was Young I had many hypos especially when drinking alcohol .. and sugar helped very rapidly when I found out why I was getting tired then...
since I have read that many people have a history of unstable blood glucose before becoming a diabetic type 2..
quite a lot of people also do get diabetes as a consequence from years of bench-drinking
since I have read that many people have a history of unstable blood glucose before becoming a diabetic type 2..
quite a lot of people also do get diabetes as a consequence from years of bench-drinking
daisy1
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@Mike2
Hello Mike and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful, in addition to the answers you have already received to your post. Ask more questions when you need to and someone will be able to help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 210,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.
Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Hello Mike and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful, in addition to the answers you have already received to your post. Ask more questions when you need to and someone will be able to help.BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 210,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
- Reduce your carbohydrate intake
- Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.
Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
- structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
- self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Yes, this would make sense thank you. I'm not sure of my HB1AC results as I was only just diagnosed and I have my first visit to the practice nurse tomorrow, I think the doctor said it was only just over the threshold 6.5% ? I try to routinely but my work sometimes makes this difficult to maintain regular meal times.
Lamont D
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There are many reasons why anybody would have low blood glucose levels. Not just meds. T1s hypo as part of their symptoms. T2s hypo because of meds and not eating regularly, though some can have T2 and hypoglycaemia. T3c have hypos. I used to have hypos because of hyperinsulinaemia. Many prediabetics have high insulin and high glucose, so there is a possibility that they can have hypos. Many normal people live quite happy and in ignorance in hypo range, they are not ill!
As has been mentioned, the only way to find out is to use a monitor for testing blood glucose levels.
Yes I do intend to get a meter when I have learnt a little more about the different types and what I need. Thanks
lynn007
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the codefree is the cheapest and that is what I use but with the pack you only get a few tests strips and lancets you should order more I found amazon and ebay cheapest.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Codefree-G...r=8-1&keywords=codefree+blood+glucose+monitor
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Codefree-G...r=8-1&keywords=codefree+blood+glucose+monitor
Hiitsme
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Hi @Mike2
The ongoing cost is the cost of the test strips. Some meters are given away free as the money is made on the strips. Quite a few on here use the sd codefree as this seems to have the cheapest strips.
http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-monitor/
If you are interested we can give you the codes for a discount on 5 or 10 boxes of strips. You also do need to say you are diabetic as then you don't pay VAT. In the UK we use mmol/L
I was given a meter and strips from my GP but now I have control I have to buy my own and I bought the sd codefree as it was a lot cheaper than the one I had been given. These strips are about a third of the price.
The ongoing cost is the cost of the test strips. Some meters are given away free as the money is made on the strips. Quite a few on here use the sd codefree as this seems to have the cheapest strips.
http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-monitor/
If you are interested we can give you the codes for a discount on 5 or 10 boxes of strips. You also do need to say you are diabetic as then you don't pay VAT. In the UK we use mmol/L
I was given a meter and strips from my GP but now I have control I have to buy my own and I bought the sd codefree as it was a lot cheaper than the one I had been given. These strips are about a third of the price.
Thanks for the advice, I have been to see the nurse this morning and they have done a second HB1AC test for confirmation as the first one was so close to the borderline. I wont get meter and strips from GP until confirmed so am waiting for results now.
bulkbiker
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Shouldn't be... if you buy from Home Health directly then with the discount codes I think that's the cheapest.. about £5.10 for 50 strips I think that's what I last paid.
