Not diabetic but go below 3mmol BG?

[Seanm1]

It's a long story: was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after spikes to 11.5 bg in July, took Metformin and my H1ac was 5.5. Have now had diabetes 2 diagnosis retracted and have stopped medication. I have neuropathic symptoms: shaky weak hands, numb, cold feet, burning sensation in right thigh etc since May, have had CT scan on internal organs: all ok, had MRI on brain and all ok. I put a Libre monitor in my arm last week and my bg keeps dropping below 4 mmol, this morning it was 2,9. I have spoken with my doctor today and saw a diabetes nurse on Monday and they are both completely unconcerned. Isn't a bg below 3 dangerous? I feel stuck, I don't know what to do?

 

[sue512]

It's a long story: was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after spikes to 11.5 bg in July, took Metformin and my H1ac was 5.5. Have now had diabetes 2 diagnosis retracted and have stopped medication. I have neuropathic symptoms: shaky weak hands, numb, cold feet, burning sensation in right thigh etc since May, have had CT scan on internal organs: all ok, had MRI on brain and all ok. I put a Libre monitor in my arm last week and my bg keeps dropping below 4 mmol, this morning it was 2,9. I have spoken with my doctor today and saw a diabetes nurse on Monday and they are both completely unconcerned. Isn't a bg below 3 dangerous? I feel stuck, I don't know what to do?

Always worth checking by needleprick with the low ones as cgm not always as accurate. Mine goes down for example if I’ve been lying on that arm.

 

[catinahat]

this morning it was 2,9.

If your actual glucose level was as low as 2.9 you would be feeling it, shaky, tired, confused.
No home testing method is particularly accurate ,the finger prick meters are only +/-15% accurate, I have no idea how accurate the sensors are but as its not actually blood they are testing and the advice is to check them with a finger prick, I wouldn't think they are much better.

 

[HSSS]

It's a long story: was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after spikes to 11.5 bg in July, took Metformin and my H1ac was 5.5. Have now had diabetes 2 diagnosis retracted and have stopped medication. I have neuropathic symptoms: shaky weak hands, numb, cold feet, burning sensation in right thigh etc since May, have had CT scan on internal organs: all ok, had MRI on brain and all ok. I put a Libre monitor in my arm last week and my bg keeps dropping below 4 mmol, this morning it was 2,9. I have spoken with my doctor today and saw a diabetes nurse on Monday and they are both completely unconcerned. Isn't a bg below 3 dangerous? I feel stuck, I don't know what to do?

You were diagnosed on the basis of a single blood glucose test? No hba1c? What do you mean retracted? Because it was always wrong or that you now have normal levels (not the same thing at all)? Diabetes is a disease of high glucose not low. The lows almost always come from medications dealing with the highs. Though there are a few other less common conditions that can cause lows. Do the lows follow a high? Or are they isolated in amongst normal levels?

4mmol is the level used for those on hypoglycaemic medication to avoid dangerous lows. Non medicated healthy people often dip into the 3’s if they’ve not eaten for a while or have exercised a fair bit. The libre isn’t totally accurate and should be checked by a meter (also not perfectly accurate) particularly if there’s a chance you were lying on the sensor at the time.

Have they checked things like b12 (U.K. minimum levels are only 160 yet japans are 500!) that can cause many neurological symptoms even if they claim they are low/normal. Same with vitamin d, iron and ferritin. Be highly suspicious of any of these if they aren’t close to the top of the (appallingly low) ranges. Many people are symptomatic below half way and improve when raised.

 

[Lamont D]

It's a long story: was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after spikes to 11.5 bg in July, took Metformin and my H1ac was 5.5. Have now had diabetes 2 diagnosis retracted and have stopped medication. I have neuropathic symptoms: shaky weak hands, numb, cold feet, burning sensation in right thigh etc since May, have had CT scan on internal organs: all ok, had MRI on brain and all ok. I put a Libre monitor in my arm last week and my bg keeps dropping below 4 mmol, this morning it was 2,9. I have spoken with my doctor today and saw a diabetes nurse on Monday and they are both completely unconcerned. Isn't a bg below 3 dangerous? I feel stuck, I don't know what to do?

If your fasting, pre meal levels are non diabetic, then you are having spikes over 10mmols after food? Do you know what you ate?
Did you show, your doctor your graphs?
No c-peptide test?
No insulin tests?

I would ask your GP, not your dsn, for a referral to an endocrinologist who has experience with hypoglycaemia.

Have a read of the reactive hypoglycaemia forum.
I'm not saying you have hypoglycaemia, but there is a lot of knowledge similar to your situation.

Why this rings a bell of similarity to myself is that I was misdiagnosed T2, and I wasn't right and being told by GPs that I did, even though my hba1c was in normal levels, my fasting was normal but I was in diabetic high levels when I had a carb laden meal.

Hope this helps.

 

[Melgar]

I too was suffering with hypos. Unlike you I am diabetic, however, at the moment I am controlling my Blood sugars through diet. I am not on a low carb diet, nor was I when I was getting some pretty low Blood Glucose (BG) readings (low 2's) with all the symptoms that entails, low BG's at night and after exercises. @Lamont D suggested I read the Reactive hypoglycemia forum, which I did. There is some great advice there. Well worth the time browsing through the posts. It is easy to get into that spiral of BG crashes, after seeing your BG go into a death spiral, reacting to it with sweets or fruit juice, only to see it rocket into the clouds and come crashing down again. And google always does a number on you when you read the reasons for hypoglycemia, especially when you are not taking any meds to help control your blood sugar. I stopped all alcohol consumption as that can interfere with your body's safety net for preventing your BG's from going too low. It's scary when you don't know what's going on. My Dr advised me to increase my carb intake. Bearing in mind I was not on a low carb diet. A pretty ballsy suggestion given the success of low carb diets for controlling high blood sugar. Her suggestion worked! I am certainly not suggesting this and you absolutely should push for an appointment with an endocrinologist. As for me I have digestive issues. I am lactose and glucose intolerant. It was only when I ceased all lactose did I realise just how gluten intolerant I am. My daughter tested positive for coeliac. Now I have never considered coeliac, and would always say no I do not have coeliac simply because I would watch my daughter suffer horribly with it. Like lots of things there is a sliding scale of symptoms. I read that 80% of people don't know they have it. Shocking. Coeliac is on the table for me especially as the increase in carbs stopped the night hypos. When exercising I make sure my blood sugars are up. No hypos. Coeliac, of course, interferes with the absorption of nutrients including sugars. I have an appointment with my Dr in the New Year so I will be getting tested. I mention this as there can be reasons, outside the box, why our blood sugars can go very low.

 

[Brunneria]

Hi and welcome!
other ppl have addressed your diagnosis, and your blood-glucose readings.

So I am going to talk about your neuropathy symptoms.
T2s can go years with high bgs before they get diagnosed. Consequently, it is perfectly possible for them to develop neuropathy comparatively early. However, it is not very common. It usually takes a few years.

There is another possible cause for neuropathy symptoms, and it is one that doctors often miss:
Vitamin B12 deficiency.
I will attach a couple of links below, if you want to learn more.
It is a fairly easy thing to treat (vit supplements or injections from doc) and the symptoms are usually reversable.

Vitamin B12 deficiency neuropathy; a rare diagnosis in young adults: a case report - BMC Research Notes

Background Vitamin B12 deficiency is a metabolic disorder with many causes. It often presents with megaloblastic anaemia and neurological disorders which entail prompt treatment. The diagnosis of Vitamin B12 deficiency is challenging in resource limited-settings due to limited access to...

bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com

Neurologic symptoms as the only manifestation of B12 deficiency in a young patient with normal hematocrit, MCV, peripheral blood smear and homocysteine levels

Abstract. B12 deficiency is associated with several neurological manifestations. It is well documented that neurologic symptoms due to B12 deficiency may someti

academic.oup.com

Vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia - Complications

Read about the complications of vitamin B12 deficiency or folate deficiency, which are rare as the condition can usually be easily and effectively treated.

www.nhs.uk

 

[AndBreathe]

It's a long story: was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after spikes to 11.5 bg in July, took Metformin and my H1ac was 5.5. Have now had diabetes 2 diagnosis retracted and have stopped medication. I have neuropathic symptoms: shaky weak hands, numb, cold feet, burning sensation in right thigh etc since May, have had CT scan on internal organs: all ok, had MRI on brain and all ok. I put a Libre monitor in my arm last week and my bg keeps dropping below 4 mmol, this morning it was 2,9. I have spoken with my doctor today and saw a diabetes nurse on Monday and they are both completely unconcerned. Isn't a bg below 3 dangerous? I feel stuck, I don't know what to do?

Hi Sean, when (roughly in the day) were your numbers very low?

I know when I use the Libre system, I can have compression lows. That is when the sensor loses the plot a bit when we lie on it, asleep.

The Libre always reads very low for me, with projected/estimated HbA1cs running around 10 below venous blood, lab analysed tests. There are conditions that can lead to low blood glucose, but certainly worth validating the Libre findings, before digging too deeply into other causes.