• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Recently Diagnosed - A few Questions

M

Mike82

Newbie
Messages
3
Hi everyone.

I was recently diagnosed as Type 2 - and after reading a lot online the past couple of weeks I seem to be experiencing symptoms in a different way than most people. I was wondering if anyone could help me.

First, I had not been to the doctor in a very, very long time. I started to feel a bit 'dizzy' and had a kinda of weird headache throughout the day. Was shaky. Almost without question, I would get uncomfortable right before I ate dinner - then the symptoms would go away and I would generally feel fine for the rest of the night. When I woke up in the morning I was shaky again and feeling bad.

I went and had blood work done and my fasting glucose was 7.6 - with an A1C of 6.3.
I was put on metformin 2X500mg per day - and told to come back in 3 months...

I switched to a fairly low carb diet relatively quickly - extremely low carb by my normal standards and I started tracking my blood glucose a crazy amount of times per day. The results I have gotten point to some trends but they dont seem to align with what seems to be the most common experience.

First, when my BG is under 6.0 - I generally feel pretty good. When it gets into the mid 4s I sometimes start to feel weak and sometimes even a bit 'panicky' - it goes away generally if I eat an egg or 2 or have some broth.

However, when my BG goes over 7 - I feel terrible. I get a weird headache/pressure and feel shaky. I sometimes even feel dizzy.

This doesnt seem to be most people's experience that I have read - so many people go in with very high BG and don't even know it. But for me - without fail - If I get into the high 7s and 8s (rarely 9s) - I feel just terrible. I al always over 7.5 when I wake up no matter what I eat/don't eat at night. I feel terrible all morning. Marginally better in the afternoon - and good after dinner.

When I am feeling good - my BG is always under 6.

Does anyone else feel bad when their numbers are 'high' but still within what the doctors seem to say are normal T2 ranges?

Thank you for reading. I am having quite a bit of trouble figuring it out.
 
The symptoms you describe sound very familiar, so you're not as a-typical as you think. Now, you're well on your way to normalising your blood sugars, and on that point, congratulations are in order!

I usually feel fine between 4,5 and 6,5. Still pretty okay when I'm lower, though maybe hungry, but when I'm higher I feel wretched. A 7 throws me for a loop, an 8? Horrible. And yeah, those are still acceptable, normal numbers. Yet... Rubbery legs, confusion or panic, heart racing... For me, basically, it is the same way I felt when I used to have hypo's on gliclazide. Just on the hyper side. While not actually being all that hyper.

Your morning numbers will come down eventually, those just take about forever to figure out they can and should be lower. Sorry, no magic potion from me, but someone else might have ideas...?
 
Hi,
Thank you very much for your reply. It is nice to know there is someone else out there who feels so poorly with relatively normal 'high' numbers. I didn't understand that it could happen. But - there is no question. I feel terrible every morning. Shaky a bit, I have a weird tingle - especially in my head. I check my blood and it is 7.8 - I eat something - it goes to 8.9 and I feel terrible. Then, as it starts to come down, I start to feel better. By the time I am in the low 6 and 5s I feel relatively normal again. it is every single day and it makes me not even want to get up in the morning. I find it very difficult to work until my BG is in the 5s.
 
Could be eating something, like just a square of extra dark chocolate, (easy to keep on the nightstand) before you even get up out of bed, might help a little. Or a babybel cheese or something. Eating would tell your liver to knock it off with the dumping... But not too much so it raises your BS more than you want it to. Eventually, with the low carbing, your fasting blood glucose should come down, but in the meantime, you could try something like that.
 
Thank you very much. I will try that tomorrow AM for sure. I was just not understanding how I could feel so bad with numbers going into the 7s and 8s. Has anyone else experienced feeling poorly when their numbers get like this?
 
Hey. Before my diagnosis, I felt all kinds of unwell that even after diagnosis I never connected to my BG levels. It's only since I got things under control that I connected the dots. For me I wouldn't say it was shakiness, but I used to get a feeling that I associated with stress in my chest. Now that I know, when I feel it, I immediately know I've been taking too many liberties with my diet. I also had issues with sweating at night that have gone away with Keto. I always thought it was just the way I was wired biologically.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…