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Some help, please

Charlottechloe

Member
Messages
10
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I think I've just experienced my first hypo.
5.3 sugar level
Feeling

-dizzy
-shaky
-comfused
-headache
-sweating
-anxious
-blurred vision

Starting to calm now, had a sugary drink and lead down.

Is this signs of a hypo?
 
Hi,
You had signs of your blood glucose dropping quite fast, a hypo is below 4.
Keep a close check by monitoring regularly.
Check your blood sugar again to see how high it went.
You will learn how much you need to take to stop an hypo.
Hope you feel better soon.
Take care
 
No - but you could have experienced it because you have been used to much higher blood sugar levels and now that they are reducing - either through exercise medication or changes in diet you are having the sensations you describe.
As you know your blood glucose level and it was not low a warm drink, rather than something sugary might have been the first option, though a small amount of fruit would probably have stopped the symptoms fairly fast - though a drink as well, as others have said that it seems to make the symptoms reduce faster.
 
These symptoms do sound like a hypo. I would do a retest straight away as the test strips are not very accurate. Even better get the local chemist to do a BG test as your meter may be faulty. Finally this could also be symptoms of low blood pressure.
 
5.3 is normal sugar level, not a hypo. I think it a false hypo so it save to ignore it( if your meter is correct, double check if you feeling or have sign of hypo with another reading or meter). I will only feel the effect of hypo if i drop below 3.
 
When one is usually in a too high level one can feel normal blood glucose as a hypo initially , a hypo is under 4 mmol so no need to eat sugar or other adding carbs , your body just needs to get used to be in a normal range ( 4.5 - 6.0 mmol )
 
Charlottechloe said:
I think I've just experienced my first hypo.
5.3 sugar level
Feeling

-dizzy
-shaky
-comfused
-headache
-sweating
-anxious
-blurred vision

Starting to calm now, had a sugary drink and lead down.

Is this signs of a hypo?
Click to expand...

Hi @Charlottechloe ,

Without any intention of undermining your experience. (Yep, I recognise the symptoms, bar the headache.)
Depending on where you dropped down from & how fast. The number you have given of "5.3" is normal.
Did you take the "sugary drink" then test? If so? You may have dropped further & the 5.3 was on the way up..

What diabetes medication are you prescribed?
 
One thing this forum tells us constantly is that we are all different so If I had your symptoms I would take steps to raise my b.s.
better safe than sorry I agree that 5.3 is normally normal so It may be being affected by other factors check with your diabetic nurse/Doc In Case it happens where you cant get a sugary drink try and keep some glucose tablets or boiled sweets with you always
 
Last edited:
A false hypo at that blood sugar level but definitely sounds like how you would feel if you hypo'd at 4 or below.
Not a very nice feeling, we agree.

What are you testing at now?
 
5.3 is perfectly normal. Are you taking any medication that can cause hypos? If not then you probably didn't get dangerously low. It is possible that the meter was a bit inaccurate, or you had something on your finger, so you may have been lower in reality than the meter showed. But if you are not taking meds that can cause hypos, you should be fine. If your blood sugar is usually much higher than this, or you dropped suddenly, you may experience hypo symptoms at normal numbers.
 
Yep 5.3 is a "normal " reading.

I would however use the experience to help you recognise the symptoms when you do have your first hypo as what you have described are symptoms typical of hypoglycaemia.

In a sense look at it as a practice run and see it as a positive due to this.

When I was being stabilised in 1981 in hospital after diagnosis I was given a hypo on my last day prior to being discharged so I would know what to look for. Not sure if this is done anymore these days!

All the best
 
Your meter could be reading a bit high. I have two meters, one reads about 1.5 points higher than the other. I use the one with the lower readings as it tallies with my Hba1c. The other one is just kept as a backup but I probably won't replace the strips when they expire.
 
If you are not on any medications that lower BS then there is no need to treat symptoms of a hypo, your liver will do that for you. They are not very nice but if you wait long enough, all those feelings go away.
 
The headaches could be signs of a lack of salt. Try some nice chicken broth.
 
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