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Strange Bg Drop

Brie912

Active Member
Messages
33
Hi, I found out I had T2 about 2 months ago. On low carb diet and metformin. I've been monitoring my BG levels and they keep going a little on the lower side of normal. 4.6 is the lowest, which I know is ok, but feel tired and shaky when it goes below 5. This morning BG was 4.9 and because I didn't have a lot else in the house I had some lentils and quorn chicken pieces, which I thought would be enough to bring it up, especially the lentils. I didn't check until a few hours later and it was 4.8 and I felt tired. Didn't think much of it because it can take a lot to bring my BG up in the morning recently. I had a kitkat and some crackers and leftover strawberries (I really need to go food shopping) and it came up to 7.1 and I had a bit more energy. Two hours later I'm feeling tired and shaky again and even though I've not done anything (it's my day off, I've just been lying down watching youtube all afternoon) and it's 5.1. I don't know how it went down by 2 within two hours when I've not done anything.

Is it the metformin kicking in? Because I've also noticed recently that when I eat 2 slices of wholemeal toast in the morning before work it barely goes up, whereas before it would go up by 2 or 3. (and I have a very active job so I need to get my BG on the higher range of normal when I start work. Thanks x
 
Hi

Have just read your post and, although I'm not particularly knowledgeable/experienced in this, a couple of things did lead me to ask questions, so ...

1 - How frequently are you testing after eating, and throughout the day?
2 - What would you normally eat throughout the day these days?

"didn't check until a few hours later [lentils and quorn chicken pieces] and it was 4.8"
-It's possibly you missed any spike/rise in glucose, perhaps
-Also, what else was in the lentil and quorn chicken soup? Fats will slow absorption of carbohydrate, hence often lessens the glucose rise and quick drop

Feeling tired is often how one feels when glucose levels are generally higher.
Feeling shaky etc is often known as 'false hypo' when your glucose level is lower than it's got used to, hence the feeling
"Doing nothing", ie sitting/lying around will usually help your glucose levels to drop. Being active usually causes a rise. I've seen this, using Libre sensor, when I've had a quite low reading, I get up to make a cuppa, sit back down with my cuppa and notice my reading has increased a bit.
Perhaps a gentle walk around the block when you are feeling 'shakey/tired' would give your glucose level the lift you need. Maybe worth a try?

"This morning BG was 4.9..."
My understanding is that 'fasting', ie on waking having not eaten for a number of hours due to sleeping, is generally higher in the morning and then dropping as the day progresses, usually due to Insulin Resistance tending to be higher in the mornings. Having said that, have you then tested again frequently to see if your glucose levels then rise, possibly quite high once you've started being a bit active, ie bath/shower, moving around, getting dressed etc?

Metformin is unlikely to take a month or more to 'kick in'. It helps your body utilise your insulin but doesn't act like a hypoglycaemic medication. Only rarely does Metformin cause low blood glucose, as far as I know.

Eating Low carb diet doesn't generally include such foods as bread, whether wholemeal or otherwise, nor potatoes/pasta/rice and foods with flour etc. Most on low carb diet will prefer to have the carbs in much lower carb content, such as salads, vegs and maybe some lower carb fruit. Yes, even a lettuce leaf or tomato will have some amount of carb!!! So, I'm surprised you are eating bread/toast for breakfast.

As I've mentioned, carbs will absorb quickly but then drop quickly, causing you to feel tired and shaky etc so I suspect your testing is missing the spikes. Sorry to disillusion you :(

Perhaps @daisy1 's information might help your understanding of how carbs affect our glucose level. If you've already read this info, maybe a re-read would be useful

You'll get there but there's a lot of learning first, which we'll help and encourage you to work through :)
 
I used to test before I ate and then 2 hours later but I've figured out roughly what different foods will do to my bg and I'm more relaxed about it now. I'm not going to lose my sanity testing all the time when my bg has rarely gone above 7 on my diet. Also, at work it's really hard to test before and after meals. And maybe it's not strict low carb, but it's much lower carb than what I used to have. I only have wholemeal bread in the mornings on the days I'm working because typically it brings my bg up to 7 and that holds me over until my break. And I don't have time to make anything on work days so toast saves me a lot of stress. On a typical day I'll eat things like cucumber and coleslaw, berries and cream, apple and cheese for snacks and for meals I'll have something like chilli with quorn mince and cauliflower rice or stir fry veg.

So maybe I have missed a spike by not testing strictly 2 hours after testing but it's still coming down more than I'd expect.

The BG results and what I've had today:
11:06 4.9 - ate lentils and quorn chicken pieces
16:00 - 4.8 - ate kitkat, crackers and small amount of berries with cream
17:07 - 7.2
19:05 - 5.1 (feeling shaky and tired) ate 2 slices of toast
20:01 - 7.2 - went to shops
21:02 - 5.9 - ate large bowl of berries with cream
22:32 - 4.6
23:07 5.7
 
@Brie912

Hello Brie912 and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 235,000 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
Reduce your 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 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
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
Hi @Brie912, Lentils have a form of carbohydrate that is very slowly absorbed and Quorn has fat plus very little carb content - so if there was to be any BSL rise from that mix it would tend to be slight and ? 2 1/2 to 3 hours down the track and a pretty feeble flattened spike at that.
 
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