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Sudden lowering of readings

B

Bobsummit

Member
Messages
19
Hiya all

I have been running along at readings of between 5.7 and 6.4 for the last few months with the help of metformine 3 times a day. Half an hour ago I felt shaky for no apparent reason and have just taken my reading - it was 3.3. I have never been that low before and there seems to be no dietary or other reason for this. I have just eaten a piece of chocolate and a banana to try and send it back up.

Any suggestions why this should suddenly happen.

Bob
 
Hi Bob,

Metformin is very unlikely to be the culprit because, on its own, it isn't able to reduce your BS level by more than 1 to 1.5mmol, so can't cause a hypo unless your BS was already low. Sounds like either you ate a lot fewer carbs than your body is used to, or perhaps have had more exercise than usual, or a combination of these?

Chocolate isn't the best thing to bring BS back up quickly from a hypo because chocolate contains fat which slows down absorbtion of the sugar. Your best bet is a sugary drink, just a couple of teaspoons of sugar dissolved in water, or a glass of fruit juice concentrate or full-strength coke. I usually carry with me a packet of Lucozade or dextrose tablets in case of a hypo.
 
Dennis is quite right
There's a danger of overcorrecting low BG. Actually, for a T2, at 3.3, all you really need to do is sit quietly and wait for it to come back up, unless you've taken a medication recently, which can knock it down.
 
Thank you both for your responses. I'm seemingly back to nomal now but, given that nothing abnormal was happening at the time (same contolled diet and exercise) I'd love to know what caused it. C'est la vie

Bob
 
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