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

T2 unmedicated hypo?

D

Dandelade

Well-Known Member
Messages
221
Hi,

I’ve just had a random reading of 3.3 when I woke up. I’m type 2 unmedicated.

Is this low enough to be a hypo or a random low reading? I thought type 2 didn’t get them without medication?

I just had something to eat and I’m fine now back to my usual 5s. Just really curious as to causes?

I was awake before the light so maybe I usually go that low in the night abs have woken before dp, or is it not usual to be that low at night?

Or I was slightly higher yesterday as I skipped breakfast in an effort to bring down a slightly elevated dp (not doing that again!). So has my body overcompensated with insulin and ended up low? Yesterday I had; mackerel, salad leaves, cheese olive oil, then for tea steak and stir fry veg with homemade cream pepper sauce, then before bed I had half a pack of pork scratching me to try and stop another dp.

Another possibility is that I’ve just gone back to work and did a couple more thousand steps than usual, but I can’t really do anything about that!

Anyone any ideas of what’s going on? If I should change anything?

edit: and now my liver has bounced it back to 8.4
 
Last edited:
I'm also T2 unmedicated, only time I've gone that low was after something pure carbs like sweets.
Possibly a bad reading although if you've only recently gained remission your body is still adjusting to a new equilibrium.
 
Ronancastled said:
I'm also T2 unmedicated, only time I've gone that low was after something pure carbs like sweets.
Possibly a bad reading although if you've only recently gained remission your body is still adjusting to a new equilibrium.
Click to expand...
Thank you - yeah I think you might be right, my body is just changing and doesn’t know what to do? Maybe? Ah well, will keep an eye out!
 
I am an unmedicated type 2 diabetic. I go down to 3 sometimes, occasionally 2.5 I think it is a rebound from a big liver dump after a long gap in eating, or an extra large dawn phenomenon dump.

Since eating regular meals spaced out every 4-5 hours my liver dumps are less frequent and my highs and lows are levelling out. My fasting blood is still around 8 every day though.

We are all different.
 
Thanks Lucy, I suppose it must have come from one skipped breakfast from the day before followed stupid yoyo effect?! Won’t be doing that again...
 
The diagnostic level for a hypo is 3.9 and below I have often been in the lower 3's and on a few ocations been as low as 2.2 when so low I treat them as any other form of a hyposglycemic episode rather than focus on the cause.

I do take metformin at the lowest dose but as metformin does not act directly on blood sugar levels I consider myself as unmedicted,
 
Thank you John. I think I’m fixated on the why because I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing.

Am I aiming for Ketosis through low carb to reduce body fat to lose weight and improve insulin resistance and ignore liver dumps? Or controlling the liver dumps with snacks when it gets near the point (for me about 5) to control blood sugar levels to reduce side effects? Then won’t the snacks produce an insulin response even if low/ no carb, just a smaller response, which won’t help reduce insulin resistance?

I don’t think anybody actually has the answer either, least of all a consensus among scientists. Opinions welcome!
 
If you are still early in your quest to normalize your blood glucose then your levels might be unstable.
I have found that eating at 12 hour intervals and having the same amount of carbs at the same time each morning sets me up for the day, then in the evening I eat the second meal, with a dessert a couple of times a week.
There are no side effects, no need for snacks - but I am approaching 5 years from diagnosis now.
I am not trying to reduce body fat, nor weight, nor liver dumps, only to supply nutrition as required without overburdening the broken parts of my metabolism with more carbs than can be coped with. Seems to be working.
 
Yeah very early, 8 weeks in. I knew my few weeks of 5s with the odd 6 was too good to be true! It’s nice to hear from someone successfully managing. Hopefully it’ll settle and I’ll get there too.
 
Dandelade said:
I’ve just had a random reading of 3.3 when I woke up. I’m type 2 unmedicated.
Click to expand...

Amazing well done .. I have to have fasted for about 3 days to get anywhere near that reading..

Did you retest to make sure it wasn't just a random wrong reading?
Sometimes you can get a dodgy strip that just gives a nonsense reading.
 
bulkbiker said:
Amazing well done .. I have to have fasted for about 3 days to get anywhere near that reading..

Did you retest to make sure it wasn't just a random wrong reading?
Sometimes you can get a dodgy strip that just gives a nonsense reading.
Click to expand...
Doh! I didn’t retest, will do from now on - I felt really ****** like.

And cheers bulkbiker (there is a laughing emoji I don’t know how to get on here!) You can have the weird 8s and 10s over the last couple of days from liver dumps making up for it if you like!
 
Yes it's always best to retest when you get an unusaul reading I will some times test with a spare meter if I have one to hand and it is only natural to want to know why you have had a particular reading what I meant was if you have a particularly low reading and it is verified with a retest then your imediate focus should be on resolving that once sorted and back in anormal range for you then you can focus on the whys and wherefores. And I would just like to echo what others have said you are doing very well and should be congratulated but remember it's a marathon not a sprint and you have to expext ups and downs with diabetes.
 
Dandelade said:
Doh! I didn’t retest, will do from now on - I felt really ****** like.
Click to expand...

Hypo symptoms aren't fun and you'd probably have had them even if your bg was 3.6 rather than 3.3. Remember that bg meters only have to be accurate to within about 15% so a reading of 3.3 could be a "true" reading of 3.8....
I think it's normal for some non diabetics to occasionally go as low as the mid 3s, though at that point they are probably feeling hangry. The danger for those on glucose lowering meds is that you go lower....
 
My range gets to 3.4-4.4 when I’m dieting pretty hard. I had a run of 3.4s when I cut out both fats and carbs. I was eating chicken breast/rocket salads. Dropped a bunch of weight.
 
BTW @Dandelade would you like me or another mod to correct the spelling mistake in your thread title?
 
EllieM said:
BTW @Dandelade would you like me or another mod to correct the spelling mistake in your thread title?
Click to expand...
Yes please @EllieM!

And thank you, yes my liver did make sure it was alright in the end (a bit too well mind!), so between you/ this forum, a lovely 5.5 this morning, and my liver it’s set my mind at ease that the unpleasantness will pass!
 
Last edited:
Thanks John, you’re right, it’s easy to forget all the progress when you’re focused on improving.
 
LaoDan said:
My range gets to 3.4-4.4 when I’m dieting pretty hard. I had a run of 3.4s when I cut out both fats and carbs. I was eating chicken breast/rocket salads. Dropped a bunch of weight.
Click to expand...
I don’t think I’m dieting hard but obviously my body disagrees?! But I did have more weight loss this week than usual so at least that’s something!
 
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.…