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T2 unmedicated hypo?

EllieM said:
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....
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Yes normal non diabetics can go low but if it is 3.9 or below it is still classed as hypoglycemia and should not be ignored.

There is such a thing as non diabetic Hypoglycemia

The symptoms include being:

  • Hungry
  • Shaky
  • Sleepy
  • Anxious
  • Dizzy
  • Confused or nervous
  • Sweaty
  • Irritable
  • Syncope (Passing out, losing consciousness
For immediate treatment of low blood glucose, make sure you eat or drink 15 grams carbohydrate (in form of juice, glucose tablets, or hard candy).

https://www.hormone.org/diseases-and-conditions/diabetes/non-diabetic-hypoglycemia
 
JohnEGreen said:
Yes normal non diabetics can go low but if it is 3.9 or below it is still classed as hypoglycemia and should not be ignored.

There is such a thing as non diabetic Hypoglycemia

The symptoms include being:

  • Hungry
  • Shaky
  • Sleepy
  • Anxious
  • Dizzy
  • Confused or nervous
  • Sweaty
  • Irritable
  • Syncope (Passing out, losing consciousness
For immediate treatment of low blood glucose, make sure you eat or drink 15 grams carbohydrate (in form of juice, glucose tablets, or hard candy).

https://www.hormone.org/diseases-and-conditions/diabetes/non-diabetic-hypoglycemia
Click to expand...
Yep that sounds like me. Thank you - I’m going to have to get some sweets in as they’re banned from the house and work out what 15g is in case it happens again!
 
EllieM said:
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....
Click to expand...
when my non diabetic son was in A & E his blood sugars were 2.2. They fed him glucose to get him back up again while sorting his problems out.
 
Dandelade said:
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 :(
Click to expand...

Hi,

One thought comes to mind.

The weather has been hot for a couple of days.. (Not sure where you are located.) I know I can be pretty insulin sensitive in a heatwave.? Or on holiday in a hotter climate.
In my case I need to lower my insulin dose to compensate.
 
Dandelade said:
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!
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What do you mean “near the point”? What’s wrong with being in the 4’s.

I’d agree with your assumption about insulin response and probably it not helping. Which option might depend on the size of the liver dumps. It could even be a little of both.
 
HSSS said:
What do you mean “near the point”? What’s wrong with being in the 4’s.
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I’d be quite happy with 4s! My body however does a weird agitated, let’s eat, mild nausea thing though, and then I check and am near the 4s - if I ignore it I get a liver dump. I’ve come to think of it as my feed me liver dump warning bell.

Then if I eat I can stop the liver dump. It means I can choose to either let it happen to reduce snacks or stop it happening by eating.

Typing it out, you’re right, the answer should be it depends on the size of the dump. Anything from +2 to + 5, it’s so unpredictable though I’m still a bit undecided. Am giving no snacks a week or so to see if it evens out. Trying to make sure my calories don’t go too low to shut down metabolism!
 
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Jaylee said:
Hi,

One thought comes to mind.

The weather has been hot for a couple of days.. (Not sure where you are located.) I know I can be pretty insulin sensitive in a heatwave.? Or on holiday in a hotter climate.
In my case I need to lower my insulin dose to compensate.
Click to expand...
Oooo maybe! Although up in the north east of England it isn’t as much as a heat wave as everywhere else!
 
Dandelade said:
Yep that sounds like me. Thank you - I’m going to have to get some sweets in as they’re banned from the house and work out what 15g is in case it happens again!
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Maybe you should speak to your doctor. With 15% accuracy and potential mid readings from dirty fingers etc, you may not have gone as low as you think.

Unmedicated non diabetics can drop lower than 4, but if you are concerned getting medical checks rather than self adjusting and potentially pushing your bloods high seems a better approach to me
 
Andydragon said:
Maybe you should speak to your doctor. With 15% accuracy and potential mid readings from dirty fingers etc, you may not have gone as low as you think.

Unmedicated non diabetics can drop lower than 4, but if you are concerned getting medical checks rather than self adjusting and potentially pushing your bloods high seems a better approach to me
Click to expand...
Thanks Andydragon. Hopefully it was a one off - it just freaked me out a bit as I wasn’t expecting it. If it happens again I will speak to someone!
 
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