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Too low?

G

Geordie_P

Well-Known Member
Messages
846
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi friends,
I'm pretty new to diabetes; I was discussing bg readings on another thread, and someone mentioned that my bg levels might be a bit of a cause for concern- RE hypos. I'd appreciate any advice on this.

My readings seem to run a bit low in general, and I don't vary much: I'm 3.5 or thereabouts fasting, then 4.9 (or under) two hours after my main evening meal. I haven't been testing myself long, but I eat the same every day, so I think these numbers should be fairly steady. This morning I was 3.3 when I tested at about 6:30 am. I felt fine, had one boiled egg and some black tea for breakfast, then went to work. Did paperwork until about 12:00, then had broccoli and 2 steamed chicken breasts for lunch. Then more black tea and paper-work until 7:30pm, went home and had mushrooms and kimchi for my evening meal. Tested myself two hours later, and I was 4.9. Now its 23:40 and I'll go to sleep within the next hour or so.

I'm not tired, dizzy or hungry, but I definitely would appreciate your input on whether I need to check or change anything about what I'm doing. (It's basically what I do every day). The other thing I wonder about, is whether I actually have regular diabetes or if there's something anomalous going on.
 
Having consistently low numbers brings with it a risk of hypo unawareness unfortunately.....

but its meds that cause hypos so if your not on any, you likely don't need to worry too much..
 
It's also worth pointing out that all meters have a margin of error. So it's possible your 3.5 was actually a 4.3, etc. I have two different meters and one of them regularly reads lower than the other.
 
If you are not on medication then it does sound you are not eating enough! Have you lost weight?
 
azure said:
It's also worth pointing out that all meters have a margin of error. So it's possible your 3.5 was actually a 4.3, etc. I have two different meters and one of them regularly reads lower than the other.
Click to expand...

Yes I have a back up meter which gives me 2-3 points difference. Thanks for reminding me! (I have a thread currently questioning fluctuating readings with the same meal.)
 
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Yes, sorry I forgot about the meds aspect: I'm not on any meds for diabetes, so that may have confused things. I do take one rosuvastatin a day for my triglycerides. The doctor said they were the worst he had ever seen- 32.2 (with 1.7 being recommended and 5 being high-risk). The doctor ordered me to lose weight too, hence the rather austere diet. I've gone from 197lbs to 172lbs since the start of October, but I've still got a lot of abdominal fat left to lose.
 
I think more regular testing would either give you peace of mind or if you are able to live quite happily at those levels.
I know of a couple of type two posters who are very happy at the low fours, high threes.
Maybe, a few tests if you are eating the same meal can tell you lots.
If you test just before you eat, then one hour, then two hours, even do a test three hours after. If you don't keep a food diary, do so!
If your serious about testing then a diary is a must, you can after a few months see trends and obviously find out which foods you are intolerant to.

You may never have a hypo, but consistent levels of around high threes is definitely something to keep an eye on.
As you lose weight and your insulin resistance gets better, your awareness will become much more noticeable.

As I've said the only way to know if something isn't quite right, is to keep testing and keep recording, and if something is amiss, you have the facts and figures to show your GP.
 
If you get a rogue, you can retest, but a four point differential is not much as long as you are consistently close to where your recent previous tests are.
That's why a food diary is important and having stress or a cold could warp your results. If your tests show you are gradually going down and you are feeling better, then finding out and discovery of how food affects you, should give out more encouragement to continue with the low carb approach.
It does work.
 
I think some people can have that kind of low numbers without getting real lows , as long as your are in the middle of the 3´s I think it is not a problem to you.. maybe your numbers do not fluctuate as much as many others blood glucose numbers...

to me it seems like your levels are very very consistant...

the real dangers are in people taking medications that can keep the number going downwards , but in your case maybe your liver would always compensate if you get lower than 3...

but if you would drink alcohol it would maybe be a good idea to be sure you have a higher blood glucose than 4.5 before having a drink ... so it doesn´t get even lower than your normal lowest...when alcohol would block the liver from compensating
 
Hi Freema, that's a good tip on the alcohol. I refuse to touch the stuff right now, because of liver and triglyceride issues, but I'll definitely keep that in mind in case I ever have a small glass of red at a wedding or something. Could you just elaborate a little on the liver compensating for BG's below 3? I believe my T2 was mainly caused by consistently elevated triglycerides, so any liver knowledge would be most welcome.
 
I don't believe there is any danger for a Type 2 who is not on medication and not having symptoms in having BG that low. I believe @AndBreathe is another member who regularly runs low figures. Our bodies have very tight boundaries for where they prefer many bodily processes to be (homeostatis) and I think they vary greatly between individuals. The main thing is symptoms - if you're not having symptoms, I doubt there is a problem.
 
I agree with the poster that mentioned that the meters are not always super accurate. I have one that reads .6 low consistently. If I had a reading of 3.8 it would actually be 4.4 This could be part of your low readings. Other than that it sounds as though you are doing great.
 
When you got diabetes diagnosis surely your hba1c showed higher than 3s or 4s?Or was your diabetes diagnosed differently? Or was your diet different then? What is your bmi again?
Is this guy definitely type 2?
 
@ickihun - Speaking from personal experience, my starting point and my consistent readings after a couple of week were worlds apart.

Ever since I have been testing, my fingerprick testing is not reflected in my HbA1c. Not even my Libre 24hour, 2 week traces are close to my HbA1c scores, even now. My finger prick testing and Libre (provided it's not a wonky sensor) are pretty well aligned, so I go with the Libre calculation as it catches all the peaks and troughs, irrespective of when they occur. The Libre consistently suggests an HbA1c of 20/21, as opposed to my venous blood score of 31-33, as shown in my signature.

That's a known phenomenon and considered to be accounted for by the individual's red cell lifespan. The HbA1c is calculated assuming a red blood cell life of c140 days (I think I recall that number correctly), whereas individuals red blood cell lifespan could be longer or shorter. The DCUK News Bot carried an article about this just yesterday. I only scan read it as it was research I had already done for myself.

@Geordie_P may or may not have a similar variation, but as he has just started self-testing it may be too early to tell.
 
I still get wowed about type 2. Its so varied. I don't think I'll ever know everything about it. I'll have a good go thou. :)

I can see know why so many debates about whether a hba1c should be used.
My 9yr old has just had a hba1c done and not diabetic. Low vit d thou so dr monitoring. He's discharged from specialist as all other blood test came back good too. Such a relief.
I watch his carbs on 99% of days. Birthday cake is allowed. He isn't a sweet eater. He prefers pasta. Which I limit the portion.

I wonder if I'd had a hba1c at 6yr old if I'd have been deemed none diabetic?
Was hba1c test around in the 1970s?
 
Geordie_P said:
Hi Freema, that's a good tip on the alcohol. I refuse to touch the stuff right now, because of liver and triglyceride issues, but I'll definitely keep that in mind in case I ever have a small glass of red at a wedding or something. Could you just elaborate a little on the liver compensating for BG's below 3? I believe my T2 was mainly caused by consistently elevated triglycerides, so any liver knowledge would be most welcome.
Click to expand...

well the liver is always a reservoir of potential glucose as the liver can change proteins into glucose when needed, but of cause not when blocked very much from alcohol, then the liver is busy trying to clean the body from this kind of "poison"...

I am not an expert in the livers ways of doing all its different kinds of work in our bodies, but I know that the liver also do contain vitamin B12 for about 5 years if people do get enough of the vitamin in their foods... guess it´s because it is a very essential vitamin for us.. there are a lot of other things the liver does for us but really I am no expert in that... but try to google it ... it is i think worth to know about, and i´ll myself try to get more knowlege later ..
 
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