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Type 2 Trying to stabilise my sugar levels

G

GemGar

Member
Messages
22
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Marmite. Most fish. Large crowds. Parties.
This will probably sound like a stupid question, and please no judgement.

How long should it take for sugar levels to stabilise after changing your sleeping and eating routines?

I had been working nights for a year, this of course meant having lunch (sandwich, crisps, apple and salad) between midnight and 3am. I've recently left this job, and am due to start a new day time job next week. My last night was Friday night. Since then, my sugar levels have dropped in the mornings, because I'm not having that lunch. I've had 2 hypos, and came close this morning! (I say hypos, both around 3.5)
 
GemGar said:
This will probably sound like a stupid question, and please no judgement.

How long should it take for sugar levels to stabilise after changing your sleeping and eating routines?

I had been working nights for a year, this of course meant having lunch (sandwich, crisps, apple and salad) between midnight and 3am. I've recently left this job, and am due to start a new day time job next week. My last night was Friday night. Since then, my sugar levels have dropped in the mornings, because I'm not having that lunch. I've had 2 hypos, and came close this morning! (I say hypos, both around 3.5)
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The changes to your food should show, at least a bit, in the next few hours after you eat. Bread and crisps will likely raise levels a lot. Without them the tests just hours later will improve. Maintaining those changes and getting better sleep will continue to help even more with your baseline tests and across the day.

The use of 4mmol as a hypo indicator is more for those on hypoglycaemic medication. Metformin isn’t usually associated with hypos and levels in the upper 3’s are experienced by those not on hypoglycaemic drugs and not diabetic (diabetics struggle with high levels and it’s medication that causes lows). What happened after your 3.5 levels? Did it come back up on its own or did you treat it somehow? What sort of levels are you used to seeing?

A type 2 without insulin or insulin promoting medication usually has no more chance of a true hypo than anyone non diabetic. The body is designed to kick in and return us to “normal” by dumping glucose from the liver - unless it’s prevented typically by overriding medication.
 
HSSS said:
The changes to your food should show, at least a bit, in the next few hours after you eat. Bread and crisps will likely raise levels a lot. Without them the tests just hours later will improve. Maintaining those changes and getting better sleep will continue to help even more with your baseline tests and across the day.

The use of 4mmol as a hypo indicator is more for those on hypoglycaemic medication. Metformin isn’t usually associated with hypos and levels in the upper 3’s are experienced by those not on hypoglycaemic drugs and not diabetic (diabetics struggle with high levels and it’s medication that causes lows). What happened after your 3.5 levels? Did it come back up on its own or did you treat it somehow? What sort of levels are you used to seeing?

A type 2 without insulin or insulin promoting medication usually has no more chance of a true hypo than anyone non diabetic. The body is designed to kick in and return us to “normal” by dumping glucose from the liver - unless it’s prevented typically by overriding medication.
Click to expand...
With the 3.5 levels I felt really dizzy and tired. I did eat, and they came back up and the feeling disappeared. My usual is between 5 and 7.5ish. I know it wasn't due to the Metformin but I thought probably because of the change of eating routine. No longer having a lunch or any food at that time of the morning
 
GemGar said:
With the 3.5 levels I felt really dizzy and tired. I did eat, and they came back up and the feeling disappeared. My usual is between 5 and 7.5ish. I know it wasn't due to the Metformin but I thought probably because of the change of eating routine. No longer having a lunch or any food at that time of the morning
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Nights mess us up in so many ways so I’m sure you’ll see a small improvement from changing that alone but my point was as much about the choice of what the lunch was as the timing.

When did you get the 3’s in relation to your sleep, activity and food? Yes possibly a reaction to no food when your body expects it, if so I’d expect that to self regulate and change as you settle back into a daytime routine.
 
The 3s started this week. I woke up at 6ish, ate before going to bed (so around 8-9pm), checked my levels at around 6:30 because of how I was feeling. Ate 10-15 mins after that. I've already noticed a difference with my mental health, and on the whole my diabetes is beginning to get easier to control as I'm changing my sleeping, eating and activity routine. I asked for this week off to get myself in to the routine, and I start next week so am hoping that someone can tell me that it will self regulate fairly soon. A year of nights is a long time.
 
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