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Type 2 and hypo's

Lisamadge71

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
hi. I'm recently diagnosed type 2. BG was up in the 20's. It now mainly in 7's but had to increase metformin 4 days ago and in last 2 days have had BG readings of 4 and felt weak and shaky. Nurse told me I wouldn't get hypo's on metformin. And I was told not to test BG at all! Was this a hypo? How do I stop them happening???
 
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hi. I'm recently diagnosed type 2. BG was up in the 20's. It now mainly in 7's but had to increase metformin 4 days ago and in last 2 days have had BG readings of 4 and felt weak and shaky. Nurse told me I wouldn't get hypo's on metformin. And I was told not to test BG at all! Was this a hypo? How do I stop them happening???

Hi @Lisamadge71

Welcome to the forums.

When one's blood sugars have been as high as yours it is not unusual to experience false hypo's whilst your body is trying to adjust to non-diabetic glucose levels.

It normally sorts itself out after a couple of weeks but if symptoms persist, go back to your doctor.

@daisy1 will send you some info. Any other questions, just ask.
 
Well done on getting those numbers down!

Yes, the adjustment to lower numbers can make you feel pretty weird for a while, especially if the bg has been raised for a while. And yes, it feels like a hypo even when the numbers are high enough that you know it isn't a real hypo.

As soon as your body acclimatises to the new, better, lower levels, you will stop feeling that way, and the lower levels will feel 'right' and 'comfortable'.
 
Hi. Yes, 4 is at a level where you start to feel a bit weird but that should sort itself out once the meds settle. Do get a meter as it's vital to understand how you are doing.
 
hi. I'm recently diagnosed type 2. BG was up in the 20's. It now mainly in 7's but had to increase metformin 4 days ago and in last 2 days have had BG readings of 4 and felt weak and shaky. Nurse told me I wouldn't get hypo's on metformin. And I was told not to test BG at all! Was this a hypo? How do I stop them happening???
Will tag my husband @eldergarth who can offer you some advice .
 
hi. I'm recently diagnosed type 2. BG was up in the 20's. It now mainly in 7's but had to increase metformin 4 days ago and in last 2 days have had BG readings of 4 and felt weak and shaky. Nurse told me I wouldn't get hypo's on metformin. And I was told not to test BG at all! Was this a hypo? How do I stop them happening???
Hi Lisa and welcome to the forum like the others have said what you are experiencing is a false hypo .
I was like you at my diagnosis my BG was 38 and ended up in AE for 4hrs on a insulin drip and it was a big shock to the system but with me I took drastic measures and went zero carbs diet and got my levels down in the 4's within a couple of weeks I had a few hypos along the way false ones as well as true hypos but it is while your body is RE-adjusting to the new levels of glucose in your system don't worry yourself about it but do test before and after meals and you will find what foods are your trigger most of us on here do follow the low carbs high fat diet that may sound daft but I have lost 50 kilos since being diagnosed with this diet and with the help of all the great people on this forum .
Feel free to ask as many questions as you like no matter how daft you think it is .
I will tag @daisy who will give you the useful info pack.



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@Lisamadge71

Hello and welcome to the forum :) To add to the excellent advice you have received, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions when you need to and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
Thank you everyone. That's really helpful, it's all a bit confuding TBH dr and nurse say dont test much, but I want to to see how I am doing. Was diagnosed in May but still not been sent on course about what to eat, so trying to read up as much as possible myself.. Trying to eat low carb, lost a stone, so think im doing all the right things, but last time went to dr was told I had to do more as BG was wtill in the 9's. Metformin has been increased, and have lost some weight so think it's getting better, but now concerned about going to low after excercise, or before meal times. It's a learning curve!!! but reading all your posts helps as I know others are in the same boat as me. THANK YOU!
 
Thank you everyone. That's really helpful, it's all a bit confuding TBH dr and nurse say dont test much, but I want to to see how I am doing. Was diagnosed in May but still not been sent on course about what to eat, so trying to read up as much as possible myself.. Trying to eat low carb, lost a stone, so think im doing all the right things, but last time went to dr was told I had to do more as BG was wtill in the 9's. Metformin has been increased, and have lost some weight so think it's getting better, but now concerned about going to low after excercise, or before meal times. It's a learning curve!!! but reading all your posts helps as I know others are in the same boat as me. THANK YOU!

I think your at that stage were, you are doing well on the eating and you are losing weight, your blood glucose levels will start to come down soon, that's because your insulin resistance is probably higher than normal, until your insulin resistance comes down your blood glucose levels will come down.
The metformin will help a little bit, because it is a long term meds.
The benefits of metformin will be felt in a few years.

Don't be too concerned about going low, if you are testing, your readings will change because of exercise, which if it's substantial will go up slightly, but walking will bring it down a little bit. As long as you are eating less, eating low carb and doing a bit more exercise than before diagnosis, you should be fine.
Are you on any other meds?
 
welcome :) Yes I had my very first hypo on metformin and I didn't consider it a false hypo as I had all the hypo symptoms and walked into a wall (lucky I was home) and I still have the exact same symptoms with hypos to this day. That's the key too... know your hypo symptoms. A hypo is a hypo and treatment of it is essential. My endo has drummed that into me enough times. You lose your judgment firstly and it is the last thing to return (my endo says it takes a minimum of half an hour for your judgment to return even with a mild hypo). I only talk from my own personal experience here and of course understand not every one is the same with their reactions, etc. But yeh if you weren't feeling too good... take note of the symptoms you had and look out for those. It's probably best to speak to your doc about it too as you may need dosage adjustments.
 
I've just passed my one-year mark since diagnosis and like you I had a BG reading of 22 at diagnosis. I was prescribed Metformin and Januvia and was advised to follow a diet which my doctor gave me. The numbers came down quickly and are staying down but I had some apparent hypos in the early days. That's when I decided to ignore my doctor's recommendation to test every second or third day and begin testing daily and sometimes several times daily. It helped me to feel more in control of what was happening and to understand what different foods did to my body. With that and the advice on these forums I'm managing things well (and eating more interestingly than when I tried to stick to the doctor's diet sheet!). Good luck to you - my advice for what it's worth, is to test frequently and learn what works best for you.
 
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