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Type 2's: What was your fasting blood glucose in a morning?

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looks at @AndBreathe 's 3.5 with longing......

I'm not doing anything differently at the moment, so it could just be a variable couple of tubs of strips. Whilst I feel absolutely fine, the numbers are quite low, with a few 2s in there too. My understanding is that anything in the 2s is getting a bit low.

We'll see.

I'll be having some more bloods later this week, or next, depending when I can get myself to the hospital at the crack of dawn to have them done. I'm not expecting anything lower in my HbA1c, in fact, I may even see a marginal rise.

It's all a bit of a puzzle, even a year in!
 
Last night at 10pm mine was 5.3. Had not eaten anything for 2hrs before this test.

This morning fasting one at 7.33am was 6.1

Had breakfast at 8.20am 30grms Cornflakes, 3ozs Skimmed Milk and 30grms Blueberries.

Tested 2hrs after Breakfast and it was 4.8.

Could my fasting reading be high because I didn't eat enough the day before or not taking in enough fluids.

As I expected the fasting reading to be the lowest of the 2. This have happened 2 days running.


It is very common for the fasting reading to be higher than the bedtime reading due to a few factors mainly outside our control. Have you heard of the Dawn Phenomenon? Plenty of threads on the forum about it if you want to search. After a period of fasting, such as over night, our livers think we need some energy, so it dumps glucose into our system. This is an entirely natural event, which happens to non-diabetics as well as diabetics.

Is it normal for you not to spike high after cornflakes? They are full of carbs and sugar. 4.8 is a big drop from 6.1.
 
4.8 This morning. I will be reducing medication to 40mg Gliclazide daily as well as trying to lower Carbs a little more.
Making more use of my treadmill. ....Watch this space
 
I'm not doing anything differently at the moment, so it could just be a variable couple of tubs of strips. Whilst I feel absolutely fine, the numbers are quite low, with a few 2s in there too. My understanding is that anything in the 2s is getting a bit low.

We'll see.

I'll be having some more bloods later this week, or next, depending when I can get myself to the hospital at the crack of dawn to have them done. I'm not expecting anything lower in my HbA1c, in fact, I may even see a marginal rise.

It's all a bit of a puzzle, even a year in!



I would be very uncomfortable in the two's, anything in the three's I can feel, and know it's time to eat.
Your HbA1C may suggest these are low spikes, or something higher happening the other way.

Are you eating anything late at night, and maybe suffering a bit from an overshoot bringing it down to those lows?
 
I'm not doing anything differently at the moment, so it could just be a variable couple of tubs of strips. Whilst I feel absolutely fine, the numbers are quite low, with a few 2s in there too. My understanding is that anything in the 2s is getting a bit low.

We'll see.

I'll be having some more bloods later this week, or next, depending when I can get myself to the hospital at the crack of dawn to have them done. I'm not expecting anything lower in my HbA1c, in fact, I may even see a marginal rise.

It's all a bit of a puzzle, even a year in!
My understanding is that anything below 3,8 is low. I certainly would not feel that well at anything below 4.

Yet you habitually report numbers in the low three's and now even two's without these readings affecting how you feel.

Have you discussed this with your doctor?

As strange as it sounds, could it be beneficial to your health to increase your carb intake so as to increase your glucose levels to fall within the range accepted as normal non diabetic range.

Or is it a case of nothing to worry about as you are not on medication and your liver should kick in to lift your glucose level if it became dangerously low?

I must admit I am intrigued by your low readings!

Pavlos
 
4.8 This morning. I will be reducing medication to 40mg Gliclazide daily as well as trying to lower Carbs a little more.
Making more use of my treadmill. ....Watch this space

Can I suggest one change at a time, otherwise you won't know what made any difference you see? Wouldn't it be a pain if you did all that lot only to find you're on a bit of a glide-path anyway? There's no point giving up "stuff" you don't need to.
 
5.8 this morning.

@kimbo1962 I've found the best support and pat on back comes from on here and friends... My GP just says that's ok, keep going and we have no DN at practice now so the nurse assistant just takes bloods and weighs you but can't comment as she's not trained .... Hopefully your practice is better.
 
I would be very uncomfortable in the two's, anything in the three's I can feel, and know it's time to eat.
Your HbA1C may suggest these are low spikes, or something higher happening the other way.

Are you eating anything late at night, and maybe suffering a bit from an overshoot bringing it down to those lows?

I rarely eat after my evening meal, so I have a decent long fast; but that is at it always has been - before, during and after diagnosis. At one stage, I was waking with a very mild, low-grade headache, which I speculated could be as the result of a low. I clearly am having highs I don't see; even when I do 24 hours of hourly testing, or my HbA1c would be lower than it is, but with finger-prick testing it's not always possible to catch everything. Once the technology has settled, I'll be interested to dabble with the Freestyle Libre for a couple of cycles. Some of the guys currently using it are seeing "interesting", and unexpected activity; even in these early days. (On the counter, some are also experiencing sensor frailt, which they're not enjoying, naturally enough.)
 
My understanding is that anything below 3,8 is low. I certainly would not feel that well at anything below 4.

Yet you habitually report numbers in the low three's and now even two's without these readings affecting how you feel.

Have you discussed this with your doctor?

As strange as it sounds, could it be beneficial to your health to increase your carb intake so as to increase your glucose levels to fall within the range accepted as normal non diabetic range.

Or is it a case of nothing to worry about as you are not on medication and your liver should kick in to lift your glucose level if it became dangerously low?

I must admit I am intrigued by your low readings!

Pavlos

I have seen lots and lots of 3s for a long time now, but mainly clustering at 3.7 and above. At that level I am extremely unconcerned. According to patient.co.uk, the following is their definition of hypoglycaemia: "Hypoglycaemia is defined as blood glucose <3.0 mmol/L; however, blood glucose <2.5 mmol/L is considered pathological and requires investigation.[1]"

I am due some bloods in the next week or so, so will have the opportunity to discuss the bigger picture once those scores are in. There seems little point, in view of our medic's view of T2s testing anyway. I imagine they would prefer a set of lab results to go on. Fortunately, my GP routinely orders the whole lot, on the basis that if we are to give a sample they should learn as much as they can without further blood-letting.
 
I rarely eat after my evening meal, so I have a decent long fast; but that is at it always has been - before, during and after diagnosis. At one stage, I was waking with a very mild, low-grade headache, which I speculated could be as the result of a low. I clearly am having highs I don't see; even when I do 24 hours of hourly testing, or my HbA1c would be lower than it is, but with finger-prick testing it's not always possible to catch everything. Once the technology has settled, I'll be interested to dabble with the Freestyle Libre for a couple of cycles. Some of the guys currently using it are seeing "interesting", and unexpected activity; even in these early days. (On the counter, some are also experiencing sensor frailt, which they're not enjoying, naturally enough.)

Have you been tested for reactive hypoglycaemia?
 
N
Have you been tested for reactive hypoglycaemia?
No. I haven't.

I don't think I have many of the symptoms though; having never had terrible carb cravings or hypo feelings in the past.
 
@AndBreathe
A valid point i'm happy to take on board.

However I thought it may be a good idea to reduce my carbohydrate intake in view of the fact that i was reducing my medication.

When first diagnosed I was prescribed 160 mg Gliclazide daily, that was later reduced to 120 mg then reduced further to 80 mg.

I have been very careful with the major Carbohydrates but quite free with the others Veg Salad ect.

I just thought that if I paid more attention to the others I would be able to keep my blood glucose under control with the reduced dosage i am now proposing to take.

Nonetheless I will change one thing at a time.
 
@AndBreathe
A valid point i'm happy to take on board.

However I thought it may be a good idea to reduce my carbohydrate intake in view of the fact that i was reducing my medication.

When first diagnosed I was prescribed 160 mg Gliclazide daily, that was later reduced to 120 mg then reduced further to 80 mg.

I have been very careful with the major Carbohydrates but quite free with the others Veg Salad ect.

I just thought that if I paid more attention to the others I would be able to keep my blood glucose under control with the reduced dosage i am now proposing to take.

Nonetheless I will change one thing at a time.

For what it's worth, if I reduce my carbs too much, my blood scores go up a bit. They don't go through the roof, but they just nude up a bit, as opposed to the logical thinking they might go down. It's something others have commented upon. I think @Andrew Colvin found this, but I might be mistaken. I'm sure it's probably some form of liver dump going on, but I'm quite happy knowing going too low-carb doesn't suit me, personally.
 
It is very common for the fasting reading to be higher than the bedtime reading due to a few factors mainly outside our control. Have you heard of the Dawn Phenomenon? Plenty of threads on the forum about it if you want to search. After a period of fasting, such as over night, our livers think we need some energy, so it dumps glucose into our system. This is an entirely natural event, which happens to non-diabetics as well as diabetics.


Thanks for your reply. I did read about that last night. I'm not a good sleeper but last night had a fairly good nights sleep.

Is it normal for you not to spike high after cornflakes? They are full of carbs and sugar. 4.8 is a big drop from 6.1.

I have been able to have either weetabixs or cornflakes without any problems to BG levels.

At dinner time last night 6pm it was 5.1 two hours later at 8pm it was 5.5 Then at 11pm gone up to 6.1

This morning was 5.3 have not tested it since today as have been out and about.
 
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