What is the reading for a Hypo?

I'm not an expert but when I reported a 3.2 on this site, together with affected vision and the sweats I was told it was a hypo.
I do sometimes feel rough if my blood sugar levels drop very quickly, so although the values are not in the hypo range, the drop itself can make you feel bad.

No doubt someone will tell you if I'm talking mince!

I think it's under 4.3

Yeh feels great ,doesn't it! :lol:

Hi Manxangel,
5.2 - now that's what I call progress!!!
Sue is right - technically it is a reading of 4.2 or less. But in someone who has been running at much higher levels for some time (as you have) then you will start to get the hypo warning signs at a much higher level, which is not a bad thing. But that doesn't mean you get hypo at a higher level, just that you get the warning signs earlier and therefore for longer.

Don't expect to get everything sorted out overnight. You are making tremendous progress, but it is likely to bounce around for a while before it stabilizes. In the long term if you end up with an average in the low fives then that would indicate really good control (non-diabetics are usually around about this).

I am sure that your symptoms at the moment are mostly because your body will take a while to adjust to this. So, don't worry if you need to eat to avoid feeling ill - the important thing is the long term progress not the day to day glitches. Although 4.2 is what the books usually say is a hypo, the point at which you feel symptoms varies a lot between individuals. At the moment you are feeling ill with a BG of 5.2 - but that will eventually pass as your body gets used to a much lower BG. I don't tend to get hypos (I am a diet-controlled T2), but occasionally my BG falls below 4 after exercise. The lowest I ever recorded it was 3.2, and even then I felt absolutely fine (I did think it prudent to go and eat something, though). However, this is just me. Other people could well get symptoms at these levels. The most important rule of thumb is that you should make sure that you never drive or do anything else potentially dangerous if it is under 5 - this is to allow a fair safety margin. If you are on insulin then it is a legal requirement to test before driving. You should probably get into the habit of carrying glucose tablets or a bottle of lucozade so that you can quickly correct it if necessary.

Anyway, well done and don't worry if it is difficult to maintain it at this level right now - you are making fantastic progress, and are well on your way to getting your life back to normal.

Tim.

I don't get hypos, because I'm a Metformin only type 2. My diet does most of my controlling and I keep at about 5. when i was using gliclazide, I used occasionally to drop below 4. I would feel a bit "off colour", but no more. My type 1 husband on the other hand can drop to below 3 and still be reasonably rational. If he's ever got himself into a real mess he's likely to be around 2.,

I was told that anything below 4 was a hypo and not to treat myself unless I was below that. However what people have said about 4.2 seems to make sense to me as a couple of times I have felt a bit funny at 4.3 or 4.2, I guess it depends how quickly I have dropped.

My son was diagnosed with type 1 in March and I have been told that a hypo is below 4. He did start showing signs of hypos at about 5 though to start with and I was told that this is because he had been high for a while (33 on diagnosis) and his body was finding it hard to adjust to being lower. So if you are newly diagnosed that is probably why you feel a bit wobbly in the 5's. Generally he can be quite well at 3 but another day he can be 3.9 and feeling unwell. It does just depend on how quickly he had dropped down. I have been told as long as my son is in the range of 4mmol to 8mmol then that is perfectly normal. It tooks about a month to get the readings relatively normal and touch wood we seem to be keeping him stable. I wouldn't worry if you have to eat something when you are at 5. Just have a plain biscuit like a digestive or a peice of fruit. My son has a snack mid morning and mid afternoon and his BG's are still within the normal range. Hopefully this small snack shouldn't push you up very high. Hope this is of some help. This is one of the most confusing illnesses ever I am sure!!!

i am type 2 diabetic on insulin and also metformin. i have never really controlled it properly for the past five years or so, and now i have reformed and am being so good in measuring my blood glucose and also in what i eat. i am taking hypos every day now in the afternoon and sometimes again in the evening. can this be because my blood sugar has been running so high for years and now i'm being very good? i have reduced my insulin down, used to inject 28 novorapid and 44 lantus, now i'm giving myself 22 novorapid and 40 lantus. i think 22 is too much so am going to reduce it down to 20. i'm eating enough carbs so that can't be the problem. it drains me after i have a hypo....my reading used to be sometimes 24....mostly about 18....now they are down to 5. something before each meal, and in the afternoons below 4.

My friend who has reactive hypoglycaemia, was told 2.9 isn't hypo, by the same endocrinologist, who is the top diabetician in this health area.

I am a type II on Metformin only, no insulin, but if I drop below 4 I get all the symptoms of a hypo.

If your sugar levels have been higher for longer, the drop will give you the symptoms regardless of the actual readings.

I was told a hypo was 3 and below but i think that is to dangerous as the lowest i've been is 2.2 and wass ready to pass out.
3.5 is when i start shaking and anythin below im sweating like mad.

Hi
Diagnosed nearly a week ago. At 5.8 last night (from 27 on diagnosis) def felt symptomatic of hypo.
Dont know if that is a good thing though as will know what to expect? I was told anything below 4, and to treat it whether I felt bad or no
Unlikely I wont feel bad if last night was anything to go by.

Had small cereal and bs shot back up to 10.

L

Lo Lilibet,
The reason for syptoms of hypo in the 5's is because your body is used to high bs at the moment. As you get better control you will find that your hypo symptoms will take a bit longer to kick in. Probably around the low 4s or even lower. My bs was 23 when diagnosed and I was really worried about what a hypo felt like. I actually decided to induce one so that I would be prepared, but before I got the chance I had one. Wakened up in the night with a bs of 3.2! Frightening but treatable and it let me know what my symptoms were. Not everyone has the same symptoms.

Caitycakes

When I first started taking Metformin I would get hypo like symptoms at 5.00 mmol/L but now I start getting symptoms at 3.00 mmol/L. The nurse told me I wouldn't get hypos with Metformin but I do and she said that I should see the dietician again then. The symptoms I get is feeling peculiar and a bit dizzy, then trembling and feeling weak so that I feel I have to sit down. The book on diabetes I purchased ('Type 2 Diabetes - answers at your fingertips' by Dr Charles Fox and Dr Anne Kilvert) informs the reader that for a person without diabetes the range is from 3.5 to 5.5 mmol/L before meals and can range up to 10 mmol/L after meals depending on the carbohydrate content of the meal (page 113). On page 277 the signs and symptoms of hypoglycaemia are: trembling, sweating, tingling of the lips and tongue, weakness, tiredness, sleepiness, hunger, blurred vision, palpitation, nausea, headache, mental confusion, unsteadiness, pallor, slurred speech, bad temper, change in behaviour, lack of concentration and unconsciousness (hypoglycaemic or insulin coma). Dextrose tablets ( Usually 3 to 4 x 4 g tablets) or 100 ml of fruit juice, 100 ml of cola (not diet cola) or 60 ml of lucozade. If it is near lunchtime have your lunch or follow with a sandwich or cereal bar. When I go low it is usually before lunchtime (but not always) and I have tried an extra peice of toast it tends to be higher than it should be before lunch. When I first saw the nurse after dx she said that I should try changing my diet first and didn't intend to see me again for 9 months. My HbA1c was 16.00 mmol/L at dx. I had to see the doctor (a different doctor to the one I saw first of all, who referred me to the nurse) about my rising blood pressure and he said that I should be taking tablets and prescribed Metformin and told me to buy a meter and to test bg. I bought a meter and the surgery supplied me prescriptions for strips and lancets. Unfortunately the doctor who advised me to get a meter is no longer at the surgery. When I saw the nurse last time ( 2 1/2 years later) she said I didn't really need to test so I have purchased strips and lancets but as they are expensive I don't test regularly but having had test strips for a while I have some idea of what causes my bg to rise. I think it is the best way for someone first diagnosed to find out how certain foods affect them.

On DAFNE 18 months ago I was told anything below 3.6 is hypo but treat anything below 4. However, the nurse phrased it we have to advise you to treat at 4 as per DUK guidelines, her expression and body language said she didn't agree. I tend to treat mildly at 3.8 - 4.0 unless just sitting around, my logic being at 4 I'm more sensitive to activity so won't take much to reduce it further, and unless I've just been hypo or hardly unchanged from last test, it's heading for hypoland soon. In time you learn how much you need to correct a slight low. If bs is swinging wildly hypos are worse and need more to correct, with basal set right they're very mild so a jelly baby or mouthful of lucozade is enough to stop the drop without causing a rebound.

Sue