Whats normal BS for hypo's?

[suzil]

Have noticed through reading different threads that hypos appear to happen at differing levels of BS. Is there a so called norm? I have just had my highly appertising salad of spinich leaves, red cabbage, onion, tomatoes, carrots, olives, peppers and avocado spinkled with a few cashew and pistachio nuts. Then went for a long walk and came back to work feeling sweaty, slightly out of it and not too great. Did my BS and they are 5.2 which I think is too high for a hypo. When I woke up this morning and prior to breakfast BS were 9.0. How many times should you check your BS? My nurse and doctor seem to think it should be 2 or 3 times a day. Also 2 hours before or after meals. Is this how every one else does it? I wish I had found this site before I got stuck into so many tablets and insulin! But hey I'm on here now and trying everything I can to get things right.

 

[totsy]

i was always told make 4 the floor but dont actually feel hypo till under 3,but would say under 4 is hypo if you are on insulin i think b4 meals and some times after is a good idea to test as you need to see how foods affect u and that u are on the right amount of insulin.

 

[Trinkwasser]

If your numbers have been high for some time your body thinks you are hypo at normal numbers.

If you have reactive hypoglycemia or similar rapid BG changes your body can see a fast drop as a hypo at normal numbers.

There have been many arguments as to what constitutes a "real" hypo, some say 3, 3.5, 4 . . .

 

[chocoholic]

Well, I used to feel wobbly at around 5.0 or 4.9 but the last few days I'm going down as low as 2.3 or 2.4 without having anything other than a slight headache. Only on low dose of insulin as it is and tonight I only had 1 unit of Novorapid before a low carb evening meal and have just had another reading of 3.6 with only a headache to warn me.This just shows how important regular testing is.

 

[steveamos1234]

I think it's generally accepted that a non diabetic would normally not expect to have their BS go below 4 and therefore a reading below 4 is deemed by most people to be a hypo.

That said, I personally don't think there are hard and fast rules.

If you manage your BS so that it is in the normal non diabetic range of say 4 - 8 then you will often feel an effect (hypo) when it goes lower than 4. But, if your BS range is higher you feel an effect at say 5 or 6 and sometimes even higher than that.

I personally find the opposite is also true, in that my BS is often around 3 - 4 for long periods and I feel little if any effect until it drops below 3. The difficult part is that some people will argue that a hypo is anything below 4 and a hypo is bad no matter how you feel. You will also get the argument that you simply are not noticing the hypo and it happens at anything below 4 no matter how you feel.

My thoughts on this 'often controversial subject' is that a hypo should be defined as the point you are not able to function normally. I don't think people should get so hung about the numbers...

You should aim to manage your BS as near to normal as possible, while still maintaining a good quality of life. i.e. don't beat yourself up if your numbers are a little higher than you would like.

 

[hanadr]

The actual BG number isn't the cause of the hypo feeling. that, they think is caused by feeling the fast drop. If it's a drop from high numbers or from lower numbers. It feels hypo. It can happen to non-diabetics too, but if they have normal metabolism, they recover quickly. It's only really dangerous if it's someone who has taken or promoted insulin quantitiesabove that for which they have glucose in the circulation. OR if operating machinery at the time or in a dangerous place.

 

[bigredruss]

iwas told below 4 was, but have been 1.2 without feeling anything. my partner said i had cold hands and tested me :shock: thaat's the lowest i've ever been

 

[Jem]

I would find 1.2 scary - my blood meter told me 0.8 this morning and I just laughed at it - retest confirmed 6.8 hahahaha ... not funny if I'd believed it and eaten a marsbar though I guess)

anyhow, I think if you've been "running high" (ie you're possibly newly diagnosed and had sugars in the teens or 20s for some time) then you will probably feel yukky at higher levels than other people because you're simply not YET used to the lower levels (that way for me) but as I think it was Hana said already, it is how much the drop is that equates to the pants-ness feelings ... say you wake at a reading of 8 (a little high) and then drop to 5 you might feel a bit more dodgy than if you woke at a very nice 6 and dropped to 5 ... does that make sense?

J.x