BG Levels

[m3bfs]

Hi

Only diagnosed last month, at first meeting with nurse was told that she would expect bg readings of 4 to 7.

Today i felt really crappy, nauseus (sp) lightheaded, really horrible, unfortunately didn't have meter with me (passenger in car, coming home) when i got in tested myself and was 4.3, is it possible that that is too low for me, if the nurse is looking for a range between 4 - 7.

When i'm feeling great and test i'm between 4.8 and 5.5, so i would think that 4.8 would be my lowest low.

Any thoughts anybody

TeeJay

[ladytaz]

yes, it could have been that it was low for 'you'. In time, as your body becomes used to the lower BGL's it will take the numbers to be lower until you'll feel that way.

Geeze, did that make sense?? I hope so! LOL

[Dervish]

Sounds like you're in much the same situation as I am. I was first diagnosed with diabetes about 3 weeks ago when I went to the hospital with BG 500+ (mg/dl; I don't know what that would be in mmol/l). When I was released from the hospital, I quickly found that getting down into the 'normal' range caused me to experience mild hypoglycemic symptoms.

My understanding of the reason for this is that I was running so high for so long (high BG had me significantly dehydrated for at least 2 months prior to my visit to the hospital) that my body got used to it and reacted to normal BG levels as if I were running low. It's definitely possible that you could be experiencing something similar (if less extreme).

[fizzgig_sh]

Yep, that will do it. When your body has been running sooo high coming into the normal range will bring on hypolike symptoms. I still get symptoms at the low end of 5. I am in serious trouble in the 4s. I feel better in 6s and 7s. But when the body adjusts to the 4s and 5s there is less warning that it is getting too low to manage normally so I like to keep it around 6. Plus I have a very active job so need the buffer space to fall when busy.

The conversion between the two systems is 18. So your 500/18 = 27. Or with me I feel at my best around 6 so that would be 6*18 = 108, easy, right?

[June91]

Could be that things will get better once you get used to more normal bgs. But healthy people also get uncomfortably low with not so low readings. My father, for example, regularly has a fasting of 3.3 while my mother raids the fridge when she's at 4.2... Both of them in the best of health.

[m3bfs]

thanks for all the replies, they have all been very helpful, coz that reminded me, highs and lows weren't explained at that appointment either.

Went to bed, but read for a couple of hours, at 6.9, feeling fine, after reading and settling down i started to feel ill (i know, i know should've tested but didn't) took a couple of glucose tabs and that seemed to sort it. So now i know what to do if i start feeling that way again when i'm out, and know what a low 'feels' like, because up until yesterday i was thinking that what i was feeling was a high.

Can anybody tell me what a 'high' feels like, or like nearly everything else about D, is that an individual thing as well

TeeJay

[sweetcheeks]

oh, highs, lol i can tell you that

you get really really really sleepy! or at least i do, to the point where i bob my head regardless of where I am lol

[fizzgig_sh]

Yep, Highs I can tell you about. First sign for me (apart from knowing I ate something I should go easy on) is feeling achy like I have the flu. I just want to curl up and go to bed.

Drinking and peeing gets it down a little and so does exercise.

But more importantly stopping it dropping again too fast is necessary so I don't bounce into a hypo. So eating something 'good' is a must for me, too.

[sofaraway]

So now i know what to do if i start feeling that way again when i'm out, and know what a low 'feels' like,

speaking to a colleague she told me that they used to induce a hypo for people newly diagnosed, so they knew what it felt like. it is now not considered good practice though.

for me being high i am tired and have no energy, go to the loo alot and have a horrible taste in my mouth.

[Cyborg]

It's a real shame that our bodies do get used to elevated bg numbers. I think many more people would detect diabetes much sooner if that weren't the case...

[m3bfs]

for me being high i am tired and have no energy, go to the loo alot and have a horrible taste in my mouth.

by a horrible taste would you say it was a metallic taste coz i have that a lot, but tends to be when i'm low

[Vince]

I felt weak and tired and got worn out easily for about 2 months before it started passing. Circulation went down the tubes too. Now it seems to improve each day. I almost feel back to normal.

My doctor told me that I came down to normal levels too fast. That it would be ok to come down slower, as long as I was coming down. I told him I'd rather go cold turkey and stop damaging myself. A1C went from 10.7 to 7.7 in 2 months. My goal is to be under 6.5 in two more months and to be under 6.0 3 months after that. But doing this thar quick definitely made me feel the changes big time.

Hang in there. Everyone here told me there was a light at the end of the tunnel. They seem to know what they're talking about. :)

Good luck!

[soso]

Hi M3
Heres another take on your original post..based on my own experience.. feel crappy bit dizzy 'no right' but can't test right then (sometimes happens to me when with a client) a period of time passes and when I do test I am like you..lowish, but not clinically low.... my theory is that we were lower than that, but our liver was stepping in to save us and by the time we test, it has pumped out a bit of glucose and our numbers are already coming up a bit.
I do not know what regime you are on, so that would make a difference to your anxiety level about chances of hypo's etc... I only bolus for meals, so am very careful for that 4 hr period, however once I am out of that I find that I can run in the 4's for extended periods and usually go 6-8 hrs between meals without dropping below 4. Be careful about 'getting that feeling' and treating it as a low without checking..I got interested in my 'funny feelings' and at least half the time I was not at all low, sometimes in the 6's...I have come to the thought that the slight disorientation I feel may be more associated with the speed at which my bg levels are dropping or rising.. if I am out or driving, then I do consume a few carbs just to be safe, but mostly I test.
I do not feel any different when I am high, although it is rare I am over 8...before diagnosis though I would be very sleepy after meals..very sleepy...
good luck and test test test...
ss

[sweetcheeks]

When I was diagnosed, my doc told me it was very bad for me to come down so quickly. So she was aiming for it to happen slowly, it took about 2 -3 weeks to srart seeing the results with the fortamet. After that it continued to go down daily. But no so much that I got the shakes etc. I dont think I got the shakes until I was in the 90's which that took about 2 months to get to that point.

She told me that so many of her patients, will call in 3 days after taking the metformin and dont see results and get frustrated with her, because she didnt make it better that quickly, well unless your type 1, she claims its not safe, because your going to feel "low" regardless that its a high/normal number, because of the length of time you have been high for so long.

So, I followed those instructions and I never got frustrated, heck she didnt even tell me what my goal was on the first visit because she didnt want me trying for a goal of the normal 80 - 120, because she knew id be having one of those so called "lows" and freak out lol