Whoa!! Sugar drop

[mg_2204]

Hello!

I still can't fully understand what happened today.

I had my usual week-end breakfast... which was 1 coffee and 2 toasts with cheese. I totally forgot to test my fasting sugars this morning. One hour after breakfast, I was at 10.9 :eek: ... Highly unusual. Haven't had this kind of reading in ages. I had this massive headache & pounding. Went about my day. What else can you do anyway?

No later than an hour later, I was shivering. I was so cold! The headache was unbearable. I had to lie down. I felt sick, felt like throwing up. I started to shake. BG : 8.3 --- Shaky at 8.3??! C'mon!! This can't be.

Tested again perhaps 20 minutes later. BG : 6.3 --- I was so dizzy. My knees gave way on my way to the toilet. Tested when I was back on the sofa : 5.3. All I wanted to do was sleep. I slept perhaps an hour. I woke up feeling much better. Didn't feel like throwing up anymore. I ate a little something and felt even better. I slept again (my head was still throbbing but not as much), and for about 2 hours. BG when I woke up 5.1. I should have been a little higher than this. I felt almost my usual self. Was able to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Took Paracetamols for my headache.

Before dinner tonight : 5.3. I'm usually between 5.3 and 6.3 before dinner. I can't wait to test again. I had a good filling dinner. Pouding is still there.

I hope it's the LAST sugar drop I have. It's the first time I experience something that powerfull since taking meds. Needless to say, didn't like it at all...

But what happened here??! And the crucial question is : how can I avoid this in the future?

My older son was leaving for his unit in Germany today. Because of this I barely had an hour with him before he left. I'm mad as ****.

Oh! The joys of diabetes...

[jeggeman31]

I have also had issues with low BS last week. My normal BS is around 250. Could not keep my BS below that. My DR added Actos to my Insuiln and Metforum and man did I feel it when it kicked in. My BS dropped to 23 and I could not keep my BS above 100. Did not make a darn bit of difference what I ate, drank my BS would not go above 100. Crashed to the 20's 3 times last week. This has never happened in my life. Well I have reduced my insulin intake and working it out now that I have the actos on board. I now have normal BS about 90% of the time. We will see what time has to say.

[MarkMunday]

... But what happened here??! And the crucial question is : how can I avoid this in the future? ...
Marie,

You need to discuss this with your doctor. But here is one scenario ...

The 30 grams of carbs you had for breakfast was too much for your weak phase 1 insulin response to deal wirh. This caused your blood sugar to increase sharply after the meal. Which, in turn, stimulated a vigourous phase 2 insulin response. Your beta cells produced lots of insulin. And your Metformin is obviously doing it's job well. The insulin caused your blood sugar to drop substantially.

You could do two things to stop this happening again. One is to reduce your breakfast carbs from 30 grams to, say, 15 grams. You could also inject a small amount of quick acting insulin before breakfast. In both cases, your blood sugar wouldn't increase as much after meals. So it would not drop as much later on.

Cheers,

Mark

[Lynne]

Morning carbs are the worst carbs. If you must eat breads, have them at a later time of day when you can handle them and in lower amounts. If you get into the 20 gram range at one time, you're stressing your system.

[mg_2204]

Thank you for your anwers.

How come I usually have that kind of breakfast on week-ends and I never have problems?

This morning I'm rather wary. Fasting sugars were 7.2 mmol/L, which I consider high. I'm usually under 7. You can bet anything I'll have far less carbs than yesterday... thank you for the suggestion.

I think Metformin has made me ultra sensitive to BG fluctuations. I feel it either go up or down and sometimes it's a question of going from (for example) 6.8 to 6.2 only. But I feel it! I really hate this...

[mg_2204]

... I crashed again. But wasn't nowhere as sick as Saturday, thank goodness...!!! I wasn't particularly high either, 7.2 mmol/L 2 hours after lunch. Went from 7.2 to 4.9 in 30 minutes or so. I was cooking muffins for the kids, so I wasn't exactly exerting myself physically...

I take Metformin with breakfast and dinner only. I have been extra careful eating low GI foods.

And can't get rid of that pounding in my head. Woke up with it this morning.

My main fear now is crashing like that at work. Help? :confused:

Great timing though; having my diabetic check Wednesday.

[MarkMunday]

Marie,

The Metformin is making the insulin your pancreas is producing work better. And that is causing your blood sugar to drop. You wouldn't have seen this effect before using Metformin because your insulin levels would have gone up without causing your blood sugar to come down.

You need to stop your blood sugar going up in the first place. If low GI foods are not doing the trick, try replacing carbs with protein/fat. Protein increases blood sugar very slowly and fat does not increase blood sugar at all. But they are great sources of energy.

Cheers,

Mark ;)

[twocute64001]

what was the temp like. Houston is having unusually warmer weather for this early in summer (today 97deg with heat index of 103 and 100% humidity with not a drop of rain in site) This lowers my BG for some reason. I've mentioned this to my doctor who agreed she too has the same experience.

[gettingby]

Marie,

You need to stop your blood sugar going up in the first place. If low GI foods are not doing the trick, try replacing carbs with protein/fat. Protein increases blood sugar very slowly and fat does not increase blood sugar at all. But they are great sources of energy.

Cheers,

Mark ;)
The fat thing. Is that why they tell you not to use chocolate to bring up blood sugar levels? Cause of the fat content? I've been told not to use chocolate unless it is unavoidable but was never told why. :confused:

[MarkMunday]

Cin,

Yes, fat on its own doesn't affect blood sugar at all. But fat eaten together with sugar (like in chocolate) slows down the processing of the sugar. Which is why chocolate has a fairly low GI, in spite of the high sugar content.

Chocolate is not suitable for treating hypos because it doesn't increase blood sugar quickly enough. Glucose or sucrose (table sugar) are much quicker. White bread, potatoes and Coke are also much better choices. As long as you don't eat fat/protein with them.

You may have noticed that a piece of toast by itself increases your blood sugar much more quickly than an egg an on a piece of toast and some bacon. It is because of all the fat. It is not so much what you eat that pushes up blood sugar, but what you eat it with!

Cheers,

Mark;)

[gettingby]

Now I understand. Thanks Mark !!!!!! :D

[mg_2204]

... The fat thing. That's where I have a problem. My cholesterol went crazy on a low carb diet. I was doing very well BG wise but had no other choice than go back to a low fat diet. I need to think about my heart, and my arteries too.

I truly hate this disease, and with passion... because whatever path you choose to gain excellent control of your diabetes, it seems you always have to face risks, no matter what. ****ed if you do, ****ed if you don't! ****ed if you go on meds (ah! could damage your liver), and ****ed if you don't (complications). Could it be we have a lose/lose situation here?

Thank you all to have taken the time to offer advice and suggestions. I really appreciate it. Perhaps the solution for me and my good pal Mr Cholesterol resides in... quantities and timing?

[MarkMunday]

Marie,

Sounds like a really awkward spot to be be in. I was fortunate in that my cholesterol levels were already at a safe level. And I really didn't know how it would turn out beforehand. But switching to a low carb diet caused my cholesterol levels to improve further. HDL has increased and both LDL and triglycerides have declined.

I have heard reports of an initial rise in LDL cholesterol after switching to a low carb diet. But apparently this is typically temporary, while the body is re-trained to burn dietary fat. Increased fat consumption, especially of omega 3 fats, causes HDL cholesterol to increase. Which, in turn, causes LDL to fall. And cutting back on carbohydrates reduces triglycerides.

Cheers,

Mark