Hi ♀️. Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes on 29th March. Dramatically overhauled my diet & increased exercise (already exercised), no processed foods, no sugar (except from fruit), watching volume of carbs are kept in check. Usually a meal is chicken, green veg some sweet potato or white potato (not a lot). I’ve lost 10.5lbs to date. I don’t mind the diet tbh I know a lot of people struggle with that but I’m ok with it what I am struggling with is my blood sugar levels nosediving off a cliff suddenly with no warning I’m fine then I’m really unwell (today low was 3.6). Doctors advised snacks like walnuts and almonds between meals which I’ve been doing but they are still dropping. Today is day 1 of my period also but from what I’ve read it usually makes levels high. Has anyone else experienced this and if so how did you correct it? Any advice is greatly appreciated
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Blood glucose levels dropping quickly
- Thread starter 1982LMM
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Hi, no they briefly put me on metformin for 3 days then took me off it as they thought diet changes was working and metformin could do more harm
@1982LMM Welcome to the forum.
Things are a little different for me as I have Type 1. But some things are similar. The main thing that is the same is that we are all different. Whilst many of use find our blood sugars rise at our time of the month, some will find theirs will fall. It is not unheard of.
Likewise, some find their blood sugars rise when the weather gets warmer and some find theirs fall.
3.6 is on the low side but a few things to consider
- our meters are not incredibly accurate. They are usually within 15% so 3.6 could be 4.1. CGMs and Libre are less accurate at low (and high) readings.
- readings below 4 are not unheard of for someone without diabetes. My partner definitely experiences low readings when he exercises. Readings in the mid 3s should not be concerning for someone not on blood sugar lowering medication (such as insulin). The concern for those of us taking insulin is if our blood sugars fall, they could fall further if we have injected too much insulin.
- if you have had diabetes for a while before your diagnosis, your body will be used to higher numbers so will feel worse at lower numbers. These are often known as “false hypos”.
- some people find their bodies overreact to carbs and release too much insulin causing their blood sugars to fall without blood sugar lowering medication. This is known as “reactive hypoglaecemia”.
With all of this in mind, it is useful to keep a diary - what you eat, what you blood sugars are, what exercise you have done, etc. This should allow you to see any patterns - do you go low after exercise or after any particular food or any specific time of the day?
Good luck with your diabetes journey. Mine has certainly been a journey of discovery.
Things are a little different for me as I have Type 1. But some things are similar. The main thing that is the same is that we are all different. Whilst many of use find our blood sugars rise at our time of the month, some will find theirs will fall. It is not unheard of.
Likewise, some find their blood sugars rise when the weather gets warmer and some find theirs fall.
3.6 is on the low side but a few things to consider
- our meters are not incredibly accurate. They are usually within 15% so 3.6 could be 4.1. CGMs and Libre are less accurate at low (and high) readings.
- readings below 4 are not unheard of for someone without diabetes. My partner definitely experiences low readings when he exercises. Readings in the mid 3s should not be concerning for someone not on blood sugar lowering medication (such as insulin). The concern for those of us taking insulin is if our blood sugars fall, they could fall further if we have injected too much insulin.
- if you have had diabetes for a while before your diagnosis, your body will be used to higher numbers so will feel worse at lower numbers. These are often known as “false hypos”.
- some people find their bodies overreact to carbs and release too much insulin causing their blood sugars to fall without blood sugar lowering medication. This is known as “reactive hypoglaecemia”.
With all of this in mind, it is useful to keep a diary - what you eat, what you blood sugars are, what exercise you have done, etc. This should allow you to see any patterns - do you go low after exercise or after any particular food or any specific time of the day?
Good luck with your diabetes journey. Mine has certainly been a journey of discovery.
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I find my blood sugar goes high for a few days before my period, then drops low on Day 1 and Day 2. It then gradually gets back to normal.
What are your post-meal sugars like? Could you be going a little high, then your body overreacts and pushes your blood sugar down?
What are your post-meal sugars like? Could you be going a little high, then your body overreacts and pushes your blood sugar down?
Thank you for your response I know there is so much confusion over what is normal. My nurse has said 6-8 for me but also under 5 don’t drive
Thank you I have been tracking, weighing and measuring all food along with my levels ..saw the nurse and they said definitely low so I’m trying to add more carbs they thing cause my diet was high carbs before and now it’s a healthy amount I’m going into ketosis which explains why I feel awful every day. Hoping this small change will make a big difference
Hi, I’ve had quite a few hypos before meals (despite snacking in between). I think there is definitely something with my periods for sure I’ll track this so the nurse can see if any pattern and give advice how to counteract it
If you are not on meds and a T2 not sure why you are being advised not to drive if BGs are below 5. It sounds like you are quite active so low readings down to 3.5 may not be abnormal. Is it that you are suffering hypo symptoms from BGs dropping rapidly?
Sorry, trying to understand what's going on and the driving advice is usually for insulin users. As a T2, we usually struggle to reduce BGs to a normal level of 4-6 or 4-7 diabetic range not maintain a level that's 6-8. Feel I'm missing something.
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Are they actually hypos or just blood glucose at the lower end of normal? Are these lower sugars preceded by a high sugar eg you go up to 12 after eating then drop to 3.8 or whatever (just example figures)?
Have you tried different snacks not just nuts eg some protein or/and some low GI carbs?
It’s very unusual to have hypos when you’re not on meds, and I wouldn’t call 3.6 a hypo. If you do feel bad in the 3s, then certainly avoiding driving is sensible, as it would be for anyone diabetic or not.
Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
As type twos we are often over producing insulin when diagnosed.
I had some wobbly moments as I cut out carbs from the moment of diagnosis so it must have been a shock as I was on a 'cholesterol lowering' high carb diet and was almost spherical.
I found that three grapes, eaten slowly, and a warm drink was enough to sort it out. Once my poor hysterical pancreas calmed down all was well.
Having settled down to two meals a day at the most, and very little carbohydrate I am in normal numbers, it took only 6 months from diagnosis, as I am a plain ordinary type two with the simple problem of being unable to deal with carbohydrates.
I had some wobbly moments as I cut out carbs from the moment of diagnosis so it must have been a shock as I was on a 'cholesterol lowering' high carb diet and was almost spherical.
I found that three grapes, eaten slowly, and a warm drink was enough to sort it out. Once my poor hysterical pancreas calmed down all was well.
Having settled down to two meals a day at the most, and very little carbohydrate I am in normal numbers, it took only 6 months from diagnosis, as I am a plain ordinary type two with the simple problem of being unable to deal with carbohydrates.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
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- He/Him
Sorry to hear your BGs are still behaving erratically, and dipping uncomfortably low at times.
What snacks are you nibbling? If still the nuts that you mentioned earlier, those have very little carbohydrate in them, so won’t push your levels back up much. Some nuts are carbier than others if that helps.
As @Inka suggests, there is also ‘reactive hypoglycaemia’ where a rapid rise after food can cause the pancreas to overreact a little which ultimately ends up with lower BG when all the insulin has worked through.
Hope you find a way to balance things more evenly, and get a little stability. Those low BG symptoms can be very unpleasant!
What snacks are you nibbling? If still the nuts that you mentioned earlier, those have very little carbohydrate in them, so won’t push your levels back up much. Some nuts are carbier than others if that helps.
As @Inka suggests, there is also ‘reactive hypoglycaemia’ where a rapid rise after food can cause the pancreas to overreact a little which ultimately ends up with lower BG when all the insulin has worked through.
Hope you find a way to balance things more evenly, and get a little stability. Those low BG symptoms can be very unpleasant!
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