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I know there is no such thing as a stupid question

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ValG

ValG

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi Everyone, I feel like this might be the above but I need to ask since you are all so knowledgeable. I have only been diagnosed just over a week with T2 diabetes and the question is, what are your symptoms if you need something sweet. And the opposite if you have had too much sugar. I feel odd sometimes in the day and was wondering what it was and what I should do when I feel like this. Just want to reassure myself you all feel like this sometimes 🙂 Thank you in advance for your answers x
 
Forgot to say I am not on medication yet I am trying to control with diet until I see the Diabetic Nurse in February.
 
As an unmedicated T2 you will not go hypo (too low) so shouldn't need anything sweet....although you may get cravings if you are used to sweet things. Do you monitor your BG? If you are too high then drinking lots of water will help.
 
adrian1der said:
As an unmedicated T2 you will not go hypo (too low) so shouldn't need anything sweet....although you may get cravings if you are used to sweet things. Do you monitor your BG? If you are too high then drinking lots of water will help.
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Thank you, No the Nurse said not to start to monitor yet. Yes that is probably what it is at the moment I need sugar as I am not used to not having it. I get very light headed by the afternoon, best time for feeling good is first thing in the morning.
 
Eve if you where on any medicationthat sent your blood sugars falling the only way for sure is to test as symptoms are not universal and even can be similar at times.
 
ValG said:
Thank you, No the Nurse said not to start to monitor yet. Yes that is probably what it is at the moment I need sugar as I am not used to not having it. I get very light headed by the afternoon, best time for feeling good is first thing in the morning.
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I was diagnosed T2 in March and told I dont need to monitor. I am not on medication- trying to control by diet. I didnt know what was going on between one Hba1c to the next. Bought myself a monitor 2 weeks ago and am learning a lot now. It is worth the expense. Wish I had started testing back at the start.
 
Being able to test and monitor yourself helps you learn how and what your own body will tolerate food wise. Most useful whatever medical professionals think. Really don't understand why they don't encourage everyone to be proactive to help us with this disease. Just a rant but makes sense to help us learn more and take responsibility
 
Now, of course there are stupid questions. But what you are asking is not stupid at all.
From a T1 perspective, I constantly question if i 'feel all right etc'. As previously stated, if you are not on any medication then you dont have to worry about going too low. It is just if you are using medication to bring down the blood sugar that you can go too low.
 
The best reassurance is a meter to test your blood glucose level.
An ordinary type two diabetic without medication is unlikely to require sugar, ever.
You might be under eating as you adjust your diet - be sure to have a good nourishing breakfast with a few carbs (I aim for ten grams) so you set yourself on the right path for the day. Many people are more insulin resistant in the morning, hence the low carb then - but a meter will show how you react to various foods at that time of day.
 
jill-mc said:
I was diagnosed T2 in March and told I dont need to monitor. I am not on medication- trying to control by diet. I didnt know what was going on between one Hba1c to the next. Bought myself a monitor 2 weeks ago and am learning a lot now. It is worth the expense. Wish I had started testing back at the start.
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Hi Jill, thanks for your reply. How do the monitors work?
 
Drummer said:
The best reassurance is a meter to test your blood glucose level.
An ordinary type two diabetic without medication is unlikely to require sugar, ever.
You might be under eating as you adjust your diet - be sure to have a good nourishing breakfast with a few carbs (I aim for ten grams) so you set yourself on the right path for the day. Many people are more insulin resistant in the morning, hence the low carb then - but a meter will show how you react to various foods at that time of day.
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Thank you, I could be under eating as I am adjusting my diet for when I go back in February. I want to at least have lost some weight. I seem to get light headed in work by the afternoon.
 
Well that's what testing your own blood glucose will tell you about @ValG ! The meters all measure in whole numbers and one decimal place, ie tenths.

It could quite easily be that your BG drops low at that time of day - but that doesn't automatically mean dangerously low - that doesn't happen until it measures less than 3.5 in which case it is dangerous, hence generally the words '4 is the floor' are used to try and prevent it getting dangerous any time. If it's in the low 4s and it isn't immediately before you eat - then best to grab some carb pdq to stop it dropping any lower. That time of day, I'd say your medical need is for a nice cuppa and a biscuit!!

However - if your BG has generally been running higher than 7 most of the time, any reduction in BG can feel like its dangerously low and cause shaking legs etc, in which case rather than being actually hypoglycaemic (which is usually always just abbreviated to 'hypo') it's a false hypo. The symptoms are the same as it it were a real one, just it isn't truly dangerous. It's one reason why you are advised not to make really big changes to your BG too quickly so you're better advised to plod away at reducing it, bit by bit.

But of course - how do you know you are reducing it or what's causing the shakes etc let alone if what you are eating is suitable, without testing your own BG when you need to? You can't!
 
trophywench said:
Well that's what testing your own blood glucose will tell you about @ValG ! The meters all measure in whole numbers and one decimal place, ie tenths.

It could quite easily be that your BG drops low at that time of day - but that doesn't automatically mean dangerously low - that doesn't happen until it measures less than 3.5 in which case it is dangerous, hence generally the words '4 is the floor' are used to try and prevent it getting dangerous any time. If it's in the low 4s and it isn't immediately before you eat - then best to grab some carb pdq to stop it dropping any lower. That time of day, I'd say your medical need is for a nice cuppa and a biscuit!!

However - if your BG has generally been running higher than 7 most of the time, any reduction in BG can feel like its dangerously low and cause shaking legs etc, in which case rather than being actually hypoglycaemic (which is usually always just abbreviated to 'hypo') it's a false hypo. The symptoms are the same as it it were a real one, just it isn't truly dangerous. It's one reason why you are advised not to make really big changes to your BG too quickly so you're better advised to plod away at reducing it, bit by bit.

But of course - how do you know you are reducing it or what's causing the shakes etc let alone if what you are eating is suitable, without testing your own BG when you need to? You can't!
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Thanks for your advice Jenny, nice cup of tea and a biscuit sounds great in the afternoon 🙂
 
ValG said:
Thanks for your advice Jenny, nice cup of tea and a biscuit sounds great in the afternoon 🙂
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Are you checking your BG at those times @ValG ?

If these are ‘false lows’ where you get symptoms while your BG is still above 4 you should be careful not to have too many carbs and push your BG back up too high. Trying to gently lower your BGs over a sustained period will help your ‘glucose thermostat’ to reset 🙂
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Are you checking your BG at those times @ValG ?

If these are ‘false lows’ where you get symptoms while your BG is still above 4 you should be careful not to have too many carbs and push your BG back up too high. Trying to gently lower your BGs over a sustained period will help your ‘glucose thermostat’ to reset 🙂
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Hi, No I am not checking at the moment, I asked the diabetic nurse would I need to check and she told me no as you get caught up doing it all the time at the beginning. Thanks for replying I am just trying to cut out as much as possible. I have had a look at the thread about what everyone is eating through the day which is very helpful as I am not sure what to eat at the moment 🙄
 
Sheesh - you were lucky she didn't pat you on the head and ask you what Father Christmas was going to bring you for being good.
Of course you aren't sure what to eat at the moment - you aren't testing your blood glucose.
I don't have to cut out as much as possible - I just had a couple of lamb steaks and some rather nice stir fry because I know that I can cope with that no problem. I've tested in the past, I know it is good.
Why would anyone be testing all the time when the routine is so well established, test before, test after, see what the difference is and adjust the meal if necessary - or is that just TOO simple?
 
I'm really not sure encouraging a diet controlled Type 2 diabetic to have a biscuit in the afternoon is the best advice. Even if the OP is having a false hypo which is unlikely without hypo inducing medication to bring levels down quickly, it is better to have a low carb snack like a boiled egg or a chunk of cheese or some nuts than a biscuit which will just push their BG back up to an elevated level. Even a small biscuit is going to be at least 10g carbs and push levels up about 3mmols, so better to eat something low carb and let the body get used to that new and healthier lower level. It might be a different matter if you had just run a half marathon or do a physically very demanding job like labouring and your reserves were getting low by mid afternoon and you needed a top up, but not for someone who is relatively sedentary.
 
The very first thing I said was testing her BG will inform Val whether it's a real hypo or a false one - which it's why It's such a good idea to test - hence I assumed she would realise that anything I suggested she might do would only be if she was testing and it was a real under 4 hypo.

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough.

Let the nurse explain what she'd do to cure the shakiness then and get past it - cos the ruddy awful real hypo symptoms are exactly the same as false hypo ones so I understand. Only difference is you don't need an ambulance .....
 
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