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Is this a hypo?
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sofaraway
Senior Member
the only way to tell if you are having a hypo is to test!
It may be a hypo even if you are only on metformin as anyone can have their blood glucose fall below 4mmol, even those without diabetes.
What I find is that when I've waited a long time to eat I feel like I might be hypo, i start to feel weak and irritable but test and find i'm not hypo it's just hunger and not having eaten for a while.
It may be a hypo even if you are only on metformin as anyone can have their blood glucose fall below 4mmol, even those without diabetes.
What I find is that when I've waited a long time to eat I feel like I might be hypo, i start to feel weak and irritable but test and find i'm not hypo it's just hunger and not having eaten for a while.
What does your meter say your BG is when you feel like this?
You may find that if its a particularly long morning then your breakfast has simply "run out" and you need to eat earlier. Despite the low GI you are still eating mostly carbs.
One approach is to split lunch into two parts. Depending on my routine I will go through phases of having lunch at 11:00 and 14:00.
However the best thing for me has been switching to a more protein-based breakfast with a lot less carbs. The body takes longer to process this and prevents your BG from falling for longer.
I know that preparation time is a problem for most people in the mornings so I wrote this: http://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/joomla/diabetes-blogs/Shopping-For-Breakfast.html
Might give you some ideas. Also at the bottom of that is a link to Alan's excellent blog - in this case his breakfast suggestions.
You may find that if its a particularly long morning then your breakfast has simply "run out" and you need to eat earlier. Despite the low GI you are still eating mostly carbs.
One approach is to split lunch into two parts. Depending on my routine I will go through phases of having lunch at 11:00 and 14:00.
However the best thing for me has been switching to a more protein-based breakfast with a lot less carbs. The body takes longer to process this and prevents your BG from falling for longer.
I know that preparation time is a problem for most people in the mornings so I wrote this: http://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/joomla/diabetes-blogs/Shopping-For-Breakfast.html
Might give you some ideas. Also at the bottom of that is a link to Alan's excellent blog - in this case his breakfast suggestions.
Just wanted to add that you can have hypo symptoms even when your BG is above 4.
I've been too high for a long time (my BG) and I had hypo symptoms (like described in the first posting) on a BG of 4.6.
Because my body had adjusted to having too high a BG, I couldn't handle a 'normal' level.
So measuring is really worth it. It will tell you more about your body and how it reacts to when and how much you eat.
I eat 5 times a day. Breakfast, something fairly light around 10.30, lunch around 13.00, fruit or one more sandwich around 15.40 and dinner whenever (sometimes I'm late with that). Might not work for you, but it's something to consider. Basically you should adjust your eating pattern to your BG levels, I guess.
I've been too high for a long time (my BG) and I had hypo symptoms (like described in the first posting) on a BG of 4.6.
Because my body had adjusted to having too high a BG, I couldn't handle a 'normal' level.
So measuring is really worth it. It will tell you more about your body and how it reacts to when and how much you eat.
I eat 5 times a day. Breakfast, something fairly light around 10.30, lunch around 13.00, fruit or one more sandwich around 15.40 and dinner whenever (sometimes I'm late with that). Might not work for you, but it's something to consider. Basically you should adjust your eating pattern to your BG levels, I guess.
Hi, Steven i take metformin 1 in the morning with 1/2 a gliclazide and i find that if i don't get my lunch on time i find myself feeling confused & as you said a bad headache and lightheaded do you also shake my whole body shakes & although i feel as though i'm shaking really badly you can't actually see that your shaking, its from the inside, i hope you can understand that its kinda hard to explain and, when i test the reading is sometimes as low as 3.1, i take 2 more metformin with my lunch & another 2 with my evening meal and i very rarely have near hypo's at night & i also take a lot more medication including aspirin. wot a chore ! lol x
Like Lynn, I take metformin and gliclazide in the mornings but, in my case 2 gliclazide. If I miss my mid-morning snack then late mornings I'm irritable, headachy, lightheaded, confused and shaking. The irritability comes first - but that can go unnoticed if I'm in Sainsburys!
I'm learning not to forget to eat something between breakfast and lunch and trying to work out now what is best for me to eat that means I stick to my planned calorie intake yet have sufficient to keep me balance. I always eat breakfast
Only take metformin at lunchtime and don't have the same problem in the afternoon and the metformin and gliclazide donn't see to give the same effect post dinner. Mind you I also tend to do my formal exercise in the morning rather than the more routine day-to-day stuff
I'm learning not to forget to eat something between breakfast and lunch and trying to work out now what is best for me to eat that means I stick to my planned calorie intake yet have sufficient to keep me balance. I always eat breakfast
Only take metformin at lunchtime and don't have the same problem in the afternoon and the metformin and gliclazide donn't see to give the same effect post dinner. Mind you I also tend to do my formal exercise in the morning rather than the more routine day-to-day stuff
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An HbA1c of 6.3 is great! And in the 'good' range. Your breakfast is ideal - but it doesn't last forever! I am a type 1 and have similar for my breakfast - but it does start 'running out' at about 11.30 and I find eating a piece of fruit - apple or banana which I can have at my desk keps me going until 2pm which is when i usually have my lunch. Hope this helps xx
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