Lowest BG

[Tom1982]

Hello all.
Just curious, what’s the lowest BG you’ve gone to? How did it feel?

 

[Lucyr]

The lowest I’ve gone to is LO, where the meter can’t read it. Unsurprisingly it felt rubbish.

 

[Lucyr]

35, and as it was six months since a 41 it was where I needed to be to confirm what was said at the time to be remission, ie two below 42 six months apart with no meds, so it felt good - mission accomplished, so to speak.

That’s hba1c not bg

 

[Tom1982]

The lowest I’ve gone to is LO, where the meter can’t read it. Unsurprisingly it felt rubbish.

What do you reckon that was equivalent to? 3.0? 2.0? What’s the lowest people can actually go?

 

[janw]

My lowest was 4.9 one morning, last September, when I was on a half board holiday at Butlins trying to eat sensibly, but hmmm .... ho hum! I did a lot of walking though.
Most of the time it is in the 6's though.

 

[Lily123]

What do you reckon that was equivalent to? 3.0? 2.0? What’s the lowest people can actually go?

It depends on the make of the meter which numbers it reads as just LO. The meter I use which is an Accu-Chek Aviva Expert can read down to 0.6 I googled it

 

[Robin]

2.8. And dire! Normally I start tripping over my words (and tripping over my feet if I’m out for a walk) but that time I was dropping really fast as I was exercising and I misjudged it. As well as the usual symptoms, I got green blotches in front of my eyes, with bits of vision missing. Once I'd treated it, I started to feel generally wiped out.
These days, because I have a Libre, I set the low alarm to around 5.5 if I'm exercising, so I get an alert when I’m starting to drop, in good time to stave off a hypo with a few jelly babies.

 

[Lily123]

Mine was 1.7 and it was a hypo during the night so I woke up. It must have been a fast drop in numbers (before I had a CGM) because I felt no different to regular hypo

 

[rebrascora]

I was going to say 2.7 but I just checked my records and it looks like I had a 2.2 in my first year.

Hypo symptoms vary between people but below 3 you definitely start to feel pretty bad. Heart pounds, you often go pale and break out in a cold sweat, your vision is often affected. Arms and legs tremble or go wobbly. Minor hypos, my peripheral vision often goes blurry but I have had a couple of bad ones where each time I blinked my vision didn't return for a brief period... probably less than half a second, but blinking and seeing black before you see the world in front of you every time you blink is weird and pretty disconcerting. Some people get the opposite of me and get flashing lights in their vision. Tingly lips and tongue and a feeling of isolation, like the world has retreated from you. It gets really hard to think straight and your brain can get stuck with doing a mundane task, even when you know you should be treating your hypo.... It's like you have blinkers on and all you can focus on is finishing the job you are doing. I appreciate that much of this may not apply to a child or may be hard to relate to if you haven't ever experienced a hypo yourself.
Essentially the body starts to shut down non vital functions to ensure that there is enough glucose to keep the brain and other vital organs alive and working. It also often triggers the release of adrenaline I believe.
I generally feel worse when I am recovering from a hypo than I do at the lowest point, but half an hour later I am usually fine now and I can often work or exercise through them once I have treated them but in the early days they really took it out of me. It is quite a scary experience.

 

[nonethewiser]

Two lowest was 1.9 & low on bg meter, sure low means below 1.6 or something like that, survived both without assistance.

 

[Inka]

I had a 1.2 and I felt like I was going to die. Horrible. Anything below 3ish is nasty, and anything below 2 is terrifying.

Hopefully your daughter will stay well above this @Tom1982 My very low hypos were well before the Libre and CGMs.

 

[Inka]

What do you reckon that was equivalent to? 3.0? 2.0? What’s the lowest people can actually go?

People can go below 1 if their meter can read it. Hypos are usually mild but potentially very dangerous.

 

[rebrascora]

It depends on the make of the meter which numbers it reads as just LO. The meter I use which is an Accu-Chek Aviva Expert can read down to 0.6 I googled it

Hope you never ever get to test that out!! 😱

 

[Lily123]

Hope you never ever get to test that out!! 😱

I hope that never happens as well! Apparently the meter can read up to 33.3 as well! Both those numbers are very dramatic!

 

[Tom1982]

I had a 1.2 and I felt like I was going to die. Horrible. Anything below 3ish is nasty, and anything below 2 is terrifying.

Hopefully your daughter will stay well above this @Tom1982 My very low hypos were well before the Libre and CGMs.

I honestly can’t believe you say that about CGMs. Obviously not tried the Libre or Dexcom but this Medtrum one is a joke! It’s like it’s just guessing numbers. It doesn’t follow any pattern or work in any viable way. Really annoyed about the thing. Put right off at the moment.

 

[Lucyr]

What do you reckon that was equivalent to? 3.0? 2.0? What’s the lowest people can actually go?

I’ve seen a 1.6 on my meter so lower than that, low 1s maybe. I was conscious but hugely struggled to move close enough to other people that I could get their attention to help me. I had carbs that i could drink myself but i needed them to open them, sit me down, and keep me calm. I’d liken it to having a huge shock where you are absolutely convinced you’re about to die, physically shaking, drenched in cold sweat, blurred vision, racing heart, etc.

 

[Lucyr]

Oh I get pins and needles in my face with bad hypos too which is just completely bizarre.

My brain stops working but kicks into some sort of survival mode. I know I need sugar but can’t think straight. If I keep to a routine of what carbs I keep where for treating hypos with then I can successfully find them even with really low hypos. If I don’t have a routine that I can follow without thinking, then I can struggle and not choose the best treatments.

 

[Inka]

I honestly can’t believe you say that about CGMs. Obviously not tried the Libre or Dexcom but this Medtrum one is a joke! It’s like it’s just guessing numbers. It doesn’t follow any pattern or work in any viable way. Really annoyed about the thing. Put right off at the moment.

The Libre is ok @Tom1982 CGMs might not be perfect but going to sleep without one can be terrifying when you’ve had a major hypo. At least we have something now.

 

[sg295]

Lowest I’ve had so far is 2.6 and that was not nice at all!

Felt like if I didn’t sit down within the next couple of seconds I was going to pass out!

So I dread to think how it feels when you get those LO readings (hopefully will never happen and wouldn’t wish it on anyone!)

 

[Ianhat]

2.1 when I was in hospital just been diagnosed with type 1 the nurse didn't even say anything the just ran out the ward came back 2 mins later with 3 lift drinks told me to drink 2 and don't move her face was brilliant when she seen it pure look of terror
I was shaking and felt like I'd been ran over hahah