New to type 2

[Essex]

Hi There, I am down here in Portugal, but hailing from the North Essex 'Sunshine Coast'

Fairly recently bumped up into type 2 Hbac1 territory (51 mmol) after bobbing around 40 for a decade or so

I'm already seeing a specialist here and think I have got it pretty sorted (BMI back to 25 and far better diet with more veg and less carbs/ no more alcohol, pretty darn active - cocker spaniel helps here!, still just closer to 50 than 60 yrs, dont have to eat every hour or so). Fruit is not a big problem as I am pretty much allergic to all fruit except bananas and oranges unless cooked.

But its good to talk to others and I have found this site very helpful, so have decided to say 'Olá!'

I am not taking meds but the thing that I have had for years and years is mild to moderate hypos
Sweating, brain fog, shakes, fatigue, sometimes seeing stars etc
Cutting out sugar and taking care with carbs has made me much more stable in this respect, and I can but am currently having problems with real strong fatigue (I thought it might be COVID but tested -ve)

Anyway, going to see the doc in a week or so, and its not so bad that I am worried, but ...

What I dont understand is how can I have hypos if I dont take meds to reduce sugar levels?

• AFAICF diabetes is when, for whatever reason, the insulin doesnt take out the 'sugar' and the 'sugar' levels get too high
• So meds reduce the sugar level
• but since the administration of these meds isnt a self regulating control system like the body has, if the meds take out too much sugar then you get a 'hypo'

So,if I am type 2 but dont take meds, what is the mechanism for getting hypos?

Obviously I have misunderstood something.
Wouldnt be the first time. Nor the last, no doubt.

But I am definitely getting hypos (although my morning sugar levels at fast are allways OK), once, years ago, I had a particularly bad one outside a chemist's in Lisbon and they tested my blood levels when I went in to see what was wrong - I cant remember the level (I was a bit befuddled) but do remember that he said that I should be unconscious (I'm far more aware now and dont get into that situation now).

Anyway, I do go on ........ 🙂

Hello everyone!

 

[Burylancs]

Hi There, I am down here in Portugal, but hailing from the North Essex 'Sunshine Coast'

Fairly recently bumped up into type 2 Hbac1 territory (51 mmol) after bobbing around 40 for a decade or so

I'm already seeing a specialist here and think I have got it pretty sorted (BMI back to 25 and far better diet with more veg and less carbs/ no more alcohol, pretty darn active - cocker spaniel helps here!, still just closer to 50 than 60 yrs, dont have to eat every hour or so). Fruit is not a big problem as I am pretty much allergic to all fruit except bananas and oranges unless cooked.

But its good to talk to others and I have found this site very helpful, so have decided to say 'Olá!'

I am not taking meds but the thing that I have had for years and years is mild to moderate hypos
Sweating, brain fog, shakes, fatigue, sometimes seeing stars etc
Cutting out sugar and taking care with carbs has made me much more stable in this respect, and I can but am currently having problems with real strong fatigue (I thought it might be COVID but tested -ve)

Anyway, going to see the doc in a week or so, and its not so bad that I am worried, but ...

What I dont understand is how can I have hypos if I dont take meds to reduce sugar levels?

• AFAICF diabetes is when, for whatever reason, the insulin doesnt take out the 'sugar' and the 'sugar' levels get too high
• So meds reduce the sugar level
• but since the administration of these meds isnt a self regulating control system like the body has, if the meds take out too much sugar then you get a 'hypo'

So,if I am type 2 but dont take meds, what is the mechanism for getting hypos?

Obviously I have misunderstood something.
Wouldnt be the first time. Nor the last, no doubt.

But I am definitely getting hypos (although my morning sugar levels at fast are allways OK), once, years ago, I had a particularly bad one outside a chemist's in Lisbon and they tested my blood levels when I went in to see what was wrong - I cant remember the level (I was a bit befuddled) but do remember that he said that I should be unconscious (I'm far more aware now and dont get into that situation now).

Anyway, I do go on ........ 🙂

Hello everyone!

Reactive Hypoglycemia - look it up !

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Essex

Do you have a BG meter to check your levels when you experience those symptoms? Are you seeing readings below 4.0mmol/L (70mg/dl)?

When the body has become used to running at higher average BG levels, it is not uncommon for the ‘glucose thermostat’ to get a bit out of whack, and to trigger hypo warning symptoms when glucose levels are still some way above the danger-zone. So it may be that what you are experiencing are ‘false hypos’ related to lower glucose levels than your body is used to, but which are actually much healthier for you long-term.

If you are seeing readings in the 3s, then the other possibility as @Burylancs suggests might be Reactive Hypoglycaemia. This is where the body sees a sharp rise in glucose levels after eating (sometimes because the first phase insulin response is impaired), and then slightly overreacts with a splurge of insulin which then pushes glucose levels into hypoglycaemia.

Hope you can get to the bottom of it - frequent hypo symptoms are pretty grim and unpleasant.

 

[Essex]

Thanks Guys!
I looked up Reactive Hypoglycaemia and I know that as Post Prandial. I used to have that really bad my Wife complained that I was always shutting my eyes at the end of a meal, and an after lunch Sesta (portuguese Siesta) was pretty much obligatory.

But, since I have found out that I was bumping up into Type 2 levels and have taken sugar out of my diet, lost weight and am trying to eat more veg, this has almost disappeared 🙂

I tend to get hypos now (but much less than before, no meter to measure tho) at the end of the morning or afternoon

I have been reading on this (excellent) site, and I am thinking that I am perhaps overdoing my carb reduction.
I went for blood tests yesterday and will then go see the diabetes specialist and I am hopeful that I will be back down into the 30's and will get some more advice on diet

I also have been reading about nocturnal hypos, and I get loads of these symptoms as well. For the last cople of nights I have been eating rice cakes before bed (supper!) and have woke without headaches, with a dryer pillow and best of all, feeling like I slept 🙂

So all moving in the right direction!

Your thermostat analogy makes sense to me - it must all be about equilibriums and set points I guess - and probably my set point has been maladjusted due to previous diet (Portugal has so many delicious cakes) and drinking (I think the best way to put it is 'on the spectrum' of alcoholism - like almost everyone I know from my Thames estuary home with a big sailing and fishing heritage 😱). I only drink about 6 glasses of wine a month these days - all at family barbecues where we now eat loads of grilled fish - yum!

Re meter, what is the most economic solution to this?
I know there is a shop on this site, but unfortunately customs now pretty much precludes buying from the UK

Thanks again!

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @Essex For many of us Type 2's bananas are one of the fruits we need to avoid, and of course fruit juice is also bad for a pure Orange or Apple juice contains more sugar than a standard carbonated drink (only the energy drinks tend to be higher).
Not sure why you are cutting back on Alcohol so much, I still drink a bottle of red each week and spirits (with low sugar mixers and dry white whit are also OK so far as the diabetes is concerned, however they do all contain calories, so not so good if trying to lose weight.

I have no idea which BG meters are available in Portugal, they all have to be produced to the same standard if sold in the EU, so just go online and look for the one with the cheapest Test Strips )because the cost of these will far exceed to cost of the meter). Oh and you must use the test strip for that meter - you can't switch them.

Take a BG reading just before a meal and then again 2hrs later, If the 2nd reading is up to 2mmol higher than the first that your body probably coped well with that meal. If it's over 3mmol higher, then think about reducing portions or switching out some of the carbier things in it (like rice, pasta, bread) etc.

 

[Essex]

Hi @Essex For many of us Type 2's bananas are one of the fruits we need to avoid, and of course fruit juice is also bad for a pure Orange or Apple juice contains more sugar than a standard carbonated drink (only the energy drinks tend to be higher).
Not sure why you are cutting back on Alcohol so much, I still drink a bottle of red each week and spirits (with low sugar mixers and dry white whit are also OK so far as the diabetes is concerned, however they do all contain calories, so not so good if trying to lose weight.

I have no idea which BG meters are available in Portugal, they all have to be produced to the same standard if sold in the EU, so just go online and look for the one with the cheapest Test Strips )because the cost of these will far exceed to cost of the meter). Oh and you must use the test strip for that meter - you can't switch them.

Take a BG reading just before a meal and then again 2hrs later, If the 2nd reading is up to 2mmol higher than the first that your body probably coped well with that meal. If it's over 3mmol higher, then think about reducing portions or switching out some of the carbier things in it (like rice, pasta, bread) etc.

Thanks!
Yes, I always drink juice well diluted, not too many bananas, but I have to read up on what I should and shouldnt be eating

The alcohol was to lose weight and I also have a history of depression / anxiety and that was my crux for decades - but all sorted now (finally!)

I think I need to not wory about weight now (apparently its genetic in my case anyway, and mum and nan both had type II - mum lost so much weight and now is back down below the 40 level) and get my diet sorted

Great tip about cheap strips rather than machine - I didnt realise it was like a printer. We get the same stuff pretty much as you guys, but its just all much more expensive and less choice. I'll see whats on offer in the shop on this site.

Forums can be great - thanks again!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Re meter, what is the most economic solution to this?
I know there is a shop on this site, but unfortunately customs now pretty much precludes buying from the UK

Forum members often opt for the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £8 for 50 (as opposed to £25-30 a pot for some brands 😱 )

Hopefully you will be able to find something similar from within the EU.

 

[Essex]

Forum members often opt for the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £8 for 50 (as opposed to £25-30 a pot for some brands 😱 )

Hopefully you will be able to find something similar from within the EU.

Thanks,
That's really great useful advice I'll see what I can find

PS the Spirit Tee2 seems to have been repaced by the Spirit Tee2+ now

PPS Oh dear

 

[Essex]

oh
Got my blood tests back and I haven't dropped as much as I was hoping (see my spreadsheet below)
The last level of 48 on 04/11/21 is still going down tho.
I changed my diet after 19/08/21 when Doc told me I had passed the Type 2 cutoff level
So thats almost 3 months for the level to come down
Should it continue to drop if I carry on as is, or is the 2-3 months 'moving average window' already accounted for?
I will of course talk to my diabetes specialist doctor as well