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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Have you been diagnosed with diabetes and if so, what if any medication are you taking?
The reason I ask is that diabetes causes high blood glucose levels not low. It is an unintentional overdose of certain diabetes medication which causes lows, so if you are not on diabetes medication then there is no reason to worry about lows and 4 is not a hypo and infact a true hypo is actually below 3.5. Between 3.5 and 4 is treated as a hypo by those of us on medication to preserve our hypo awareness. 4 is a good normal number and for someone doing physical work where glucose is being used up by muscles, I would imagine it is very normal for an afternoon reading.
Your liver has stores of glucose which it can release to rebalance your levels if they go too low. If you are underweight or emaciated then your liver stores may be depleted particularly if you are doing manual work everyday but if you are a normal weight/BMI or overweight, you should have plenty of stores, so even dropping a bit below 4 should not be a significant problem.
If you are not diabetic but are looking at possible causes for your fatigue then I would rule out diabetes from the low readings you are getting as you would get high readings if you were diabetic and it is often the high readings which make you feel fatigued.
The reason I ask is that diabetes causes high blood glucose levels not low. It is an unintentional overdose of certain diabetes medication which causes lows, so if you are not on diabetes medication then there is no reason to worry about lows and 4 is not a hypo and infact a true hypo is actually below 3.5. Between 3.5 and 4 is treated as a hypo by those of us on medication to preserve our hypo awareness. 4 is a good normal number and for someone doing physical work where glucose is being used up by muscles, I would imagine it is very normal for an afternoon reading.
Your liver has stores of glucose which it can release to rebalance your levels if they go too low. If you are underweight or emaciated then your liver stores may be depleted particularly if you are doing manual work everyday but if you are a normal weight/BMI or overweight, you should have plenty of stores, so even dropping a bit below 4 should not be a significant problem.
If you are not diabetic but are looking at possible causes for your fatigue then I would rule out diabetes from the low readings you are getting as you would get high readings if you were diabetic and it is often the high readings which make you feel fatigued.
Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi @freeflow and welcome to the forum. As @Lucyr says, blood glucose readings in the range 4 to 8 are perfectly normal and do not indicate that your problems are diabetes related. Your best bet is to see your GP who is likely organise a range of tests to see if there is some explanation for your fatigue.
SB2015
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome to the forum @freeflow
Everyone’s blood glucose levels will rise and fall throughout the day. The concern at 4 is for those that are injecting insulin or taking other diabetes medication. For others 4 is fine and is not a crash. If you had undiagnosed diabetes your levels would be going high rather than low and your finger pricks are confirming that your levels are in normal range.
You do not indicate whether you have been diagnosed with diabetes, but I suspect you have some concern as you have a BG test kit. If you are concerned you might want to see your HCP.
Everyone’s blood glucose levels will rise and fall throughout the day. The concern at 4 is for those that are injecting insulin or taking other diabetes medication. For others 4 is fine and is not a crash. If you had undiagnosed diabetes your levels would be going high rather than low and your finger pricks are confirming that your levels are in normal range.
You do not indicate whether you have been diagnosed with diabetes, but I suspect you have some concern as you have a BG test kit. If you are concerned you might want to see your HCP.
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
4 is a normal blood sugar @freeflow Feeling tired after lunch is also normal if you’re having a large-ish meal. Do you have diabetes? If not, what’s caused you to test your blood sugar?
Edited to add - so prevalent is the after lunch sleepiness that you’ll find lots of suggestions online about what to eat to avoid it. Here’s one, with a selection of recipes @freeflow :
Also, I noticed you eat your breakfast and lunch quite close together. Perhaps your digestion is still working on your breakfast when you have lunch? This might be contributing to the tiredness. So, aswell as trying different lunches like the examples in the link above, maybe consider having breakfast a little earlier too.
Edited to add - so prevalent is the after lunch sleepiness that you’ll find lots of suggestions online about what to eat to avoid it. Here’s one, with a selection of recipes @freeflow :
Top 10 energy-boosting lunches
Once the morning coffee has worn off and the afternoon hunger pangs kick in, try our top energy-boosting lunches to get you through the day and beat the post-lunch energy slump...
www.bbcgoodfood.com
Also, I noticed you eat your breakfast and lunch quite close together. Perhaps your digestion is still working on your breakfast when you have lunch? This might be contributing to the tiredness. So, aswell as trying different lunches like the examples in the link above, maybe consider having breakfast a little earlier too.
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