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J

jacob.p

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hello all,

i am type 2 diabetic and taking 3x 5ml spoonfuls of liquid metformin a day. This morning I tested my blood sugar levels before I took my medication and before food and it was 0.8. Is that bad? - I'm not sure where it's meant to be in the mornings.

My blood sugar levels when I was first diagnosed was an Hba1C of 49 where am aware pre-diabetes cut off point is 47 so not far off so I am motivated to get back to normal range asap.

Jacob
 
jacob.p said:
Hello all,

i am type 2 diabetic and taking 3x 5ml spoonfuls of liquid metformin a day. This morning I tested my blood sugar levels before I took my medication and before food and it was 0.8. Is that bad? - I'm not sure where it's meant to be in the mornings.

My blood sugar levels when I was first diagnosed was an Hba1C of 49 where am aware pre-diabetes cut off point is 47 so not far off so I am motivated to get back to normal range asap.

Jacob
Click to expand...

0.8 is really low! Did you retest to check? If you actually are seeing that kind of level, you should probably speak to yr doc ASAP. But as far as I know it's very unlikely.

The reference range for a non-diabetic fasting reading is in the range 3.6 - 5.4, where I am.
 
if you were 0.8 then I'm really quite surprised that you weren't feeling unwell and are fine to post this message

What meter are you using? I'm just wondering if possibly your using a meter that can test BG and also ketones and you had used the wrong strip or something?

Please let us know as 0.8 is quite a worrying thing if it were a BG reading
xx
 
I thought it was @Eddy Edson eeeeek! - Maybe i am on too much metformin. I didn't re-test. I plan to test again after lunch I have roast pork with veg. I will test the next 3 mornings and if still incredibly low I will call my GP. I used to take 10 ml of metformin and only past few days been upped to 15 ml so maybe its too much.
 
@jacob.p I'd suggest keeping a close eye on things, maybe test now as well, are the strips in date? were your hands damp at all? you may want to call 111 for advice as 0.8 aren't levels to be expected on just metformin as they aren't classed as a hypo causing medication xx
 
jacob.p said:
I thought it was @Eddy Edson eeeeek! - Maybe i am on too much metformin. I didn't re-test. I plan to test again after lunch I have roast pork with veg. I will test the next 3 mornings and if still incredibly low I will call my GP. I used to take 10 ml of metformin and only past few days been upped to 15 ml so maybe its too much.
Click to expand...

Metformin shouldn't have that kind of dose effect, as far as I know. It doesn't actually take glucose out of your blood, just reduces your insulin resistance. Let us know how it goes with more tesing. Good luck!
 
Where your hands wet by any chance? That would have “
Watered” your blood down quite significantly, if not your machine may be faulty. You really wouldn’t be here if your BGs were that low. Always retest if you’re ever unsure, I once recorded a whopping 17 and then realised I’d just coated my hands in a honey based moisturiser! If I’d taken it as read and corrected it by injecting insulin I could have been very unwell. Try a different finger and washing your hands can all give very different readings.
 
Just re-tested. It is now 5.8. I will speak to my GP
 
Are you sure you were reading it the right way up and it wasn't 8.0. If it had been 0.8 you would almost certainly have been unconscious, possibly dead.
Metformin can't do that to you so don't worry about the increased dose.
You can check on most meters what previous readings were, so might be worth doing that and make sure you are reading it the right way up.
As others have said, wet fingers could water things down but I doubt to that degree.
Other suggestions would be that your meter or the test strip was faulty.
Your target range should be between 4 and 7 so anything significantly outside that should be retested unless you know why, like you just ate a Mars Bar or ran a marathon.
 
I have reset my metre and everything is okay now after the re-test so that's all that matters. I am sure i looked at it the right way up.
 
I am not sure but I thought most home meters would not record that low, and would just display the word Lo!
 
Could it have been a 10.8 and you didn’t see the “1”? Although that sounds unlikely and I’m not suggesting you have bad eyesight, on occasion I’ve misread my meter and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

As you say, the important thing is you’re ok now and have had a normal reading. I’d still keep an eye on things and do some extra tests though, and test any time you feel shaky like you described above.
 
@Inka i certainly didn't read it wrong. I got my glasses on so I'm sure I read right. I will mention it to my GP anyway.
 
grovesy said:
I am not sure but I thought most home meters would not record that low, and would just display the word Lo!
Click to expand...
I've just had a look at the manual for it and it works in ranges from 0.55-33mmol below that is LO and over HI obviously but I don't believe this would be a true reading anyway xx
 
I would guess that your GP may well ask why you are testing and tell you to stop because it is worrying you unnecessarily. I don't agree with that because I think that testing is an invaluable tool in managing diabetes but it is a very likely response from a health care professional, so do be prepared for that. You might counter it with being concerned about being put on medication when it may not be necessary and you would be happier not using the Metformin and trying to control your diabetes via diet and lifestyle changes for a few months to see if you can be successful with that and if not accept that medication would be the next step. From reading your introductory thread, I get the feeling that is your view of things, so I hope I am not putting words in your mouth.
 
Kaylz said:
I've just had a look at the manual for it and it works in ranges from 0.55-33mmol below that is LO and over HI obviously but I don't believe this would be a true reading anyway xx
Click to expand...
I am surprised it is as low as number under 1. Just been and checked both the manuals for the Freestyle Reader Meter and Microdot Meter and both read Lo at 1.1. I thought I read somewhere in the past.
 
Possibly just a duff strip - they do happen occasionally. I had a 1.2 once, but a retest a couple of minutes later was normal.
 
I have just checked my Dario meter instruction it records Lo below 1 to! I was surprised.
 
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