TDR/Low Blood Sugar Question

I

ianwebb1982

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Pronouns
He/Him
I am on TDR plan through Xyla and was just wanted to know if anyone else was experiencing the same

I am just over two weeks in and my blood sugar is at it's lowest ever and has started to reach lows of around 4.5 mmol/l.

I know this is healthy but when it gets that low I start to feel symptoms of a hypo. I was wondering if tis is because my body isn't used to it being this low?
 
Yes, basically @ianwebb1982 They’re called false hypos and are due to your body being used to higher levels, as you say. You can also get them if your blood sugar drops very quickly. Try a few sips of water and, if you feel really bad, literally a small bite of something. The false hypos should stop as your blood sugars come down.
 
As you have realised these are false hypos. If you feel really bad and feel you need to eat something, a single jelly baby or a single prune or dried apricot is about 5g carbs and as a rough guideline will raise your levels by about 1.5 mmols, so that would take you from 4.5mmols to about 6mmols. Compare this to your average digestive biscuit which is about 10g carbs, which as a rule of thumb will generally raise your levels by roughly 3mmols, so you would end up at 7.5mmols although your body may then release insulin to bring it down again, but that excess glucose will be stored as fat, so best only eat the smallest amount of carbs you need to just nudge it up a bit if you feel too unwell. There are times I have bitten a jelly baby in half just to nudge my levels up a tiny bit. You do have to be quite disciplined sometimes.
Unfortunately many people who are not on insulin, overreact in this situation and have multiple sweets and biscuits because they have read that is how you treat a hypo and end up undoing all the good work they have achieved to get their levels down. It really only needs a tiny amount of carbs if you need any at all as your liver is actually capable of releasing the glucose needed to rebalance things if you do go a bit low.
 
I particularly agree with the comment about overreacting; alas we all do it. A modest nudge is often all that is needed.
 
Are you on any medication?
If you aren't on any medication like Gliclazide or insulin, then there's nothing to worry about.
The metabolism will correct itself.

I see people on Facebook who are on Metformin eating jelly babies when their BG goes below five. Absolutely no need to do that. Metformin does not interfere with the pathway that restored glucose to normal levels.
 
rebrascora said:
As you have realised these are false hypos. If you feel really bad and feel you need to eat something, a single jelly baby or a single prune or dried apricot is about 5g carbs and as a rough guideline will raise your levels by about 1.5 mmols, so that would take you from 4.5mmols to about 6mmols. Compare this to your average digestive biscuit which is about 10g carbs, which as a rule of thumb will generally raise your levels by roughly 3mmols, so you would end up at 7.5mmols although your body may then release insulin to bring it down again, but that excess glucose will be stored as fat, so best only eat the smallest amount of carbs you need to just nudge it up a bit if you feel too unwell. There are times I have bitten a jelly baby in half just to nudge my levels up a tiny bit. You do have to be quite disciplined sometimes.
Unfortunately many people who are not on insulin, overreact in this situation and have multiple sweets and biscuits because they have read that is how you treat a hypo and end up undoing all the good work they have achieved to get their levels down. It really only needs a tiny amount of carbs if you need any at all as your liver is actually capable of releasing the glucose needed to rebalance things if you do go a bit low.
Click to expand...
Hi Barbara, that is really useful information about treating hypos or false hypos. I am taking Gliclazide to bring my blood sugars down and have a couple of jelly babies in a small bag in case of hypo. I thought you were a nice person till you admitted biting jelly babies in half………… not so sure now 🙂. LOL Can't get emojis to work in my posts but hope you appreciate my warped humour.
 
@silver minion It is important to carry multiple hypo treatments with you (generally I carry 3x 2JBs minimum) when you are on medication like Gliclazide or insulin which can cause real hypos, just in case you have a "whopper" of a hypo that doesn't respond to your first hypo treatment, but learning to be disciplined and just use as little as you need for a false hypo to nudge you back up to a more comfortable level is a useful skill to learn. If you are properly hypo, then treat it with an appropriate amount of hypo treatment.

If it is any consolation I do feel bad biting them in half on the odd occasion that I need a very small nudge and I eat the top half and leave the "dead legs" for another time. :rofl:
 
Thanks for the information. I have 6 jb's plus a chocolate wafer biscuit and a 5 pack of oatcakes in my bag in case I have a hypo when I am away from home. There is also a stash in the larder for episodes at home if needed. BTW my friend used to bite the heads off jelly babies and leave the bodies on the desk to squirm if he was having a bad day. So you are in good company.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top