Jean in Newcastle Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 I have type 2 diabetes. It's been well enough controlled that my doc has been making noises about taking me off Metformin. But I have resisted because it is well controlled because of being on Metformin. But for the past two weeks I have felt like crap off and on. When I've tested my bloodsugars they have been fine so I ruled that out as a cause. Until yesterday when my sugar dropped to 66 and I almost passed out from hypoglycemia. So I cut my Metformin in half (as previously discussed with my doc) and am trying that. But what I am realizing today is that I am still having these really quick drops in bloodsugar that still make me feel like crap even though technically I'm not in hypoglycemia territory. Case in point: 20 minutes ago my bloodsugars (2 hours post prandial) were 134 (yes, I know higher than they should be after a breakfast of two eggs and a cup of bone broth). Then in 20 minutes they plummeted to 111 and I feel like passing out. (Actually they could still be plummeting - I am getting food now.) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myra Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Jean - I commiserate with your frustration. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in May. I am trying to exercise more, eat properly, and have dropped 15 pounds, but even with two types of medication I still seem to be seesawing with my blood sugar levels during my daily testing - unlike you, though, mine are on the high side. Although I have dropped from 12.4 AC1 levels to 7.1 with medication (yeah), I don't see an end in sight of ever being off medication or having this under control. And a new symptom has jumped into the mix - constant sweats/hot flashes. As a person who has been relative healthy all my life, I find this so depressing. I started this post to offer my positive support for you, but my own negativity is surfacing! No advice - so Sorry - hang in there! Myra 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Definitely try going off the medication and see if that helps. If not you might want to try a bit more protein with your meals. Like 1 whole egg & 3 egg whites, that kind of minor thing that will not change calories much if at all. Or even experiment with adding non-starchy vegetables. I have broccoli scrambled in egg whites with a couple of pieces of turkey bacon most mornings. But I know you tolerate less carbs and higher fat than I do, so ymmv. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Jean—is your pain under control? Have you been sleeping ok? I am hypoglycemic, not Type 2, but I become unstable with sleep deprivation, pain, or when I am about to become ill. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted September 17, 2019 Author Share Posted September 17, 2019 Just now, prairiewindmomma said: Jean—is your pain under control? Have you been sleeping ok? I am hypoglycemic, not Type 2, but I become unstable with sleep deprivation, pain, or when I am about to become ill. Pain is normal level (ie. like I have the flu) but not in a flare. I'm sleeping mostly ok - between 6 and 7 hours a night. I don't think that I am about to be ill. My sugars tend to go up high if I'm ill, not low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 That’s super frustrating. Hopefully you can stabilize soon with the reduced metformin. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 I wish I had some advice for you, Jean, but I just wanted to send you some hugs and say I hope you get this figured out soon so you can start feeling better. I’m sure you have already thought of this, but please be very careful walking up and down stairs when you start feeling weird — it’s so easy to lose your balance when you’re feeling a little off, and even turning your head very quickly might be enough to cause a problem. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeachGal Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 (edited) Jean, I have to travel today but maybe this is reactive hypoglycemia? That tends to occur after eating. ETA: Keep some glucose tablets or sugary candy on you at all times if you're not doing so` already. If you feel you're losing your balance, put your whole palm against a surface which can help your body from falling. More nerves will be able to send signals to your brain. Edited September 18, 2019 by BeachGal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 I don't have diabetes or pre-diabetes, so take this for what it's worth. At one point my doctor had me on acetyl-l-carnitine twice daily to help manage reactive hypoglycemic symptoms. I have no idea if it would be the right thing for you, but wanted to throw it out there as something to investigate if this continues. I'm fine now if I make sure to eat enough protein and avoid sugars and excessive carbs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted September 18, 2019 Author Share Posted September 18, 2019 Cut my Metformin in half yesterday. 2 hours postprandial in the a.m. (after my breakfast of two eggs and a cup of bone broth)- bloodsugar started to plummet again. Staying at half dose of Metformin. Added a green banana today (which has resistant starch and less sugars than riper bananas). 2 hours postprandial - my sugar was a perfect 110. Will continue to test and tweak. I discovered yesterday that it is at the 2 hour mark after every meal that things start to get wonky. But I can't eat every 2 hours - or at least I don't want to eat every 2 hours. My fasting sugars are super high (149 yesterday; 146 today ) which suggests to me that I am having the "dawn effect" where my liver is dumping glycogen after my sugars have gotten too low during the night. I know for a fact that last night in the middle of the night my sugars were 131 and then continued to rise through the night. It was also an extremely bad pain night so that probably has a bit to do with it. Just thinking "out loud" here so to speak. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertBlossom Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 I wonder if this is not a blood sugar issue. I have always heard that blood sugar meters can be off by 20% either direction. So two blood sugar numbers of 134 and 111 taken 20 minutes apart may not mean your blood sugar is actually dropping that far that fast. It's possible you are feeling a blood sugar drop, but I would expect either a bigger drop or much lower numbers before you could actually feel it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted September 18, 2019 Author Share Posted September 18, 2019 2 minutes ago, DesertBlossom said: I wonder if this is not a blood sugar issue. I have always heard that blood sugar meters can be off by 20% either direction. So two blood sugar numbers of 134 and 111 taken 20 minutes apart may not mean your blood sugar is actually dropping that far that fast. It's possible you are feeling a blood sugar drop, but I would expect either a bigger drop or much lower numbers before you could actually feel it. I almost passed out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 48 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said: I almost passed out. That must have been scary, and it could have been so dangerous! 😞 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted September 18, 2019 Author Share Posted September 18, 2019 10 minutes ago, Catwoman said: That must have been scary, and it could have been so dangerous! 😞 Thanks. It was and it wasn't. I mean, it's actually scarier when people have what is called "silent hypoglycemia" when the body stops giving any signals that sugar is too low. In my case I knew that something was wrong - it's the reason I have tested each time - because I feel the symptoms of lightheadedness, nausea and if it goes long enough, clammy skin, shakes, slurred speech etc. My doctor and I have talked many times about what to do when these symptoms occur. The most eye-rolling thing is that my daughter, despite me telling her that I was having a medical problem, just kept asking me questions about some paperwork she was working on. 🙄 She's such a teenager. . . . (Said with mild exasperation and much fondness.) So I know what the problem is with 100% certainty. And I know what to do about it as far as immediate treatment. (I've treated myself and my husband for hypoglycemia many times and fortunately was not at a point where I could no longer think straight or treat myself.) The big question really is why it is happening with such regularity and what tweaks I can make to still keep my sugars under control (there is a tendency for people to overcorrect and then go high in their sugars). I have gotten my A1C from diabetic range to pre-diabetic range and I would like to do like some other boardies have done and get it in normal range if I can. Before I knew that it was definitely my bloodsugar (because while the symptoms seemed to fit and I tested my sugars because of it, my glucometer wasn't always showing the low numbers at least as low as I expected) I did look at some other medical reasons for the symptoms. I'm fairly comfortable with my glucometer's readings since they have always tested correctly when I use a control solution to check for accuracy. And now that I'm noticing the trends better, I am seeing that there are sudden drops at the 2 hour mark. Just protein isn't enough to maintain my sugars longer it seems at this point. So I'm back to being a human guinea pig. 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 Just a thought, but I wonder if intermittent fasting would help? I'm just going off an interview I heard a few years back with Jason Fung. Basically, lie down (with someone nearby who can call 911 if you pass out or act wacky), and try to sit through it until your liver does pump out more glycogen. Try to think of it as practicing switching into fat burning mode again rather than panicking that you're going to pass out. Are you sure your blood pressure isn't falling too? Would salt & water help? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 Maybe add some fiber? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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