Can anyone reliably "feel" whether their blood sugar is high or low or ok. I don't mean the extremes where you get into trouble, but should I be able to tell my sugar is at say 200, when I have been running around 150?
Because I can't feel anything that I can reliably correlate to blood sugar measurements. I have been playing a little game with myself where I guess what my measurement is going to be before I take it. And I am always wrong, sometimes very wrong.
I felt great the other day, no tiredness after lunch, no stiffness after sitting at my computer for more than a couple of hours, and not having to pee every 2 hours (problems I had before diagnosis). So I was guessing my blood sugar was great, and it was high, very high for me nowadays. And the reverse, I got logy after lunch today and said "oops" I screwed up, and I was 120!!
Can you get to the point, with experience and attention, that you can tell pretty close how your blood sugar is doing without taking measurements?
Nope, not even close. There’s nothing quite like “feeling fine” and testing before a meal to see a 42. I can tell when I’m high, but usually not before I’m at least 250+
I’ve been A type 1 for soon to be 37 years and I can’t tell anything at all. Only if I’m waaaaay am I able to tell it. I don’t even know when I’m going low anymore.
So many things are going on inside the body. There are times i think must be high or low and when i check my BG is perfect. it could be some other hormone response taking place. too many tings to factor.
i’ve been diabetic for 18 years and i can tell usually within 20 points of what i am based on how i feel and what i’ve been doing and eating. however i NEVER rely on this method, i always test just in case!! there has been wrong guesses like if i’m grumpy because i’m tired and i think i’m high, then i’m not. (always a nice surprise)
Really can’t feel the difference between being in the 80’s or the 180’s, but being below 60 or above 250 I’ve got a pretty good clue about before I test.
Most of the time I can tell if I am high or low but not how high or how low so its best if I test it.
Even if I am asleep and go hypo I will wake up test and that shows me how low I am.
Think if we could tell the number then life with diabetes would be a lot easier.
I think I am very sensitive to higher blood sugar… At 235+ or more, I was already blacking out a lot… and having issues, so in my finite mind I can’t imagine being tons higher, like when people get hospitalized. At higher than 150 or so, I start getting drained of energy, and somewhat moody… with mild headaches… I can tell, cus it will be like 5 or 6, and I just will not want to get up to do anything, or make dinner… I’ll feel really off, and kind of foggy.
I always check to be sure. Quessing does not work for me. Since I started on the pump my BS will go to 50 before I notice sympton type feelings. Now when I get to 200-250 I feel changes.
I always check but usually I can tell what level I am around. I’m not always right but usually within range. Sometimes I am completely off… When think I am having a high BG level I just take a look at my vein on my hand and it is usually bludging when it is.
Nope…unless it is extremely low or high. It helps that I test on a schedule, test when I eat/do something new or different and when indeed I’m feeling something different as well.
I can’t. But that’s not saying that others don’t. I think that’s part of the “killer” part of diabetes…you can’t tell what it is without a meter reading or A1C etc. Guessing isn’t good enough to take care of yourself. Highs and lows are giving us signs, but the mild highs or lows don’t, and those over time can do more damage to our systems than the extremes. That’s one of the reasons I got a mini-meter. It fits in my purse, and rather than take a bigger case with all the equipment out of my other bag, I carry this and can take it anywhere any place without drawing attention to doing it. I certainly wouldn’t guess on mine
What I was kind of half hoping for was that, with experience, I could tell how my blood sugar was without the sticking. But alas, every short cut is thwarted.
There is just no easy way out of any of this, it seems.
U R right Jeff. Do not guesstimate. I have felt high when I was normal and felt normal when I was low. Unless I am over 180 or under "65ish ", I generally have no symptoms. Now, for me, the really low sugar blood drop is thin and watery, and the High sugar blood drop is thick and puffy.:;This was discussed on another diabetic site I am on.
Me too! Dark red means high, “normal red” means good, light red means low. There are surprises sometimes, of course. But if I go over 170, I feel ill and really have to pee. Under 60, I feel shaky and annoyed. I’m sure I’m a delight to be around at those times haha!
I actually can to a degree. The lows are much easier as once I start going below 80 I clearly feel distress. On occasion I can feel fine at somewhat elevated levels but most of the time I feel the spikes and become way irritable even at numbers as low as 120. I would bet if most people were as sensitive as I was they would be completely miserable. Example… I grabbed a handful of peanuts the other night and instantly felt the spike like someone poured poison down my mouth. I instantly retaliated with a small injection and started feeling better shortly after. I haven’t checked my sugar in years as I go by symptoms. Yeah I screw up here and there but too me its better then slave testing all day long. In the end we desperately need SMART INSULIN! Also take into consideration if your testing all day long and the numbers aren’t good then what’s the point? OK so you make the correction but why did not work from the earlier adjustment and so forth and so forth and so forth. Its like beating a dead horse.
