Feeling low but BG is 88

Is it normal to feel like I’m getting low BG but when I check my BG my meter is reading 88. I have been lower than 88 before and not feel low but today 88 makes me feel low. I have a little light headed, and shakey. I ate some blue berries and plain yogurt and now waiting to see if that helps. I’m new to diabetes and not sure what to expect. I use Lantus and Humalog injections, I inject Humalog about 6 times a day to cover my meals, snacks, and then once at night with the Lantus. So any advice would be great about how I’m feeling this morning. Can 88 be a low one day and then not feel like your low a different day when I’m down to 84?

I have read that there will be good days and bad days, could this be one of those bad days?

Have you been running high for a while, John? If you are running high than a number like 88 can feel like a low. If not, than sometimes it has to do with how fast you've dropped.

A question, you said you were new to D, so I'm wondering, why do you take a shot of Humalog at night with your Lantus if you are not eating?

I must have written that wrong. I take Humalog during day to cover meals and then I take Lantus once before I go to bed. I was diagnosed a month and a half ago with BG at 820 and A1C at 15.3 A few weeks ago I got down to 78 and felt hypo for the first time. The last wheel,or so I have been mostly in the 90’s, and have been below 88 without feeling hypo, but today I feel hypo at 88. Can the feeling of being hypo happen at different numbers on different days? Thanks for the reply.

Can the feeling of being hypo happen at different numbers on different days?
Yes.

Hypo symptoms can be fictitious when you're brain has been used to high BG for a long time. IIRC you posted another thread a few weeks ago about false hypos as you were getting your extremely high BG under control.

John, nothing about D is precise. Absolutely nothing. A multitude of factors contribute to how you "feel" at an given time. My BG was high all night last night (skimming 200), and I feel like absolute crap today, even though I've corrected it back down to the 80's (now 9:15am). I expect to feel this way most of the day. Thick-headed, thought process is slow, GI is unhappy, etc.

I've been here before, and know the feeling well. It's because of a night of high BG, from a bad bedtime "snack".

OTOH, I've had exactly the same BG profile over night on other occasions, and been fine the next day.

So, embrace the variability and uncertainty, and come to peace with it. It's a part of your life from now on.

As for feeling hypo at 88, this may still be some lingering false hypo consequences of your extraordinarily high BG from 6 weeks ago. As with everything D, variation is the rule here too: Some "recover" from high BG and false hypo problems quickly, others take longer.

In any case, it's a very good thing you're so actively checking these things and taking an interest. This is how you'll beat this disease. Two things to keep in mind about this episode, and future ones like it:

  • Whenever you feel hypo, always check with your BG meter, and if you're safe, don't worry about it if you can handle the mild symptoms. Just be sure and check again in 20-30 minutes to make sure you didn't actual go into hypo territory.
  • There is absolutely nothing to be concerned about for a BG of 90 or 100... So, if you're feeling hypo at 88, eat a small correction, enough to pop you about 20 mg/dl. The hypo symptoms should go away, your BG is still very good and gluconormal at 100, so this is a perfectly valid and sound treatment strategy if you're one that is very hypo-sensitive.
If this sort of thing persists months from now, you probably want to mention it to your endo. In the end, though, there are occasionally some rare people that simply have a "set point" higher than the average mid-80's, and instead need to be 90 or 100 -- that' just where their body's sugar "thermostat" is set. in the 80s they feel like most people feel in the 60s.

Having been that high that recently, it makes total sense you would feel hypo at a number that isn't technically a low at all. Your body will adjust and that will stop happening as your numbers are routinely lower. As for can you feel differently at different numbers on different days...absolutely. Welcome to the fabulous world of Type 1 Diabetes! So many things can influence how we experience our blood sugars - how high (or low) we've been in recent days and weeks, how fast we drop (or rise), if we have insulin on board, if we've eaten, and even stress and mood.

Congrats on getting your numbers down. You have a long journey ahead of you, and you will learn a lot. You're in the right place.

Hi John,

Since you said you have been below 88 without feeling hypo I am not sure that I would agree that your improved bgs are making you feel hypo as suggested. However (and this I know from having tested hypo action in my own body) - you can feel this way if your bg is spiraling down quickly. Certainly if it started high, but even if it's in a normal range and then starts dropping quickly - the body "feels" it. I am happy to read that you are not actually hypo, and I would not treat it in that case, but do keep testing to make sure the drop does not continue. Hold on to that hypo feeling - (I think this should be a song)!

I do believe that yes, "the feeling of being hypo happen at different numbers on different days". So just keep testing and keeping track. I think you are doing great with your mostly in the 90s, so keep that up.

All good advice given above… The onl thing I’d add is that you’re still a normal person (just happen to be a normal person with diabetes)

And normal people can feel lightheaded, anxious, jittery, etc for a whole lot of other reasons too other than hypoglycemia. The only difference for those of us on insulin is that we have to be vigilent to check and adjust as necessary if we do find that low blood sugar is causing those sensations…

I absolutely agree that with an a1c of 15 it will take a while to feel right at a healthy level like 88 but soon 88 will feel like a million bucks compared to how you’ve probably felt (if you’re like me you may no have even realized it) for a long time.

Hi John,

Karen is right, you can feel hypo before you get to hypo territory. I often can feel if I'm dropping and feel it even before the 80's too, same for hypers. It could also be a combo of that and you having been so high. Or it could be dizziness etc. from something else. However most of the time when I feel symptoms, something is happening and I go hypo or hyper if I'm not already. I like to treat it before the low sets in because it can often be avoided if I do. I just wouldn't over treat it unless you feel a fast dropping low, when that happens I don't even test a lot of the time, I just treat it and test after.