Are hypo’s different for all? Meaning at what number is it considered a hypo? At what number can the body not function? Or is it different for all?
My first endo appt is next week and my Primary Dr. seems to be shying away from giving me some answers to these types of questions. I have only experienced 1 real hypo (45 mg/dl) because I double dosed on my pills. I am currently at work and at 75 and ‘feel’ a little hypo - but - this could seriously be because I am almost NEVER below 180. Going to get a snack and will check back in a few.
A hypo is generally considered to be below 70, although I have read some cases where a hypo is considered to be below 60. You could be experiencing a “false hypo”, because your body is too used to high numbers.
Yes, I used to feel like this when I would decline to the 200’s! Guess that means I making big progress here in 5 weeks.
I just don’t want to snack too much if it is not necessary. I just lost 40 pounds and have about 40 more to go.
Thanks for the reply. My endo’s office will not give me advice on this, or anything, as I have not been seen as a patient yet. And, my primary care doctors office is useless to me. This particular primary doctor was suggested to me by a friend and we just don’t seem to get along. I had way too many questions for her for a first visit and she never even did a physical examination. Unfortuneatly I am stuck with her until I finish seeing the doctors she has referred me to. Podiatrist down (who was fabulous), opthalmolgist and Endo left to go…
I agree with Megan. If your body is used to higher numbers though, it’s not going to know how to respond to anything lower. But that will change as you bring your control into a healthy range.
In a sense, yes, it’s different for everyone. We all have our thresholds at which we function worse. But the clinical description holds. Once your sugars are more consistently on target, you will feel the lows and highs at the appropriate levels.
As to treating a “low” when you’re not considered technically low, that’s between you and your health team. I treated them as lows when my endo told me not to, but had I listened, my body wouldn’t have spent so many years thinking it was more comfortable at too high an A1c.
One thing I find is that a rapid drop, no matter how high will give a false low. My BS range is pretty consistently less than 100. however, when I go high, fairly often, and I start to drop I feel it evne if I am dropping through 200. This is recent development for me.
In terms of how high is to high or low, i suggest you think about it like this, to low is when you cannot function properly, be that 100 or 60. To high, is between you and the endo, but it will reflect in your A1C no matter the number. Like I said above, for me the severity of the low is determined mostly by the rapid rate of decline. A gradual decline and i might function well down in the high 30’s A rapid decline, and I might not do so well at 150.
Rick Phillips
PS: No I don’t like or suggest the 30’s but when you cannot feel them sometimes it happens.
I think we all know what it’s like to struggle with doctors and getting answers. It’s one of the reasons that TuD is so helpful. Hang in there, losing 40 pounds means you’re doing a great job!
One way to treat a low is with glucose tabs. They’re lower calorie than regular snacking, and it’s easier to control the amount you eat.
Good advice from Megan about getting glucose tabs to treat lows rather than a snack. Any drugstore carries these & the glucose tabs are usually 5 grams of pure sugar. Glucose tabs get sugar into your blood quickly when you need it. Easy to overdo it with snacks. Everyone is different & your endo should help you figure out how many carbs raise your BG how many points to treat lows. For me, 1 gram of carbs raises me 10 pts.
Yep, being at 75 feels hypo when your body is used to highs.
It is just so confusing when I feel one way but am not sure what to do with it. I only have 3 days left before my first endo appointment and I am sure I will have the numbers he wants me to stay in and what to do when they are not.
Then, and only then, will they give me any advice at all. Mostly I remain high but when I have to close the bar at night it all gets a little weird.
I probably just sleep through these phases on most nights.
Generally, if your body is used to being high, then a number of 100 (?) could give you symptoms. The longer you control your numbers, the lower you can go without really being “hypo.” Of course, 45 is low but may be felt differently by different people.
So, as you bring your numbers down, the more you can tolerate being lower. Just be aware of how you feel and test as often as your DR suggests. (Sometimes more!) Keep up the good work.
