Low bs 68
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Oh my! That was a low. I had a low happen to me today as well. I went out shopping with a friend today and we decided to eat dinner. I checked my bg before dinner and it was 131 (very respectable). I took my metformin and 15 units of Humulog. I had 1/2 a sandwich on honey wheat bread, and a cup of tomato soup with some asiago cheese croutons (about 5). I was very full after and we continued shopping. Had a cup of coffee and started feeling jittery. We went to another store and I started to feel real funky so I decided to check my bg and it was 85! Now, 85 is not that low and I probably should not have felt hypo, but because my numbers have been so high for so long, 85 for me was low. I had to counteract with some dark chocolate. I guess I need to learn how much insulin to use with how much carb, but I was still shocked that I ate carbs and I went low. Heidi9478, you be careful with those lows. I would certainly be talking to the doctor about the high to lows you are experiencing. That is not good. Take care.
I don't know jack about using insulin, but I would think synchronizing units of insulin with grams of carbs would be paramount in avoiding wild swings. Scary!
Shanny, I don't necessarily think of it as a wild swing. My sugar before was 131, and I still took as much insulin as when it's been higher than that. I guess perhaps because I was doing alot of walking as I was out shopping at the mall. I don't know. I've never done the fast acting insulin before, so this is definitely a learning experience. I'm hoping my body gets used to a lower number quick because I should not have felt so funky at 85. I remember a few times in the past I went into the 40's with bg without any notice until it crashed and I had to really do some quick work to get it back up. Those were horrible, horrible lows. At least I know what it feels like to be low, so I had indication this time to check my sugar since I typically do not get jittery from drinking coffee (I'm a coffeeaholic)!
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68 can be low if you're not used to it. 68 for me means its time to think about eating
Yes, as swings go, that was mild one! It is hard to do much better than that with insulin, as I am learning. My philsophy (as follows the investing adage "buy low, sell high"), eat low, treat highs. LOL and SIGH. Biiiig help. Esp when you are running high or even high-ish, and HUNGRY.
Heidei, did you take a before meal bg reading? I know for me for a long while I would get a late morning liver dump, which would raise my bg 50-80 points. That inevitably would make my after lunch number quite high even if I ate a perfect lunch. What did you have for breakfast that morning or did you skip a meal? Sometimes having diabetes is like being a detective. If I skip breakfast or eat the wrong thing, my bgs will go sky high. When I started to test a lot I found some of my highest bgs are late morning. That is when I asked my doctor to up my metformin to 3 pills per day. I now take that extra pill mid morning which suppresses those liver dumps. 68 is low but not terribly low. I have been in the low 60's several times but it usually after I have had wine the night before ( maybe a glass or two too much). I find when I want to fall asleep after a meal it usually means my bgs are way too high. The way our D body works is when we eat our pancreas then puts out insulin to push the glucose into the cells. Sometimes we produce the right amount, many times the insulin we put out is not recognised so the pancreas cranks out more and more. For some reason the signaling system malfunctions in a lot of D's. So the switch doesn't get turned off. When this happens our bg goes too low.
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If you are going to have a lot of exercise, such as the walking you did, then you need enough carbs to give you needed energy. Without the carbs before exercising, your liver will dump glucagon into your body to compensate, and can raise your BG a lot! The more I intend to exercise, the more carbs I eat beforehand. I also take less insulin before a meal if I am going to be active after that meal.
Do you know how many carbs the meal contained?
Veggies has carbs, some more than others, and some raises my BG more than others allthough they don`t have to much carbs (they release the carbs very soon in my body). For example in a small onion there is 4 carbs.
I once got a really difference between my readings before and after my meal (I had ordered chicken with salad and no dressing), and I asked the waiter if there was any sugar at all in my meal. She said "no, the only sugar in here is in your salad; we mix sugar, oil and vinegar to make the salad tasty."
Also I found that here in Norway meat that already are spiced or marinated when I buy them, sometimes contains sugar
Veggies has carbs, some more than others, and some raises my BG more than others allthough they don`t have to much carbs (they release the carbs very soon in my body). For example in a small onion there is 4 carbs.
I once got a really difference between my readings before and after my meal (I had ordered chicken with salad and no dressing), and I asked the waiter if there was any sugar at all in my meal. She said "no, the only sugar in here is in your salad; we mix sugar, oil and vinegar to make the salad tasty."
Also I found that here in Norway meat that already are spiced or marinated when I buy them, sometimes contains sugar
What a rude awakening!"...the only sugar in here is in your salad; we mix sugar, oil and vinegar to make the salad tasty."
Also I found that here in Norway meat that already are spiced or marinated when I buy them, sometimes contains sugar
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You said you came home from alot of activity tired and tested. For me my BS take awhile to go down after activity which I understand from keeping track of how I respond.
Then you ate and exercised. Way to go! Keeping track will help you to know how your exercising will affect your BS. Personally I know at 68 I feel shaky and need a snack while 80 I am still OK. You will learn how you react and what makes you shaky.
Hang in there. I am one who had an 11.6 A1c at one time. Now I don't like it if my BS gets over 150. It took me time, work and the support of kind smart people here.
Then you ate and exercised. Way to go! Keeping track will help you to know how your exercising will affect your BS. Personally I know at 68 I feel shaky and need a snack while 80 I am still OK. You will learn how you react and what makes you shaky.
Hang in there. I am one who had an 11.6 A1c at one time. Now I don't like it if my BS gets over 150. It took me time, work and the support of kind smart people here.
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