On the Monday after diagnosis, I thought I had my first hypo (low blood sugar level). I was at my desk working when I started to feel odd. There were no specific symptoms, I just felt odd. While I didn’t panic as such, I wasn’t thinking as clearly as I should. I was convinced I was having a hypo, and almost took a handful of glucose sweets, when rationality kicked in and I decided to test my blood glucose. It was actually a little high – 7.8 mmol/L.
I was very glad that I hadn’t taken the glucose tablets, and I had some water to drink and went out for a walk instead. To be honest, I’m not sure if that actually lowered my blood glucose, but it made me feel better, and my blood glucose wasn’t in the dangerous zone.
When I got back, I read a bit more about metformin. When taken on its own, metformin doesn’t cause hypos.
The following Saturday, at about 11 in the morning, I started feeling hungry, trembling, sweating, and feeling confused. Those are some of the early warning signs of a hypo. So I tested my blood sugar, and it was 3.7 mmol/L. That’s low. So Michael and I had an early lunch in a nearby cafe. I had a couple of Mentos as a starter, and I had a brownie for dessert. Those were the first sugary things I had had since diagnosis. While I did feel better as soon as I had taken them, I’m not 100% sure I even like sugary things any more. It is amazing how quickly your tastes can change.
Now, if metformin doesn’t cause hypos, what did? Well, since diagnosis I haven’t been eating as much, because if you eat less carbohydrate, you blood glucose is lower. It looks like I went a little too far and I gave myself a hypo through not eating enough. That will happen to anyone, diabetic or not.