Newly diagnosed - blood sugar 84 1 hour after eating?!!

[katiej4823]

Hi all. I'm a 56 year old female and I was diagnosed a few months ago with type II. Not too bad. AC1 of 6.4. Doc says if I lose weight and change lifestyle I can probably be diabetes free. Lost 17 lbs. Last AC1 was still 6.3. Was cheating a lot with candy and sugary stuff. So he put me on Metformin 500mg 2x a day. I have to say that taking that did make me feel a lot better. He did not tell me to monitor my blood sugar, but local supermarket was giving out free meters so I got one (tru2go) and some test strips and have been checking here and there, especially when I feel like I'm having a low blood sugar attack. I have never yet had a high reading when I checked at any time.
However, I have been having a lot of low blood sugar attacks and readings. In morning around 60, and today felt like I was having an attack even an hour after eating a bowl of unsweetened oatmeal with a banana in it and a bit of fat free milk. I checked and got a reading of 84.
My problem is that I suddenly have no income and cannot be going to the DR. regularly. My estranged hubby is ill and had to stop working his full time job (resigned) and isn't making enough to continue to support us (still have kids at home). This happened suddenly. I have been unemployed for a couple of years (due mostly to kid's medical problems) Even my 19 year old can't find a job as yet. We live in a rural area.
I go to a local clinic but can no longer pay. And they only had an internist, no nutritionist, or any other specialist to teach me how to manage this. I am waiting on the local Health Dept. to ok my eligibility there and will have access to specialists there.
My general diet is high in carbs as I can't afford to buy enough protein foods to lower the carbs and increase the protein with the food stamps I've just been allotted. So I get hungry a LOT cause high carbs are not filling. I get sugar cravings as a result and then eat candy at night. Yes, I know I shouldn't, but those cravings are really hard to fight, not to mention the lifelong habit of high carb snacking at night. I  will continue to work on stopping that.
But in the meantime, can you tell me if eating some candy the night before can cause my blood sugar to go down so low that even after getting up the next morning and eating that bowl of unsweetened oatmeal and a banana with a little milk, it could still be as low as 84 1 hour after eating? Just from the candy I ate last night? I ate a handful of M&Ms to quickly bring it up, but am still shaking and light headed 15 minutes later.

Thanks for any input.

[tom_h]

Eggs are perhaps the single most inexpensive source of protein.  I control by diet alone as well, so I have to be extra careful ofbwhat I eat.  I consume approximately 14 eggs per week, but sometimes more. The majority of them are hard boiled.  I doused them with a variety of hot sauces, and they make a great mid morning snack in work.

[watercanyon]

I found your post because I was looking for answers to the morning high question.  I'm still searching for suggestions on that, as I am diet controlled without any medication.

I did notice the mention about not being able to afford protien as a reason to continue to eat high carbs.  

I had that reasoning for many years, and some friends taught me that I really could eat more healthy, even on a budget.  They also challenged me to realize that if I could afford M&Ms, I could affort apples and oranges instead.  I just had to be willing to eat the alternate before they went bad instead of letting them sit around while I still stuck to the chips and candy.

I've taken some lessons from my VEGAN and vegetarian friends and found that beans are a great source of high protien, and are relatively inexpensive.  Also eggs and oatmeal.  One friend uses frozen edame (soy beans) as a snack.  I bought some but haven't had a chance to try them yet.  She says they're great dipped in spiced yogurt.  Use the same dip spices you would with sour cream, but substitute plain or greek yogurt.

Bottom line - I had to decide to drastically change what I was putting in my mouth and become committed to controlling by diet alone, as I had a terrible reaction to the Metformin and want to delay for as long as possible the need to go on insulin.

Good luck!

[WaveRider]

I would like to add to what Tom has already mentioned. There are things that are clear and some that are unclear in your post so I'll try to answer your concerns in steps.

First, I believe you have been misinformed on when to test your glucose levels. Here are the proper times:
* Fasting 8-10 hours, preferably first thing in morning before eating or drinking any colored liquids. These are the levels

Normal levels are 60/70 to 99 mg/dl. <--what u want
Prediabetes levels are 100 to 125 mg/dl
Diabetes levels is anything above 125 mg/dl

*  Preprandial – before eating to get a baseline measurement
*  Postprandial – 2-3 hours after a meal to see how the foods you ate affected your glucose [blood sugar] levels. For diabetics the postprandial level is <141 mg/dl, optimum <121 mg/dl. Normal folks is the same as normal fasting levels.
*  Bedtime – to compare against morning fasting level

Secondly, it appears you are experiencing what they call Reactive Hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar that occurs after a meal — usually one to three hours after eating. Things to do to combat this:
*  Eat several small meals and snacks throughout the day, no more than three hours apart. Eat a well-balanced diet including lean and nonmeat sources of protein and high-fiber foods including whole grains, poultry, legumes, fish, eggs, nuts, fruit and vegetables.
*  Avoid and limit sugary foods, especially on an empty stomach.
*  Avoid 'white' foods; white flour, white bread, white rice, potatoes, crackers as these quickly turn into sugar after eating.
*  Be sure to eat food if you're consuming alcohol and avoid using ,
sugary soft drinks as mixers.

Lastly, Your doctor is correct about making lifestyle changes. If you make changes now - stop with the M&M's and "cheating a lot with candy and sugary stuff."  hopefully you can reverse your condition. You do this with proper nutrition, proper weight, and daily 30 minute physical exercise.  I can understand your concern about your glucose dropping after eating but eating candy and sugary foods is not the way to go about correcting your problem.  Use Google search to educate yourself on:
*  Glycemic Index
*  High protein foods
*  Good carbs [complex] vs bad carbs [simple]

Eating simple carbs will only make you crave for more food and sweets as your body doesn't feel satified. It's a deadly cycle, to speak. Eating complex carbs will not only satisfy your needs but will provide the nourishment to make you feel better.

Lastly, there is no mention to when Metformin is being taken. If before bedtime it could be the reason for your morning lows. You really need to discuss your dosage and times with your doctor. With an A1c of 6.3%, 2x500 mg seems to be above normal, but I'm no doctor and surely do not encourage you to lower or adjust your medication without first consulting him/her. Does he/she converse via email? Mine does at no charge. Good luck

[tom_h]

I'm sorry you're in the difficult position that you describe, and I hope you can get the assistance from your local Health Department.  I'm newly diagosed as well, and don't have enough experience to make qualified suggestion to you.  But let's look at the facts you presented:

1) Your A1C was 6.3 which means you averaged around a 147 mg/dl.  A1C's show the big picture.
2) Doc puts you on 2x500mg/Metformin and in the time you tested, your morning sticks plummeted to 60.
3) Sounds like you have symptoms of low blood sugar.

Are you perhaps being over medicated with Metformin which is causing the radical drop in you BG reading?

Of course you already know this or you wouldn't refer to as "cheating", but you've got to lay off the "white stuff"!  No sugar, pasta, rice, flour, spuds, etc.  Additionally, you have avoid some vegetables as well.  This is a fellow M&M aficondo talking; the dark M's, along with the peanut variety, heaven!  Until you get this under control, you need to regard carbs as poison to you.  Once you get things under control, then you can reintroduce some cabs at a responsible level.  If you don't follow this course, you as well as me are going to slide down the type II slope, and a slippery one it is.  Until you can get self testing again, I'd follow this path along with daily exeercise until you can see the effects of what you're consuming.

[katiej4823]

Also, I've read that Metformin shouldn't lead to low blood sugar problems. But is it possible that is what is actually happening?

[katiej4823]

After posting the above, I ate a handful of M&Ms, and about 20 minutes later my blood sugar is DOWN to 71.
I really don't understand how all this works. Should I eat another meal? A sandwich? What?