blood sugar levels?

[snailmama]

I have been checking my blood sugar levels recently with a glucosemeter.
I started to do it because I sometimes wake up with terrible night sweats.
And in the past I have had protein & ketones in my urine.
So,
usually in the daytime it is in the 80's.
Tonight I was feeling dizzy, confused while out shopping so when I got home I checked it, twice,
It was 37.
Is this bad?
Should I see a physician.
What should I tell them?
TIA

[gossamer]

Snailmama,
A blood sugar of 37 is very bad. Usually 80 - 120 is normal. It sounds like you might have hypo-glycemia like I do. You should get this checked out ASAP! Feel free to pm me if you want more information. I am hypoglycemic and my husband is a juvenile diabetic so I have some knowledge of blood sugars.

[Sierra]

I believe 60-120 is actually considered normal for a non-diabetic.

As a type 1 lifelong diabetic myself, I try to stay in the 80-120 range because that is where I am comfortable (that is usually what they recommend for kids), but I know my doc thinks it is safe for me to fall as low as 60, as this is fine for non-diabetics.
Personally, in the 60 range I get like a lunatic. By 50 I am on the verge of unconciousness, and I will begin having convulsions between 40 and 30.

My other diabetic friends tell me they have no trouble at 60. Maybe it is personal.

The mere fact that you, as a nondiabetic, are concerned enough with your blood sugar to have a glucometer tells me there is something going on. I would report your low blood sugar incident to your doc, especially if this happens frequently. You may indeed have hypoglycemia.

By the way, to treat your low-blood sugar, it is not recommended you have sweets. For a type 1 diabetic it isn't a big deal, but for someone whose body produces insulin (such as a hypoglycemic or a type 2 diabetic), if you eat sweets, when your blood sugar starts shooting back up, your body is likely to over react and then overproduce more insulin, causing another low shortly thereafter.

When you get low like you did today, try eating a bit of complex carbohydrate (such as a couple of crackers or a peice of toast) and following that with a glass of milk or other protein. As an alternative have a half a cheese or meat sandwich. Be patient as you wait for your blood sugar to rise. Eating more wont necessarily bring it up faster, it will just give your body more to overreact about later.

Eating small bits throughout the day will also be a helpful preventative measure if you are indeed likely to get low blood sugar.

Sierra

[snailmama]

hi, i am a vegetarian- mostly a vegan diet.
i ate a veggi burger and quinoa, then I pulled some weeds, drank an organic soda, an went out shopping for about 2 hours. i felt dizzy in the store.
then i checked blood sugar. 37
then i ate a bowl of peanut butter-chocolate soy delicious.
i checked blood sugar this morning & it was 84.
hmmmm? what's going on?

[Mama Katrina]

Ok what you have is probably HYPOGlycimia (spell) - Means low blood sugar... I am boarder line with that... Go to your doctor who will probably send to a nutrcianist (sorry on typos, babe in arms with 2 year at side) who will help you get on the diet for it... Until they can teach you one on one here is the gest of the diet (been on it for YEARS!) Eat small meals more frequently, low in carbs/sugar, high in protien... I'm not vegitarian, but I know tofu is a protien and there has to be more than that, maybe beans and such.... Not many people have this without having diabeties so it is hard to find stuff on it... I've probably been down in the 30s -40 s myself... Because my normal just ate level is 80s. Oh quick note, found I didn't have any trouble with it while pregnant!!! Just another cure for me

[Sierra]

I was raised vegetarian, mostly vegan. I am now a vegetarian who often goes through vegan phases. I've never had a bite of meat in my life.

As a requirement for my diabetes, I have always had to have protein before bed. When I was a kid, I ate a lot of crackers and peanut butter, little dishes of rice with peanut sauce, bean salads, little dishes of lentil soups and casseroles, garbanzo beans, etc.

Again, it's good to avoid eating something sweet, whether or not it is organic or unrefined, when your blood sugar is low (due to your body's tendency to over-react). I agree that you might get a lot from seeing a nutritionist.

Sierra

[Sierra]

P.S. I'm wondering if it is the combination of drinking the soda and then pulling the weeds and shopping (lots of activity) that caused your blood sugar to take the nose dive.

With hypoglycemia, your body has a tendency to over-react to sugars. Insulin is the substance your body produces to deal with sugar. For a hypoglycemic, your body overproduces insulin in response to large amounts of sugar and it may also not respond correctly to exercise. This causes the extreme fall in blood sugar.

So here is what I think may have happened:

Your body was slow to respond to pulling weeds. For most people, when they exercise, their body will slow production of insulin. Your body may not have slowed production, giving you a small surplus. Then you drank a soda, giving your body lots of sugar and plenty more reason to *more* produce insulin. It over-reacted and produced too much, giving you lots of extra insulin. Then you went shopping (another pretty active thing to do), and as you walked around, your blood sugar continued to fall until it reached the dangerous level you ended up at.

If you eat a lower carb diet and a higher protein diet, and you eat more often throughout the day, your body wont have as many sugar surges to over-react to. When you do have simple carbs (fruit, juice, soda, candy, cake, etc.), try not to exercise around the same time. That may help your body to deal.

Good luck!

Sierra

[snailmama]

thanks!

That seems to be a good explanation.
I am going to give our natropath a call today. He is also a nutritionalist and a chiropractor.
I will let you know what happens.