Very low blood sugar - anyone had anything similar ?

[Sleepman]

Hello wise kind ones.

I am/was? prediabetic prior to knowing about underactive thyroid.

Checked my blood sugar levels today. Very low. 2.1 to 4 range.

I tracked blood sugar from Dec 22 to April 23 and it was in range 5 to 8 range.

HbA1c now about 43(Jan) 45 (Nov) was 47 in past a couple of years ago.

I have been tired and light headed/ woozy/ brain foggy for a couple of months off and on Thought it was too much T4 as levels a bit over range or winter lurgy.

My blood sugar is dropping to under 4 which is glucose hypo, I have just tracked it since midday on finger prick sticks. 2.1 to 4 generally. I took some sugary stuff it went up a bit then fell again.

Had a meal and it is now over 5. I am not on insulin or diabetic meds.

I had not eaten, I have not eaten till lunch for a long time now as a) was not hungry b) was prediabetic and levels were higher in the morning

Weight stable since May around 88 kg

I have ordered on of the continuous tracker things to try for a couple of weeks to see what is going on. Think I will end up at Doctors to check things over, but had a very low TSH result which I think they may over react to.

Plan for comment :

a) eat breakfast and track tomorrow and see if I feel better, eat more small meals

b) track blood sugar and symptoms

I am about 1 1/2 years into hashi underactive thyroid.

Generally been well but I take a little T3 as T3 results low. I am not with an endo.

No batch changes or anything

My current dose is 125 T4 and 12.5 mg T3 taken in a morning for last month

From May to end Nov I was on 150 T4 and 6 mg T3,

in Dec dropped to 125 mg T4 with same 6 mg T3 as T4 high -

Results from mid Jan - 9AM, no T3 or T4 for 24 hours, no Biotin no food.

TSH 0.08 -5% (0.27 to 4.2)

T4 26.3 140% (12 to 22)

T3 3.7 16% ( 3.1 to 6.8)

Results in May were T3 15%, T4 100 % TSH ~ same 0.11

Doctors blood tests mid Nov. Not expecting - mid day and after morning meds.

TSH 0.01

T4 20.2 132% (7to17)

I take B Complex Igneous and Vit D spray with K2. Neither are low but they are not too bad

[Smartypants1]

sleepman, this is one of my main symptoms and I’m not diabetic or pre diabetic. I used a CGM for a couple of weeks and it kept going under 4 so the doc referred me to an Endo. He’s asked me to track and keep a diary for a few weeks and he’s getting me in for a 16 hour fast. There’s no way I’ll be able to do that, by the way. He said if you’re not diabetic, it isn’t classed as hypo till it’s 2.2.

Interestingly, I’ve been looking on an American celiac message board and there is loads on this. Gluten damages the villi and therefore reduces the surface area of the gut, giving less opportunity for glucose and nutrients to be absorbed. If you go on YouTube, there is also lots on this. I’ve been off gluten since Christmas and am hoping this will reduce my symptoms.

I’ve also read about the importance of certain B vits and D in managing blood sugar imbalances.

I don’t know if this helps but just so you know you’re not on your own

[Sleepman in reply to Smartypants1]

Hi Smartypants, I do not understand your comment "this is one of main symptoms" - a bit foggy today so please be gentle...

Thanks for sharing the 2.2 number from your endo.

Gluten - my Mum is Celiac and hashi hypo also. I cannot take gluten it wipes me out.

This is a bit different though. A lot of us cannot hack gluten. I hope it is working out for you. Soya sauce, vinegars, chinese food are the "lurkers" I found.

I have run out of blood test strips now. Get my CGM pod tomorrow

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Sleepman]

I take B Complex Igneous and Vit D spray with K2. Neither are low but they are not too bad

What are actual results

Vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin

[Sleepman in reply to SlowDragon]

Thankyou for your help.

Vit D 70 Jan.was 85 last May. 30 before supplelmenting.

No recent folate and B12 as test failed in Jan and Oct

B12 was 175 in range 145 to 910 prior to suppl.nov 22

Folate was 8.4 range 3 to 20

I struggle with getting enough blood. Running round house, hot baths. I have purchased extra stabbers now !

Ferritin, was high at start end Sep 22.

291 with range 15 to 200.

I cannot find any more tests on it. They checked my kidney several times and cleared it

My TSH was 79 at the start with no T4 or less than 3

Neutrophil count was 1.67 at start and improved to 2.11 last May. Range 1.7 to 7.5.

Igneus super b complex is methylated type. I did reduce in Nov Dec as I was trying to retest but then Christmas post kicked in and work was frantic.

I note that getting separate B12 is a better method.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Sleepman]

Can you get GP to test B12 and folate

or next test pay extra for private blood draw…….if you have a clinic near you

[Sleepman in reply to SlowDragon]

I think I can do a home test now. Gone for a full bloods on MMH.

I think I got the bottles the wrong way round and the iron/B12 one was not shaken fast enough to "preserve it".

I spoke to my brother tonight who is type 1 diabetic since ~19yrs old.

The low blood sugar levels I saw would alarm him. It did not go sweaty and clammy.

I have been grumpy and intolerant which is reminiscent of his hypos I have seen but a bit milder.

I am thinking my fasting till lunch is something I can change and see if it changes the current uugghh feelings. I am likely to split my 12 mg of T3 to AM and lunchtime as next step after spreading out my food intake and letting that settle. It may still just be a lurgy and nothing to do with low blood sugar.

Slow and steady, I do not think I am far away.

I had a great late Spring and Summer.

[Smartypants1 in reply to Sleepman]

I mean, one of the main symptoms of Hashimotos 😀

[Bethea-Alice]

I have suffered bouts of shakiness (particularly if I exercise after breakfast) on and off for years before my Hashi’s was discovered. I had a glucose tolerance test done and my blood sugar was lower 30 mins after the very sweet drink than it was after a 9 hour fast. Therefore I was diagnosed as having reactive hypoglycaemia and given dietary advice. I had to avoid eating a mainly carbohydrate meal eg just cereal or toast for breakfast and at one time had to eat a snack of a few nuts or cheese or an apple between meals. Provided I eat some protein food at every meal and limit sugary treats I have avoided these blood sugar dips since. I have since found out I am wheat and cows milk intolerant and feel much better if I keep right off all wheat goods, no problem with rye or oats though. Porridge with fruit, nuts or seeds and made with oat milk is now my usual breakfast and keeps me going for up to 4 hours.

[Sleepman in reply to Bethea-Alice]

Thank you for sharing. I am going to try oats again soon, I enjoy porridge.

Dairy and alcohol in that order are things I might have to try excluding too.

I am a bit worried low carb is not good for conversion of T4 to T3. I need to understand that a bit more.

[Bethea-Alice in reply to Sleepman]

I don’t think I am eating low carb particularly, apart from avoiding bread, cakes and sweet biscuits as I can quickly feel hungry, lightheaded and shaky afterwards. Oat or rye biscuits, rice and potatoes dont cause blood sugar crashes either after eating. I cannot tolerate plain cows milk or cream but have no problem with full fat yoghurts, cheeses or clotted cream. It appears that the processing of the milk in these products has removed whatever it is that makes me intolerant.

[Sleepman]

Thankyou Bethea-Alice. I will pass this comments about raw milk to my daughter who has something digestive going on.

I think order of stopping/reducing stuff is grog/alcohol then milk products, then raw milk now.

Had Continuous Glucose Monitoring patch on since late yesterday. It only last 2 weeks.

Chart is today. I was fasting till 11:30 as normal, when I took 2 spoons of Jam to test my response to it. It was not too bad, then I had a good lowish carb lunch. Conclude I am pre diabetic but not going too high very often.

I felt better yesterday also - I split my T3 dose to AM and PM. I have done the same today.

I am thinking my sugar dropped very low on Saturday as I cannot handle 12 mg of T3 in one dose in the morning. It was not a one off, I saw same low blood sugars a month ago but did not remember. It was about the same time of day.

Sugar through day

[arTistapple in reply to Sleepman]

Ah right this is useful. I am also interested in how long after your ‘sugar’ intake you react to it. You are talking as if it’s fairly quickly after eating. Mine is variable and I think to some degree affected by how long a period I have been ‘good’ for. That is, how well behaved I have been around food. However the T3 thing upping the metabolism is clearly yet another factor needing constant awareness and attention. Gosh still loads to do!

[Sleepman]

I have just had a nasty virus which has knocked me about and made feel hypo for several weeks, I am wishing I had looked at my blood sugar. My waking temperature dropped to 36.0 from more usual 36.6 C which made me wonder what it was doing to my thyroid levels.

Free style libre link data seems to disappear after 3 months - not happy. I had log book with lots of notes about food and effects. I will do some digging but concerned.

There is a delay on the patches of about 15 minutes compared to real blood sugar level

I used this chart when checking things. (divide by 18 to get UK numbers)

Whether you have eaten or not ! Dawn phenomenon moves your blood sugar in a morning.

virtahealth.com/blog/dawn-p....

I went down a rabbit hole a year or so ago. I logged blood sugar in the morning before food - making sure pre diabetic was not getting worse. Took one a little later and it was over 7 which scared me. It turns out Cortisol in morning works against insulin to keep sugar higher.

I still have not got my head around Cortisol and Adrenals - I think that is next work for me.

Blood sugar after meals - did not record the source ...