First, I would state that you really don’t know if you are hyper or hypoglycemic without a CGM or a fingerstick to look at blood sugar. When you read the symptoms, most of them are common and vague. For those who feel they suffer often from low blood sugar, we would recommend doing a CGM to see if those feelings are real, and what they correlate to.
Second, if doing a CGM, there are a few things that can distort the number. Particularly if hypoglycemic at night, make sure you are not sleeping on your sensor, common if you are a side sleeper. This is a well-known issue causing a falsely low number.
But particularly for those with poor glucose control, rapid sugar spikes to high numbers or dips into low numbers, hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia are seen and real. If you are using a CGM, the monitor will alert you if too high (above 180) or too low (below 70). If you don’t have a monitor, what would you feel?
HIGH BLOOD SUGAR:
This is when your blood sugar is above 180 mg/dl. It is estimated about 10% of the U.S. population has diabetes. High blood sugar can happen after you eat, seen about 2 hours after eating, or in diabetics you see fasting blood sugar levels over 130 mg/dl. (If your fasting level is 100-125, you likely have prediabetes). High blood sugar happens when you have glucose levels rise, but your pancreas’ production of insulin doesn’t make enough or your body is resistant, so the sugar stays in your blood.
Particularly in those with diabetes, high blood sugar can be seen if you forget your medication, eat too many carbohydrates, are sick, stress, less exercise. There are some medical issues which are correlated with high blood sugar, like Cushing’s Syndrome, pancreatic disease, and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
- frequent urination
- sugar cravings
- increased thirst
- fatigue
- headache
- blurred vision
- dry mouth
- confusion
- weakness or lethargy
LOW BLOOD SUGAR:
This can occur when blood glucose falls below 70mg/dl. It is most common in those who take insulin and diabetes medications. It can also be seen in those who don’t eat enough, skip meals, increased exercise, or drink alcohol.
Early signs are sweating, trembling, feeling hungry, racing heart, and anxiety. As it progresses, some can feel headaches, dizzy or lightheaded, confused. In later stages it can lead to pale face, tingling lips, feeling weak, blurred vision, and even seizures and coma.
- sweating
- fatigue
- irritable
- anxiety
- shakiness
- heart palpitations
Again, if you are concerned you have these symptoms, consult a doctor. Many people with new onset diabetes present because they are drinking and peeing all the time. We do like the availability of CGM continuous glucose monitors. CGMs allow people who are prediabetic, or have a strong family history of diabetes or heart disease, or just want to learn their glucose pattern to optimize health to get insights into how their body processes sugar with their diet and activity level.
Remember to take this information with a grain of salt. If you are not diabetic and on insulin, these numbers are good to show you rough ideas of how your body responds to food and exercise. CGMs are measuring the interstitial glucose level, and the sensor can be faulty, particularly if the blood flow is restricted to the area (super cold, super hot, or pressure on the sensor).
We at Biohackr Health like the vision though that CGMs give about how your body responds to food and exercise. It is great to learn YOUR pattern. Knowledge will let you tweak things better. See our blogs on how to stop glucose spikes and improve the curve shapes.