by Marcel LeVasseur
(Canada)
QUESTION: I am Canadian and I have type two diabetes.
My question is this: today I experienced something very odd for me..I woke up shaking and feeling like I was going to pass out..took my sugar level test and It turns out it was 3.2..so I grabbed a gingerale and had some toast with butter and ketchup.
Anyway..it went away an hr after that but it scared me..
What is normal sugar level and what constitutes a hospital visit?
ANSWER: Hi Marcel,
What you experienced is called hypoglycemi that commonly happens in diabetics. Those who are recently diagnosed are not able to recognize these signs of low blood sugar levels.
On contrary, those who are diagnosed long-time ago can recognize such symptoms and take the precautions in time.
The good thing is that you did the right thing at the right time.
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by Joe
(Dublin)
QUESTION: I have recently been discharged from hospital because i have shown consistent hba12 readins varying between 3.0% and 2.4%.
Q: How dangerous are these levels and are there any long term effects. I have been taken off all diabetes meds on release from hospital?
Joe
Dublin
ANSWER: Hi Joe,
Such A1C results are very low and you have to keep consulting with a specialist about them. I’m telling you this, because such results are revealing a very dangerously low blood sugar concentration or anemia, which is not something good for your body.
In general, the risks for your health are depending on the exact cause of this low A1C. So, in purpose to understand what may happen to you I will give you a list with the basic things, which may cause such low A1C results.
1. Anemia. The glycated hemoglobin (A1C) is a molecule formed by the hemoglobin found in the red blood cells and the glucose molecules in the blood.
Possible cause of low A1C concentration is low Hemoglobin or low red blood cell amount (anemia). As there are different types of anemia and if this is the case, your healthcare provider has to identify it.
2. Cancer secreting insulin. You have to know that there are several cancers, which are producing insulin (including insulinoma). Of course, these cancers are leading to dangerously low blood glucose concentration and a risk for you physical and mental state.
3. Besides those things, mentioned above, inappropriate usage of blood glucose lowering drugs, can lead to such low A1C results.
May be this is the reason why your healthcare provider stopped the blood glucose lowering treatment.
Remember, I’m not telling you that you might have one of the conditions mentioned above. I’m just giving you a possible explanation of your extremely low A1C concentration.
I hope that after two-three months everything will be ok, because of the stopped diabetic treatment.
Something important, which you have to do, is to measure your blood glucose level every single day and to measure your A1C concentration almost every month.
Please, inform your doctor at least once a week, about the results, which you are getting. These results are going to show the real picture if you are controlling blood glucose well and if there is a progression in your condition.
Hope it helped!
Dr.Alba
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