Did you have alcohol with dinner? Alcohol with carbs, especially beer, will crash my blood sugar then come back up and oscillate for hours before settling back to normal.
Yeah, I think so. I had 3 full meals and a snack before I went for that second walk. I was sitting at around 2,300 calories.
I did eat some raw broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots earlier in the day. I wonder if they could have been slowing down the glucose release?
Raw fiber could do that. I find that if I don't eat enough of the right foods and do something physically strenuous I feel that low blood sugar feeling strongly. Maybe play with your macros and have more healthy fats and proteins?
This has happened to me twice. My BS has gone from 165 to 55 In about 20 min, and always because of exercise. In my case I had a bagel with a bit of butter about an hour before working out. 20 min in, my BS was down to 55 and I couldn't finish the workout. (I no longer eat bagels 😂).
My theory is, for me anyway, if I have a high carb meal, the pancreas releases way too much insulin and if I workout there isn't enough BS to supply the muscles to keep up with the exercise. There's just too much insulin in the blood stream and once insulin is released, BS drops FAST.
The key, as someone else suggested, is playing with your macros. I found for me, more healthy fat keeps BS stable, so I make sure I have a lot of fats and fiber with my protein and carbs.
Thanks, I'm glad my BS didn't drop during the walk. I could have been up to 1.5 miles from my house.
My meals yesterday weren't that out of the ordinary for me with the exception of the high carb dinner. Eggs and ham for breakfast, hummus, olive oil, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots for lunch along with grilled chicken breast and romaine lettuce. I had fast food for dinner, so I guess the sudden shift to all the carbs in the burger buns had something to do with it.
Yes! I was lucky to be working out at home. And the second time it happened, I didn't feel the drop in BS. I had just remembered the first time it happened and so decided I should check. It was actually 53 that time. 😂 I was like... Huh glad I checked. 😂 I have not eaten bagels since.
If you had been on clean food (ie healthy, not fast food) then the shock of fast food can absolutely cause this kind of reaction. The last time I had fast food was probably 15 years ago and I had such a violent reaction. I was sweating, my stomach was nauseated, and I felt like I had some kind of stomach bug. But my hubby and daughter had the same exact meal and it was just me with the reaction so I knew it wasn't food poisoning (and the feeling passed in about 2 hours with no vomiting or diarrhea).
At the time I was not prediabetic, but I was on a vegetarian diet and eating clean. It was the worst feeling in the world. 😂 Hence why I have never eaten it again. (It was McDonald's burger and fries in case anyone is wondering 😂).
Sorry to be so long winded. 😂
I'm glad you were working out at home!
I appreciate the details, and your post was really informative, so it didn't feel long winded at all.
I have definitely been eating cleaner, but I have had fast food in the morning 3 times that I can remember in the past month. This was the first time I have had it for dinner though, so I guess that made a difference. The 3 other times saw a large spike in my BS, but not the crash I had here.
I ate a lot of fiber yesterday at lunch, and I suffered some discomfort later in the evening and through the night due to it. That's what makes me think the fiber could be part of the equation. Either way, it's just another reminder to stay off fast food. Now that I have the CGM, I can track how these meals impact me in the future.
We are much more resistant to insulin in the evening. So yes, the pancreas will have to release much more insulin which may have been the main issue and the fast food made it worse. It's always best to have carb heavy foods midday if you can, especially if you're fasting. Some people suggest having it first thing. I prefer not to spike my sugar early because it causes me to be hungrier during the day. Most of my clients have found this as well.
And fiber can cause bloating. I eat one apple a day just for the sweetness and I get so bloated after it. So yes fiber can cause that feeling. It usually slows the release of glucose, but I suspect in some people due to the gut microbiome composition, it may have a deleterious effect on BS. (just my theory though 😂).
Enjoy that CGM. They are so hard to get for prediabetics!
I'm in the same boat with the early carbs. I will eat carbs all day if I start with them early.
I have replaced most of my simple carbs with fruit and berries. They haven't caused my BS to spike, but I have decided to cut back in the past few days because I am concerned about the amount of fructose I have been eating. I know the amount of fructose in fruit is considered healthy, but I was eating well over a pound of berries every day. I would also eat an apple or some cherries on top of the berries.
I don't care for most legumes, so replacing the simple carbs has been hard. I'm not necessarily looking to be low carb or keto, just looking to eat healthier food that doesn't spike my BS. Now it looks like I also need to be concerned about causing sudden drops as well.
The CGM has been cool, and honestly it's the first tool that has engaged me enough that I would actually log my meals. The app that comes with it gives me a weekly update showing which meals drove the highest spike, and which workouts lowered my BS the most. It's been a great tool. Fortunately, the company I got mine through does allow for prediabetics to get one. It's a little pricey, but honestly I'm saving more from not eating out so much that it more than offsets the monthly cost. The only downsides have been that they aren't always accurate (20 point difference in my OP), and I wasted a few early on by placing them in places where they ripped off, or not waiting on my skin to dry enough when I applied them.
I appreciate your tips!
This happens to me, as well. It’s usually with a very carby meal with not enough protein/fat. When I first started on my prediabetes journey I was testing foods to see how my BS would react. I ate 1 bowl of Special K vanilla Almond cereal with 1% milk. At 1 hour I was at 215 and 45 minutes later I was at 78 and feeling shaky and horrible. Needless to say, I no longer eat cereal for breakfast….
Thanks, I'm getting 1 to 2 tbsp's of olive oil every day with my hummus and veggies. I have also recently found out I love avocados, and have been making up for lost time! My only previous experience with avocados was either fried or in guacamole, neither of which I enjoyed. I have avocado at least 4 or 5 times a week now. I also snack on nuts occasionally.
This is actually how I got diagnosed. I was oblivious to the “ high numbers” but that crash felt horrible. My highs were closer to 200 …. I eat to mitigate spikes protein w every meal.
My body seems to do really well with 500 extended release metformin and diet in which h I “ eat to my meter”
They had a name for it. …
Reactive hypoglycemia
Yeah, that's pretty high. I think the highest I have seen was 188 for me, and that was only once. I'm glad the metformin is working for you! I'm trying to come off some meds rather than add to my regimen, but I think Metformin will be the next step if I can't get my BS in line and keep it there.
I was recently diagnosed at my first physical in over a decade. Basically, everything was bad. I have high triglycerides, high cholesterol (except HDL...), high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. I am also way overweight.
I have gotten my BS mostly under control, and that has led to massive improvements in my blood pressure. I'm hoping to see the same with my triglycerides and cholesterol when I go back for a followup in a couple of weeks. I have lost weight, but not a significant amount. I have had a bad problem with binge eating late at night for years, but not eating refined carbs throughout the day has finally curbed that desire. As I have curbed the binge eating my blood sugar has been lower overnight, fasting BS has been lower in the morning, and my weight has finally ticked down a few pounds.
What company are you using for the CGM. I was using Dexcom G7 but insurance denied it due to only being pre diabetic and not diabetic. Looking for another CGM now. Thanks.
That's the one I'm using. I got it through Signos. You just answer a few questions online, and submit a pic of your ID and your face. They have some tele-doc rubber stamp your approval, and you get your device(s) a week later. Mine is a Dexcom G7.
I didn't have my insurance pay for it. So, I pay for it myself, and it runs about $170/month. I signed up for 6 months, and now I'm glad I did. I'm hooked on seeing what specific meals and snacks do to my BS. Who knew a gala apple would raise your BS 43 points?
Here's a link with a discount code. FULL DISCLOSURE You get money off, and I get a gift card if you use this link. https://gr3f.co/c/52517/QORrS
You're welcome! I hope it helps you as much as it has been helping me, and that it's affordable for you if your insurance won't cover it. It drives me nuts when insurance doesn't cover something that is preventative. Like, would you rather pay a little bit now to keep me healthy, or pay tens of thousands for the next few decades to keep me medicated?
It’s possible that you’re experience reactive hypoglycemia, where the body produces an excessive amount of insulin to lower blood sugar and it ends up lowering it too much. Did you eat before the walk? And did you eat enough carbs before the walk? Despite my being very sensitive to carbs in general, I do need to have some carbohydrates before exercise to avoid high numbers from glycogen (your glucose storage tank that our bodies keep in reserve) and then a crash shortly after from overproducing insulin.
Yeah, I think that's what it is. I had a ton of carbs and hour or so before.
I had a similar experience tonight where I saw a 110 point swing. My BS was the highest I've ever recorded it at 181, and it dropped to 69. I had a couple of hush puppies and a sweet potato for dinner along with a roasted chicken. My BS seemed awful high for that meal. It stayed up for a short time, then dropped like a rock.
One thing I'm doing is soleus pushups prior to going for a walk. Supposedly those eat up a lot of BS since that muscle prefers BS in that movement to glycogen. I've been skeptical of that, but there may be something to it.
I never knew of soleus push ups until today. I walk about 4 miles each day 5x a week but only got 2 miles in today bc we were under a tornado watch. I will have to keep this movement in mind for days i cant do as much walking. Thank you for sharing this!
You're welcome! I'm not 100% convinced they work, but I'm leaning that way. The two huge drops in BS happened when I did soleus pushups then walked. I walk at least 3 miles every day, and I have gotten into the habit of doing that twice a day several days of the week. I haven't seen this big of a drop in my BS just by walking alone. I also jog 3 days a week doing the couch to 5k program, and I don't see huge drops on those days either.
Did you have alcohol with dinner? Alcohol with carbs, especially beer, will crash my blood sugar then come back up and oscillate for hours before settling back to normal.
No, I've never been a big drinker, and it's been even less so since my diagnosis. Thanks for suggesting a possible cause though.
Did you eat enough food?
Yeah, I think so. I had 3 full meals and a snack before I went for that second walk. I was sitting at around 2,300 calories. I did eat some raw broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots earlier in the day. I wonder if they could have been slowing down the glucose release?
Raw fiber could do that. I find that if I don't eat enough of the right foods and do something physically strenuous I feel that low blood sugar feeling strongly. Maybe play with your macros and have more healthy fats and proteins?
Thanks, that seems like good advice. I appreciate it.
Carb load can cause excess insulin production that outlasts normal sugar reduction. Essentially your pancreas made more insulin than necessary.
Yeah, that's my best guess on this one. That, or I had so much fiber earlier in the day that the carbs I ate for dinner hadn't been digested yet.
And if this is the case, what does it mean? Is it something to be worried about? Does diet and exercise help your body to regulate properly?
I’d consult a Dr and try to keep carbs and sugar low. Idk the answer to your question unfortunately.
This has happened to me twice. My BS has gone from 165 to 55 In about 20 min, and always because of exercise. In my case I had a bagel with a bit of butter about an hour before working out. 20 min in, my BS was down to 55 and I couldn't finish the workout. (I no longer eat bagels 😂). My theory is, for me anyway, if I have a high carb meal, the pancreas releases way too much insulin and if I workout there isn't enough BS to supply the muscles to keep up with the exercise. There's just too much insulin in the blood stream and once insulin is released, BS drops FAST. The key, as someone else suggested, is playing with your macros. I found for me, more healthy fat keeps BS stable, so I make sure I have a lot of fats and fiber with my protein and carbs.
Thanks, I'm glad my BS didn't drop during the walk. I could have been up to 1.5 miles from my house. My meals yesterday weren't that out of the ordinary for me with the exception of the high carb dinner. Eggs and ham for breakfast, hummus, olive oil, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots for lunch along with grilled chicken breast and romaine lettuce. I had fast food for dinner, so I guess the sudden shift to all the carbs in the burger buns had something to do with it.
Yes! I was lucky to be working out at home. And the second time it happened, I didn't feel the drop in BS. I had just remembered the first time it happened and so decided I should check. It was actually 53 that time. 😂 I was like... Huh glad I checked. 😂 I have not eaten bagels since. If you had been on clean food (ie healthy, not fast food) then the shock of fast food can absolutely cause this kind of reaction. The last time I had fast food was probably 15 years ago and I had such a violent reaction. I was sweating, my stomach was nauseated, and I felt like I had some kind of stomach bug. But my hubby and daughter had the same exact meal and it was just me with the reaction so I knew it wasn't food poisoning (and the feeling passed in about 2 hours with no vomiting or diarrhea). At the time I was not prediabetic, but I was on a vegetarian diet and eating clean. It was the worst feeling in the world. 😂 Hence why I have never eaten it again. (It was McDonald's burger and fries in case anyone is wondering 😂). Sorry to be so long winded. 😂
I'm glad you were working out at home! I appreciate the details, and your post was really informative, so it didn't feel long winded at all. I have definitely been eating cleaner, but I have had fast food in the morning 3 times that I can remember in the past month. This was the first time I have had it for dinner though, so I guess that made a difference. The 3 other times saw a large spike in my BS, but not the crash I had here. I ate a lot of fiber yesterday at lunch, and I suffered some discomfort later in the evening and through the night due to it. That's what makes me think the fiber could be part of the equation. Either way, it's just another reminder to stay off fast food. Now that I have the CGM, I can track how these meals impact me in the future.
We are much more resistant to insulin in the evening. So yes, the pancreas will have to release much more insulin which may have been the main issue and the fast food made it worse. It's always best to have carb heavy foods midday if you can, especially if you're fasting. Some people suggest having it first thing. I prefer not to spike my sugar early because it causes me to be hungrier during the day. Most of my clients have found this as well. And fiber can cause bloating. I eat one apple a day just for the sweetness and I get so bloated after it. So yes fiber can cause that feeling. It usually slows the release of glucose, but I suspect in some people due to the gut microbiome composition, it may have a deleterious effect on BS. (just my theory though 😂). Enjoy that CGM. They are so hard to get for prediabetics!
I'm in the same boat with the early carbs. I will eat carbs all day if I start with them early. I have replaced most of my simple carbs with fruit and berries. They haven't caused my BS to spike, but I have decided to cut back in the past few days because I am concerned about the amount of fructose I have been eating. I know the amount of fructose in fruit is considered healthy, but I was eating well over a pound of berries every day. I would also eat an apple or some cherries on top of the berries. I don't care for most legumes, so replacing the simple carbs has been hard. I'm not necessarily looking to be low carb or keto, just looking to eat healthier food that doesn't spike my BS. Now it looks like I also need to be concerned about causing sudden drops as well. The CGM has been cool, and honestly it's the first tool that has engaged me enough that I would actually log my meals. The app that comes with it gives me a weekly update showing which meals drove the highest spike, and which workouts lowered my BS the most. It's been a great tool. Fortunately, the company I got mine through does allow for prediabetics to get one. It's a little pricey, but honestly I'm saving more from not eating out so much that it more than offsets the monthly cost. The only downsides have been that they aren't always accurate (20 point difference in my OP), and I wasted a few early on by placing them in places where they ripped off, or not waiting on my skin to dry enough when I applied them. I appreciate your tips!
This happens to me, as well. It’s usually with a very carby meal with not enough protein/fat. When I first started on my prediabetes journey I was testing foods to see how my BS would react. I ate 1 bowl of Special K vanilla Almond cereal with 1% milk. At 1 hour I was at 215 and 45 minutes later I was at 78 and feeling shaky and horrible. Needless to say, I no longer eat cereal for breakfast….
Oh wow! I have been trying to up my protein intake. It's funny with as much as I love meat, I'm still not eating enough to balance out my diet.
It’s not just protein, but add healthy fats, too. Avocado, olives, etc
Thanks, I'm getting 1 to 2 tbsp's of olive oil every day with my hummus and veggies. I have also recently found out I love avocados, and have been making up for lost time! My only previous experience with avocados was either fried or in guacamole, neither of which I enjoyed. I have avocado at least 4 or 5 times a week now. I also snack on nuts occasionally.
This is actually how I got diagnosed. I was oblivious to the “ high numbers” but that crash felt horrible. My highs were closer to 200 …. I eat to mitigate spikes protein w every meal. My body seems to do really well with 500 extended release metformin and diet in which h I “ eat to my meter” They had a name for it. … Reactive hypoglycemia
Yeah, that's pretty high. I think the highest I have seen was 188 for me, and that was only once. I'm glad the metformin is working for you! I'm trying to come off some meds rather than add to my regimen, but I think Metformin will be the next step if I can't get my BS in line and keep it there. I was recently diagnosed at my first physical in over a decade. Basically, everything was bad. I have high triglycerides, high cholesterol (except HDL...), high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. I am also way overweight. I have gotten my BS mostly under control, and that has led to massive improvements in my blood pressure. I'm hoping to see the same with my triglycerides and cholesterol when I go back for a followup in a couple of weeks. I have lost weight, but not a significant amount. I have had a bad problem with binge eating late at night for years, but not eating refined carbs throughout the day has finally curbed that desire. As I have curbed the binge eating my blood sugar has been lower overnight, fasting BS has been lower in the morning, and my weight has finally ticked down a few pounds.
I was shocked. Got the spikes under control and my total cholesterol dropped by 60 points!
What company are you using for the CGM. I was using Dexcom G7 but insurance denied it due to only being pre diabetic and not diabetic. Looking for another CGM now. Thanks.
That's the one I'm using. I got it through Signos. You just answer a few questions online, and submit a pic of your ID and your face. They have some tele-doc rubber stamp your approval, and you get your device(s) a week later. Mine is a Dexcom G7. I didn't have my insurance pay for it. So, I pay for it myself, and it runs about $170/month. I signed up for 6 months, and now I'm glad I did. I'm hooked on seeing what specific meals and snacks do to my BS. Who knew a gala apple would raise your BS 43 points? Here's a link with a discount code. FULL DISCLOSURE You get money off, and I get a gift card if you use this link. https://gr3f.co/c/52517/QORrS
Thank you! 🙏
You're welcome! I hope it helps you as much as it has been helping me, and that it's affordable for you if your insurance won't cover it. It drives me nuts when insurance doesn't cover something that is preventative. Like, would you rather pay a little bit now to keep me healthy, or pay tens of thousands for the next few decades to keep me medicated?
It’s possible that you’re experience reactive hypoglycemia, where the body produces an excessive amount of insulin to lower blood sugar and it ends up lowering it too much. Did you eat before the walk? And did you eat enough carbs before the walk? Despite my being very sensitive to carbs in general, I do need to have some carbohydrates before exercise to avoid high numbers from glycogen (your glucose storage tank that our bodies keep in reserve) and then a crash shortly after from overproducing insulin.
Yeah, I think that's what it is. I had a ton of carbs and hour or so before. I had a similar experience tonight where I saw a 110 point swing. My BS was the highest I've ever recorded it at 181, and it dropped to 69. I had a couple of hush puppies and a sweet potato for dinner along with a roasted chicken. My BS seemed awful high for that meal. It stayed up for a short time, then dropped like a rock. One thing I'm doing is soleus pushups prior to going for a walk. Supposedly those eat up a lot of BS since that muscle prefers BS in that movement to glycogen. I've been skeptical of that, but there may be something to it.
I never knew of soleus push ups until today. I walk about 4 miles each day 5x a week but only got 2 miles in today bc we were under a tornado watch. I will have to keep this movement in mind for days i cant do as much walking. Thank you for sharing this!
You're welcome! I'm not 100% convinced they work, but I'm leaning that way. The two huge drops in BS happened when I did soleus pushups then walked. I walk at least 3 miles every day, and I have gotten into the habit of doing that twice a day several days of the week. I haven't seen this big of a drop in my BS just by walking alone. I also jog 3 days a week doing the couch to 5k program, and I don't see huge drops on those days either.
Completely agree! I think it will definitely help out. Trying to get ahead of this before it becomes diabetes.
Sounds like reactive hypoglycemia. It's pretty common in IR.