What Is Low Fasting Blood Sugar

What Is The Somogyi Effect

A second possible cause of high blood sugar levels in the morning is the Somogyi effect, sometimes also called rebound hyperglycemia. It was named after the doctor who first wrote about it.

If your blood sugar drops too low in the middle of the night while you are sleeping, your body will release hormones in an attempt to rescue you from the dangerously low blood sugar. The hormones do this by prompting your liver to release stored glucose in larger amounts than usual. But this system isnt perfect in a person with diabetes, so the liver releases more sugar than needed which leads to a high blood sugar level in the morning. This is the Somogyi effect.

Reduce Your Stress Levels Through Meditation

If you find your stress levels are high on a morning, you need to find a way to handle them. Stress is bad for you overall. Its known as a silent killer, as it raises your blood pressure and has no symptoms at all until you start to suffer from health problems seriously.

While exercise is a good way to reduce your stress levels, its not the only option. Nor is it the perfect option.

Meditation is a powerful way to keep your stress levels to a minimum. You can take in deep breaths, allowing your body to get all the oxygen it needs. Your mind focuses elsewhere, helping to release the tension and problems that are affecting your current levels of cortisol.

As your body can release more happy hormones, your stress hormones are suppressed. You can use breathing and meditation techniques regularly to keep your hormone levels balanced. Not only will you improve your morning glucose levels but youll find your overall health benefits considerably.

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Normal Blood Sugar Levels After Eating For Diabetics

The American Diabetes Association recommends that the blood sugar 1 to 2 hours after the beginning of a meal be less than 180 mg/dl for most nonpregnant adults with diabetes. This is typically the peak, or highest, blood sugar level in someone with diabetes. Again, this target may need to be individualized for certain people based on such factors as duration of diabetes, age and life expectancy, cognitive status, other health conditions, cardiovascular complications, and hypoglycemia unawareness. Its important that people with diabetes discuss their target blood sugar goals with their healthcare provider.

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How To Control Fasting Blood Sugar During Pregnancy

This article was medically reviewed by Erik Kramer, DO, MPH. Dr. Erik Kramer is a Primary Care Physician at the University of Colorado, specializing in internal medicine, diabetes, and weight management. He received his Doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine from the Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2012. Dr. Kramer is a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine and is board certified.There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 21,250 times.

If you have gestational diabetes or are at risk for developing it, your doctor will monitor your blood sugar. To determine how effectively your body processes sugar, theyâll check your blood sugar levels before you eat. If itâs above 95 milligrams per deciliter , you may need to make changes to your diet and everyday habits. Although this might seem overwhelming, there are lots of things you can do and medications you can take to control your blood sugar levels.

Other Ways To Measure Blood Sugar

Checking your blood sugar levels with a glucometer is not the only way to measure blood sugar. Other tests that your healthcare provider might use to check your blood sugar levels are hemoglobin A1c and oral glucose tolerance test . If youre really lucky, you may have access to a continuous glucose monitor .

HbA1c provides an estimate of your average blood sugar levels over time, giving you a sense of your blood sugar control over the last two or three months. An HbA1c test is the most common measurement used for diagnosing type 2 diabetes.16

However, HbA1c tests and blood sugar tests dont always agree. Using HbA1c levels to diagnose diabetes often fails to identify individuals who would otherwise be diagnosed with diabetes using blood sugar levels.17

Your HbA1c is normal if it is below 5.7%. You may have prediabetes if your HbA1c is above 5.7% but less than 6.5%. You may have diabetes is your HbA1c is 6.5% or over.

To learn more about HbA1c measurements and how they relate to blood sugar levels you record with your glucometer, see our full guide to understanding HbA1c.

An oral glucose tolerance test can be more accurate in terms of diagnosing prediabetes or diabetes.18 It measures your blood sugar two hours after you drink 75 grams of glucose. Because it requires drinking a large sugar solution, an OGTT may not be a useful test for someone on a long-term low-carb or ketogenic diet .

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Why Your Blood Sugar Level May Be High

Based on the ADA guidelines above, if your blood sugar is above 180 mg/dL two hours after a meal, it is considered above the normal range. What might cause your glucose or blood sugar to rise? Consider the following factors:

• Consuming more carbohydrates or a larger meal than usual
• Not taking enough insulin or oral diabetes medication based on carbohydrates or activity levels
• Reduced physical activity
• Side effects from medications like steroids or antipsychotics

How To Treat Someone Who’s Unconscious Or Very Sleepy

Follow these steps:

They may need to go to hospital if they’re being sick , or their blood sugar level drops again.

Tell your diabetes care team if you ever have a severe hypo that caused you to lose consciousness.

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Nighttime Low Blood Sugars

You may experience a low blood sugar night. The low blood sugar might wake you up and your symptoms might be similar to those you have during the day. However, the symptoms may be different. You might have nightmares, sleep poorly, perspire, or feel hot and cold. In the morning you may have a headache, feel nauseated, or feel confused. Notify your doctor if this happens. Check your blood sugar at the time you have the symptoms.

Treatment for a low blood sugar that occurs at night is the same as described earlier.

Your doctor may request that you check a 3:00 a.m. blood sugar 1 to 2 times per week in order to detect any low blood sugars during the night.

Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a health care professional.

When To See A Healthcare Provider

Getting professional medical advice from a healthcare provider like an endocrinologist is the best way to learn more about whether your blood sugar levels are where they should be. Not getting proper treatment for low or high blood sugar levels can be serious and lead to health complications, especially for those with diabetes. Diabetes complications include nerve damage, kidney disease, heart disease, or heart attacks.

If you see a healthcare provider about your blood sugar levels, be prepared to answer questions about risk factors like what you eat, how much you exercise, and about your family history. Some healthcare providers may want to take a blood sample to test your blood sugar levels. They may also order an A1C test, which is a blood test that measures blood sugar levels over several months. You may have to fast eight hours beforehand to get accurate test results, so its always a good idea to check before your appointment.

If your blood sugar level goes above 250 mg/dL, you should go to the ER for immediate medical attention, says Dr. Tarugu. Emergency rooms are equipped to handle high blood sugar levels and can administer treatments like insulin therapy and fluid or electrolyte replacement.

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How The Fasting Blood Sugar Test Is Done :

If your doctor wants Fasting blood sugar test on you, you may need a Fasting blood sugar blood test. During the Fasting blood sugar blood test, a pathologist will put a needle into your veins and take out a small quantity of blood. A pathologist is a physician in the medical field who thoroughly studies the causes and effects of disease. Within a few hours you will get your Fasting blood sugar Test report by your pathologist.

Recommended Target Blood Glucose Level Ranges

The NICE recommended target blood glucose levels are stated below for adults with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and children with type 1 diabetes.

In addition, the International Diabetes Federations target ranges for people without diabetes is stated.

The table provides general guidance. An individual target set by your healthcare team is the one you should aim for.

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After You Have Low Blood Sugar

If your low blood sugar was mild , you can return to your normal activities once your blood sugar is back in its target range.

After you have low blood sugar, your early symptoms for low blood sugar are less noticeable for 48 to 72 hours. Be sure to check your blood sugar more often to keep it from getting too low again, especially before eating, physical activity, or driving a car.

If you used glucagon because of a severe low , immediately call your doctor for emergency medical treatment. If you have had lows several times close together , you should also tell you doctor. They may want to change your diabetes plan.

What Happens To Your Blood Sugar When You Fast

Lets get rid of the elephant in the room: fasting causes hypoglycemia. As in low blood sugar. When you fast, your body needs to transition from using glucose for energy to using ketones.

Your cells have to adapt to running on ketones for energy and not glucose. This state is called ketosis and it can come along with what is commonly called keto flu.

Keto flu includes lightheadedness and headaches. These are two known symptoms of hypoglycemia. Which is logical, since hypoglycemia = low blood sugar. This state will have an impact on your brain first since it runs entirely on glucose, which will be the cause of these symptoms.

But this type of hypoglycemia, if youre not diabetic, is not a threat to your health. This keto flu is common, but it can be pretty heavy if youre not used to fasting.

If youre experiencing these symptoms and youre not sure its caused by the fast, simply try and eat some proteins. This should reduce the effect of keto flu drastically. But eating is actually a temporary fix to this problem.

What you could do to prevent this state is simply to gradually adapt your body to ketosis. Instead of doing, for example, a 24 hour fast, start with 16, or 12. The idea is to get your body used to fast.

Lightheadedness can also come from low electrolytes, meaning low potassium and sodium levels. As your sodium levels decrease, the body tends to lower blood volume, which can add to the low blood sugar.

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What Is Low Blood Glucose

Low blood glucose, also called low blood sugar or hypoglycemia, occurs when the level of glucose in your blood drops below what is healthy for you. For many people with diabetes, this means a blood glucose reading lower than 70 milligrams per deciliter .1 Your number might be different, so check with your doctor or health care team to find out what blood glucose level is low for you.

How Does Fasting Blood Sugar Test Work

When we dont eat anything for as long as 8 hours, the sugar level in our body goes down. Then our liver secrets some stored glucose in our blood vessels which will move into body cells with the help of insulin. So, in a fasting blood sugar test if your blood sugar level is more than normal that means your body lacks insulin and you may have diabetes.

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What A Fasting Blood Sugar Test Doesnt Show

A fasting blood sugar test taken at home with a blood glucose meter should not be used to diagnose diabetes. If a healthcare professional is trying to determine whether a person has type 1 or type 2 diabetes, they will perform other panels of tests that will be sent to a lab to get a clearer picture of your overall health.

Fasting blood sugar levels alone cannot tell you how your body handles food throughout the day. To get the best understanding of how food affects blood sugar, people with diabetes should also test throughout the day, before meals, and two hours after meals.

Fasting Vs Nonfasting Blood Sugar

Fasting blood sugar is a test that measures blood sugar and is used to determine if an individual has diabetes. When a person takes this test, they are not to eat or drink for at least eight hours prior to the test. The results determine whether or not a person is prediabetic or diabetic.

The results are measured in milligrams per deciliter or mg/dL. The following results indicate whether or not a person is prediabetic or diabetic:

• Normal: Less than 100 mg/dL
• Prediabetes: 100 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL
• Diabetes: 126 mg/dL or higher

To test nonfasting blood sugar, an A1C test is administered to determine the average blood sugar level of an individual over a period of two to three months. There is no need to fast prior to taking this test. The following results indicate whether or not a person is prediabetic or diabetic:

• Normal: 5.7%

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Low Fasting Glucose And Stroke

In articles using fasting glucose < 4.6mmol/L as cut-off, the random effects summary estimate did not show increased risks of total stroke , ischaemic stroke or haemorrhagic stroke .

In articles using fasting glucose < 4.0mmol/L as cut-off, the random effects summary estimate showed increased risks of total stroke and ischaemic stroke . Risk of haemorrhagic stroke was not significantly increased .

Association of baseline low fasting glucose and risk of stroke, ischaemic stroke and haemorrhagic stroke.

Heterogeneity was difficult to assess for this pooled analysis involving three or fewer studies.

Type 1 Diabetes Symptoms

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When Blood Sugar Is Too Low

Glucose is a sugar that comes from the foods we eat, and it’s also formed and stored inside the body. It’s the main source of energy for the cells of our body, and is carried to each cell through the bloodstream. Our brains depend on glucose to function, even when we’re sleeping.

The is the amount of glucose in the blood. When these levels drop too low, it’s called hypoglycemia . Very low blood sugar levels can cause serious symptoms that need to be treated right away.