To wonder what the hell is going on with my body?!

[PleaseNotThisAgain]

Have had a headache all evening. Presumed caffeine withdrawal (trying to cut down) so had a drink and some Anadin and sat quietly on the sofa.

Started feeling a bit nauseous but after maybe 20 minutes realised I needed the bathroom. Am currently constipated and I generally feel a bit sick until I've been so thought nothing of it and trotted to the bathroom with a glass of water.

But now my entire body is uncontrollably shaking. I got up and almost fell over trying to walk to the bedroom. I haven't managed to use the bathroom, felt very sick at one point but haven't thrown up either and I'm not cold at all. Temperature is 37.5C.

I'm also supposed to be on my first withdrawal bleed from using the patch. I took my last one off 2 days early because I was fed up of the side effects. Have had some stomach cramps on and off but not even spotting and it's been 2 days now. Nurse said it was okay to start it on day 9 of my cycle as long as we used condoms. Have done a pregnancy test as headaches/nausea/constipation were all symptoms for me first time round quite early on, but it has come back negative so I think I've ruled that out.

I'm now lying naked on a towel in bed, bucket strategically positioned, shaking like a lunatic. AIBU to wonder what the hell my body is doing?

Good luck

Hope it's easily fixed lass. Maybe a steady change to your diet will get 'it' under control.

I'll be following with interest, and possibly testing to as I have similar reactions without the shaking.

I think 1.8 is dangerously low, but I am not a medical person... can you call the 111 health line for advice, but from what I know you need medical attention. Good luck.
www.nhs.uk/conditions/low-blood-sugar-hypoglycaemia/[https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/1-8mmol-l-hypo.58458/]]

Good luck, OP. Hope it's something that's easily fixed.

Don't use an alcohol wipe, just wash your hands with soap and water. Alcohol wipes give false lows. Any sort of wipe or antibacterial gel that leaves something on your skin will give you a false reading.

For the people suggesting OP has diabetes, hypoglycemic is a reaction to the treatment of diabetes not a symptom of the disease. Diabetics produce no insulin (type 1) or not enough insulin (type 2) so have HYPERglycemia. Diabetics experience hypoglycemia because they are injecting insulin to bring their blood sugar down. Having hypoglycemic reactions when you haven't injected insulin is basically the opposite of being diabetic.

I had sepsis, it came on INCREDIBLY fast and the cause was never found. The extreme shaking was one of my symptoms. I cant advise anyone strongly enough to get a rapid medical check up if they show signs of collapse and shaking...just in case.

OP I have these too and several years ago was admitted to hospital as an emergency to check what was causing it. Definitely see someone today, those readings are very low (although blood prick kits rather than actual lab analysis can be out by 1 or 2 often, but even so that's still very low!)
It could be a reaction to diet in which case you'll need monitoring, stabilising and learning to manage it, or it could be something more serious that your sugar consumption has been masking like an insulinoma. Definitely see someone today! Hope all is ok.

If my son was 1.8 I’d be calling an ambulance immediately. I’ve never had a legitimate below 1.1 reading.

Having said all that, at 1.8 I would expect him to be unconscious - and definitely at below 1.1.

I saw legitimate as once or twice I’ve had it come up as LO but have retested and its obviously been an issue with the strip.

Unfortunately home monitors are not very good at checking low sugars since they’re mainly designed for diabetics who mainly experience high blood sugar levels. The lower it gets, the less reliable they are. However, getting a reading that low and confirming its below 2.5 multiple times is rare even for someone with a diagnosed condition that causes hypoglycaemia. Below 2.5 is officially hypoglycaemic and extremely dangerous.

If you get a level like that again, please call an ambulance - not least so that they can confirm it and sort out the necessary tests, some of which will need to be done when your blood sugar is low.

I hope the doctors listen and take you seriously - hopefully the monitor you have saves the readings you get? If so, take it with you and show them.

I was always advised below 3 was an emergency and below 2 was an ambulance situation. Please see GP ASAP. Get some glucose lozenges.

It could also be straight forward sugar withdrawal - so whilst on measuring your blood sugar levels seem to within scope of normal it is not normal for you as with fizzy drinks the sugar levls will have been sky high.

maybe try and be less drastic and cut caffeine but not sugar for a week, then look at slowly reducing sugar levels rather than going cold turkey. The first time I gave up on sugar I ended up in bed with flu like symptoms including headache and the shakes. It also suggests a sensitivity to sugar that could lead to type 2 latr in life - I would go to GP and ask for a health check including testing for diabetes/prediabetes and go from there

Fruit juice is a good way of getting sugar in quickly.

Giving up sugary drinks can easily make you feel like this. You need to taper off slowly.

Fruit juice won’t Necessarily work - does nothing for my son when he’s hypo, glucose / dextrose is much more effective than fructose. We have prescription things for this but at a pinch we’ve given coke, haribo, a tube of writing icing. Dextrose tablets are good when you’re older and aren’t a choking risk!

We have to treat my son with glucose quickly followed by a carb heavy snack if he’s 2.5 - 3.0 (or symptomatic below 4.0). Below 2.5 I would call an ambulance immediately. If I saw a reading below 2.0 I would have a heart attack, but it hasn’t happened since NICU fortunately.

I get constipated occasionally and when I do I can end up with a fever, sweating, shaking and having to lie down.

I honestly think it is the alcohol wipes OP is using giving a false low.

For the person who said to call an ambulance, that is unnecessary and a huge waste of resources - the only time you would ever need to call an ambulance for low blood sugar is if the patient is unconscious and can't eat or drink anything.

Oh, did you use alcohol wipes? Definitely don’t do that! And always wipe away the first drop of blood before testing.

I have been told in no uncertain terms that a blood sugar level under 2 requires an ambulance, by endocrinologist and paediatricians. My son can be low 2s and asymptomatic - hypos don’t always cause symptoms that are visible. And the OP is symptomatic - my son is non-verbal so wouldn’t be able to tell me that he feels the way OP does. If you’re 1.8 and conscious, you may not be conscious for much longer - if the reading is right of course.

Sorry for disappearing, I've been trying to sleep but it's not happening for me.

I have been using an alcohol wipe, it's mentioned a lot online and in the booklet for the monitor I have, had no idea it could cause false lows. My Dr even used one when checking my blood sugars whilst pregnant.

I suspect poor diet/sugar withdrawal is the most likely cause. I've not had much on an appetite for a while but it got so much worse on the patch and I never felt hungry.

My GP has a notice on their website saying their phone line is down at the moment and expected to be running again on Monday. Their new online triage is basically just self care advice and no way to get through to a Dr, so it's call 111 or owt.

I'm going to keep an eye on things (no alcohol wipes from now on!) and obviously will call 111 if things get worse. Thank you to everyone for offering advice

Even a shockingly poor diet / sugar withdrawal shouldn’t cause blood sugar levels that low without a medical cause (again, assuming the reading is right - can I ask which monitor you have? Some are better than others for lows)

It should take fasting for a very long period of time to drop that low (and I mean days). My son has Ketotic hypoglycaemia which means that he responds to a few hours without food like I would to days without food. Even he only dropped to 2.3 after over 24 hours without food.

Your body should start burning fat and muscle (producing ketones) to protect your brain when you’re fasting, which in itself brings sugars back up (this is overly simplified obviously, but that’s the basics).

When you get this feeling, does your breath smell strange at all? Like pear drops or nail polish remover? If so, that’s ketones being produced at quite a high level.

Regardless, getting medical advice is really important here as many things can impact blood sugar levels, not just diabetes (adrenal insufficiency is one of the things that comes to mind, and adrenal crisis is life threatening). Hopefully they find its nothing to worry about.

Don't use an alcohol wipe, it can give you really odd readings. Soap and water to wash hands first is fine, then alcohol wipe after if you're really into the hygiene (I don't bother because it stings 😆)

1.8 is DANGEROUSLY low.

Usually we say 4-7 prior to meals for a non-diabetic, ~5-10 2 hours post meal.

@PleaseNotThisAgain, I was wondering if you are ok?

You could be having a reaction to Anadin, it's not unknown and the symptoms you describe fit. It will pass, take care of yourself, drink plenty of water and try to have a good night's sleep. Hope you'll feel better in the morning.

This is interesting, I work for the ambulance service and we always use alcohol wipes but then we often are places where people cannot/are unable to wash hands.