Sleepwalking Hypo

[Kev_Singh]

Hi guys,

I'm new to this place, pretty much just signed up

This morning I had a really bad episode where I had a severe hypo....I woke up sitting on my bed with my family members around me desperately pouring lucozade down my throat....they had said that I had been walking round for about 30 mins babbling the same words over and over again and acting really strangely....but I had NO recollection of this at all until I slowly started coming round...after 3 500 ml bottles of lucozade had been downed

This major hypo has happened once before...about a year ago...but on the odd occasion I've woken up feeling hypo in a semi-awake/semi-asleep state where over the duration of an hour or so I've slowly fed myself something and woken up properly...can anyone give advice on what may cause this kind of reaction/hypo?

I'm on novorapid and levemir ....I may have done slightly too much novorapid and I had eaten about 2 hours before I went to bed, however the hypo was VERY severe and I'm wondering whether it has anything to do with the amount of levemir I'm doing (2 injections,12 hours apart, 28 units per injection)

I'm really worried as I've been having quite a few hypos recently, would it just be an accumulation of the previous hypos causing this massive one now?

Any advice would be really helpful..I'm really at a loss as to why this is happening (hope i'm not worried for no reason)

 

[phoenix]

Yes, you're right in that one hypo puts you at risk of another one and that the risk accumulates. As you have more hypos you less likely to be aware of them until you are at quite low levels.
If this happens in your sleep the hypo symptoms may not be strong enough to wake you. Eventually your liver may release some glucose but if you have had T1 for a while this response from the liver may not work as well as it should.
When you do start treating you feel so bad that you may end up over treating the hypo to get rid of it... . This often results in a high level to deal with and can set up a vicious circle of highs and lows. what was your level after the 258g of carbs in 3 bottles of lucozade?
Ithink that it would be a good idea to do a lot of testing, keeping a check on your levels.Set your alarm and check during the early hours of the morning. . Reduce your insulin a bit and run slightly higher levels for a time trying to avoid all hypos. This should help regain some of your hypo awareness.
Another thing to be aware of is that exercise during the day can lead to hypos at night so take particularly care when you've done any strenuous exercise during the day.

It is a good idea to have a glucagon kit (glucagen hypo kit) these are available on prescription and contain an injection that stimulates your liver to release glucose. It is used if you are unconscious so obviously you need to have someone willing to do that.

 

[Tracey167]

Hi

I have had hypos like that i don't remember nothing my hubby has told me i keep doing the same thing over and over but won't stop until i finished what i'm doing.. Apparently was told by diabetic nurse that the brain can react like this it tells your body over and over to to keep on. I don't know about repeating myself but possibly have done that. I even had hypos where i feel like im having a stroke but i think its the brain playing tricks with me trying to get me to get help it happened once when i got out the bath and my hubby was down stairs watching t.v.

I am also on levemir split morning and evening but my amounts are alot lower than yours mine are 6 units morning and 8 units at night, but i do suffer with alot of hypos i have tried everyhing but i think it comes down to either insulin sensitive or brittle diabetes.

Hope you are feeling alot better now, its a good job you had your family round you helping, hope you get it sorted

tracey167

 

[Anonymous]

Hi there, I'm on levemir and novorapid as well. Could you have mixed up the pens and accidentally taken 28 units of novorapid before bed? The pens are similar except for colour and I've put the needle on and adjusted the dose before realizing that I'm handling the wrong pen. Just a thought - might explain the high amount of carbs it took to bring you back?
Whatever the reason, I hope you won't have to experience it again!

 

[Tracey167]

Hi

Yes fenix92 has a point there i done the wrong insulin once (5 years ago) i accidently injected 16 units of humalog instead of levemir and realised once i had pushed the plunger, it worried me so much i had to keep testing blood sugars and eat carbs and because it was about 9-10pm at night i really wanted to go to bed but was worried incase of having a bad hypo. Then also did'nt know what to do about injecting the 16 units of levemir as well. It is very easily done especially when the pens are similar and you may not have realised.

tracey167

 

[Kev_Singh]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the advice it's been really helpful! I have been weight training and started taekwondo at the beginning of 2012 so this may be contributing to it...althought I've only been experiencing the sudden hypos and the increase in sensitivity to insulin over the last month....but checking more is definitely the way forward...I've never been a regular checker...instead relying on guess work and "this is about the right amount to do" kind of attitude towards injecting.

I actually wake up most mornings with a low of about 3-4 mmol/l...I think I should try lowering my levemir dose from the the previous day

Just one thing though..what actually causes the sleep walking stage? Like what are the reasons for someone waking up in that manor as a result of their hypo? i don't suppose it's as important as actually stopping the occurence of the sleep walking but it'd just be good to know!

Thanks again!

 

[robert72]

I had hypo, when I was newly diagnosed, where I had lost 'consciousness' but was still functioning on auto-pilot.

A friend and I had walked half a mile and taken a boat on the river. I don't recall going on the river at all, but I remember coming around whilst sitting at the tea table eating cake. When I asked my friend if we had been on a boat he said yes, but you were acting weird. But he had not helped me in any way as he didn't know I was hypo.

This was in the old days of animal insulin and there were no glucose meters, so I can't say how low I was - but I guess there's a point between not being conscious of what's going on and complete collapse. Thankfully I have never been in that state since.

 

[worriedmom]

Hi... I´m new to this forum, but really need help... my son, who is now 15, was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 3, and the 1st few years were fine. Lately his levesl are very high, even when I give him his insulin at night and he eats properly for dinner, he wakes up with his sugar levels extremely high. I have noticed that several things in our fridge and pantry are eaten, he can drink about 4 yogurts a night and he says he doesnt remember anything. I´m extremely worried seeing that he even drinks acoholic drinks but says he doesnt remember doing it. Please has anyone had issues with sleep walking and eating??

 

[Juicyj]

Hey worriedmom,

Gosh this must be a really worry for you, I hope I can offer a little advice.

Is your son exercising at night ? Also what time is he eating his dinner at night ? What type of insulins is he taking and when ? What insulin dose is he taking at mealtime, are you carb counting and using a short acting ?

My advice would be to make sure that he is eating at least 3 hours before bedtime so you can test him before bed, that way you are getting a good idea as to what his levels are like before sleep. Also it's important you contact your DSN to get advice also, it's really important to avoid hypos at night time, so as soon as one happens you need to work out why, is it because he exercised/is taking too much short acting etc etc.

Recording his readings with times, doses taken, type of insulin, food eaten etc is a good way to work out any patterns and helps you to adjust.

I'm sure other members will also offer advice on this too

 

[worriedmom]

Hey worriedmom,

Gosh this must be a really worry for you, I hope I can offer a little advice.

Is your son exercising at night ? Also what time is he eating his dinner at night ? What type of insulins is he taking and when ? What insulin dose is he taking at mealtime, are you carb counting and using a short acting ?

My advice would be to make sure that he is eating at least 3 hours before bedtime so you can test him before bed, that way you are getting a good idea as to what his levels are like before sleep. Also it's important you contact your DSN to get advice also, it's really important to avoid hypos at night time, so as soon as one happens you need to work out why, is it because he exercised/is taking too much short acting etc etc.

Recording his readings with times, doses taken, type of insulin, food eaten etc is a good way to work out any patterns and helps you to adjust.

I'm sure other members will also offer advice on this too

Thank you so much for your advice, we live in southern Europe so our usual dinner time will be around 8:30-9pm and he usually goes to bed around 11 (yeah we have late nights here), since he is now on holidays he goes to bed even later. He takes his slow insulin (Lantus) in the morning and takes Apidra through out the day, he refuses to count carbs and to be honest I cant do it on my own seeing he goes stay with his father on weekends.We´ve spoken to his Doctor about the refusing to count carbs but this is a totaly new situation. His sugar on the last visit to the Doc was at 11 (avarage), it should be at 8 or less. He doesnt practice any sport, he used to play table tennis but has decided to quit. I have long since stopped buying sweets, chocolates, biscuits etc, and had the alcohol because a friend brought it for me from South Africa.

 

[Juicyj]

Looks like you have a few challenges to over come here. Best thing to do is just to eat earlier on so try and do it around 6-7pm, so as I said try and eat at least 3-4 hours before bedtime so when you test you will know pretty much where he is at before he goes to sleep.

I was going to suggest getting a CGM - Continuous Glucose Monitor, to watch this through the night, but instead the next best thing to do is to set your alarm for around 2am and test again then, this is about the lowest he will be during the night, try and record patterns too with food eaten, dose taken and time along with BG level to monitor for patterns.

If you can really push the carb counting this is the really important bit, otherwise it's guesswork as to how much insulin to take and he will run either high or low and running low is not something that is safe for him to do, particularly during the night time. Otherwise I suggest that you do the calculation based on what he would normally consume with his father and send him over with instructions on what to take and at what time to take it.

Managing this is like walking a tightrope, and it takes discipline, but with some encouragement he can get this right and it will make him feel better too.

Good luck

 

[Jaylee]

Hi... I´m new to this forum, but really need help... my son, who is now 15, was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 3, and the 1st few years were fine. Lately his levesl are very high, even when I give him his insulin at night and he eats properly for dinner, he wakes up with his sugar levels extremely high. I have noticed that several things in our fridge and pantry are eaten, he can drink about 4 yogurts a night and he says he doesnt remember anything. I´m extremely worried seeing that he even drinks acoholic drinks but says he doesnt remember doing it. Please has anyone had issues with sleep walking and eating??

Hi,

@Juicyj 's advice is good.

It is possible to wake up very low & go on "auto pilot" in an eating frenzy... Thus waking too high the following morning..
The good news is, it looks like your son wakes up & treats these dangerous lows..
However, although I empathise with your concern. Your lad is a "15" year old.. There could be actions of "rebellion" caused by certain teenage stresses too?

For your peace of mind. Why not encourage him to sign up here.. He maybe more receptive to sensible advice from other diabetics a similar age to your son.?

 

[worriedmom]

Hi,

@Juicyj 's advice is good.

It is possible to wake up very low & go on "auto pilot" in an eating frenzy... Thus waking too high the following morning..
The good news is, it looks like your son wakes up & treats these dangerous lows..
However, although I empathise with your concern. Your lad is a "15" year old.. There could be actions of "rebellion" caused by certain teenage stresses too?

For your peace of mind. Why not encourage him to sign up here.. He maybe more receptive to sensible advice from other diabetics a similar age to your son.?

Thank you for your answer... Yes I do know that he can be rebelious towards what I tell him, after all is is 15, but what I worry most about is the fact that he eats everything while we are all sleeping and says he doesnt remember. You have pointed out something that could be the situation, he sometimes does have low sugar levels during the night, he will wake up at times, but then again I wonder if there are other times when he will just go on auto pilot, as you say, and eat/drink what ever comes to hand and wont even remember when he wakes up in he morning. Yesterday he woke up with a terrible taste in his mouth and he always brushes his teeth before bed...

 

[worriedmom]

Looks like you have a few challenges to over come here. Best thing to do is just to eat earlier on so try and do it around 6-7pm, so as I said try and eat at least 3-4 hours before bedtime so when you test you will know pretty much where he is at before he goes to sleep.

I was going to suggest getting a CGM - Continuous Glucose Monitor, to watch this through the night, but instead the next best thing to do is to set your alarm for around 2am and test again then, this is about the lowest he will be during the night, try and record patterns too with food eaten, dose taken and time along with BG level to monitor for patterns.

If you can really push the carb counting this is the really important bit, otherwise it's guesswork as to how much insulin to take and he will run either high or low and running low is not something that is safe for him to do, particularly during the night time. Otherwise I suggest that you do the calculation based on what he would normally consume with his father and send him over with instructions on what to take and at what time to take it.

Managing this is like walking a tightrope, and it takes discipline, but with some encouragement he can get this right and it will make him feel better too.

Good luck

Thank you very much...

 

[Jaylee]

Thank you for your answer... Yes I do know that he can be rebelious towards what I tell him, after all is is 15, but what I worry most about is the fact that he eats everything while we are all sleeping and says he doesnt remember. You have pointed out something that could be the situation, he sometimes does have low sugar levels during the night, he will wake up at times, but then again I wonder if there are other times when he will just go on auto pilot, as you say, and eat/drink what ever comes to hand and wont even remember when he wakes up in he morning. Yesterday he woke up with a terrible taste in his mouth and he always brushes his teeth before bed...

I can only go on my experience of night hypos. Lows can cause blurred vision, light sensitivity, colour blindness which is coupled with confusion of the hypo & waking from deep sleep.

I have been prone to being a little clumsy whist foraging for treatment.. Milk is my drink of choice in these scenarios.. I have been known to knock up a sandwich Inspite of the sweet stuff in the cupboard for an "emergency"... I tend to act first then test my blood on the way back up...

It's fair to say "oral hygiene" is not high on the agenda with a 2am hypo.. But all said and done, on recovery I can make sense of what has happened before going back to bed...

I can appreciate your concern about the memory loss during these episodes.. There is a possibility he is just defending what has happened..
Hypos are a personal experience..
When I was young (before the internet) the only people I could talk about hypos to & get an "understanding" I'm sorry to say were cannabis users..

 

[worriedmom]

I can only go on my experience of night hypos. Lows can cause blurred vision, light sensitivity, colour blindness which is coupled with confusion of the hypo & waking from deep sleep.

I have been prone to being a little clumsy whist foraging for treatment.. Milk is my drink of choice in these scenarios.. I have been known to knock up a sandwich Inspite of the sweet stuff in the cupboard for an "emergency"... I tend to act first then test my blood on the way back up...

It's fair to say "oral hygiene" is not high on the agenda with a 2am hypo.. But all said and done, on recovery I can make sense of what has happened before going back to bed...

I can appreciate your concern about the memory loss during these episodes.. There is a possibility he is just defending what has happened..
Hypos are a personal experience..
When I was young (before the internet) the only people I could talk about hypos to & get an "understanding" I'm sorry to say were cannabis users..

I´ve seen my son with a Hypo and I know he will loose his memory, the last time he had a seizure because of a hypo was about 4 years ago, not a pretty sight, spent a week in hospital and to the day he still cant remember what happened to him... even the slight open eye seizure he wont remember anything, not long after that I went to measure his sugar levels at 2 am and they were low, I woke him up gave him something to eat and he couldnt remember anything the next morning. What worries me the most is the fact that he will drink alcohol, which I hardly ever have, given the odd bottle a friend will give me.

 

[Jaylee]

I´ve seen my son with a Hypo and I know he will loose his memory, the last time he had a seizure because of a hypo was about 4 years ago, not a pretty sight, spent a week in hospital and to the day he still cant remember what happened to him... even the slight open eye seizure he wont remember anything, not long after that I went to measure his sugar levels at 2 am and they were low, I woke him up gave him something to eat and he couldnt remember anything the next morning. What worries me the most is the fact that he will drink alcohol, which I hardly ever have, given the odd bottle a friend will give me.

Yes, the alcohol, is a worry.. My wife keeps wine in the fridge next to the milk, but I do know what I am grabbing even if the fridge light is blinding my sight due to pupil dilation..

As I mentioned earlier. Subconsciously this could be a rebellious action? I'm only guessing..
Juice is also good for a hypo due to the natural sugar. Maybe the draw to the wine was purely based on this?

I only ever came close to a fit once, about 35 years ago.. Involuntary twitching & kicking to the legs.. Not good.
I never allowed myself to go that low again..!

Not every diabetic experience the same sort of hypo. Some get violent & can't remember.. In some ways it is a little like alcohol intoxication.? Some pass out, some happy, some argue...
For a teenager there are other outside influences to actions other than just the parents ethics..
Does the lad have sweet drinks next to the bed just in case..?

 

[Adele99]

Think I'd be leaving something at his bedside to cover a low blood sugar and putting a lock on the fridge when I went to bed. Lol. My friend had to fit one to stop her dog raiding the fridge during the night. Maybe also some sort of mechanism that would waken you if he's up in the middle of the night on several nights., until this resolves. Only way to be sure what's happening with a 15 year old. But maybe my kids were a bit more badly behaved in their rebellious adolescents.

 

[Jaylee]

Think I'd be leaving something at his bedside to cover a low blood sugar and putting a lock on the fridge when I went to bed. Lol. My friend had to fit one to stop her dog raiding the fridge during the night. Maybe also some sort of mechanism that would waken you if he's up in the middle of the night on several nights., until this resolves. Only way to be sure what's happening with a 15 year old. But maybe my kids were a bit more badly behaved in their rebellious adolescents.

There is actually a pressure pad in the form of a mat that can be put by the side of the bed which triggers a central alarm.. But these are used in elderly care homes in the event of falls or in the case of dementia "night wonderlust".

Though in fairness, in the interest of the teenagers development into a level headed independant adult. I wouldn't turn the house into the "Shawshank redemption".

 

[worriedmom]

Think I'd be leaving something at his bedside to cover a low blood sugar and putting a lock on the fridge when I went to bed. Lol. My friend had to fit one to stop her dog raiding the fridge during the night. Maybe also some sort of mechanism that would waken you if he's up in the middle of the night on several nights., until this resolves. Only way to be sure what's happening with a 15 year old. But maybe my kids were a bit more badly behaved in their rebellious adolesc

Think I'd be leaving something at his bedside to cover a low blood sugar and putting a lock on the fridge when I went to bed. Lol. My friend had to fit one to stop her dog raiding the fridge during the night. Maybe also some sort of mechanism that would waken you if he's up in the middle of the night on several nights., until this resolves. Only way to be sure what's happening with a 15 year old. But maybe my kids were a bit more badly behaved in their rebellious adolescents.

Thank you so much for your post, I did leave a bottle of water, some glucotabs and biscuits on his bedside, hopefully this fase will pass...