losing hypo awareness

[weaver]

Been on insulin 2 years now and have always been able to tell when going low but recently I am not getting the symptoms,went major low the other night whilst asleep,the wife tried to revive me with a sugary drink and chocolate,but had to call an ambulance and they brought me round with intravenous.It was then off to hospital for more checks.Why am I losing my hypo awareness?This is a worrying development

 

[noblehead]

A horrible experience for you weaver

Losing hypo awareness symptoms can happen if bg control has been particularly tight for a long period of time or if hypo's are a daily occurrence, they also say the longer you have diabetes the more likelihood their is that the warning signs will diminish, you should speak with your diabetes team and ask them for advice on this matter.

 

[mo1905]

A way to help getting hypo awareness back is to run your levels a little higher than normal for a few weeks.


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[weaver]

Re: losing hypo awareness and the effect of caffeine on bg

I have been a big coffee drinker for 30 years.10 days ago I decided to stop as I felt it may be effecting my sleep and causing anxiety.
The effect on my bg has been astounding,I am now taking 25 units of insulin twice a day as opposed to 45 twice a day,as my bg readings are now too low.There may well be scope to lower the dose further.I believe this is what caused me to go hypo last week as the reduction in caffeine intake rendered 42 too much insulin.
I have done some research into the effects of caffeine on bg and there does appear to be evidence to support my findings.
Has anyone else experienced this?
I will report back as things progress.

 

[ciaramoh]

Best thing to do is to ask your team if you can have a sensor. I am 18 and have lost my hypo awareness I can go to below 1 and that's only when I feel it and as a result I get up at 1 am and 3 am to check because I've had fits through the night because I've gone so low and it's only that my mums found me.

The sensor tests you every 5 minutes and can show you when your blood is going high or low and what time it is. That way you can see where you need to adjust your insulin.

Also and I know it's difficult but chocolate shouldn't be given with a hypo from what I've heard because it is fatty and slows down the fast acting sugar. The best thing I have found for hypo treatment is Gluco Juice. Although they are more expensive than other hypo treatment options they are good when it's a serious hypo.

Hope this helps

 

[weaver]

hi
thanks for the reply,I have now got some lucozade in which when my bg was 1.8 yesterday it brought it back up quickly,what form does the monitor take?

 

[ciaramoh]

Sorry what does what form does the monitor take mean?

 

[weaver]

sorry I meant the sensor,do you have to put it into your skin and it sounds an alarm if your bg drops?

 

[ciaramoh]

It goes in the same way the pump does and is under the skin. No it doesn't alarm off unless you connect it to a pump but it's not designed to do that. What it does is show you patterns. Obviously no one tests their blood every 5 minutes but after the 5 days it's on you take it off and the hospital download the results and you can get a graph which will show you the times you're going high or low etc.

Here is a link to the Medtronic one I used: http://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/treatm ... monitoring

 

[weaver]

oh I see mate,been the docs today goin to monitor my bg and insulin levels and could end up coming off insulin

 

[ciaramoh]

If you don't write up your blood sugar levels you could start for a week and start seeing a pattern. I did that and now know when I'm more likely to be hypo

 

[weaver]

I am now over a week from my night time hypo,my first one,I thought it may have been connected to giving up coffee a few days before as there is some evidence that caffeine can effect you blood sugar.However I am still off the coffee and my bg has been rising so that I am now taking the same insulin as before 42 novamix twice a day whereas for the last week I have been taking only 25 units twice daily and bg has been fine 4-7.
So I am thinking it may not be the coffee,what else would alter my bg so dramatically for a week to lower my required insulin and then climb back up,could it be a faulty novamix pen which contained too much concentrated insulin?
This is obviously worrying as with out a known cause it will be difficult to avoid in the future.

 

[weaver]

diabetes is such a lonely illness,its yours get on with it

 

[Karen.G.]

Hi hun - I would go back to your Dr. Have you been feeling under the weather at all? All you can do is keep monitoring and if it happens predominantly at night make sure you do a test before you go to bed. Hope you get it sorted.