Length of Hypo

[buffyiscool]

Hi all. Before I go into any details has anyone suffered from extremely long hypos? My reason for asking:

Yesterday I first felt symptoms of a hypo coming on at approx. 10:45am. Here's a rundown of events:

• 10:45am: Bloods reading 3.6. Jelly babies to the rescue.
• 2:15pm: About 20 Jelly babies later bloods still at 3.8. At this point I was beginning to think a trip to hospital was going to be necessary.
• 3.35pm: Bloods had risen to 5.5, at least they've gone into normal range. 5.5 is still quite low for me, feeling better but not 100%.
• 5:55pm: I'm sitting at 9.3 and feel much better.

Is it normal for a hypo to last this long or should I ask GP/Diabetic Team for a Glucagon Kit to keep handy? I am still in process of getting insulin doses correct as the hospital team that should have been monitoring me appear to have forgotten all about me so GP has pulled all diabetes care back in house and am now following a plan set out by Dietician/Insulin Specialist. Shouldn't have given the morning dose that I did, 43 units, but just following plan and never thought about adjusting dose as per BMs. Duh. Any comments appreciated but please don't come down hard on me. I'm fairly new to all this diabetes stuff, at least time wise, just diagnosed T2 last March and had my medication adjusted to Humulin I and Glyclazide in November after it was discovered that I couldn't tolerate Metformin and the Pioglitazone which they tried following Metformin wasn't doing anything.

If you could answer my poll so I can see how common this is it would really be appreciated.

Many thanks
Colin

 

[paulus1]

you should have called for help nearly 4 hours is pretty bad. what do you think caused it.

 

[buffyiscool]

you should have called for help nearly 4 hours is pretty bad. what do you think caused it.

Probably too high an insulin dose. Still pretty new to all this do didn't factor in how much BMs would drop. Wife was there to keep an eye on me. Her mother's type 1 so she knows what to look out for in case it got any worse. Have adjusted my dose to take into account this mornings BM reading. See what happens later. Thanks for commenting though.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Me, personally, yes, sometimes... but, I dont over treat and I am always aware if I have active insulin still in me... so I would treat my hypo according to this one sole thing... have I got more active insulin in me.. if so I need more hypo stopper...

 

[db89]

The only time I had one which lasted a few hours wasn't unexpected as I took a bolus before a meal and then became ill and couldn't eat after a few mouthfuls. Had to sip Lucozade for a while in an effort to absorb the active insulin.

 

[james11]

Did you eat a meal at all ? Jelly babies or gluco tabs are ok to help raise levels but wont hold them up for a long period of time. .

 

[paulus1]

if your treatments dont sort it you should be getting help. ok it was a reasonably high low but its not worth the risk.

 

[slip]

Do you normally have about 43u of Humulin I in the morning? Thats a slow(ish) acting insulin and if you had too much I'm not surprised you struggled to keep it up rolleyes: ) hours later.

Quick acting carbs first (like jelly babies or glucotabs) test again 10mins later and follow up with some thing more substantial (biscuit or something).

 

[david1968]

I'd echo what others have said. The advice I got when I was diagnosed, and which I've followed when I've had hypos, was to eat/drink something that would get some sugar into my system very quickly (jelly babies in my case), test again after ten minutes and then eat something that's going to raise your blood sugar over a longer period of time (a sandwich or something similar).

I've never had a hypo that's lasted longer than about 20 minutes, but I've usually caught them early and acted on them quickly.

You say that your readings at were 3.6 at 10.45 and 3.8 at 12.15 - did you test in between? What might have happened is that the jelly babies that you ate at first have got your levels up but then they've dropped again and the cycle's been repeated when you've eaten further jelly babies.

 

[Antje77]

Probably too high an insulin dose. Still pretty new to all this do didn't factor in how much BMs would drop. Wife was there to keep an eye on me. Her mother's type 1 so she knows what to look out for in case it got any worse. Have adjusted my dose to take into account this mornings BM reading. See what happens later. Thanks for commenting though.

I think you did exactly right! Both with treating and monitoring closely and with lowering your dose. Sounds like a safe course of action as long as you had your wife to keep an eye on things. I second @david1968 in that you probably had 2 hypo's and not one if you haven't been monitoring in the meantime. When your basal insulin is slightly too much you'll get your sugars up with sweets, but quick acting sugars are also quick disappearing sugars. So next time test 15 minutes after treating your hypo. If you're in the safe-zone by then, eat something more substantial. And in direct answer to your question: I had one prolonged hypo, but that was when I accidently took short-acting instead of long-acting. Ate a lot that night.

 

[buffyiscool]

Do you normally have about 43u of Humulin I in the morning? Thats a slow(ish) acting insulin and if you had too much I'm not surprised you struggled to keep it up rolleyes: ) hours later.

Quick acting carbs first (like jelly babies or glucotabs) test again 10mins later and follow up with some thing more substantial (biscuit or something).

I'm currently adjusting insulin to achieve correct levels. Dietitian put me on a plan to increase insulin by 10% every 3 days if average BM was still reading high. Due to my BMs constantly being high since diagnosis she gave me a target range of between 6 and 10 to aim for. Have now started a bedtime dose, not as high as morning. Did appear to be getting somewhere but now got another water infection which is sending them all over the place again.

 

[buffyiscool]

Thanks for the replies and tips guys. Really appreciate you all taking the time to answer my post. Have asked at Doctors about getting Glucagon. Receptionist couldn't understand how I hadn't been given it when they put me on insulin. Had another shorter hypo today, took your advice and had something more substantial to eat Felt loads better after about 30 minutes. Best regards to you all and thanks again. Colin.

 

[david1968]

Sometimes the best way of learning how to deal with something is to go through it. Not pleasant, but now you know that you can cope with hypos ... and hopefully once you find a level of medication that works for you they'll stop. Hopefully the water infection will clear up shortly as well.

 

[NotBeyonce]

I've never had a prolonged hypo (I've had 2 short hypos), but yesterday was a weird day for me as I stayed in the 4s most of the day even post prandial. I never dipped too low, but it felt weird to be a low-normal level all day. Not physically, but psychologically. I ate a sugary snack before I went to bed and was finally able to boost it to the low 6s. I also kept DEX tablets near my bed. Today I've been in the 4s to low 5s all day. I have discontinued my gliclazide and reduced my basal by 1 unit. I think I'll see a difference in about 2 days.

I think your hypos will reduce when you find the right dose for your basal. I'm new to insulin too, but my DR advised that I could half or discontinue my gliclazide if I got too many hypos. Maybe you can reduce your gliclazide too?

 

[buffyiscool]

I've never had a prolonged hypo (I've had 2 short hypos), but yesterday was a weird day for me as I stayed in the 4s most of the day even post prandial. I never dipped too low, but it felt weird to be a low-normal level all day. Not physically, but psychologically. I ate a sugary snack before I went to bed and was finally able to boost it to the low 6s. I also kept DEX tablets near my bed. Today I've been in the 4s to low 5s all day. I have discontinued my gliclazide and reduced my basal by 1 unit. I think I'll see a difference in about 2 days.

I think your hypos will reduce when you find the right dose for your basal. I'm new to insulin too, but my DR advised that I could half or discontinue my gliclazide if I got too many hypos. Maybe you can reduce your gliclazide too?

Thanks for your comment NotBeyonce. Iasked at doctors about getting Glucagon kit prescribed and added to my repeat medications. Checked last night and they have done this. It is sometimes a bit of a catch 22 situation on whether or not to give myself a dose of insulin. My dietitian has given me a target range of 6 - 10 to aim for. This mornings BMs were 9.2 so decided not to inject. Will see what bloods do throughout day. It's a horrible feeling when you start to go low. For me, I start feeling funny in the stomach then get what feels like a headache coming on followed by the shakes. Not nice.

 

[buffyiscool]

Sometimes the best way of learning how to deal with something is to go through it. Not pleasant, but now you know that you can cope with hypos ... and hopefully once you find a level of medication that works for you they'll stop. Hopefully the water infection will clear up shortly as well.

Thanks david1968. I agree. You can read all the literature you want about diabetes and how to cope with some of the more common problems, such as hypos. As you stated the only way to fully understand and be able to deal with them is actually go through it. I am lucky in that my wife knows a lot more about it than I do as she had to watch over her mother who is Type 1 for a number of years. Some of the hypos she had were to say the least frightening at times, fighting us off when trying to give her Glucagon or pushing paramedics away when they were trying to help.

 

[Ann1982]

Have you seen the size of the needle in the glucagon kit? I avoid it at all costs! Seriously though make sure you know how and when to use it and make sure someone else does too?

 

[buffyiscool]

Have you seen the size of the needle in the glucagon kit? I avoid it at all costs! Seriously though make sure you know how and when to use it and make sure someone else does too?

Ann1982 My wife knows all about them, don't know how many times we had to use one for her mother. They can be a bit of a faff and you're right, those needles don't look nice at all. Thanks.

 

[Mep]

I had a hypo that started 5.30 am and went until 11 am once. I was on nortriptyline at the time for pain and my docs quickly took me off that drug when they found out about my hypo. The drug apparently can imitate hypo symptoms... so what happened is I had a real hypo and it kept my hypo going for hours. I actually felt like my head was detached from my shoulders... weird hypo it was.

 

[ickihun]

Iwas dashing out yesterday afternoon but a hypo stalled me. I was quite weepy. Treated it on a bus on way to see dietician. I was determined not to be late..
I'm sure the older im getting the worse they feel?