Rollercoaster

Erin

Well-Known Member
Messages
748
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Hi everyone, I hope you are under blood sugar control.
I am now at 10 insulin. I asked my dr. to lower to 12, as I have a weakness for hypos.
And hypos are devastating for me, as I get heart or chest pain? One dr. said I had
left ventricular failure, a recent diabetic nurse, cleared with the cardiogram as OK.
So, this is my question to you fellow diabetics: I am trying to become conscious or sensory of
the oncoming hypo-- which does feel like weakness and cardiac; and I soon eat; sometimes
I overeat, but even a high 11 is not as devastating.

Diabetes is complicated. I have read some articles on PubMed, and yes the relationship between cardiac failure and hypos is common. Exactly what goes on I am not sure, possibly lack of blood or oxygen.

My aim is to become physically aware of when a hypo coming and when a hyper is there, without using a gazillion of test strips.

Cheers

Erin
 

Jaylee

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
18,213
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi @Erin ,

What insulin/s are you prescribed?

There are many subtle warning symtoms regarding an oncoming low. Which depends on the indevidual experience?
For me, there are flickering lights or a haze in the lower field of vision, coupled with the feeling of walking into a room & forgetting why? This is the start of cognitive dysfunction before any "classic" symptoms set in...

Ultimatly, I still need to check with a meter to find out where I'm at & a reasonable course of treatment.

Regarding the heart & articles on pubmed you mentioned. It's a muscle. I suppose it is possible in extreme hypoglycemic cases it's optimal function could be affected as blood sugars drop to the point of seizure?

But then I've experinced some wild lows over the years & have never had chest pains.

The secret is to keep calm, & not to panic. Always have glucos to hand..
 

Juicyj

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
9,016
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Type 1
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Hypos, rude people, ignorance and grey days.
Hello @Erin

Would there be anyway you could self fund a system such as the Dexcom G6 which would alert you to falling glucose levels ? or speak to your team about support with a continuous glucose meter ? I don't know anything about the link between low glucose levels and cardiac failure, I am aware of an increase in heart rate during a hypo so would suspect it's related to this.

Ideally a CGM would help you greatly under the circumstances.
 
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Erin

Well-Known Member
Messages
748
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Hi @Erin ,

What insulin/s are you prescribed?

There are many subtle warning symtoms regarding an oncoming low. Which depends on the indevidual experience?
For me, there are flickering lights or a haze in the lower field of vision, coupled with the feeling of walking into a room & forgetting why? This is the start of cognitive dysfunction before any "classic" symptoms set in...

Ultimatly, I still need to check with a meter to find out where I'm at & a reasonable course of treatment.

Regarding the heart & articles on pubmed you mentioned. It's a muscle. I suppose it is possible in extreme hypoglycemic cases it's optimal function could be affected as blood sugars drop to the point of seizure?

But then I've experinced some wild lows over the years & have never had chest pains.

The secret is to keep calm, & not to panic. Always have glucos to hand..


Thank you Jaylee. Your advice is very practical and realistic. I recognize some of your signs but I do get a bit scared and tend to overeat, leading to hypers which are not as bad.
 

Erin

Well-Known Member
Messages
748
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Type 2
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Hello @Erin

Would there be anyway you could self fund a system such as the Dexcom G6 which would alert you to falling glucose levels ? or speak to your team about support with a continuous glucose meter ? I don't know anything about the link between low glucose levels and cardiac failure, I am aware of an increase in heart rate during a hypo so would suspect it's related to this.

Ideally a CGM would help you greatly under the circumstances.
Juicyj, I may try one of those gismos; they may solve the problem. I am not sure that it may get tangled with sleeves as it has to be injected. Sheesh, being a diabetic is like being a pin cushion.
 

NewlyLADA

Active Member
Messages
31
Juicyj, I may try one of those gismos; they may solve the problem. I am not sure that it may get tangled with sleeves as it has to be injected. Sheesh, being a diabetic is like being a pin cushion.

I have the Dexicom G6 and it is amazing I set it at 95 (5.2) for going low and 200 (11.11)for going high this helps me to avoid dropping lower. Hypos are very scary to me as well and my heart hearts if I’m high and it also hurts when I’m low, my brain is mush as well and I tend to over eat waiting for it to go up as well then I end up high, however I would way rather be high then low, you can see by my graph that is what I did today. I get scared because when I’m low I tend to drop before it starts to rise. The Drs have tested my heart and said it is fine.
Do you also have issues with heat like warm weather or hot baths?
IMG_5495.jpg
 

Juicyj

Expert
Retired Moderator
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Hi Erin here’s my overnight snapshot from the G6, my alarm went off at 3.45am as I went low - I had a sweaty hypo so got up did glucotabs and a few slices of bread (in my confusion decided it was time for breakfast) but also had enough sense to also take a bolus to cover extra carbs and woke to 7.3mmol/l.

I hear you when you say you don’t mind hypers but.. I take a different point of view as I know this is where the hidden damage occurs so to me the G6 keeps me on track, my biggest fear is going blind so my investment in using this system is to help this fear from ever being realised. I prefer to be 5-9 mmol/l.

Before using this system I could easily run overnight in the teens, now I aim to wake in range and keep my levels more stable where I can.
 

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Erin

Well-Known Member
Messages
748
Type of diabetes
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Hello @Erin

Would there be anyway you could self fund a system such as the Dexcom G6 which would alert you to falling glucose levels ? or speak to your team about support with a continuous glucose meter ? I don't know anything about the link between low glucose levels and cardiac failure, I am aware of an increase in heart rate during a hypo so would suspect it's related to this.

Ideally a CGM would help you greatly under the circumstances.
My pharmacy supplies the
Free Style Libre and I will look into that and the Dexcom G6. Thanks.
 
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Erin

Well-Known Member
Messages
748
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Insulin
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mean people, corrupt politicians, poverty, happy pharmaceutical ads;
Hi Erin here’s my overnight snapshot from the G6, my alarm went off at 3.45am as I went low - I had a sweaty hypo so got up did glucotabs and a few slices of bread (in my confusion decided it was time for breakfast) but also had enough sense to also take a bolus to cover extra carbs and woke to 7.3mmol/l.

I hear you when you say you don’t mind hypers but.. I take a different point of view as I know this is where the hidden damage occurs so to me the G6 keeps me on track, my biggest fear is going blind so my investment in using this system is to help this fear from ever being realised. I prefer to be 5-9 mmol/l.

Before using this system I could easily run overnight in the teens, now I aim to wake in range and keep my levels more stable where I can.

That's pretty crafty graphic work. I am sorry you had a hypo in the middle of the night, but you seem to have handled well. Why do you think that there is also damage in hyperglycemia?
 

Erin

Well-Known Member
Messages
748
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
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mean people, corrupt politicians, poverty, happy pharmaceutical ads;
I have the Dexicom G6 and it is amazing I set it at 95 (5.2) for going low and 200 (11.11)for going high this helps me to avoid dropping lower. Hypos are very scary to me as well and my heart hearts if I’m high and it also hurts when I’m low, my brain is mush as well and I tend to over eat waiting for it to go up as well then I end up high, however I would way rather be high then low, you can see by my graph that is what I did today. I get scared because when I’m low I tend to drop before it starts to rise. The Drs have tested my heart and said it is fine.
Do you also have issues with heat like warm weather or hot baths?
View attachment 32419

Nice work NewlyLADA. I agree with yournumber setting. I think that is comfortable after 10 years of sulfamynarides. I guess as the years go by your diabetes gets worse. My dr. did not want me to continue with pills, e.g. I suggested to go to Glyburide instead of Glyclazide. For some reason they cut the dose of Glyclazide and the Metformin a year or so ago. And I think the numbers went higher then. But someone told them that my kidneys would be affected. Hmmm. I am glad you were tested for your heart and you are OK, despite the hypos. I think continuous hypos may have an effect though. As for heat, I have noticed I actually feel colder if I am low. I don't mean to say that hyper is great either, with the headaches and such but they are just not as disabling as the hypos. If we're lucky Big Pharma will come up with something expensive.:)
 

Erin

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748
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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The problem lies with the bodies inability to get rid of glucose, this is if you do not have insulin to cover things, if you run constantly high for long periods of time the glucose can't be metabolised and sits in the blood and travels around your body.

The main issue with that is that they are crystals and crystals are large and have sharp bits on them, which if they travel into the (which are normally only one cell thick) can damage and rupture them.

This is most commonly seen in things like retinopathy or kidney damage something you see around the forum. This is usually caused by running high numbers for a long period of time.

Short runs, because us T1 fluctuate, are not an issue usually they are spikes which can be dealt with.

Wow! Crystals; I did not know the body could produce them.
 

Erin

Well-Known Member
Messages
748
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
mean people, corrupt politicians, poverty, happy pharmaceutical ads;
Nice work NewlyLADA. I agree with yournumber setting. I think that is comfortable after 10 years of sulfamynarides. I guess as the years go by your diabetes gets worse. My dr. did not want me to continue with pills, e.g. I suggested to go to Glyburide instead of Glyclazide. For some reason they cut the dose of Glyclazide and the Metformin a year or so ago. And I think the numbers went higher then. But someone told them that my kidneys would be affected. Hmmm. I am glad you were tested for your heart and you are OK, despite the hypos. I think continuous hypos may have an effect though. As for heat, I have noticed I actually feel colder if I am low. I don't mean to say that hyper is great either, with the headaches and such but they are just not as disabling as the hypos. If we're lucky Big Pharma will come up with something expensive.:)

P.S. in this discussion:
I think the hypos are more common when the previous 80mg glyclazide and 2 Metformin tablets (in my case) have been added to 10 insulin unnecessarily. This is something Kitedoc told me. Perhaps cutting down on carbs and amount of food on just the insulin, would be sufficient. I have read that insulin with antidiabetic drugs make the hypos more potent.
 

Erin

Well-Known Member
Messages
748
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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mean people, corrupt politicians, poverty, happy pharmaceutical ads;
About the above theory; experience showed me wrong last night. I spiked and it was by skipping one of the glyclazide pills interim meals; so it would appear that my dr. was correct in adding 80mg glics and 2 mets. I suppose what is important is the spacing of the meds and they are necessary to an addition to insulin. Sorry Kitedoc, i tried.