Lost control a bit Oo

[tom79]

I posted a few days ago about how I had some problem where I had to eat like a horse to keep my sugar up oneday after something went wrong..

Well ever since then, I have been over paranoid... I used to have ok control (been type 1 for a year and was right on the money on my bbc1 test or what ever its called) but since this day a week back well, im testing more (sometimes 20 a day!, my doc is going to kill me) and this is because im freaked out it will happen again, and that is because i cant work out why it happened 100%

Now you would think if I test this much id have perfect control as im on it like mad but I dont, earlier today I was at 5.7 and I tested a little after (about 45mins?) and i was 4.4, so I then had a snack and tested again 15mins later and i was 3.3! so I freaked and poured loads of fizzy drink down my neck and anything i could find and well, went to 12 after that....

I know I need to sort this out and im just not confident anymore with it, because the numbers can drop so quickly and sometimes I dont realise till im very low which then means I panic and super eat... and super test.

Help!

 

[josie38]

Hi tom,

I know it sounds silly but the best thing is not to panic. One of the ways i treat my hypo is by having Glucotabs or drink some lucozade. If you have overcorrected your hypo, you will have a "rebound" on your sugars which means that your sugars will shoot up then you feel you have to correct them. For me 150ml of lucozade or 5 glucotabs is enough to make me feel better.

How do you feel when your sugars go low? Do you feel shaky, sweating or anything like that? You dont say how much insulin you are having cuz that could be the problem as well - if you have injected more than you should have.

I know it is really hard when things go wrong and you dont fully understand why :? Keep smiling
you will figure it out

Josie

 

[Snodger]

If it was me, I'd be thinking maybe my basal insulin dose was a bit high, if you are going low and finding it hard to turn it around.

are you able to post up some of your bg results from the last few days, Tom, maybe we can help spot a pattern?

 

[tom79]

well im on novamix 30, I stopped recording my results in my book but I have started again because I need to get this under control only this time I am also keeping note on how much carbs I eat

7.5 before dinner (I only eat twice a day.. because I had loads of probs with hypos after having breakfast or issues keeping it ok till tea so I just thought I would skip the meal rather than messing about)

Now I have food at 11am and 6pm, 23 to 24 of novamix 30, sometimes more depending on what I eat,

Ill keep track of it today, I just had food an 30mins later than normal today trying to wait an hour till i test my sugar to see if I get a big spike or not..

ok ill try and have a more measured drop of Lucozade rather than trying to down a whole bottle in 1 in a panic.

I do feel a bit shaky sometimes when low, but i have been known to get below 3 and not realise but i usualy do, its rare i dont and all depends if i am distracted or not.

I sometimes also find it hard to tell the difference between high and low, but sometimes when I am high i get a funny taste in my mouth

 

[Snodger]

great - best thing to do is post the test results from when you wake up, and before each meal, and just before bed, and record what you've eaten and done in between. Don't worry about the between-meal spikes for now.
I'm not familiar with novamix 30, do you know how long it lasts in the system? Are you also taking a long-acting insulin eg at night?

 

[Alzibiff]

Totally agree with Snodger and josie38 with the advice "Don't panic!". Easier said than done sometimes though. My hypo remedy of choice is Jelly Babies - 5g of rapid acting sugar per sweetie. Take two or three and wait .... wait ... for 15 minutes and test to see if they have had the desired effect before either putting them away or having another couple. Remember too, that you have a long long time to get your dose adjustment / food balance right - don't start changing things just on the basis of one bad episode - adjust when there is a pattern to base your adjustments on otherwise you are going to end up like a yo-yo in terms of BG results and insulin doses.

Just my £0.02 worth!

Alan

 

[tom79]

ok thanks ill try it out, Im keeping detialed records of everything i am eating and when, how much Novamix I do and when and over the next few days ill see some patterns again,

Till then ill get me some jelly babies

Thanks for the tip

 

[Fallenstar]

Hi Tom
I can totally empathise ,years ago when I was on the mixtard I remember my early days Hypo's were
Major panic stations :shock: I used to sit down with a full packet of cereal sometimes and eat, shovelling it in until the intense hypo symptoms had passed...you can get a lot of crunchy nuts down your neck in a couple of minutes believe me :shock: It was like supermarket sweep down the cereal isle :lol: bit before your time I bet!
As the years roll on ,or when you go onto the Basal/blous regime you will find you will be able to control your reflex for :shock: SUGAR NOW :shock: and if anyone gets in my way :twisted: :evil: :twisted:
As Alan Partridge once said, You will be able to take a deep breath , assess the situation ,tiny steps! and have a measure of sugar to just treat the hypo well maybe not the last bit :lol:

good luck kid

 

[Ausra]

Tom 79, what happened before you were 5.7? How long it was after a meal?
Don't panic, stay cool. Reduce your insulin or eat a little more.
And don't test so much. There is really no need to test so often. Test before you eat and two hours after.
2 hours after your BG should be 11.0-12.0. That's where I used to make a mistake..I would start panic that it's too high..but it's really not, because after 2 hours insulin still works ( it works for 3 hours, sometimes even longer). Even if your BG is higher then 12.0 , still don't panic. It seems you are sensitive to insulin so even if it's 15.0 i would not take more insulin, i would wait another hour, then i would test again..And i would remember this and next meal time i would eat a little less or take more insulin.
If after 2 hours your BG is less then 10.0 you will probably need to eat something more to prevent going low. Have an apple or a very small chocolate or 2 biscuits or tea with some sugar and it will be really enough.
Anyways, u will get there. We all went through the same like you. Keep calm

 

[tom79]

Yes id do need to test less, but im going to test loads till i work this out (bought some strips myself because my doctor is going to go nuts at me otherwise.

ANd here are the results so far today...

11:30.. about 55 carbs. My Sugar was a 8mmol and I did 23 of novamix 30 (this was first meal of day)

1:30 pm i was 13mmol
2:15pm i was 10.4
2:45pm i was 7.7
3:15pm i was 7.1

I then had a couple of biscuits, 30 grams of carbs total at 4pm

4:15 pm i was 5.7
4:45 pm I was 6.8

So no more food for a bit, but thats ok i usualy eat again at about 6:30pm

So thats where I am at, im going a bit high, but it does come down, its a start but your expert feedback always welcome

 

[tom79]

great - best thing to do is post the test results from when you wake up, and before each meal, and just before bed, and record what you've eaten and done in between. Don't worry about the between-meal spikes for now.
I'm not familiar with novamix 30, do you know how long it lasts in the system? Are you also taking a long-acting insulin eg at night?

it is a quick and medium acting one i think, the website says

"maximum effect is exerted between 1 and 4 hours after injection. The duration of action is up to 24 hours"

 

[Snodger]

your readings look pretty good to me!
I personally wouldn't worry too much about that small spike at 1.30. The majority of the time your bg is fine. And you aren't running high for long periods of time, which is the thing that causes damage.

The only other thing I'd say is, have you considered changing insulin? It sounds to me as if you are wanting more flexibility than the mixed insulin offers. You could try moving to a regime where you take a long-acting insulin to cover the stuff your liver puts out in the background, and then individual injections of quick-acting alone to cover what you eat. It makes it much easier to avoid hypos that way, and much easier in my opinion to see what you are doing and make tweaks to get things how you want them. Eg I'm on Lantus (24 hours, no peak) and Humalog (very quick acting, starts to work after 10 mins and totally finishes after about 4 hours) and although I'm injecting several times a day I feel a bit more in control. May be worth thinking about.
(Apologies if I've misunderstood your insulin regime)