Hypo Onset Speed

[hale710]

Pretty rough night last night.

10.00pm, bed time. Tested BG and 4.8, a touch low so I had a Jaffacake (9g). Brushed teeth, sorted dog, Usual things.

10.20pm, getting into bed. Felt extremely anxious which is a common hypo symptom for me. Thought there's no way I'm hypo as I just tested and was fine. Retested anyway, BG 2.6!

I didn't realise BG can plummet so fast. By far one of the worst hypos I've had. I feel pretty foul this morning following it.

Has anyone else experienced a rapid hypo like that with no explanation?

 

[Engineer88]

Yep couple of months ago was one of the worst ever for me. Very nearly an ambulance job. It's scary but you get used to it. I've never been able to run as low as you currently are because that happened a lot when I was a kid :/ do you keep cans of coke in? I keep 2 or 3 mini ones which OH know are mine for hypos. I normally need more than one treatment and a Jaffa cake would never be a good idea for me as couldn't stop at one, only one pack


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[hale710]

Oh the days of one packet.....

Yes I use small cartons of apple juice. Big carton would mean I go too far haha

I'm pretty good at having only one Jaffa cake or a small pancake before bed as I don't like eating at that time. So it's only out of necessity!

It just caught me by surprise as I'd been absolutely fine 20 minutes before. Fun and games all around!

 

[pumppimp]

Did you manage to figure out why you dropped so quickly? Hope you are feeling better now!

 

[hale710]

Nope not a clue! It was 3 hours after dinner. A meal I've had many times and so I know I carb counted correctly for that. Then after dinner I was naughty and had a few chocolate raisins which I didn't bolus for, so really I should have been high!

Honeymoon period likes to keep me on my toes I think

 

[pumppimp]

Sounds horrible but, you'll be glad to be fully on insulin. I was lucky my honeymoon only lasted about 3 or 4 months. nae nice!

 

[Shell1]

Hi hale ,hope you feel back to your normal self soon.bad hangover feeling not good when you have not had the fun of it the night before ! X


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[hale710]

Yeah 9 months in it's wearing thin now. My insulin needs are so minimal and reducing all the time. If I went mega low carb I would only require my levemir and nothing else!

 

[drahawkins_1973]

:-( hope things are settling down. From your earlier posts I think we were diagnosed about the same time (April this year for me).
I found the same thing until about 4 weeks ago. My insulin requirements were getting less and less until I was only taking insulin for high carb meals at about 1 unit for about 60 g. Then literally over night it started to go the other way and now I'm 1 unit for 8-10 g carbs.
It's so frustrating isn't it since as soon as you get things on the right course it changes again!
But good luck!


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[ElyDave]

had exactly the bloody same happen to me yesterday. Started the morning at 5.7 and went rapidly downhill from there, for most of the day with at least two hypos.

DAFNE this week, lets see what they make of it.

 

[DunePlodder]

There must have been something in the air last night!
I was just drifting off when I realised something was amiss. Dragged myself awake and found I was 3.0.
No explanation even after a day of thinking about it..
Robert

 

[hale710]

How have you found the start of DAFNE Dave?

I have very obscure needs. I don't bolus for less than 20g. For 20 - 40g I use a half unit to 7g. But then if I have say a 3 course meal and total more than 40g, I can't take more than 3units. Otherwise I end up on the floor.

 

[sw11bloke]

Hi Hale
Hope you are feeling better today. A bad hypo always makes me feel rough for a good 12 hours.
When I was on MDI - Levemir, I often had similar hypos to what you had last night. I also found that my hypos were very severe and it took a while for my BG to rise. I'd end up over treating because they would last so long.

My diabetes team eventually changed me onto this new background insulin called Tressiba. Its the longest lasting background insulin which you only take once a day. Its peakless too. as soon as i started taking Tressiba, my BG stabilised. i hardly had highs then lows Vice versa. My hypos became less severe and lasted alot shorter in time. They were quicker and easier to treat. It gave me my confidence back. Having a bad hypo does rip the carpet from beneath your feet and it does have a huge impact on your confidence when having a hypo. i almost used to panic when I had a hypo because they were so severe.

Something to consider if you cant think of any reasons why you went hypo is the time you took your levemir. Did you take it at a different time? i found that if I did not take mine at exactly the same times each day, I had hypos - probably due to the peak times in the various insulins. Maybe if you arent taking your insulin at the same time each day, may be worth setting a insulin alarm on your phone. I did that while I was on MDI which helped.

 

[hels]

Hi


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[hels]

Hi Hale,

You mention just taking Levemir and that's exactly what I do. I gave 3 units in the morning and 2 at night. I would describe my diet as controlled/reduced carbs rather than low carb. If I am going to have a carb heavy meal I have a unit or 2 of novorapid.

I'm in honeymoon period - I was diagnosed just over 12 months ago whilst pregnant. Whilst pregnant I was on novorapid with all meals but since my son was born I hardly ever take any. It might be that while I'm breastfeeding my baby that is keeping my insulin requirements down. I am happy with this as it reduces the risk of hypos which I can't risk whilst home alone with the baby.

I regularly see my consultant and this is the approach we have decided works best for me at the moment. Obviously all subject to change!


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[hale710]

I have not reduced my carbs at all, I maintain 100-150g per day on average. Usually 35g per meal but it does vary.

We have not seen evidence yet of my levemir not lasting 24 hours yet so I'm on a single dose of 2.5 units per day. I'm seeing the nurse again in a few week as we're considering dropping it even further!

 

[sw11bloke]

2.5 units a day... wow. you certainly must be still producing insulin
At that low dose per day....have you ever asked why youre even on it? Perhaps you should do an experiment.... Its such a low dose, have you tried going without levemir?
I personally dont think 2.5 units of Levemir over a 24 hour period is and will make a difference at all.

According to the manufacturers the following dose is recommended: Initial dose
Type 1 diabetes: Approximately one third of the total daily insulin requirements SC; rapid-acting or short-acting, premeal insulin should be used to satisfy the remainder of the daily insulin requirements; usual daily maintenance range is 0.5-1 unit/kg/day in divided doses; nonobese may require 0.4-0.6 unit/kg/day; obese may require 0.6-1.2 units/kg/day

Has your diabetes team said why you should take Levemir?

 

[hale710]

Yes we've discussed ditching it and just using Novorapid, but as I don't mind the injection they would prefer me to continue with it. If I was freaking out I could drop it, but is have to reintroduce it eventually so I might as well carry on.

I really wonder if I'm LADA though!

 

[sw11bloke]

I personally dont think that low dose is doing anything to your blood sugars. My moto... its synthetic and if you dont need it, ditch it.
Stick to Novarapid alone while thats all you need.

Re LADA, Have you had a Cpeptide test?

 

[hale710]

Nope, see no point as my treatment wouldn't change.

The consultant had some reasoning behind keeping the levemir. Something to do with needing SOME insulin at all times, the same reason you inject when ill even if not eating at all. I can't remember the ins and outs of it all to be honest