Sweating at night

PaulinaB

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594
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Hi all!

I have a question regarding sleep... I'm type 1, diagnosed a month ago and I'm taking Novomix 30 at the moment (morning and evening). For the last few days I've noticed that at one moment at night I get really hot and sweat like crazy. It usually happens when I'm sleeping and I don't even remember it. Only once I woke up when I was getting hot, but I put one leg outside the blanket and fell asleep again. Woke up wet...
At first I thought it was a hypo, but I've been checking my sugar before bed and in the morning, and the morning reading is usually slightly lower than the one before bed, but nothing crazy - so it seems ok. Has anyone had anything like this? What may be causing this?
Oh, my boyfriend said that I don't shiver at night - and I always shiver then I have a hypo while awake.
 

cymraes

Member
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12
Hello PaulinaB,

I am not a medical expert but I am a Type 1 diabetic on morning & evening doses of Novomix 30 who has experienced these nightime events. If my before-bed blood glucose level is 10 mmol/L or less, I will have a snack before bedding down (in my case a plain biscuit & a small glass of milk). Perhaps it would help you to increase/introduce a light bedtime snack?
 

totsy

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HI
my suggestion would be to check bloods when it happens, i have hot sweats with hypos so that is all i can advise, if its not hypo and becomes troublesome seek medical advise:)
 

Indiana91

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I get this too. (T1 for 17years) it's only been happening recently.
I'm not sure if it is hypos, I go to bed at around 9.0 and wake up at around 20 when it happens.
It could well be a hypo that I'm not noticing.
I'm going to be testing every two hours throughout the night for a few nights to try and work it out.
Don't know if you want to try the same?

Indiana x
 

caretaker

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Messages
276
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Hi
i had this problem last year i had been talking to the doctors about this, and was getting no wear.until i met a new exchange doctor from Germany who said it was dawn phenomenon
she totaly changed my insulin and said i should be on a pump.I would be if i was in Germany?
something i had asked four for years.And now it looks like it all heading in he right direction.
When sweating happens its horrible and it has put me off of starting new relationships with girl friends
and i spent a fortune on new bedding.

try to check BG throughout the night every 2 hours if you can

hard work but it might be worth it
 

Indiana91

Well-Known Member
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706
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Caretaker,

Can you refresh my memory to what dawn phenomenon is please?
Is it just one of those diabetic things that no one can explain? Such as waking with high bg?

Indiana x
 

mrman

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2,419
Type of diabetes
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dp, is when your body dumps a load of glycogen (sugar) into you in the early hours, often.from.3 am onwards causing a raise in sugar levels to give your body energy for the day. Even non ds have this but as they have no problem making insulin, spikes are alot smaller and within normal range.
Problem with diabetics is they can have this but don't have the natural insulin response. Even if having a basal insulin because its 1 jab or sometimes split to 2 jabs, having enough to deal with the dp will cause hypos at other times. Solution for many to this is the pump, as, hourly.basal rares are set up and can.give more at 3~6 am then back to reduced basal rate

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niknak15

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Messages
75
This might explain my high sugars some mornings after normal bs the day before!! It doesn't happen every night and I don't wake, just notice that during the night I've stripped off at some point and have soaked sheets!!!


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PaulinaB

Well-Known Member
Messages
594
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Ha, that's interesting caretaker, that's for sharing! I noticed the sweating is much smaller if I go to bed with high sugar - I'm guessing my body doesn't think I need much more sugar :) I'll try checking my sugar at night and will talk with my diabetic nurse and doc about it - will see what they say.

Thanks everyone for sharing! It's good to know I'm not the onle one :)
 

Danaemac

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Hi I have been t1 for 18yrs and I have at times had night time sweats, I have been advised by my DNS that this could be me hyping during the night, the body then compensates and you end up high the following morning the only way to see what is going on is to test during the night do this a couple of nights to try and get an accurate picture
 

kkkk

Well-Known Member
Messages
185
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
I would always check and check in the middle of the night (not just bed and morning) as the only time I ever sweat at night is when I have a hypo - and when I say sweat it is almost like someone has poured water over me and I drench everything - I would make absolutely sure that that is not happening to you. I know what you mean about shivering and normally once I have sweated that much I get cold 'cos I am covered in water and that's what sweat does! I know that often after a hypo you can wake up high - but even so I would check as that symptom to me normally says hypo…take care (from a person that has experienced hideous night hypos and doesn't want anyone else to have them :))
 

caretaker

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276
Type of diabetes
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dawn phenomenon
Its one off those things that a lots of specialists seem to gloss over. I think its because it is very hard to control because it happens in your sleep.
You go to bed with a good BG and wake up through the roof ( and a wet bed )
Its Your livers fault its trying to keep you a live by realizing you have low blood sugar and its panics and dumps remaining reserves into your body

Very difficult, but this happen to me after being type 1 for over 40 years and i had been suffering for many years with this.

It messed up my control and your always chasing BG with correction insulin
.
Eat a snack before bed and try not to be to low.BG

And Tell the doctor you think you might have dawn phenomenon

THIS is very important to get looked at
 

kkkk

Well-Known Member
Messages
185
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Here's a link to the dawn phenomenon stuff http://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-glucose/dawn-phenomenon.html

If you hypo in the night you can go to bed with a reasonable blood sugar and wake up sky high as a result of your liver dumping glucagon to get you out of a hypo - so test test test and speak to your Drs/Nurses about the results. I know that you can have 'dawn phenomenons' and I have seen my glucose rise the minute I open my eyes and start to move, having been stable all night - most people with it seem to have a rise from about 3-5am - which is why testing is really valuable this is different to a night hypo - the minute you mention sweating in the night my first thought is always hypo so please take care - I don't sweat when my blood sugar rises the minute I open my eyes I only sweat if I have gone too low - but we are all different - take care. If you have either dawn phenomenons or night hypos you would have a good case for a pump :)
 
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Dyadya_Maykl

Active Member
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I get something like this. Usually over a few nights, then it stops. I am T1 of 33 years.
I normally sleep very well. However, the sweats wake me. I am in the practice of testing, and have found I tend to be low.
I have two types of insulin - levemir - background insulin (long acting) and humalog ( quick acting, meal time). I have found that the night time sweats indicate that I need to adjust the background insulin.
Mild sweats do not wake me, but the state of my bedding lets me know that it happened. Testing after that often gives a high sugar reading due to the liver breaking down glycagon. I ignore that reading, and immediately reduce, or consider reducing, the night time background insulin. If the background insulin is correct, then no hypo should happen. Hypos should be the result of misjudging the ration of CHO and fast acting insulin. However, getting the background insulin correct is hard.
Of course, even if the background insulin is correct, it can be thrown out by- stress, overwork, drink and illness.
As a help - I have a luxurious cotton bathrobe that I keep near my bed. Slipping it on helps keep me warm, and drier, and protects the bedding.
I agree about the pump. This country is really mean about issuing them.
I feel that if the condition continues raise it with the diabetic clinic. It would suggest a misalignment of the insulins.
 

donnellysdogs

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Night sweats can be due to other causes than high or low blood levels. It is important to check bloods when sweating. However, if levels are in range and this keeps happening do speak to your GP.


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