Hypo unawareness

[DaveDisco]

Hi Guys,
has this happened to any of you?
when first started taking insulin 2 and a half weeks ago, I was starting to mild hypo at 4-4.4 just feeling a bit funny and not 100% and symptoms gradually got worse (shaking etc) as my sugars dropped.

anyways after two weeks i find I have no warning signs at all. Last three hypos I've been fine then 30 secs later major symptoms almost at point where I can't test or take sugar cos I'm that bad and my sugar has been down at 3.3,3.2,2.8 respectively

is this just gonna carry on until I dont get any symptoms at all? and just keel over cos I'm down to 1.0 or something?

anyone with similar experiences or tips on how to get my symptoms back?

cheers
Dave

 

[tasha]

Hi DaveDisco,

If you only started on insulin 2 weeks ago you will not be suffering 'hypo unawareness' as described by some T1s. This only happens after years!

However, if you've only been on insulin for a couple of weeks, I am assuming your BS have not been controlled aswell as they should prior to this. Your body gets 'used' to feeling high and some people can get symptoms of hypos even if their BS drops but is still relatively normal (just lower than normal for them).
As your body becomes used to being more in control with the insulin and being at a normal BS level, it will not feel symptoms until much lower. This could explain what is happening to you.

What I would be more concerned about is the massive sudden symptoms you are getting-severe shakes etc. This would indicate your sugar level is dropping very fast indeed. Could this be down to too much insulin as you get used to controlling how much to use? I know if I get my dose massively wrong I get very sudden symptoms when I drop very fast.

It might be worth phoning your DSN for some advice (or someone else?) on who to adjust your insulin doses. Are you on Basal Bolus?

Tasha x

 

[DaveDisco]

cheers for reply tasha

I'm on 14 units of lantus every night and on insulin to carb ratio of 1U:20g.
I'm really anal about things and weighing food then consulting my book or going by backs of things on packets so dont think I'm giving too much novorapid.

I am quite active, and was superfit prior to about a month ago. wonder whether my body is just stupidly sensitive to insulin. Altho having said that hardly done any exercise recently.

I do have a job where I'm on feet super busy all day, maybe my brain is just not noticing symptoms as I'm busy thinking of other things!

 

[jopar]

Dave

Now you've been a diabetic for a couple of weeks, so hopefully your blood glucose should be more stable, it might be that you need to adjust one of your insulins..

You need to look at your all monitoring, look to see if there is any patterns to your hypos, as this will help to determin what actions to take...

Ask yourself these questions

When are they hypo's happening?
Am I'm at work or home?
Have I had a meal?
Are any of my meals a lot different timing to other times?
Have I been working or exerciseing?

If you are hypoing after a meal then it might be that you need to change your insulin ratio for that meal,

If you find that you are hypoing after a meal at work, but not when at home then you may need to change your insulin ratio for work meals and keep your home meals the same...

If you find that if you don't eat, and your levels are raising then this could indicate that your background levels aren't enough and you need to increase your background insulin

If you don't eat and find that you go hypo, then this could indicate that your background insulin is too much...

It is not unusual after you have started on insulin, to hit what they term as 'honeymoon' period where you insulin needs become reduced/low this can last weeks, months then you find that your insulin requirements increase...

As for your symptons, it could be that you are having very suttle symptons that you are missing because you are just busy and haven't noticed them... The best way to deal with this, is work out the situations that you would be danger of hypo i.e while at work etc and carry out an extra test at these points...

Some of the difficulties with eating etc, could be just how you are going to react at these levels, or that if you've been running higher as a normal the reaction could just be a lot stronger to a certain extent how someone copes and reactions can be very individual and you don't always get the same reactions every time..

I've normally get quite a good hypo warning, but it hasn't been unknow that when I've been busy, so decided to take a BG test to see how I'm fairing, to find that I'm functioning on 1.7mmol/l with out any apparent symptons, mind you with saying that I didn't last long I did on that occasion have just enough time to warn someone that I was in trouble...

 

[DaveDisco]

I just thought of something that might be contributing...

..recently had a few high pre meal blood glucose readings (>12). I'm carb counting so worked out my dose and added an extra unit to compensate for the fact I had high sugars pre meal.

am I doing that right? or should I not add extra units like this?
(off to see the DN tomorro and dont wanna get told off)