Average number of hypo's per week

[TorqPenderloin]

See that's an interesting view point. At no point in that trace would I consider you Hypo. Going back to when I was diagnosed, years ago, I was taught that at 4-5mmol/l you should start to see hypo signs coming on, but it wasn't actually hypo. Once you were lower than 4 mmol/l then it was considered hypo.

Personally, I wouldn't either, but in this case, it ultimately depends on how that study defines a hypoglycemic event.

For me:
Below 4mmol/l- 10/week isn't off base
Below 3.8- I might see 2-3 instances in a week
Below 3.5- I've only had a couple in the past 2 months

 

[rachel162]

Hi, Rachel, re the number of hypos you are having - i just looked at a few of your earlier postings. I think you have had Type one 20 years, that's often about the time hypos can begin to be even more of a problem if you have been well controlled. I noticed you have just graduated and have been job hunting and recently moved and doing shift work/irregular hours, and that some weeks ago you had a stomach bug that got you to hospital with DKA. (Even if you are ok now, bugs can change absorption of food for a while.) .....seems to be a lot of reasons here for more hypos - .all the life changes mentioned are recognised stressors, and just one of them could throw my diabetes for months.. I had some bad hypo times but i never, thankfully, had a seizure. I would be concerned. Has your diabetes team advised about the hypos and seizures?

Yeah I figured my rather unstable life at the moment would probably not be helping too much! They've pretty much just said to run higher for a while but I can't deal with feeling even remotely high, it's awful! And because I can't pinpoint my lows to a particular time of day or anything it's difficult to try and adjust without having to expect at least some highs...there just don't seem to be any alternatives, but it's hard to explain to my team who've never actually had to experience being high why I can't put myself through that. I think I have the same fear of being high as most other people do of being low!

 

[Andy41]

I stumbled on the following link stating that people with Type 1 diabetes experience an average of 10 hypo's per week...this seems like a very high number to me...since low carbing I would estimate that my average week would be maybe 1-2 a week...if that even. Just wondering what everyone else's experience is?

https://www.jdrf.org.uk/news/latest-news/jdrf-supporter-dom-littlewoods-hypo-story-is-a-vivid-one

I've had 3 hypos since Jan when I was diagnosed. I'm sure I'm having the easiest time of all diabetics. Currently I'm taking a week off insulin and bgl is averaging around 12-14 but I don't feel any adverse effects. I know about the honeymoon period but I seriously doubt I am at all diabetic when I read posts like yours.

 

[himtoo]

Yeah I figured my rather unstable life at the moment would probably not be helping too much! They've pretty much just said to run higher for a while but I can't deal with feeling even remotely high, it's awful! And because I can't pinpoint my lows to a particular time of day or anything it's difficult to try and adjust without having to expect at least some highs...there just don't seem to be any alternatives, but it's hard to explain to my team who've never actually had to experience being high why I can't put myself through that. I think I have the same fear of being high as most other people do of being low!

i have felt exactly like that for years @rachel162 - i absolutely hate being above 9.
i would rather be low / hypo feeling for hours than all afternoon above 9 - it is difficult to explain ( impossible to non D medical peeps ) .
a busy lifestyle makes it hard to hit that ideal too.
all you can do is your best and hopefully we are here to lend a shoulder or a hand if needed.
there are some posts on topics around the forum from women and concerning things female that may be worth a look at -- some of the ladies seem to have devised strategies to assist on that front.

all the best !

 

[tim2000s]

I've had 3 hypos since Jan when I was diagnosed. I'm sure I'm having the easiest time of all diabetics. Currently I'm taking a week off insulin and bgl is averaging around 12-14 but I don't feel any adverse effects. I know about the honeymoon period but I seriously doubt I am at all diabetic when I read posts like yours.

Dude, if your bg levels are 12-14, you need to get back on that insulin pronto. That's high and very bad for your body. You are certainly diabetic if you are seeing that!

 

[ann34+]

Yeah I figured my rather unstable life at the moment would probably not be helping too much! They've pretty much just said to run higher for a while but I can't deal with feeling even remotely high, it's awful! And because I can't pinpoint my lows to a particular time of day or anything it's difficult to try and adjust without having to expect at least some highs...there just don't seem to be any alternatives, but it's hard to explain to my team who've never actually had to experience being high why I can't put myself through that. I think I have the same fear of being high as most other people do of being low!

Years ago i went to a diabetes uk day, there was a workshop on stress, the researcher said it affected each person differently, some had not much effect, others had highs, some had lows. Some of us said both, it depended on the type of stress. Regarding highs that might come with some forms of stress - your stress hormones - eg adrenaline - may partly block insulin action, but when the adrenaline dissipates some earlier insulin might be still active... if you don't feel well with highs, is it possible you might correct a bit too soon in this type of situation without taking this into account? I had this problem some years ago.

 

[PseudoBob77]

Stress releases the hormone cortisol which counteracts insulin, in turn encouraging higher blood sugars stimulating gluconeogenesis which facilitates glucose production.

You can go in to detail about enzymes and hormone response to stress but that medical terminology won't help anyone stabalise their blood sugars if stress is making it yo yo.

 

[lizdeluz]

Yeah I figured my rather unstable life at the moment would probably not be helping too much! They've pretty much just said to run higher for a while but I can't deal with feeling even remotely high, it's awful! And because I can't pinpoint my lows to a particular time of day or anything it's difficult to try and adjust without having to expect at least some highs...there just don't seem to be any alternatives, but it's hard to explain to my team who've never actually had to experience being high why I can't put myself through that. I think I have the same fear of being high as most other people do of being low!

Your current 'unstable life, shifts, unhealthily high-carb diet, emergency cereal bars, fear of being high' suggest to me that you are enduring a roller coaster of highs and lows. Is that correct?
If so, I recognise it and have been there. Changing your diet may be the ideal way to get off the roller coaster and achieve more and more middle-of-the-road bs numbers, which could then be tweaked downwards gradually over several months.
I hate highs too. I do hate that oppressive, itchy, exhausted, hot-eyed, headache-y feeling that highs can give me.
I prefer veering to low: maybe it's the sense of preparing for flight or fight because I feel energised and virtuous that my bs is not high.
However, beyond this, in the low 3 or 2 or even 1, is a different matter. Many of us know that this low can leave you on the floor unable to act at all, or worse.
Perhaps this is why the article cited hypos as being the worst fear for a person with diabetes. In reality, it's probably the worst fear of people without diabetes who witness or are called upon to treat the hypo.

 

[RuthW]

Unfortunately, I am aware of the barriers people in the UK have in obtaining/affording CGMs. I posted with the assumption that most probably didn't have a CGM.

My intent wasn't to be abrasive, but to explain that it's difficult to record a hypo when you test <10 times a day versus 288 times a day (every 5 minutes) with a CGM.

I had another hypo this morning that is a perfect example:
Left on a 30 minute run- level was 135mg/dL (7.5mmol/l)
Finish 30 minute run- level was 100mg/dL (5.6mmol/l)
45 minutes after run- level is 72mg/dL (4 mmol/l)
65 minutes after run- level is 75mg/dL (4.2 mmol/l)
75 minutes after run- level is 97mg/dL (5.4 mmol/l)

Relevancy- I had a quick hypo for 45 minutes after my run that lasted for only 20 minutes. It was one I did not feel and one I probably wouldn't have caught if I didn't have a CGM. Also, I did not intentionally correct (carbohydrates) the hypo at the 75 minute mark.

Side note: my situation is a bit unusual compared to most. I am still in the honeymoon phase, currently experimenting with a low carb approach (gradually lowering my intake from 100g/day down to 25g/day), and I'm currently taking only 7 units of basal insulin (down from 24units), and no bolus (although I previously never took more than 5-6units in a single day).

Neither of those numbers you bolded is even a clinical hypo, let alone a biological one. They are both perfectly desirable readings.

 

[RuthW]

Yeah I figured my rather unstable life at the moment would probably not be helping too much! They've pretty much just said to run higher for a while but I can't deal with feeling even remotely high, it's awful! And because I can't pinpoint my lows to a particular time of day or anything it's difficult to try and adjust without having to expect at least some highs...there just don't seem to be any alternatives, but it's hard to explain to my team who've never actually had to experience being high why I can't put myself through that. I think I have the same fear of being high as most other people do of being low!

I don't think you should run higher. I think you should run flatter! I find it useful to think about reducing the deviation in my blood sugars rather than hypos/hypers. They tend to feed off each other. Have you looked at your insulin:carb ratios and your timing of injections relative to eating recently? If you eat too soon after injecting that tend to give a relatively high post-meal reading, followed by a hypo. The high reading makes you think you need to increase your insulin for meals, when in fact you only need to alter the timing. And you may then find you can cut your insulin.
I had a stressful couple of weeks lately where I didn't pay attention to timing. I got lots of spikes followed by lows. This week the stress has passed, I am paying attention to timing, and everything's spot on again.

 

[pinewood]

I've had 3 hypos since Jan when I was diagnosed. I'm sure I'm having the easiest time of all diabetics. Currently I'm taking a week off insulin and bgl is averaging around 12-14 but I don't feel any adverse effects. I know about the honeymoon period but I seriously doubt I am at all diabetic when I read posts like yours.

Dude, if your bg levels are 12-14, you need to get back on that insulin pronto. That's high and very bad for your body. You are certainly diabetic if you are seeing that!

Absolutely - and just because you feel fine at 12-14 doesn't mean it's not doing any damage.

 

[rachel162]

himtoo - glad you seem to get how I feel, and thanks...will have a browse round some of those topics!

ann34+ - you could be right; I always edge towards over correcting when I'm even remotely high cause I hate it so much, and I have had one or two occasions recently where I've struggled to actually bring my levels down, so I think the fear of that happening again just pushes me to correct further, even if sometimes I still have active insulin on board. Think maybe I need to try and de-stress a bit and watch my diet a bit more to minimise the fluctuations and necessary corrections!

PseudoBob77 - aha it might not be helping me stabilise my blood sugars but it's interesting! I wish I knew more about why the things that affect my levels do so; it might help me anticipate some of my problems a bit better than I have been doing recently.

lizdeluz - mmm not quite a rollercoaster; I definitely have a lot more lows than highs. I don't know why but I have almost an obsession with staying below 7, and even at times when I'm busy and likely to drop I do tend to correct when I'm anything above that, despite feeling fine so long as I'm below about 10. But I would agree that regardless I need to sort my diet out, and am now taking a week out which I'm spending back home with my family to see if I can start to remedy both my diet and my sleeping pattern! And ah yes definitely agree about lows being a fear for people without diabetes; everyone always tells me it would be so much better to run high and I'm just like 'really? Have you tried it?'

Thank you guys for all your responses and support; much needed, and I definitely take advice better when I can't actually come back with 'but you don't get it'! Hopefully over the next month or so I'll start to get things back on track a bit!

 

[joha1971]

I stumbled on the following link stating that people with Type 1 diabetes experience an average of 10 hypo's per week...this seems like a very high number to me...since low carbing I would estimate that my average week would be maybe 1-2 a week...if that even. Just wondering what everyone else's experience is?

https://www.jdrf.org.uk/news/latest-news/jdrf-supporter-dom-littlewoods-hypo-story-is-a-vivid-one

I average 16 readings per week less than 3.0, mostly during the night or morning. They don't really bother me as I have little hypo awareness. Only recognise when less than 2. I recognise highs more - feel dizzy and unwell.

 

[PseudoBob77]

I average 16 readings per week less than 3.0, mostly during the night or morning. They don't really bother me as I have little hypo awareness. Only recognise when less than 2. I recognise highs more - feel dizzy and unwell.

Is that down to exercise burning off more carbs though the night causing you to be continually low?

 

[Heathero]

Gosh thought 1 a week was high! Since on pump have found warnings changed, anyone else found this. I was 1.8 last week, but soon corrected.