Avoiding hypos

[TheBigNewt]

Twice in the last week I have been told by an NHS nurse that we should be avoiding hypos as much as possible, the latest information I received today from a nurse was that hypos affect THE METABOLIC MEMORY OF THE HEART, however the inevitability of taking insulin and dealing with life's curve balls means that it's a virtually impossible task, I average around 3 hypos a week and although in post analysis I can define why they happened I very often cannot avoid them as I don't have a CGM. So putting this question out there to all insulin controlled members - how do you avoid hypos ?

You can't avoid them. Their danger to me can occur when I'm asleep, and I am successful in that regard using my own method. And I'm board certified in cardiovascular disease, and have never come across the term "metabolic memory of the heart". Maybe I was absent that day lol.

 

[ickihun]

Absolutely agree.

I had a sub 40mmol/mol HbA1c once, but it almost killed me to get there. I was absolutely obsessed with testing and could not stop thinking about "what my BG might be". There was little quality of life, although at the time it felt sound - it really wasn't.

I had an interesting discussion with my diabetologist at my last visit about HbA1c values and complications. She told me that there is little evidence to suggest that an HbA1c in the low 50's would cause more complications/greater liklihood of complications than an HbA1c in the low 40's. Basically, the difference is negligible. But, she did say that you would be three times more likely to suffer recurring bouts of hypoglycemia with an HbA1c in the 40's. Apologies if I'm misquoting you Doc!

What I took from that is that creeping your HbA1c closer to 50 will not cause you much more issues than busting a gut to keep your HbA1c super-low. With a higher HbA1c there is more room to relax and not worry about dropping low which in itself, is enough to make the quality of life much greater.

When I got obsessed I was sent to psychologist.