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BG15.9 at 3:15pm, hypo 3h25m later

Y

yockney

Member
Messages
6
Location
Essex
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi All

I've been a member of this forum for some years but never actually posted anything... until now that is. I had a hypo Monday this week that was completely unexpected - the first I've ever had but it was the circumstances that shook me more than anything.

I've been T2 since March 2006 and became a member of Diabetes UK soon after. Generally my BG is under control although it does tend to be a bit high. I'm on two Gliclazide 80mg per day, one am, one pm. My BG first thing in the morning is somewhere between 6.0 and 8.5.

On Monday 24th Oct at 3:15pm (the times are important here) I felt a bit peckish so before getting myself anything I checked my BG, 15.9 - I didn't have anything! However, come 6:40pm I was beginning to shiver and sweat and shake and I couldn't work out what was wrong. I checked the symptoms of a hyper but no, that didn't tally so checked the symptoms of a hypo and that DID. I therefore checked my BG immediately and it was down at 3.2. Somehow my BG had dropped 12.7 points in 3hrs 25mins. I immediately took action to get my BG back up and within about 15 minutes I was fine again but what the blazes caused it is anyone's guess. The only thing I can think of is a sudden surge of insulin released by my pancreas.

I phoned my diabetic nurse the following morning. I put the scenario to her and told her what I thought and she agreed and said that sometimes the body does this. She advised me to keep a close eye on things and I've noticed since then that my BG is behaving a little strangely albeit in a good way. However, at the moment I really do have to be alert to possible hypos hitting 'out of the blue' as it were.

As a result of this experience it would be well for ALL T2 diabetics to be prepared for a possible hypo since I would hate for the same thing to happen to anyone else. I was very lucky I was at home and could do something about it immediately but if I'd been out of the house with no means of getting a sugar fix I'd have been in a right state. Now I have a resealable plastic bag in my handbag with three sugar lumps in it - just in case. I've also got some small chocolate bars.

So all T2 diabetics, please let this be a cautionary tale and make sure you can recover if the same thing should happen to you.

Tracey
 
Hi, These things can happen, sometimes without much warning. I always carry a pack of glucose tablets with me.I have several packs ,one in the car , one in my work bag etc. Hope this might help
 
Also carry some low releasing carbohydrates for after the glucose tablets to sustain a good level.
 
I always have some Jelly Babies, Dried Apricots and some Walnuts in my bag, plus more Jelly Babies in the car, for emergencies / when I'm going a bit low. I also have got a bottle of Lucazade but it's 500 mls and so I'm looking for some 100ml or 50ml bottles so I can 'recant' it into smaller quantities. Because of the 'fizz', I thought it might be quicker response.

As far as I know, chocolate is not a particularly good food for hypos as the glucose in it is slowly absorbed because of the fat content. Such a shame, as I love chocolate and would definitely prefer some chocolate to Jelly Babies when hypo ;)

Please correct me if I'm wrong in any of this :)
 
I always have glucose tablets, small pack of oatcakes, and some almonds in my "emergency" box which is invariably in my backpack (regularly checked and contents changed as needed) and never far away from me!
 
I wonder if your previous reading of 15.9 was a false reading? As you said you were peckish, so the numbers didn't seem to match your feelings. Could have been a duff strip - or something on your finger that affected the result? Then you not eating when you thought you should would have led to that hypo you had.
 
Thanks for all your replies. Toffer, yes I had considered that but rejected it because it is not how my body has been behaving for the past ten years. In ten years of being T2 the closest I've been to a hypo before last Monday was once when I got down to 4.2 and that is literally just once - I'm normally above 6.0 although occasionally in the upper 5's. So no, I don't think it was anything to do with a duff test strip at all. At present I'm back once again to 'as you were' before my hypo. Nevertheless, I'm still taking the precaution of carrying some sugar lumps around with me and when I pick up a repeat prescription later today I'll see about getting some glucose tablets as well. It really was a wake up call to me that we can't take things for granted. Really, since I had not heard the like of it before, my post was to alert people to the possibility that the body just MAY inject a sudden rush of insulin into the body causing an unexpected hypo and if you're not ready for it then you could be in trouble depending on your access to sugar.
 
yockney said:
Hi All

I've been a member of this forum for some years but never actually posted anything... until now that is. I had a hypo Monday this week that was completely unexpected - the first I've ever had but it was the circumstances that shook me more than anything.

I've been T2 since March 2006 and became a member of Diabetes UK soon after. Generally my BG is under control although it does tend to be a bit high. I'm on two Gliclazide 80mg per day, one am, one pm. My BG first thing in the morning is somewhere between 6.0 and 8.5.

On Monday 24th Oct at 3:15pm (the times are important here) I felt a bit peckish so before getting myself anything I checked my BG, 15.9 - I didn't have anything! However, come 6:40pm I was beginning to shiver and sweat and shake and I couldn't work out what was wrong. I checked the symptoms of a hyper but no, that didn't tally so checked the symptoms of a hypo and that DID. I therefore checked my BG immediately and it was down at 3.2. Somehow my BG had dropped 12.7 points in 3hrs 25mins. I immediately took action to get my BG back up and within about 15 minutes I was fine again but what the blazes caused it is anyone's guess. The only thing I can think of is a sudden surge of insulin released by my pancreas.

I phoned my diabetic nurse the following morning. I put the scenario to her and told her what I thought and she agreed and said that sometimes the body does this. She advised me to keep a close eye on things and I've noticed since then that my BG is behaving a little strangely albeit in a good way. However, at the moment I really do have to be alert to possible hypos hitting 'out of the blue' as it were.

As a result of this experience it would be well for ALL T2 diabetics to be prepared for a possible hypo since I would hate for the same thing to happen to anyone else. I was very lucky I was at home and could do something about it immediately but if I'd been out of the house with no means of getting a sugar fix I'd have been in a right state. Now I have a resealable plastic bag in my handbag with three sugar lumps in it - just in case. I've also got some small chocolate bars.

So all T2 diabetics, please let this be a cautionary tale and make sure you can recover if the same thing should happen to you.

Tracey
Click to expand...

You are on glicizide, so you should be wary of sudden drops in blood glucose levels.
You need to have a review of your meds. Speak to your doctor not your nurse.
Also, your symptoms are also possibly fluctuating levels, possibly up and down quickly, hence the shaking and such, if so, you may not need quick glucose to get your levels too high and be rebounding from hypers and hypos. You do need to stabilise your levels because you will get rid of the symptoms. Always have a small low carb meal after fifteen minutes of treating low blood glucose levels.
Hope you feel better soon.
 
I had a similar cliff fall when I started LCHF diet. I was also supplementing with Bitter Melon at the time, and I too am on Gliclazide. I dropped from around 12 mmol/l down to 2.1 within 1 hour of eating a Low Carb meal. In my case, the meal obviously triggered a normal insulin response to something carby in the meal but there was no substance for the insulin to act on. The Gliclazide also pushed the insulin GO button as it was supposed to do, so in effect I had had just enough carbs to kick it all into action, but no follow through.

It may be that the glic med is amplifying things. Since my episode, I have reduced my Glic dose by 50% and have not had a repeat, although I am still eating the same meal. Nowadays I can drop from around 6 down to about 3.5, but its not such a precipice, and bottoms out by itself quite gently.

I carry glucose tabs with me, but have not needed them at all. The point about choc being slow to act is true, and would be insufficient to deal with a severe hypo. However I use chocbars for my hypo corrections since they only rise me by a couple of mmol/l so are fairly predictable. They also provide the medium carb to prolong the correction till you can eat a proper meal.

Sounds like your episode was a case of Live Dump due to skipping a meal, and the Glic may have amplified it as well.
 
Of course I'm aware of the risks of taking Gliclazide - its why I am permitted to get repeats of my test strips. However, my diet although not ideal is steady in that it doesn't generally alter that much. Certainly there is no real way of explaining the drop on that particular day. Incidentally, if I went to see my doctor about a diabetes related problem, I'd be told to see the nurse - it's happened before. I reckon the only way I'd see a doctor is to be referred to the hospital Diabetes Dept.

Yes, I'm on Gliclazide but until that point I was doing OK but I'm not going to rush off and make unjustified demands of anyone - unless it happens again. If it does then I shall certainly be knocking on someone's door - and probably reduce my intake of Gliclazide by 50% until something has been decided. At present I'm treating it as a 'one off' occurrence particularly as I'm well back on track with the meds I'm taking (8.2 this morning). Incidentally, I didn't have any breakfast that morning but then that is nothing unusual. Both my husband and myself are T2 but we very rarely have breakfast - wrong maybe but that is our way and so far no real ill effects.

I also take on board the comments about chocolate not necessarily being any good for a quick sugar fix so I shall be seeing about getting some Glucose tablets this afternoon particularly since I have to go to the pharmacy anyway.
 
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