Blood sugar

[Dave Wilde]

Hi
I was diagnosed with type 1 around 2 months ago after a very severe DKA (BS 70). On a couple of occasions my BS has been below 4 and then when I test 15 mins later my BS has risen without me doing anything. Is anyone able to tell me how this could happen?

Thanks for your help
Dave

 

[ert]

Welcome. Are you using a finger prink test? The glucometers accuracy varies but should be plus or minus 0.5 (but I think some brands are much more variable than this) but this will explain your different readings without correcting by eating. You could try just testing the same place, using a number of strips to see if you get different readings.

 

[Dave Wilde]

Welcome. Are you using a finger prink test? The glucometers accuracy varies but should be plus or minus 0.5 (but I think some brands are much more variable than this) but this will explain your different readings without correcting by eating. You could try just testing the same place, using a number of strips to see if you get different readings.

Hi
I’m using the Libre sensor. Is it possible to go up by itself ?

 

[Dave Wilde]

Welcome. Are you using a finger prink test? The glucometers accuracy varies but should be plus or minus 0.5 (but I think some brands are much more variable than this) but this will explain your different readings without correcting by eating. You could try just testing the same place, using a number of strips to see if you get different readings.

I should also say my body tells me a different story. Despite the diagnosis there is a part of me that thinks I either don’t have it or I’ll recover by myself. Dangerous I know, but it’s what I have been thinking

 

[MeiChanski]

There’s a possibility that you are still in the honeymoon phase, where you are still producing insulin until you don’t have any left. So eventually you’ll need more insulin. If it is in the mornings, DP can do it’s liver dump so bg levels will do up. However below 4 needs to be treated. It could also be adrenaline - if anyone could correct or if I’m typing rubbish. If you are using the libre, it’s good to finger prick to confirm some of your high and low readings due to it’s inaccuracy. Libre lags behind finger prick readings as well.

 

[Dave Wilde]

There’s a possibility that you are still in the honeymoon phase, where you are still producing insulin until you don’t have any left. So eventually you’ll need more insulin. If it is in the mornings, DP can do it’s liver dump so bg levels will do up. However below 4 needs to be treated. It could also be adrenaline - if anyone could correct or if I’m typing rubbish. If you are using the libre, it’s good to finger prick to confirm some of your high and low readings due to it’s inaccuracy. Libre lags behind finger prick readings as well.

Hi
Thanks for your reply. I was told my DKA was so severe that this is unlikely. I was unconscious for two days and had lost 16 kilos in weight

 

[Scott-C]

Hi, @Dave Wilde , there's dozens of reasons why your bg will move around a lot.

It's not a static system. Non-T1s think their bg is stable, but it only appears so because their pancrease are doing some fine tuning to keep it in range, pushing out insulin to lower it, or glucagon to raise it.

With us T1s, though, our beta cells in the Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas which normally produce insulin are basically ******, don't make insulin any more, so we have to inject it.

Doing it in the same way as the beta cells did is very difficult, but it is manageable.

You eat some food, it's got some carbs in it, those break down to glucose, it streams through your liver then into your blood stream, it'll then be used to power your immediate energy requirements and also be stored for future use, provided there is some insulin there to let it do that: insulin is like a chemical gateway which lets carbs be used properly.

That flow of glucose will raise your bg, the art of T1 is being able to time the insulin injections correctly to match the inflow of glucose.

Because it's a constantly moving system, glucose coming into your blood stream from food or your liver (the liver stores glucose and pushes it out to fuel basic body processes like keeping you warm) and going out again to fuel you, the chances of your bg not changing are very slim - it changes because of biology.

 

[ert]

Hi
I’m using the Libre sensor. Is it possible to go up by itself ?

Yes, the Libre sensor can go up if you blink. It has a life of its own. But the trend arrows and the data you get are really worthwhile. You need to finger prink to be sure of your readings, especially if they're low or high.

 

[ert]

I should also say my body tells me a different story. Despite the diagnosis there is a part of me that thinks I either don’t have it or I’ll recover by myself. Dangerous I know, but it’s what I have been thinking

I share your grief. I didn't want this diagnosis either. I refused to go on insulin thinking I could be thin type 2, even though the specialists were convinced otherwise with my initial c-peptide and BMI and age. After finding GAD antibodies, I'm more resigned, ended up in the hospital, accepted insulin, but I keep imagining, like you, that for some reason, I will suddenly start producing my own insulin. I just can't picture that this is what I have for the rest of my life. They get things wrong all of the time, don't they? I'm not ready to accept a forever label.

 

[Fairygodmother]

Hi @David Wilde, welcome to the T1 Club. It’s both exclusive and inclusive, but, amazingly, given the choice, few people would want to join it.
Your blood sugars could be rising after being below 4 because your body’s recognised they’re too low and, like @MeiChanski suggested, put out some adrenaline. Adrenaline stimulates the liver to release glucose from its store. It can also make us more bad tempered, or make us feel temporarily that we’ve got a lot of energy when we have low blood sugars, aka hypoglycaemia: adrenaline’s also known as the fight or flight hormone.
It should all get easier to manage as you get used to the way you feel when you’re high, low, or perfect.
Eventually, too, and with the help of your DSN and the varied experiences and knowledge shared on this forum, you should find that using insulin and managing your own body’s responses just becomes a part of life.
Good luck.