• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Type 1 Blood sugars

My boy

My boy

Active Member
Messages
36
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Did my sons blood sugars before bed which was sitting at 13.0 an hr ago. Just checked him again and its down to 3.7. ive struggled to get him to drink glucose as he was sleeping why does this keep happening? Please help
 
3.7 is low, but it's not (what I'd consider) dangerously low. Either way, this is occurring because there's too much insulin in his system at the time you tested (for whatever reason).

Can you elaborate a bit more about the events that occurred earlier in the day: previous glucose test results, what he ate for dinner, what time he ate, what time he injected, how much, etc. Also, was he doing any sort of physical activity (even running around the house) earlier in the evening before bed?
 
Hi picked my soon up from childminders after six hr had his dinner there. His blood sugars had been sitting high today around 17.0 - 18.4. We came home played a few games of snakes and ladders then off to bed he went. No running abt.
 
That is a big drop in the space of a hour.

As you posted yesterday that his bg control is erratic I'd get in touch with his diabetes team in the morning and ask for assistance, difficult to give advice for a child so young @My boy as you can appreciate.
 
Thankyou very much i shall do much appreciated for the feedback x
 
These details are very important and there’s still a lot of very important information you/we need to know to figure out what is causing this.

The way I understood your post:

18:00hrs-your son gets home. At that point, his levels were around 17-18.4. He has already eaten, but WHAT did he eat? Has he already taken insulin? If so, how much and EXACTLY when?

An unknown amount of time passes (tell us how long)

?:00hrs-Your son went to bed with levels around 13.0 (At what time?)

?:00hrs+1hr- Your son’s levels are at 3.7


Without knowing the actual timeline, we’re still guessing. However, using a few assumptions, the situation strongly indicates he was administered insulin much too late after eating, and he likely received too high of a dose. The delay would have caused his levels to spike extremely high. The extremely high levels would have had a delayed response even to an excessive insulin dose. Consequently, the excessive insulin dose could have led to the low he had later on in the night long after taking insulin.


Obviously, you have a lot to discuss with your doctor, but in the meantime it would be wise to document EXACTLY when this is occurring and the circumstances under which it occurred. That is something you can help control immediate to try to make this less of a guessing game and more of a math problem.
 
Hi my son is 4yrs old. His blood sugars are constantly erratic. His bms were high through out the day. He gets his insulin before meals and we calculate carbs. He had his dinner at 6pm 40g of carbs 2.5 nivo rapid given at 8pm his bm was 13.0. At 9 i thot i will re check as i know he hasnt been himself and when i checked they were 3.7. Have spoken to diabetic nurses today who have changed his carb ratios and see how he goes. Thankyou for repkying back @ TorqPenderlion. X
 
That does help, but it still doesn't rule out the possibility I mentioned above.

You mentioned that you picked your son up from childcare around 6pm. Who is helping to give your son his insulin when you are not there? I'd specifically want to know what events occurred between 16:00hrs-18:00hrs. Someone needs to help him with this as 10+ mmol/L is not healthy.

Hypothetically, he could have received insulin during that time which may not have had an immediate effect on his levels until 20:00hrs when you tested him at 13.0. His levels could have continued to drop which was further magnified by the 2.5 units of Novorapid he took at 6pm.

18:00hrs-17-18 mmol/l; 40g carbs; 2.5 units novorapid
20:00hrs- 13mmol/l
21:00hrs- 3.7mmol/l

Obviously, I'm just thinking out loud as if I were the one in your son's situation.
 
Between 16 - 18 hrs he was watching tv then having dinner no running around. My childminder was a nurse before being a childminder. I feel so confused abt everything. Im sure he is coming down with sonething as he has had a temp most of the day. But iam stressed out and tired as im not sleeping due to worrying that my son might not wake up!
 
My boy said:
Between 16 - 18 hrs he was watching tv then having dinner no running around. My childminder was a nurse before being a childminder. I feel so confused abt everything. Im sure he is coming down with sonething as he has had a temp most of the day. But iam stressed out and tired as im not sleeping due to worrying that my son might not wake up!
Click to expand...
That's deeply concerning as a nurse of all people should understand that levels exceeding 18 mmol/L are not good for your son. I hope that's not the reason she isn't a nurse anymore.

I know you're worried about the hypos, but you should be very concerned about the hypers as well. If you're picking your son up from daycare with his levels at 18+, you need to find someone else who is responsible enough to help him manage things.

Of course, if your son is getting sick that can certainly change his insulin needs. However, most people find they need MORE insulin rather than less when they're sick.
 
No its not the resson why she isnt a nurse anymore... my sons was only diagnosed last april so his bms are still not well controlled in on the phone to diabetes nurses 2-3 times a week and all i get from them is oh dont know why this is happenning it could be he is brewing something or its maybe coz he is growing all the time. Really dont know what or who yo listen too @ TorgPendelton .
 
My boy said:
my sons was only diagnosed last april so his bms are still not well controlled
Click to expand...
The fact that your son is 4 years old makes it more difficult to manage his levels compared to an adult like myself.

However, the fact that he was diagnosed last April is irrelevant. That was nearly a year ago now, and unfortunately, things won't magically become easier when he turns 5, 6, or 7 years old.

I realize this is a lot to handle and I can't imagine having a child with type 1, but there's a lot of evidence to suggest that the management of his diabetes is the problem rather than him having a rare form of type 1.

That may not be what you want to hear, but that would actually be BETTER in this case. It's easy to learn this stuff if you're willing to put in the time.
 
Are the tests being done after a handwash each time? I only know that some young children tend to eat with hands and even a minute amount of anything on them can give high readings...
I assume clean hands...

It sounds as if you are still giving fixed quantities of insulin to your son? Has your diabetes team discussed how to work out correction bolus's to lower levels and checking for ketones?

Could you give us a run down of the last 24 hours of injections and the foods that have been ate?

Is your childminder giving injections? Does she provide food or do you supply it? Are you writing down everything.. Foods, insulin, activities on a daily log book?

What blood meter are you using? It would be good if it was one that calculated insulin for carbs and correction bolus's ie the aviva expert meter...
 
TorqPenderloin said:
The fact that your son is 4 years old makes it more difficult to manage his levels compared to an adult like myself.

However, the fact that he was diagnosed last April is irrelevant. That was nearly a year ago now, and unfortunately, things won't magically become easier when he turns 5, 6, or 7 years old.

I realize this is a lot to handle and I can't imagine having a child with type 1, but there's a lot of evidence to suggest that the management of his diabetes is the problem rather than him having a rare form of type 1.

That may not be what you want to hear, but that would actually be BETTER in this case. It's easy to learn this stuff if you're willing to put in the time.
Click to expand...
So is it me doing something wrong then @TorqPenderlion i mean im doing everything the docs ask me to do counting carbs ratios correction factors and we go to diabetic clinic every 3 mths.??
 
donnellysdogs said:
Are the tests being done after a handwash each time? I only know that some young children tend to eat with hands and even a minute amount of anything on them can give high readings...
I assume clean hands...

It sounds as if you are still giving fixed quantities of insulin to your son? Has your diabetes team discussed how to work out correction bolus's to lower levels and checking for ketones?

Could you give us a run down of the last 24 hours of injections and the foods that have been ate?

Is your childminder giving injections? Does she provide food or do you supply it? Are you writing down everything.. Foods, insulin, activities on a daily log book?

What blood meter are you using? It would be good if it was one that calculated insulin for carbs and correction bolus's ie the aviva expert meter...
Click to expand...
Hi donnellysdogs yes handwashing every time. We count carbs and go by ratios and fo correction factor. My son is quite a fussy eater and eats same foods most of the time. Awaiting an insulun pump too which i hope will be better than the injections.
 
My boy said:
So is it me doing something wrong then @TorqPenderlion i mean im doing everything the docs ask me to do counting carbs ratios correction factors and we go to diabetic clinic every 3 mths.??
Click to expand...
It sounds like something is being done incorrectly, but hear me out in what else I have to say:

EVERYONE makes mistakes, and it's IMPOSSIBLE to be perfect at managing your insulin so you can't take any of this personally. You obviously want to learn otherwise you wouldn't be here. There are people who have had type 1 for 50 years and still make mistakes, it's unrealistic to expect that you, a mother of a young diabetic child, has everything figured out in less than a year.

So is something being done incorrectly? I'm pretty confident in saying "Yes," but that doesn't mean you're doing something WRONG.
 
TorqPenderloin said:
It sounds like something is being done incorrectly, but hear me out in what else I have to say:

EVERYONE makes mistakes, and it's IMPOSSIBLE to be perfect at managing your insulin so you can't take any of this personally. You obviously want to learn otherwise you wouldn't be here. There are people who have had type 1 for 50 years and still make mistakes, it's unrealistic to expect that you, a mother of a young diabetic child, has everything figured out in less than a year.

So is something being done incorrectly? I'm pretty confident in saying "Yes," but that doesn't mean you're doing something WRONG.
Click to expand...
Thankyou so much i will always keep learning and i shall try and find out what is being done incorrectly. Cheers for the advice TorPenderlion
 
It should help if foods are about the same.

What meter are you using.?
Only because little tweaks can make a huge difference..

I take it that you have 1/2 unit pens?

Why are you having to wait for a pump?
 
donnellysdogs said:
It should help if foods are about the same.

What meter are you using.?
Only because little tweaks can make a huge difference..

I take it that you have 1/2 unit pens?

Why are you having to wait for a pump?
Click to expand...
Morning donnellysdog my son is on levemir and novorspid. The meter we use is accu check aviva nano. We got told from consultant that harry missed out because he turned 4yrs old and kids 3 and under are more priveliged!! Was told harry would get pump before he starts school in august then told it will be after he starts the school on august. I did ask why ans said that i would buy the pump myself and they said it wasnt the money they didnt have the nurses available to train us on the pump. Budget costs...... x
 
Gosh, different CCGs work so differently. My last one offered them to all children under 12....as first choice.

Does the Nano calculate the bolus if you enter carbs? Does it calculate the correction amount if a reading is high?
I would personally ask for the aviva expert...

How has today been? Is there any difference from being at childminder on weekdays to being with you at weekends?

Thinking of you....
 
Back
Top