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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Charles Robin" data-source="post: 601168" data-attributes="member: 92241">Hi and welcome to the forum.If your friend is having fits most mornings, the problem is her insulin dose. As you are in the dark over the condition, I will give a brief overview here:Insulin is the hormone that the body releases in order to regulate blood sugars. It allows our bodies to take sugar out of the bloodstream, and use it to power our cells. It also allows us to store some of the energy, and is essential for fat storage and building muscles. In a non diabetic this system is automatic; You eat, and your body automatically releases the correct amount of insulin to deal with the fuel from the food. However, a type 1 diabetic can no longer produce their own insulin (for some reason not very well understood, their body's immune system decides to destroy the cells that produce insulin). Therefore, they have to inject the insulin instead. This is where the issues come in. There is no 'one dose size fits all.' Whereas a non diabetic automatically gets the correct dose, those who inject insulin have to take an educated guess. To function properly, our bodies need to have a certain amount of sugar in our blood stream at all times. If the insulin dose is too little, our blood sugars rise too high. Over time (usually years or decades), high blood sugars cause damage to many different parts of the body. This can lead to blindness, kidney failure, limb amputation and more. However, having too much insulin is equally dangerous. If there is too much insulin in our bodies, too much sugar will be taken out of our blood stream. This means that the body does not have enough fuel to function correctly. Having low blood sugars is often referred to as having a 'hypo'. (This is short for hypoglycaemia, but that's a bit too much of a mouthful for every day use!). Some of the most extreme symptoms are those you have witnessed your friend suffering from; fits. Other symptoms can be similar to being drunk; slurred speech, anger, confusion. The symptoms can vary hugely between individuals, and even from one hypo to the next.Important; You should never, ever treat a hypo with insulin. This will just make it worse. The body needs more sugar, so someone having a hypo needs to eat or drink something sugary as soon as possible. This will bring their blood sugars back up, and alleviate the symptoms very quickly. An untreated hypo can lead to brain damage, but this is thankfully rare, especially if treated quickly. I have had type 1 diabetes for 24 years. I have had more hypos than I can count, including fits like your friend is having, and I have suffered no lasting damage.So, on to the important bit; How to stop the fits. Your friend needs to reduce their insulin dose, probably the one that they have in the evening before bed (Note that I said reduce, not cancel the dose. The body has to have insulin to function). Does she have a machine to test her blood sugars with? In the UK, it's taken as gospel that a type 1 diabetic needs to test their blood sugars to work out their insulin requirements, but this may be different where you live. If she does not have one, I would strongly advise trying to acquire one, even if you have to purchase it. There are many good brands, the one I use is called OneTouch, although Accuchek is also good.Your friend should also talk to their health care team about learning to match their insulin requirement to their food intake; a process often referred to as carbohydrate counting. Again in the UK there is nutrition information on pretty much everything, so it's easy to work out how much carbohydrate/sugar is in something. If the same info is not available where you are, I would recommend getting hold of a book called Carbs and Cals. I think there is a kindle edition available if you can't get a physical copy. It has nutrition information on a huge range of foods, and photos to go with it so you can see what portion size they are referring to.It will probably take a lot of trial and error to get the dose right, but with a blood testing meter your friend can see if they are going too high/ low and adjust their insulin to match. (In the UK, we measure our blood sugars on a scale of Mmols.  A 'normal' blood sugar reading is anything between 4.0 mmols and 7.8 mols. Anything lower is classed as a hypo, and needs to be treated with glucose (a can of coke or a sugary snack works well, glucose tablets are also great if you can get them). Anything above 7.8 is higher than normal, although lots of diabetics don't worry until their levels get into the teens. An occasional high blood sugar is unlikely to cause long lasting damage, but if your friend is getting a lot of highs, they may need to look at adjusting their diabetes control, to avoid health problems later on.*phew* sorry for the long post, I know that's a lot to take in. If you want anything clarified, or just have a general question, feel free to send me a message, or post again in the forum. Best of luck.</blockquote>

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