Hello

[kades]

Hello, I am new here! I was diagnosed with T1D mid September this year and ever since have had a massive roller-coaster of emotions!

The diagnosis came out of nowhere and the first two weeks I was an emotional mess. I started to find my way and this week was give the libre 2 freestyle, I was so excited to get this but I am now fixating on the readings. I don't carb count yet......I haven't been told or taught how to instead I have a set amount of units to give before meals. This weekend I have been riddled with anxiety, my readings were 5.1 and falling quickly, I treated this as a hypo which I think was a mistake but I panicked, then last night I woke about 2am and my level was 5.3 and I panicked again now I am scared to fall asleep incase I have a hypo in my sleep.

I am hoping my anxiety will settle soon but this weekend has been hard!

 

[Antje77]

Welcome to the forum @kades .

This weekend I have been riddled with anxiety, my readings were 5.1 and falling quickly, I treated this as a hypo which I think was a mistake but I panicked, then last night I woke about 2am and my level was 5.3

While those numbers are pretty much perfect in itself, they are a tad on the low side for someone newly diagnosed and still titrating their insulin doses, I think it's not a bad idea to eat a little something if you're seeing those numbers at night.

You're doing very well to take in account not only your reading but also checking if it's a steep drop or a steady line!

Can you contact your team tomorrow to ask about your doses? They may want you to adjust them a bit.

What did you use to 'treat' the 5.1, and how high did this treatment make you rise?
What I do when I'm lower than I like but still above hypo territory is to eat a small bite of something with carbs (fruit, bread) and see what it does before aggressively treating with quick acting glucose (which I of course do if I'm hypo).

I don't carb count yet......I haven't been told or taught how to

It's a process and it takes time to learn.
What you can do to speed up the process is counting the carbs in your meals (check the back of the package or use google for unpacked foods) and noting how many carbs you had and how much insulin. If you log this on the Libre app you can nicely see how this meal affected your blood glucose, and this can help you and your diabetes nurse in deciding how to adjust your doses.

now I am scared to fall asleep incase I have a hypo in my sleep.

For now, I'd test before bed and if your on the lower side you could have a little snack. (I was told 8 before sleeping at the very beginning but now am happy to go to sleep much lower.)
Make sure you keep something to treat a hypo right at your bedside so you can treat right there if you drop too low, you should be able to treat without issue.
If you're scared about nighttime lows, what about setting the alarm of your libre a bit higher so it wakes you up before you're low? You can set it at 5 or 5.5 if you like.

 

[kades]

Welcome to the forum @kades .

While those numbers are pretty much perfect in itself, they are a tad on the low side for someone newly diagnosed and still titrating their insulin doses, I think it's not a bad idea to eat a little something if you're seeing those numbers at night.

You're doing very well to take in account not only your reading but also checking if it's a steep drop or a steady line!

Can you contact your team tomorrow to ask about your doses? They may want you to adjust them a bit.

What did you use to 'treat' the 5.1, and how high did this treatment make you rise?
What I do when I'm lower than I like but still above hypo territory is to eat a small bite of something with carbs (fruit, bread) and see what it does before aggressively treating with quick acting glucose (which I of course do if I'm hypo).

It's a process and it takes time to learn.
What you can do to speed up the process is counting the carbs in your meals (check the back of the package or use google for unpacked foods) and noting how many carbs you had and how much insulin. If you log this on the Libre app you can nicely see how this meal affected your blood glucose, and this can help you and your diabetes nurse in deciding how to adjust your doses.

For now, I'd test before bed and if your on the lower side you could have a little snack. (I was told 8 before sleeping at the very beginning but now am happy to go to sleep much lower.)
Make sure you keep something to treat a hypo right at your bedside so you can treat right there if you drop too low, you should be able to treat without issue.
If you're scared about nighttime lows, what about setting the alarm of your libre a bit higher so it wakes you up before you're low? You can set it at 5 or 5.5 if you like.

Hi Antje77!

Thanks for the message. I treated my lows with a carton of orange juice and an apple this took me to 14 which I know is too high! My nurse suggested going to bed with a reading of about 10. I was not too worried about night time hypos until I got the libre and am able to easily look at my levels now, I don't think that I realised before how quickly they can drop.

I will call the diabete team tomorrow and speak to the nurse but I have lowered my dose by 1 unit today and have been in range most of the day.

Does the anxiety ever go away?

 

[Antje77]

I treated my lows with a carton of orange juice and an apple this took me to 14 which I know is too high!

Nothing to do with too high or not too high, you're at very early stages and anything you see is a learning opportunity in the first place.
You now know a carton of orange juice plus an apple brings your BG up by 9 mmol/l (5 to 14), so you now know you need less than that next time.

Take a look at the carton of OJ and look up the carbs in an average apple, and this will be the start of knowing how many carbs raises you by how much, very useful!

I will call the diabete team tomorrow and speak to the nurse but I have lowered my dose by 1 unit today and have been in range most of the day.

Brilliant!

Does the anxiety ever go away?

Depends. For some it does, for som it doesn't.
The only time I experience anxiety around hypos myself is around swimming in open water, which is annoying but not really a big problem in the larger scheme of things.

Have you had a hypo including feeling how one feels yet?
Once you have, you'll likely recognise the feeling next time, and you can simply treat and move on, most hypos for most people are like this.
You also have the help of the Libre, pre-warning you.

 

[kades]

Thank you! I hadn't even thought of calculating what rises my glucose by how much......that is helpful.

I don't think I have experienced a hypo(I was in town in the first week of diagnosis and had to leave a shop as I felt quite faint and irritable but i put that down to an anxiety attack. I didnt do a finger prick test straight away and ate some chocolate on my way home. I know that chocolate is a slow releasr sugar so are not recommended as hypo treatment but it was all i had on me at the time. I now have dextrose tablets everywhere!!) so the unknown scares me, I think my biggest worry is going below 4mmol and the treatments not bringing my level up and then having a severe hypo.

Thank you for your replies......it is so easy to feel alone in this!!!

 

[Antje77]

You'll get there, and you will have a hypo at some point, and you'll likely treat it without issue.

I think my biggest worry is going below 4mmol and the treatments not bringing my level up and then having a severe hypo.

It can happen, but it's pretty rare for most, especially if you make sure to have your meter and something to treat on you. Even rarer in those who use a sensor.

Thank you! I hadn't even thought of calculating what rises my glucose by how much......that is helpful.

So now you've started carb counting, way to go!

 

[EllieM]

Hi @kades and welcome to the forums.

Before sensors, T1s relied on hypo symptoms to tell us when we have gone low, and to wake us at night if we went low then. Most people have clear warning symptoms, and getting into the habit of always being near a hypo treatment means that you can avoid anything more than a mild hypo. (Believe me, from personal experience, going hypo in a shopping centre without glucose is a minefield because it can be difficult to work out how to buy sugar when you are running low and feeling slightly confused.). And no T1 should ever think about driving without being sure there is glucose (or equivalent) with them in the car.

My past problems with hypos have occurred (pre sensor) when I ran my levels too low and had far too many hypos, which impaired my hypo awareness.

I suspect you will feel much less anxious once you have had your first real hypo and can recognise the symptoms.

 

[kades]

Hi @kades and welcome to the forums.

Before sensors, T1s relied on hypo symptoms to tell us when we have gone low, and to wake us at night if we went low then. Most people have clear warning symptoms, and getting into the habit of always being near a hypo treatment means that you can avoid anything more than a mild hypo. (Believe me, from personal experience, going hypo in a shopping centre without glucose is a minefield because it can be difficult to work out how to buy sugar when you are running low and feeling slightly confused.). And no T1 should ever think about driving without being sure there is glucose (or equivalent) with them in the car.

My past problems with hypos have occurred (pre sensor) when I ran my levels too low and had far too many hypos, which impaired my hypo awareness.

I suspect you will feel much less anxious once you have had your first real hypo and can recognise the symptoms.

Thank you, I am a massive worrier so in my head I think I will have a hypo that I cannot treat and go into a coma! But like you say once I have experienced one I will understand it a bit better and hopefully learn how to avoid them.
I do appreciate that before sensors T1D was so much harder to control, we are lucky to have this technology