how do you guys experience a hypo

[Freema]

hey all I am interested how your body reacts to getting a hypo in what ways does it affect you how can it be felt ?

 

[Fenn]

I have only had one so not talking from vast experience lol, two days ago, couldn't get my words out, it came out, but my brain would not put the letters in the correct order, correcting this took an effort of will, I was talking to customers on the phone at the time so not sure this came across very well, I was also shaking, I was already cold but started to shake like I had just been pulled out of a frozen lake, I have been low before when times were good with my bg I would often be 3.6 with zero effects, the hypo was very obviously something different, don't think it could be mistaken for anything else, very odd. but I had overdosed on insulin and dropped very very fast so maybe that didn't help, once again I assume we are all different though do I doubt other peoples hypos match, very unhelpful post sorry.

 

[Muneeb]

I get an increased heart rate, start feeling light headed. If really low <3 mmol/L I get the sweats. Can take 30 minutes to recover properly.

 

[Rokaab]

once again I assume we are all different though do I doubt other peoples hypos match,

Yep, also one hypo may not be the same as another for the same person.
I've had a variety of different symptoms over the course of many hypos over the years - they include: blurry vision, shaking, a cold sweat, sometimes confusion over the simplest of things, lack of muscle coordination - so if walking I kept stumbling because when I put one foot down the ground was actually lower than I thought it was thus it didn't work very well, sometimes cant keep my eyes open, sometimes just yawn a lot, very occasionally (only for really bad hypos) it's felt like I'm in an alternate nightmare reality and I can't work out how to escape (those ones can be terrifying btw) or get help.

Edited out the typos (hopefully)

 

[Geri]

I use to find my fingers trembling but now I just feel really tired and I know when Im hypo at night because I wake up and cant sleep. This prompts me to take a blood test and the results are usually in the 2s or 3s.

 

[Scott-C]

it's felt like I'm in an alternate reality and I can't work out how to escape (those ones can be terrifying btw)

For sure, Rokaab, those are definitely the worst. Touch wood, I've not had one of those for a while now, long may it last.

Someone at work once asked why I was paying £100 pm privately for libre (on script now) and I told them it's to reduce the chances of that sort of stuff happening.

It's such a different state of mind, it's difficult to describe what it's like. I've said to people imagine the drunkest you've ever been, multiply it by five, and add a bad LSD trip on top, and then imagine you not only don't know where you are, but also don't know who you are, or even what you are.

Mind you, there's probably a fair few people who are into hallucogenic drugs who'd probably pay good money for that sort of experience...

 

[karen8967]

I get the shakes palpatations and an intense hunger when very low (in the 2s)and a genral feeling of confusion .

 

[Rokaab]

It's such a different state of mind, it's difficult to describe what it's like. I've said to people imagine the drunkest you've ever been, multiply it by five, and add a bad LSD trip on top, and then imagine you not only don't know where you are, but also don't know who you are, or even what you are.

Yeah the last one I remember which was probably 8-10 years ago, I was convinced that time had slowed down (but just for me) and I could tell this because the tv program was frozen and when I looked outside everything was moving very very slowly (it wasn't obviously), but I couldn't work out what to do, I knew I needed help to get back into the right time, but didn't know how, cos obviously ringing a friend wouldn't work cos they'd be going so slowly, it was truely terrifying at the time, at some point I obviously decided I needed to go to the bathroom (to help solve the time issue I suspect - no I don't know) and because I couldn't walk properly (muscle co-ordination - heck no), I managed to wallop my head on the wooden toilet seat (oh man I had a huge lump on my forehead for the next few days) - this obviously did not help matters - I think my liver finally decided to rescue me at some point and I did eventually get back into the correct 'time' .... (with a very sore head - from both large bump and the after-hypo monster headache I sometimes get) - but it felt like I'd been trapped for hours and hours.
Obviously this nightmare hypo may have been influenced by the fact I like the Syfy channel and most sci-fi programs.
Edit: typos

 

[Boo1979]

For me, if I get to low 3’s, the feeling is quite similar to being v drunk, but much less pleasurable. I also experience sweaty / clammy skin and have been told by friends that my skin goes a not very appealing grey colour.
I can also get pretty a***y and illogically argumentative - I remember one time when I was first diagnosed and still a hospital inmate, being pursued down hospital corridors by nurses v concerned by my 2.1 blood sugars while I not very politely told them to leave me alone (they caught me in the end, fed me gucose tablets and attached me to a drip)
Mid 3’s - 4, I dont always feel anything out of the ordinary other than being darn hungry and sometimes a bit shakey
Luckily ive not had one in a while - long may that continue

 

[Deleted Account]

Difficulty focusing (as in thinking about one thing rather than looking at something), wobbly on my feet, numb lips, sweaty (sometimes hot sweats and sometimes cold sweats) exaggeration of any physical issues such as runny nose or pain in an old tennis elbow injury and white fingers from Raynauds.
I usually want no food (high BG make me hungry whereas low BG make me resist food unless I give myself a serious talking to.

Unrelated to hypos, I love your hair @Freema

 

[Bittern]

Shakes, sweats, mild confusion, grey colour and, I'm told but don't believe, foul temper.

 

[Knikki]

Depends really yesterday dropped stupidly low sat there staring at my insulin pen as time and reality dropped into its own quantum space plus a mild cold sweat, nice......a timely snack sorted that out.

Today dropped to around the same figure fully functional knew what I as doing, sorted things out and back into normal range fairly quickly.

Almost same, BSL 2.6, completely different. ~shrug~

 

[Freema]

thank you all.

it is really awful experiences you have had all of you.. but maybe also important to know for others who have not yet experienced the grim monster of Hypos. of cause it is worse when injecting insulin because your blood glucose can get so low that one can die from it or become brain damaged, or hurt oneself when falling and smashing head or other body parts.

when young I used to get hypos when drinking a lot of alcohol partying with my friends decades before I became type 2 diabetic, I mostly fell asleep and was almost impossible to wake up, once did have an altered reality where I thought my friends children were mine and thanked her so much for taking care of my children and was very amazed that she lived on the eight floor and that the view was so beautiful...
then when I realized I got too low blood glucose from drinking alcohol I used to eat sweets in those evenings to avoid getting so tired or affected, I only type 2.... but well remember I did drink 1 glass of red wine last night, so maybe that's why I felt so terrified in my sleep where I couldn´t wake up but was trapped in my heart racing like hell, maybe my body did release a lot of adrenaline to speed up my livers production of glucose

 

[endocrinegremlin]

If I turn my head it feels heavy...like a part of my head arrives a second later.
I get a tingling feeling on my tongue, flats of my feet, maybe my hands.
Sometimes I feel too big for my body, like I will fall into something,
I feel shakey
I feel sweaty.
My heard hurts. I cannot see right. I cannot read properly.

One of those or a mixture or all.

 

[Lamont D]

Too be honest, before I was actually told I was having hypos, I didn't actually realised I was having one, maybe because I was getting so many and I just felt awful all the time, my awareness was just not there.
I had all the classic symptoms and probably more, my body would be continually warm and I never felt the cold. I had frequent times of falling asleep, without trying of course, my vision was blurred and a constant headache behind my eyes, I was tired, no energy, it always took effort to do anything, I was confused, disoriented, forgetfulness, memory loss, wanting to be on my own, anxious, sleepless nights, slightly depressed, so angry, anything would upset me, crying, tearful, rage, hunger, craving, ate too much too often, bingeing. And of course, not forgetting my nightly adventure with my very vivid colourful dreams!
This was my hypo hell, I know that it wasn't pleasant to be around me. And my family were worried about me. My doctors didn't have a clue, it was just my misdiagnosed T2!
Since diagnosis, and being in ketosis, my hypo awareness has become so tuned, that even a small spike out of normal blood glucose levels range, my eyes would become slightly blurred, I would start sweating and I would feel different. I would get itchy and tired, I would also get angry very quickly!

 

[JohnEGreen]

The main three I recall first one lying on the floor wondering how I got there second one lying on the bedroom floor wondering how I got there, why my head was bleeding and why I had seemingly lost all control of bladder and bowels third one similar to first two but less drastic in all three my family tell me I was incoherent and did not respond to them when they tried to speak to me, I tend to try and avoid them now. Not my family but the hypos, mind you this evening I have gone from a reading of 9.7 to 4.6 in the space of one hour not hypo but feeling quite fuzzy and tired and a bit dizzy.

 

[Matteo1980]

If it goes under 4,my hands start shaking and feel suddenly very weak. The second warning symptom to me is getting my sight lost by having a stain front of my eyes. That only happens when i am under 3. Haven’t gone under 2 yet,fortunately. I feel something undescribable even before get hypo,what is really lucky to me. So i can prepare before get my hands start shaking...

 

[rmz80]

Sometimes called “Sugar Drunk”. On USA films you sometimes see police asking car drivers to do a “Field Sobriety Test” which covers any reason (not just alcohol) for loss of coordination.

This test is also an idea if no BG meter is available. A good one is trying to stand on one leg (preferably with eyes closed!)

 

[KK123]

Sometimes called “Sugar Drunk”. On USA films you sometimes see police asking car drivers to do a “Field Sobriety Test” which covers any reason (not just alcohol) for loss of coordination.

This test is also an idea if no BG meter is available. A good one is trying to stand on one leg (preferably with eyes closed!)

I'm not sure I could do that, hypo or no.

 

[kitedoc]

Thank you @Freema for the question!!
My onset symptoms do vary, related I think to how fast my BSL is dropping and from what level:
Usually there is the sweating, rapid pulse, pale skin - which can be deceptive because it is similar initially to excitement and can distract me away from the true cause. And with no shred of embarrassment, a wet bed is a sure sign of a night hypo (honest)!!!
Next I almost invariably notice tingling in the front surface of my left thigh. My endo theorises that maybe I have some usually silent pressure on a particular nerve in my left thigh which for some reason is exaggerated during low or rapidly falling BSLs.
Then as @endocrinegremlin (love the name)! describes, I get a feeling as though a hand, lips, or face feel distorted and tingly-numb. a bit like after having local anaesthetic at the dentist, vision blurs (at least that can be my excuse for no longer being able to read the contents on tins etc at the supermarket, or names in the telephone book). Smell, taste hearing also diminish.
Balance goes out the window (no wonder the walking a straight line difficulty gets persons with hypos jailed as drunks)!!
I either go very quiet, cannot string thoughts or words together, cannot write (I recall doing French dictation at school several months after starting on insulin in a class before lunchtime) I do not remember much of it except the French teacher showed my my "superlative" work which consisted of several French words at the beginning then a lot of indecipherable but similar scribbling thereafter). The teacher was very understanding and gave me the average mark.
Such repetitive behaviour has occurred at other times too: like a hypo in bed one night after a heavy days gardening where I was frantically pedalling with my legs, or another where I was at the local baths, repeatedly trying to put an imaginary token in the turnstile to the ladies change room. It was due to a hypo, honest !!!
Or I can get obstreperous, stubborn, emotional and pedantic: refuse offers of help, or a jelly bean of the 'wrong' colour or cry about something.
At times if I know the helper well I seem to calm down and take the proffered lolly ect like a good little boy.
With one's brain so scrabbled if things progress that far I have no memory or only scattered patches of memory about what has happened or how I have behaved.
I feel acutely embarrassed, have a headache, sometimes like a migraine, feel washed out but seem to be deceptively alert which is worrying because I feel like going straight back to whatever I was doing before. I have been sat on in the past to stop me until I have fully recovered !!
Now having recounted all my hypo 'sins' I am looking forward to a pleasant lunch. ( but keep a gingerbread cross somewhere near to ward off those hypos)