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Type 1 How to treat hypo unawareness

thewestiesmum

Well-Known Member
Messages
143
Location
North Yorkshire
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi,
Please can other members say how they treated their hypo unawareness?

For me I've put my target range up from 5-8mmol to 6-10mmol.
Every time I go into the 5s or 4s depending on where I am in the 4s or 5s I'm having eg 1/2, 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2 dextrose tablets etc then retest after 15 minutes and have a bit more dextrose ect until levels are back within target.
 

Hi,

From personal experience. I will not feel my hypos in the 4 to 5mmol range? Infact I'll feel great.
Where I will feel mine comming on is in the mid 3's..

Now if I am in those mid 3's treet accordingly & test so? The next test for me tends to be about 30 minutes later.. (I'm normally feeling better in 20 anyway. However there is a lag (a snapshot in time with a meter.) that "retest" of ten/ fifteen minutes could show a further drop, before you actually responded to the treatment? Causing confusion & an overtreat. Thinking what was consumed isn't working..

That's forgetting about what's happening with the delayed reading using a sensor..
 

So do you mean I should maybe wait a bit longer than 15 minutes?

Also how many grams of fast acting carbs do you have to treat and what treatment do you use?
 
For me, a fingerprick shows me I'm out of hypo territory after treatment within 15 minutes, even before the hypo feeling has gone. So for me there's no need to wait longer (providing I treated with quick acting sugars and not something slower). Like Jaylee, I usually feel my hypo's just below 4 mmol/l.
I don't trust my Libre at all to show me where I am after a hypo, it takes ages for it to catch up.
mum2westiesGill said:
Hi,
Please can other members say how they treated their hypo unawareness?
Click to expand...
Do you know at what level you notice a hypo? Or do you not notice anything before suddenly losing consciousness?
 

I don't feel anything but am in the process of trying to regain it which is why I've changed my target from 5-8mmol to 6-10mmol and every time I go below 6mmol I treat with dextrose but only small amounts until I'm back within target. Also this morning I decreased my basal from 15u to 14u.
 
mum2westiesGill said:
So do you mean I should maybe wait a bit longer than 15 minutes?

Also how many grams of fast acting carbs do you have to treat and what treatment do you use?
Click to expand...

Personally, with a downward arrow sub 4? I would use 5g to head off dipping into hypo land?
Around 3.8, my eyesight gets the tell tail "shimmer." A little lower I can congnitivy be a bit of a bumbling ejut.
It's all pending on what insulin I have on board? If it's caused souly by the basal? I may hit it with a further 10g of longer acting carb to stop a quick recurrence.

But you have to do what you're comfortable with.
 
Sounds like a good approach to me, I hope it will help soon!
 
I decrease my basal until the hypos stop, which allows my hypo awareness to return. This has only happened once to me, when travelling to a hot climate.
 
i had a particularly bad hypo ( unconscious for 2.5 hours ) a few years back and my doctor reduced my insulin so that i ran between 8 to 12 target range ... i did this for about 8 weeks and my hypo awareness returned
 
himtoo said:
i had a particularly bad hypo ( unconscious for 2.5 hours ) a few years back and my doctor reduced my insulin so that i ran between 8 to 12 target range ... i did this for about 8 weeks and my hypo awareness returned
Click to expand...

What was your target range before the 8 to 12 one?
 
mum2westiesGill said:
What was your target range before the 8 to 12 one?
Click to expand...
prior to that i was always aiming for the standard target range of 4 to 7 before meals and no higher than 10 2 hours post meal
 
himtoo said:
prior to that i was always aiming for the standard target range of 4 to 7 before meals and no higher than 10 2 hours post meal
Click to expand...

Thanks. On your 8 to 12 target how did you treat it when you went below 8?
 
Last edited:
mum2westiesGill said:
Thanks. On your 8 to 12 target how did you treat it when you went below 8?
Click to expand...
the thing was for me at that time ...taking approx 25% less insulin meant that i struggled to get as low as 8 so i did not experience any need to treat blood sugars lower than 8
 
himtoo said:
the thing was for me at that time ...taking approx 25% less insulin meant that i struggled to get as low as 8 so i did not experience any need to treat blood sugars lower than 8
Click to expand...

Was that 25% less insulin of your basal or bolus?
 
I was having hypos at night but wasn't realising until I got the libre 2, I had to do a full reset is what my diabetic team had called it. Which was to cut my basal by 50% and not to worry about the first days reading then increase it by 1 unit everyday until I was back in range. I don't use dextrose sweet. Jelly babies are my got to if I get to 4 and dropping 2 babies give it 15 mins and retest but the trick is to sit them between your cheek and gum, you'll be surprised how quickly they get into your system that way. Everyone is different but this worked for me.
 

I have three serious problems with hypos:
1. night time unawareness, but maybe as a lucky one they do wake me up most of the time;
2. hypos and hypers have similar symptoms, but when i'm lucky, physical and mental weakness are the discriminating factors;
3. bring myself up from hypos to equilibrium almost always makes me overcompenstate;
 
Erin said:
I have three serious problems with hypos:
Click to expand...

Any chance you can get funding for a cgm (dexcom or libre). They make a massive difference to issues with lack of hypo awareness.

And FWIW, my endo had me targetting 6-12 to regain awareness. No suggestions on reducing insulin, I guess they trusted me to do that myself.
 

I suppose I should try it. I don't like the short sleeve thingy, and I would prefer it on my wrist. Also, there is a risk of infection on the arm and I have become a para-pin-cushion with insulin shots every night. What I do now, is take a snack before going to bed to make it a tad high. Thank you for your reply.
 

Though the libre is worn under arm, you can read it through clothing so you don't need to wear short sleeves. The dexcom is more expensive but is placed on your stomach, though it also can be read through clothing.
 
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