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Hypo And Panic Attack

laurakirkup

Active Member
Messages
39
Location
South Wales
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi all,

So this afternoon I was in the supermarket with my partner and I started having a hypo, whilst this happened he bumped into someone he knew and I walked away, (I was eating a bag of crisps and in no frame of mind to talk to anyone) he can’t of been away from me for more than five minutes and when he came back I had more a less come around from the hypo but I was really panicking, for the next fourty minutes I had a panic attack struggling to breath, sweating feeling overwhelmed. I have had hypos, I have hypos and I have had much worse hypos than that but all day today I have kept feeling uneasy and quite scared. (Bloods are in range now and have kept an eye on them) I was wondering if anyone else has panic attacks after/during hypos and what you do to help them?

TIA
 
Hi @laurakirkup Hypos can do some strange things to the brain, I get paranoid with mine so have a severe dislike for being seen by anyone when going low, I would rather crawl into a hole than be noticed, also everything around me gets amplified so noise, crowds all get too much.

Try and associate this feeling purely with the hypo state, unfortunately there isn't much you can do, except try and be more cautious of going low, it may also be a one off, hope your ok now.
 
Oh and I thought I was just being silly! I also don't like to be seen while having a hypo! I just want a calm room :|
 
Thank you for your reply, I have little hypo awareness but have not had a panic attack like this ever before, (hallucinations yes panic attacks no!) It was such a shock and has really shook me up I just don’t want it to happen again.
And I’m glad it’s not just me who doesn’t want to be around people whilst low! What was really unsettling was coming out of the hypo but still feeling detached from reality, I don’t know if that makes any sense I’m just a bit shook up still! X
 
Cumberland said:
I panic having a hypo I think it’s just my natural reaction

I tend the over compensate too and fly up from a low reading often into double figures
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Thank you for replying, it was a panic attack, much more than a panic, I felt like I couldn’t breath everything was heightened and I was shaking even after the hypo had ended. Normally I can handle hypos well but today something just changed and it really spooked me. The worry is that it was a abnormal reaction to a minor hypo. Does your panic ever continue once the hypo has passed?
I realise this could sound like I’m just being over dramatic but I have had hypos which have hospitalised me for weeks, hypos where I have forgotten where I am but this was just a small hypo one I can normally deal with without a problem but today it was a panic attack, which had never happened before.
 
alphabeta said:
Oh and I thought I was just being silly! I also don't like to be seen while having a hypo! I just want a calm room :|
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I just know I can be quite temperamental when hypo and don’t want to say something I wouldn’t normally! Calm rooms are much easier to get your head back togethrr in! X
 
laurakirkup said:
The worry is that it was a abnormal reaction to a minor hypo. Does your panic ever continue once the hypo has passed?
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Hi @laurakirkup hypos can take a while to cover from despite reaching 'normal levels', I can feel the effects sometimes for up to an hour afterwards, it's literally getting your brain straight again.
 
Juicyj said:
Hi @laurakirkup hypos can take a while to cover from despite reaching 'normal levels', I can feel the effects sometimes for up to an hour afterwards, it's literally getting your brain straight again.
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Yes hopefully it was a one off, my worry was I have had enough hypos over the years to know what is normal for me but I have never experienced that, it wasn’t the feeling of hypo that continued it was just extreme panic, but not panicking about the hypo if that makes any sense? X
 

Hi Laura, I am exactly the same especially if I am in a busy place like a shopping centre or maybe evn more so if I am out in middle of nowhere, which i am quite a few times. Even if i am not hypo, I can convince myself that i m and go into panic mode. Like Cumberland above I then start shovelling anything and every thing to bring levels up, bottle of coke, chocolate. My logic is at least of I go high I wont collapse. I will get confused and start to sweat and occasionally have to concentrate on breathing properly.

Think if I was having a hypo I would like my partner to stay with me just in case as they know what to do and know exactly what why I am reacting/behaving the way i am

Even a few hours after a hypo I can still feel not right, they do take it out of you do bleeding hypos
 
Juicyj said:
Hi @laurakirkup hypos can take a while to cover from despite reaching 'normal levels', I can feel the effects sometimes for up to an hour afterwards, it's literally getting your brain straight again.
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Oh crumbs bless you sweetie x
 
@laurakirkup so one of my new hypo symptoms is anxiety (super fun..!) the first few times it happened I thought the anxiety lead to the hypo, but then started seeing that the only times I felt the crippling heartbeat in my ears, disassociation or other things which I related to anxiety, they were all actually happening whenever my blood sugar went low.... And often it was if the hypo was a slow burner (e.g. going down from 4 to 2 over 2 hours) it was way worse than the sudden realisation when the hypo is a plummet that your blood sugars are low. Also so annoying but my hypo symptoms change slightly give or take every two years, so this might be something to keep in mind!
 
I had a few sessions with a consultant when I was part of a trial who said that hypos starbe your brain of oxygen so can cause some very strange effects. We were talking about my medical bracelet and he said they are a good idea because a diabetic hypo can lead to violent outbursts, confusion & even theft when the primeval desire for food takes over logical thought!!

Made my wobbly leg symptoms seem tame.....
 
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