Hypos, how many and when?

hya,i have been having lots of hypos,mine are unpredictable and come from nowhere,everybody is so different and no 2 person will feel exactly the same,when im first going low i just feel odd and my tummy feels strange,its great when i catch them like that,other times i can sweat like mad feel sick and my legs go heavy and feel dead and i get the shakes,3.1 is classed as hypo so did you feel any different then?
try not to worry as everyone is different and some dont get them very often at all, my friend hasnt had one for 5 yrs ,my last one was monday but my insulin is known for it so dont worry about it too much

Hi TROUBR,
I know exactly what you mean, 'cause that is exactly how I felt when I went onto insulin and the diabetes nurse explained hypos to me. I dreaded not recognising the symptoms and like you almost "wanted" one, to know what I was up against. Oddly enough, the first hypo I had I just seemed to "know". I know that sounds odd but I bet if you do have a hypo, you'll just "know" too. I, personally, tend to feel shaky, sweaty, sometimes a bit confused over what I happen to be doing at the time and just feel generally wobbly. The feeling is easily rectified though and as long as I have something sugary on me, I am confident of dealing with hypos now. There was only one occasion when I had swapped handbags and forgot to put my glucose tablets in, that I felt a REAL sense of panic, so I advise always carrying something with you, along with your test kit.If you follow your "sweet" fix with something more filling to eat, you'll soon feel back to normal.

Hi Troubr, what you had, a 3.1mmol/lt reading is technically a hypo. You say that did not have any systems? You more than likely did, but you did not recognize the signs. Typical signs are fuzziness, palms of you hand sweating, tension, mild head pain, shaking, lack of concentration.

I assume that you are type 1, on insulin? if this is so, if you are having no sensation of hypo's (Hypo- unawareness ) You must get into the habit of testing your blood on a regular basis, because if you drive a car, a reading of under 4.0mmol/lt is considered unfit to drive. You must eat something to bring your blood reading above 4.0mmol/lt, then test after 15 mins before starting to drive.

Remeber this maxim: "4 is the floor"

hi TROUBR,
I find very often that the point where I get hypo symptoms will vary depending on how
quickly my sugars drop. If it's the bolus insulin bringing my sugars down, then I'll get
fairly strong symptoms. but If it's the basal insulin, the hypo can be more insidious.
Also, I find if I'm phsycally active, then the hypo symptoms will appear around 4mmol/l.
Whereas if I'm sitting in a chair watching TV, my sugars can creep down below 3 without
any symptoms whatsoever :shock:

it's important not to let hypos put you off of good control.
We all make mistakes, but each time we make mistakes we learn.
And the mistakes get smaller and smaller.

all the best,
fuzz.

Hi and welcome to the type I club!

Your 3.1 was a hypo, you just didn't get symptoms or didn't recognise them.
Its scary at first, due to the emphasis placed on potential dangers, but mostly nothing to be afraid of provided you know what to do - a bit like injecting, really, I don't suppose you were keen on the first jab either!

Symptoms vary from one hypo to another, but you'll get to recognise a group of symptoms that you usually get. Milder ones (around 3 - 3.6) may have different symptoms from the more extreme ones. Eat as soon as you know its a hypo though - if you keep ignoring the first symptoms, your body won't give them in future. With experience you'll learn how many carbs you need to rectify it without going sky high after, and how to resist the ravenous hunger they sometimes cause (protein food after the initial carbs works for me).

If you can't remember how you felt at 3.1 you could engineer a hypo by having fewer carbs or extra insulin with a meal, in safe circumstances pref with a 'significant other' present afterwards (mainly for reassurance). Its useful for those close to you know the signs and they can tell you if you were behaving oddly, looked pale etc.

I find my activities affect how soon I notice the symtpoms. At work my typing goes off first, if resting I might not feel it until I walk around. (MY DN seems convinced if hypo whilst typing I must be lower, but the meter says otherwise. DN associates co-ordination/concentration only with walking or driving! I think co-ordinating fingers at 80 wpm or playing a musical instrument is fine co-ordination, lots of errors don't mean I'd be walking into the furniture.
Sue

Your DN was right. Some people get really bad, sudden ones (though I think that's less common these days with newer insulins, and you can have a Glucagon pen for emergencies), but likely in 5 years time you'll wonder what the fuss was about.

What you read was right, they told me they'd "make sure" I had a hypo before I left hospital so I knew what it was. Causing pain needlessly or preventing your current anxiety......?

Stress raises blood sugar, maybe if you worry really hard, hypo will never happen! (JOKE!)
Let us know how it goes.
Sue