Hypos

[craigengar1]

Hi,my son who is 13 has had type 1 diabetes for approx 9 mnths, which has been full of ups and downs due to him also having learning difficulties.After a short stay in hospital in april to help him adjust,his levels were pretty good between 5 and 8.Since then his levels have been all over the place due to him eating and drinking between snacks and meals, but more worrying is within an hour of him eating his supper his levels drop to between 1 and 2.There is no real pattern emerging as he can sometimes be hypo before supper or even hi.We've tried reducing his levimir but still no change.Is there any other factors that can lower his bg levels ? Any help appreciated.

 

[Jen&Khaleb]

So many things can affect levels and especially in children. Has your son had a big active day and then gone hypo in the evening. My son has an intellectual impairment and after therapy sessions he has gone hypo unexpectedly.

Do you notice any symptoms before he gets down to 1 or 2? Has he ever had any hypo awareness?

The most likely problem would be that as your son has only been diagnosed for 9 months he may actually sporadically produce some of his own insulin (honeymooning). It could take a bit more time for the insulin producing cells to completely conk out.

Do you split Levemir between morning and night or give it in one dose?

If this was happening at about the same time each day I would be tempted to do some frequent testing. Your son is heading in to the hormonal years that could also play havoc with levels.

It would be nice if there were some easy answers to diabetes but sometimes it seems to have a mind of its own.