I had my first hypo ever

[NotBeyonce]

I ate my breakfast this morning.

Pre-Prandial: 5.2 mmol/L
Post-Prandial (2 hours): 8.0 mmol/L

Uggh, I was 0.1 over my goal. I try to be 7.9 or lower.

I ended up getting really busy and didn't end up eating for 6 hours. I was feeling hungry so I go and get something to eat. I sit down to eat at the table and go to take my blood sugar and realize that my hands are shaking and I can't hold my glucose monitor still enough to take my blood, my heart is beating really fast, and I'm getting kind of confused. I end up finally focusing and it's 2.9 (so probably low to mid 3s). I have those fast acting glucose tablets, but realized I didn't know where my purse was and probably wouldn't have been able to open the package. So I just scarfed down the food that was in front of me and when I felt a little better got some OJ.

So scary. It's so weird that I had ZERO idea I was going hypo except for a slight increase in hunger. I've now broken the seal on my glucose tablet packet, so I'll actually be able to open it in a time of need. Definitely not going more than 4 hours w/o a meal or snack (and probably test too). I need to build more hypo awareness 'cause it felt scary. I don't know what i would have done if I didn't have food in front of me that luckily had some carbs.


Also, is hyperglycemia afterwards normal?

Pre-Prandial: 2.9 mmol/L
20 minutes later: 3.9 mmol/L
2 hours post: 9.8 mmol/L

 

[Tophat1900]

Yeah, fun times and a dose of anxiety. It is scary stuff.

What a persons levels are post hypo depends on how they treat the hypo and how much glucose they consume. Some people panic, which is understandable with the symptoms and over do it, but obviously getting out of the hypo is priority #1

Better to have a highish post level then be unconscious on the floor with no one around.

 

[phdiabetic]

2.9 is a very scary number for your first hypo! My first was a 4.1, much less horrifying.

To help with situations like this in the future, put hypo treatments EVERYWHERE. In your bag, your car, your jacket pockets, your bedroom, your kitchen (obviously lol), your bathroom, any room of the house you spend significant amounts of time in, in your desk at work, in the fridge at work....you get the idea, leave them all over the place so that if you are low you can spot some food/drink at a moment's notice and without having to think where it is or go wandering around looking for some.

Hyperglycaemia after getting low is definitely normal. With minor lows (around 4) it's easier to avoid since you don't have to eat so much so quickly, but with very bad hypos (<3) you don't want to be taking any chances, so the best course of action is to overcorrect slightly. It doesn't matter if you get high, you can always fix it later. But if you get too low, you may not be able to fix it....So when in doubt, always have a couple more grams of carbs. 9.8 is also a pretty mild high - many people on insulin find that their numbers get on a sort of rollercoaster after they get low.

It's very unfortunate you had such a severe hypo as your very first. I think most people are lucky enough to have a few fairly mild ones soon after they're diagnosed, which help them learn how to treat correctly without being in too much danger as well as developing hypo awareness skills. As you are having issues with hypo awareness, try to check more frequently and run your numbers a little higher than you usually would.

 

[Olufisayo]

I had a serious one yesterday afternoon with 4. 2. I was scared too. I got over it after drinking a 3/4 of 50 cl of Coca Cola drink. In the morning it was 7.8. At around 10. 30, I ate white rice and stew with 2 boiled eggs. About 21/2 hours after I had scary hypoglycaemia.

 

[Freema]

I ate my breakfast this morning.

Pre-Prandial: 5.2 mmol/L
Post-Prandial (2 hours): 8.0 mmol/L

Uggh, I was 0.1 over my goal. I try to be 7.9 or lower.

I ended up getting really busy and didn't end up eating for 6 hours. I was feeling hungry so I go and get something to eat. I sit down to eat at the table and go to take my blood sugar and realize that my hands are shaking and I can't hold my glucose monitor still enough to take my blood, my heart is beating really fast, and I'm getting kind of confused. I end up finally focusing and it's 2.9 (so probably low to mid 3s). I have those fast acting glucose tablets, but realized I didn't know where my purse was and probably wouldn't have been able to open the package. So I just scarfed down the food that was in front of me and when I felt a little better got some OJ.

So scary. It's so weird that I had ZERO idea I was going hypo except for a slight increase in hunger. I've now broken the seal on my glucose tablet packet, so I'll actually be able to open it in a time of need. Definitely not going more than 4 hours w/o a meal or snack (and probably test too). I need to build more hypo awareness 'cause it felt scary. I don't know what i would have done if I didn't have food in front of me that luckily had some carbs.


Also, is hyperglycemia afterwards normal?

Pre-Prandial: 2.9 mmol/L
20 minutes later: 3.9 mmol/L
2 hours post: 9.8 mmol/L

Oh that Sounds so scaring and dangerous good that you managed to get back ... maybe even carry those tablets of glucose on your body form now on

 

[phdiabetic]

I had a serious one yesterday afternoon with 4. 2. I was scared too. I got over it after drinking a 3/4 of 50 cl of Coca Cola drink. In the morning it was 7.8. At around 10. 30, I ate white rice and stew with 2 boiled eggs. About 21/2 hours after I had scary hypoglycaemia.

Are you on insulin? Perhaps you bolused too much for the rice. Good job treating with coke, I find sugary drinks are very effective hypo treatment options. Make sure you test 10-15min after your hypo to make sure you've recovered (you didn't mention any tests between yesterday afternoon and this morning - perhaps you did one and didn't say what it was?)

 

[Olufisayo]

Are you on insulin? Perhaps you bolused too much for the rice. Good job treating with coke, I find sugary drinks are very effective hypo treatment options. Make sure you test 10-15min after your hypo to make sure you've recovered (you didn't mention any tests between yesterday afternoon and this morning - perhaps you did one and didn't say what it was?)

Thank you @phdiabetics! I mustn’t hesitate to say I don’t know which one is doing the work of insulin among my 2 meds. This has always been a concern to me. So I feel at sea when members talk about insulin.
I am on metformin 500mg morn and evening.
And on glibenclamide 5mg once a day (morn)

 

[Scott-C]

Also, is hyperglycemia afterwards normal?

Only if you overtreat. It's easy to do in the panic of a hypo, done it plenty of times myself.

To put it in perspective, your average human has about 5 litres of blood, each litre has about 1 gram of sugar. So, we're talking small amounts here, but the body really doesn't like it if it goes much below that 1g per litre. If you start piling in 20 or 30 g, it'll raise it way too high. Most common mild hypos will do fine with 10g.

I always try to keep in the back of my mind that 10g will take time to get into the bloodstream so don't expect immediate results.

A lot of people (me included!) tend to keep eating until they feel better, but this ignores the time aspect. They might not feel better till they've eaten the second batch of 10/20, but that's only because the first 10 was still in the process of getting into stream, and although the second batch might seem like it sorted it, it's overkill.

Difficult to do in the panic of a hypo, and different rules apply with hard, fast drops with lots of peak iob when way more than 10g is warranted, but it's often worthwhile taking a deep breath, and say, ok, I've had 10g, give it 10 minutes to get to work and see how it looks then. Rinse and repeat if not sorted.

 

[NaijaChick]

Thank you @phdiabetics! I mustn’t hesitate to say I don’t know which one is doing the work of insulin among my 2 meds. This has always been a concern to me. So I feel at sea when members talk about insulin.
I am on metformin 500mg morn and evening.
And on glibenclamide 5mg once a day (morn)

Olufisayo, I would advice you to see a dietian. As a Nigerian, the mention of white rice with traditional stew, raises alarm bells for you metformin dose.
I’ve found that a lot of traditional food do not help diabetes.

What are you BG rates pre and post such meals?

 

[NotBeyonce]

Only if you overtreat. It's easy to do in the panic of a hypo, done it plenty of times myself.

To put it in perspective, your average human has about 5 litres of blood, each litre has about 1 gram of sugar. So, we're talking small amounts here, but the body really doesn't like it if it goes much below that 1g per litre. If you start piling in 20 or 30 g, it'll raise it way too high. Most common mild hypos will do fine with 10g.

I always try to keep in the back of my mind that 10g will take time to get into the bloodstream so don't expect immediate results.

A lot of people (me included!) tend to keep eating until they feel better, but this ignores the time aspect. They might not feel better till they've eaten the second batch of 10/20, but that's only because the first 10 was still in the process of getting into stream, and although the second batch might seem like it sorted it, it's overkill.

Difficult to do in the panic of a hypo, and different rules apply with hard, fast drops with lots of peak iob when way more than 10g is warranted, but it's often worthwhile taking a deep breath, and say, ok, I've had 10g, give it 10 minutes to get to work and see how it looks then. Rinse and repeat if not sorted.

Okay, I definitely overcorrected. I ate my food, drank oj ..... and maybe had 1 (okay, maybe 2 ) spoonfuls of Nutella. I was shaking and body was screaming EAT ALL THE CARBS!

 

[NotBeyonce]

2.9 is a very scary number for your first hypo! My first was a 4.1, much less horrifying.

To help with situations like this in the future, put hypo treatments EVERYWHERE. In your bag, your car, your jacket pockets, your bedroom, your kitchen (obviously lol), your bathroom, any room of the house you spend significant amounts of time in, in your desk at work, in the fridge at work....you get the idea, leave them all over the place so that if you are low you can spot some food/drink at a moment's notice and without having to think where it is or go wandering around looking for some.

Hyperglycaemia after getting low is definitely normal. With minor lows (around 4) it's easier to avoid since you don't have to eat so much so quickly, but with very bad hypos (<3) you don't want to be taking any chances, so the best course of action is to overcorrect slightly. It doesn't matter if you get high, you can always fix it later. But if you get too low, you may not be able to fix it....So when in doubt, always have a couple more grams of carbs. 9.8 is also a pretty mild high - many people on insulin find that their numbers get on a sort of rollercoaster after they get low.

It's very unfortunate you had such a severe hypo as your very first. I think most people are lucky enough to have a few fairly mild ones soon after they're diagnosed, which help them learn how to treat correctly without being in too much danger as well as developing hypo awareness skills. As you are having issues with hypo awareness, try to check more frequently and run your numbers a little higher than you usually would.

Yes, I'm going to the pharmacy and buying more DEX tablets, orange juice drinking boxes, and mini cans (175ml) of cola.

 

[dogslife]

I ate my breakfast this morning.

Pre-Prandial: 5.2 mmol/L
Post-Prandial (2 hours): 8.0 mmol/L

Uggh, I was 0.1 over my goal. I try to be 7.9 or lower.

I ended up getting really busy and didn't end up eating for 6 hours. I was feeling hungry so I go and get something to eat. I sit down to eat at the table and go to take my blood sugar and realize that my hands are shaking and I can't hold my glucose monitor still enough to take my blood, my heart is beating really fast, and I'm getting kind of confused. I end up finally focusing and it's 2.9 (so probably low to mid 3s). I have those fast acting glucose tablets, but realized I didn't know where my purse was and probably wouldn't have been able to open the package. So I just scarfed down the food that was in front of me and when I felt a little better got some OJ.

So scary. It's so weird that I had ZERO idea I was going hypo except for a slight increase in hunger. I've now broken the seal on my glucose tablet packet, so I'll actually be able to open it in a time of need. Definitely not going more than 4 hours w/o a meal or snack (and probably test too). I need to build more hypo awareness 'cause it felt scary. I don't know what i would have done if I didn't have food in front of me that luckily had some carbs.


Also, is hyperglycemia afterwards normal?

Pre-Prandial: 2.9 mmol/L
20 minutes later: 3.9 mmol/L
2 hours post: 9.8 mmol/L

 

[dogslife]

Hi NotBeyonce. Hypos are indeed scary, especially your first. I usually feel over-hot and a sudden overwhelming need to eat something before my hands start to shake. As soon as that happens I test my bloods and if too low I eat a few jelly babies- easier to open and quick acting! I then retest after about 10 minutes and when the shakes have stopped. By then my levels are usually back to normal. If unsure and it's not a mealtime I sometimes have a small snack such as a sandwich.

 

[Lamont D]

Yes, I'm going to the pharmacy and buying more DEX tablets, orange juice drinking boxes, and mini cans (175ml) of cola.

Can I suggest that your inform your GP about the hypo.

Your drugs can give you hypos, your GP may lower the dose of glicizide or stop them.

Going over the top on treating hypos will cause your sugar levels to go high, which will then drop again as the glicizide lowers your sugar levels.
You are much better off not overdoing the hypo treatment and stabilising your blood sugar levels.

 

[NotBeyonce]

Can I suggest that your inform your GP about the hypo.

Your drugs can give you hypos, your GP may lower the dose of glicizide or stop them.

Going over the top on treating hypos will cause your sugar levels to go high, which will then drop again as the glicizide lowers your sugar levels.
You are much better off not overdoing the hypo treatment and stabilising your blood sugar levels.

My doctor, when perscribing me Lantus, told me I could half my gliclizide if I got any hypos.

I speak with my diabetic nurse via the phone on Wednesday. She likes doing weekly check ins.

 

[Scott-C]

spoonfuls of Nutella

Hey, that's why Nutella was invented!

 

[bamba]

Hey, that's why Nutella was invented!

I believe it was due to eaking out rationed chocolate.

 

[paulus1]

and as you were not aware of it your driving if you do must stop until your gp oks it.

 

[NotBeyonce]

and as you were not aware of it your driving if you do must stop until your gp oks it.

I don't drive.

 

[AndyOD]

Yes, I'm going to the pharmacy and buying more DEX tablets, orange juice drinking boxes, and mini cans (175ml) of cola.

Hi,
Have you tried HypoStop?
It works Very quickly as it is a Gel - but you have to remember to follow up with a Granola or milk chocolate wafer.
My symptoms are :-
Sweaty Neck
Cramps
Woozy head
p.s. I had a 2.9 yesterday Very scary, also I carry Jelly Babies (x4) good for treating a hypo.