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Illness causing lows

K

Kateyo

Well-Known Member
Messages
118
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I've had a V&D bug since yesterday and been struggling with my sugars but not in the way I'd have expected. My sugars are dropping low all over the place. I went to bed 5.7 and checked for any IOB and there was very little left so thought everything was ok but dropped really low about an hour later. I treated it and got back up to 3.7 but it's dropped again. I've now reduced basal by 10% and am having to feed the hypo but the problem is that nothing is staying down. Is this normal to have a bug and have problems with low BS? I don't think I've ever experienced this with illness. I know keeping food down is a part to play but would have thought all the stress hormones released when your body is fighting a bug would have made me go the other way. It's just not what I expected at all and starting to get to me as it's just so unpredictable :arghh:
 
Sorry to hear your unwell @Kateyo - illness can be unpredictable on your blood glucose levels, it sounds like your doing everything right, just lots of monitoring I would suggest every hour and get some someone to fetch you some lucozade to sip on, it's reduced sugar now but will still help you and drinking fluids will also help you recover, hope you feel better soon.
 
Aw thanks @Juicyj I can handle the sickness although it's in no way pleasant but I hate what it does to BS!! Got some lucozade but now I've gone the other way and am climbing so correcting whilst also trying not to over correct, typical but maybe it shows that my body is fighting, wish it could just do that in target range though :rolleyes: thanks for your message :)
 
Kateyo said:
Aw thanks @Juicyj I can handle the sickness although it's in no way pleasant but I hate what it does to BS!! Got some lucozade but now I've gone the other way and am climbing so correcting whilst also trying not to over correct, typical but maybe it shows that my body is fighting, wish it could just do that in target range though :rolleyes: thanks for your message :)
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Hopefully you're recovering now @Kateyo I had exactly the same thing happen to me when I had Norovirus. I just couldn't get my BS up. I eventually resorted to sips of Lucozade and glucose tablets melted in the mouth, but it was a scary feeling.

I imagine that digestion shuts down when you have something like that, so hypo treatments aren't so effective.
 
You're right, usually the body's reaction to illness (stress) is to manufacture the hormones cortisol (a steroid, like prednisone) and adrenalin, from the adrenal glands that sit on top of the kidneys. Both of these tend to raise your BS. Hope you get things under control.
 
Thanks everyone, so nice to have people to talk to that just get it :) yes @azure I think it's the norovirus I had and it was pretty scary not being able to keep sugars up and feeling too sick for hypo treatments but having to force them down. Think I'm over the worst of it now phew! Things are now a little all over the place and I'm correcting more which I hate but I'll just have to go with it until I know I'm over it and can go back to normal basal and bolus rates! The unpredictability and spikes/lows are so frustrating!! :banghead:
 
I had two or three bad days, then my BS settled down a lot. It did wipe me out for a while though as I felt quite weak, so take it easy @Kateyo X
 
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