Insulin resistance at night

[Jax1106]

Hi I have very erratic night time readings . I have real difficulties keeping my blood sugars steady at night with some nights with insulin resistance and some nights having to eat . On the high nights I am bolus ing at least once or twice before finally getting levels down . On the low nights I am having to eat to top up blood sugar levels , this is so frustrating as I am testing every night at least once !! I am on a pump now and have been for 18 mths but this is not a new problem it was the same whilst I was on the insulin pen ( sad that the pump has not resolved this problem ) I am wondering if anyone else has experienced the same as I have tried and tried to find the cause so any ideas would be great !!!!

 

[donnellysdogs]

Yes, definitely experiencing the same.. And I know of a fellow pump user child going through same thing too.

I gone back to using cgm this past week which makes the differences each night even more noticeable.

My friends child last night had a correction at 10pm. By midnight higher... She waited before next correction.. And the 2nd one worked. Yet child can also be low some nights too.

I have been correcting similarly. Then night after my levels are absolutely perfect, no highs, and stay within 0.5 up or down of the reading that I went to bed at. I also normally cook one big amount of food to do 2 days evening dinners so, some nights I actually have 2 identical meals, including my yogurt for pud and a pear.. The only thing that is variable is the acitivtys during the day preceding my meal, but for the last two weeks they have all just been doing diy...so I really havent got any reasons why mine can vary so much on a nightly basis.
Have been basal testing all evening, so am carrying on to see what happens tonight without any food since midday.. I am starving!! So far in last hour they have jumped from 6.6 up to 8.9 according to cgm..

We are both using accuchek combo pumps.. 6mm rapid d's.

Glad We're not the only ones.
Child has sets in stomach, me in bum.

 

[Jax1106]

Hiya thanks for reply , sounds exactly the same ! I too am using rapid-d 6mm in tummy. It's so unpredictable if I knew what sort of a night it was gona b I could do a tbr but I never do ! What do your health care team say ? Mine don't seem that bothered and can't think why it's happening x

 

[iHs]

Hi
Although I haven't got the extreme changes in bg levels that you have.... there are times when for no unknown reason, my bg levels start to change overnight and so after doing some mid night corrections over one or two days to see if a pattern is forming, I then start to do some basal testing to find out exactly what time frame basal rate is wrong and adjust that. This usually sorts things out but I usually find that whatever changes I make to one lot of basal rates during a certain time frame, I then find that bg levels that were ok, start to change at another time frame and so its basal testing again and changing those rates. Unfortunately, I end up having to go around a complete 24hr time scale.... not all at once,,, its usually over a period of about 7 days.... I then get peace and harmony until my bg levels decide to start changing again and then its basal testing again and again....

So many things can make bg levels with a pump play up. Its certainly never a dull moment - well not with a Combo pump...

 

[Dougal]

Strange question, I know, but are you taking Simvastatin?

 

[Jax1106]

Hi no I'm not taking it x I think I am extremely sensitive which does help. It's just so extreme .

 

[Jax1106]

Not a silly question at all I'm grateful for any ideas xx

 

[donnellysdogs]

I have also had probs with getting my levels right for my gardening work. Everytime at one customers doing the same job of digging outbstinging nettles and weeds from a river embankment.. Ok pre drive, pre work but sometimes I would go high and sometimes low..and tried esting more, eating less, not eating, changing basals, tbrs... Everything..
Today.. Got to share this... Success... Cgm said I was 5.8 (probably about 7.5 blood) but was projecting a low before working so I ate 2 custard creams which were bought for our plasterer to have with his coffees...
Unbelievable results.. 6.3 7.2 5.7 6.9  6.6.. All from cgm which reads 1-2.0 lower than blood results but I didnt ho high and didnt go low. I have tried everything to get a balance and today having custard creams that I have never ate before... I got so much better balance.. Would never have thought 2 custard creams could balance me!!
Cant wait to go back digging there next week and try again and see if I get the same stabilty with 2 custard creams!! I didnt bolus for them.

So my question is.. Do other pumpers eat anything before they go to bed? I dont eat before bed.. My last food will be at least 3 hours before bed.

 

[Spearmint]

Hiya thanks for reply , sounds exactly the same ! I too am using rapid-d 6mm in tummy. It's so unpredictable if I knew what sort of a night it was gona b I could do a tbr but I never do ! What do your health care team say ? Mine don't seem that bothered and can't think why it's happening x

I share your frsutration!!
My daughter is using 6mm flexlink though and same as you, some nights she is really high, some nights she is fine and some nights she is low, no monthly or weekly patterns, i tried upping the basals when she is high but the next night she will go hypo so i have to put them back down.
The hospital just look at her Hba1c and say what is the problem? :roll:
So i just test every night anything from 1-4 times depending on what her levels are.

 

[Jax1106]

Absolutely the same !!! It's been goin on for years and as you say because the HBA1 is ok they don't try and help me solve it . You cannot anticipate the high nights or the low nights because there is no way of telling and iv got it wrong before giving myself a big correction dose and gone low ! You would think that the night time one would b easy because its the most predictable x oh well keep trying xx

 

[pickle76]

Hi there,

Just a couple of things I'd wondered....Firstly do you find these differences are in any way linked to your periods? And secondly, I assume you have differnt hourly rates through the night? Also can you link any highs to ahving been more stressed or less active? I'm sure you've considered all the above but sometimes it's the obvious things that escape my attention!

 

[Jax1106]

Thank you - I have considered those things yeah and sometimes I do think periods do have an effect but the trouble is its not consistent . I am monitoring the inactivity at the mo because I think weekends tend to b more high possibly due to weekends being less active , I don't know it's just always changing . I have always been sensitive and although I do love the pump it does definatly react to every little change and it seems to make you more sensitive . Thanks for your thoughts I think I may increase TBR next weekend and give it a try ..

 

[pickle76]

Well good luck and I really hope you're able to see some patterns and get it sorted. You're right - it's the inconsistencies that make it all so frustrating! The only other thing I'd maybe try is picking a night where you haven't got to get up early the next day, don't eat for 4 hours before bed and test every 2 hours through the night. I know it's a pain and you've maybe done it before but I've had to do it now and again to get things a bit more stable overnight too.

 

[Jax1106]

Ah thank u xx

 

[Zoemichelle92]

Hiii guys I have been a type one diabetic since 10 (11 years now) and this is a really common problem but I was told that if there is a pattern in hypos through the night and mine was always at 2 am it can be caused by hormones as they alter through the night and hormones affect the glucose levels, don't know if this info helps anyone it was just an answer I was given by doctors

 

[Jax1106]

Ah thanks yeah they can b a pain can't they but then , not a lot we can do about them is there , kind of stuck with them ! Hope u r getting to grips with it all mate and don't let it get u down xxx

 

[donnellysdogs]

A reason yes,,, but how are people dealing with this?

 

[Jax1106]

Absolutely no idea !!!

 

[candiloo]

I have found that I have high evening levels during the winter, as I am not as active as in the summer. From September until March, I fight it a bit. The carb counting helps and I got an exercise bike. If I just sit(although I work nights) I get really high readings. I have to take metformin for insulin resistance though as well, but this year and last I had difficulties but I just make sure I jump on the bike after my meal just for 15 mins to get everything moving and it seems to help. We're all different though!