Just Wondering (Induced Hypos)

I can only speak for my area in the West Mid's.......this was actually mentioned by a DSN I was talking to yesterday about Diebetes treatment in general. The general impression from her was of horror that a hypo could be inflicted on somebody deliberately. She also stated that a Mars Bar and/or a glass of Milk was once considered to be the initial treatment for a hypo, but of course it is now known that is 'old hat', although some 'old timers' will tell you it is great. It is what they were taught. Each to their own, however I prefer to stick with the present day, up to date information. Mars Bar's are far too slow acting for a bad hypo. She assured me that they no longer initiate a hypo in people any more. There MAY be areas of the country where it is used. Be interesting to see what other's come up with.

In some ways I can see why it was done but it does seem a touch extreme to me, it should be sufficient to tell them about the symptoms you should get in advance of a hypo, rather than to experience one. Having been through a few I don't like them at all, hence I keep slightly above 4 mmol/l at all times if I can.

I'm so glad when I was diagnosed with CV problem's they didn't think I should experience a Heart Attack........to see what it felt like !!! :shock: Only joking....... :wink:

 

I live in linconshire and when i was diagnosed two years ago i wasn't put through this.

My dad was diagnosed when he was 14 in 1972 and he WAS subjected to this.

Sounds a bit overboard to me though.

When i was diagnosed i was told the symptoms and when i had my first hypo there was no doubt in my mind when i got the symptoms i knew exactly what it was. :lol:

 

I was diagnosed very early 1980's and I was overdosed and made to run up and down four levels (8 sets of stairs) until hypo-I didn't hypo, but I remember my first one within a couple of days of getting out of hospital and it was horrific. I really wish the inducement had worked, and that my then husband had seen it before I left hospital.

 

In the Diabetes stories http://diabetes-stories.com/index.asp
A search on 'deliberate hypo ' found a handful of people who remembered this. Interestingly they all seem to have gone to well known hospitals, I don't know if that has any significance or just coincidence.

Harriet diagnosed 1967, at Great Ormond Street
Anne diagnosed 1946 Kings College London
Gillian diagnosed 1979 Whittington Hospital
Colin Dexter 1987 Radcliffe Infirmary
And a dietitian, Pam Dixon, who says it was normal practice at Addenbrookes in the 1970s

 

Not in 1977 in York! Mind you, I was on mid acting insulin, so there was no easy way to do this in a controlled fashion i would guess. I don't think it is extreme though...as long as once the symptoms have been felt you eat something fast, so can also experience, with "experts" how they can be dealt with, rather than having it happen at home, on your own, or with nervous parents.

 

When I was diagnosed T2 in hospital and placed on insulin the DN who instructed me in all things insulin told me this used to be common practice but now that self testing was the norm it was felt better to tell patients what to expect rather than to induce it.

Perhaps now that the Country is in so much debt and the NHS is looking for ways to cut costs it may be re introduced alongside the withdrawal of test strips for insulin users :wink:

 

I became diabetic in the mid 60's and spent 7 days in hospital being stabilised on one injection a day and eating specific amounts of carbohydrate br, snack, lunch, snack, eve meal, bedtime snack. This worked fairly well for me. The doctors also induced a hypo by me not eating a snack so that I would know how to deal with one which I was grateful for.

Mars Bars are still great for hypos even though they do contain some fat. Nothing like a Mars Bar to send bg levels up - all that glucose muck as the filling covered in lovely chocolate - YUM.

 

That's interesting about Colin Dexter - I was diagnosed at the same place 3 years later and they had stopped doing it by then!

 

I was told it used to be done when I was diagnosed in 1998, but they never put me through it. My only experience with hypos while at hospital was I think one or two during my sleep, where I was woken up and told to drink some milk. I always kinda regretted that they didn't, as my first hypo was a few months later at school, and while I knew the symptoms, I wasn't sure if it was a hypo until my handwriting got illegible. And many is the time I thought I've gone hypo when I actually just had adrenaline. I wish I was told how similar the two felt. Still, one way or the other, we all learn how it feels eventually, so I suppose it doesn't make a huge amount of difference in the long run.

 

I was diagnosed in 1973. They planned to give me extra insulin to cause a hypo before I went home if I hadn't had one by then. I had one naturally, so it wasn't necessary. Although we discussed the typical symptoms, they thought it safer if you knew your hypo syptoms before you went back to school etc.

 

So it looks like the regime of induced hypo's stopped sometime in the late 80's. My first hypo was a nightmare, I wish I had actually managed to be induced whilst in hospital, and I wish my partner would have been there at the time. A horrible first time for me, but worse for my partner, as he didn't know what to expect, and my first one was as a passenger in a car, he dropped in to a shop to get me a creme egg and then when he got me home tried gluco gel and then ended up calling paramedics!!!!! Absolutely awful, scared the pants of me and most of all him. Didn't give him any confidence at dealing with future ones!!!