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Night time hypos

Layah2013

Well-Known Member
Messages
60
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi my daughtee is 2 years old she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 3 months ago, she is currently on the insulin pump, and has been getting night time hypos, has anyone elses child experienced this, as i wondered what would happen regarding the hypo in the night if i wasnt testing her through the night, i just panic and think if i hadnt havr tested her and seen the hypo what would have happened... how long can they go with a night time hypo without treatment, i dont no if ill ever get sleep just incase i dont test in the night and she is hypo ...

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I'm going to tag @1Sarah1 for you as she has a child of a similar age.

If your daughetr is getting lots of nighttime hypos, could you ask about changing her basal rates? Do they occur at the same time every night she has one?
 
hi there @Layah2013
welcome to the forum :)
i realise you must be worried sick with this but you need to tell your daughter's DSN you need daily communication because you are not getting any sleep and you can't go on long term like this.

i would recommend you reading a book called Pumping Insulin by John Walsh

I would also recommend you stay in touch with us all day and every day until you feel calmer about your daughter.

it is hard to take things slowly in real time when you are in the middle of it -- but with us to help support hopefully we can keep you in a calm zone to keep your daughter in a good place

all the best
himtoo
xx
 
Hi Layah2013

Get yourself a bottle of Glucogel from pharmacy with a long twist up nozzle and if there is a time when little one is off with the fairies in hypoland ......no lights on, unresponsive etc, put 2 pillows under her head and try to turn her on her side. Put a towel under her head and gently squeeze very small beads of the Glucogel into the mouth along the buccal lining gof the gums and cheek and then gently massage the face so that the gel gets absorbed quickly without risking choking. .....so only tiny amounts at a time and not loads. It might take about 1/4 to 1/3 of the bottle to start working it's action but should bring little one to be responsive enough within about 15mins so that she can be ok to drink a bit of lucozade or fruit juice etc and then a biscuit. This was a Godsend years ago back in the 80's and saved a lot of hospital admissions or glucagon injections. In the 60's small amounts of table sugar were used and massaged I along the lips so that it would be absorbed but Glucogel (Hypostop) was brilliant and still is.

Can you get cgm at all as that can be set up to sound an alarm?
 
Yes, you need to talk to her DN. She may be having hypos because of her insulin doses. Or it can be because of daytime activity. So a good thing to do is to log her activity when she's doing something energetic as well as her blood sugars. You soon start to see a pattern and can adjust her basal rate downwards during the night after a very energetic day. Or give her a bigger snack before bed as she's a child. That will help her grow rather than lose weight (as most of we adults want to!)


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Hi @Layah2013 my 2 yr old is on a pump and I worry about hypos she does tend to get restless though when she has gone low. How often are you testing her? You could do to see when she drops and reduce her basal rate. Speak to her pdsn about it if you are unsure how to do it. My dd drops overnight and it's taken a bit of tinkering -she normally still goes to bed a bit high but is normal 7ish before breakfast and tbh that is fine for me as I would rather her not be too low.
My Dd is going to go onto cgm today which links with the pump so should alarm if she goes low. Can you get funded for cgm? I'm not sure if you can have a trial of libre as its only licenced from age4. I've trialled the libre too (I'm type1 as well since I was 2) and it gives an indication of the trends. Unfortunately the best way is to test. Are you following a similar routine? Ie. I try to stick to similar carb meals at the same times of the day as its very difficult to do basal testing with no carbs in a 2yr old! At least this way I have an idea on what's happening. There are a lot of other issues when they are little like my daughter is teething and it's causing erratic blood sugars.
As @iHs suggests I use glucogel for my daughter. She normally needs about a level teaspoon equivalent of it. I rub it into her gums too if necessary.
You could try do a temp basal or set up a different basal overnight reducing what she normally has and then adjust from there. What is she when you go to bed and when you get up normally? I suffer from dawn phenomenon and have most of my basal in the early hours whilst my daughter is the opposite. I hope you ar in regular contact with pdsn x
 
I can't really add to what's been said already but have to say "I Take my Hat Off to You All" even with all the knowledge of being diabetic treating someone so young with diabetes must take a lot out of you. I salute you.

Regards

Martin
 
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