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Night Time Lows / Hypos

C

callumsfather

Member
Messages
19
Hi
My son is 2 and a half, T1 and is about to go on a pump. During the day all is well.
Lately he has started to go Low at night, we are lucky as he recognises this himself even at his young age and calls out.
We give him his gel and that sorts out the immediate need.

As he is now coming off kiddie milk and does not like it especially during the disruption of a Hypo we are limited to getting carbs into him to cover the period when the gel wears off. Trying to feed him biscuits at 2 in the morning also is not easy.

Is there a carb product easily administered that could be used at night.
A tube like the gel that is a long lasting carb would be ideal.
Or any tricks or tips would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
regards
Callums Father
 
In the sports stores here you can buy Low GI gels etc. I have no idea what they taste like or how good they are for kids but you might be able to do a bit of research on what is available to you. I know a few diabetic families that keep them on hand. I think they are for cyclists and marathon runners. A bit of banana is a soft, easy to eat, food at night also but I find bananas send Khaleb high quite easily (depending on their ripeness). Milo or other milk poppers that have a straw are also a good alternative and may not be damaging to teeth like biscuits that leave bits in the gaps.

Khaleb is still on a bottle so I tend to put glucose powder in his milk to treat a hypo at night. I am reluctant to wean Khaleb because of how convenient this is. Khaleb is sick and had 2 hypos at around 2am this week. In my efforts to avoid a third Khaleb had a bsl of 18 at 2am last night :oops: Like you, the days are fine but it can be a bit hit and miss at night.

You probably wont have so many problems once you get a pump. At least you can turn it down unlike being on needles.

All the best, hope this helps.
 
Hi, the only suggestion I can think of is may be some fruit smoothie jucice. I know that if i've ever needed to give my kids something in the night, it's much easier to get them to drink something. You could give it in a bottle, but it sounds like you're trying to get him off those. Some of the smoothie drinks come in pouches with a straw which may be an alternative.
 
I think you should discuss this matter with your little lad's diabetes nurse. What you need to do first is stop the night-time hypo's happening, and then discuss treatment etc. Perhaps when he starts on the pump these episodes will become less frequent, but it is still a good idea to seek professional advice due to your childs age.

Good luck and hope all goes well with the pump.

Nigel
 
Nigel, even with the best management in the world kids will still have hypos. Parents and the diabetic teams always try to eliminate them but without a CGM it just isn't a possibility without running high blood sugars all the time. Even very small amounts of insulin on a tiny body has a massive effect. Half a unit of Novorapid will drop Khaleb's blood sugar 10-15mmol and when he was smaller it was closer to 20mmol.

I don't want to be testing Khaleb excessively but can pick up when he is going low most of the time. He will still catch me out when I least expect it. If he's had a really energetic day I'll reduce his insulin at night but he can still go low. Kids also sleep a lot longer at night so it can be hard to get it right.

Sorry, I'm not being nasty but trying to explain the difference between adults and kids.
 
Hi Jen,

Of course nothing can prevent hypo's in type 1 children, I wasn't trying to imply any different. What I was saying to callumsfather is to have a word with his boy's diabetes team to establish ways of preventing and treating the hypo's when they occur. As you say, children are a little different to adults, hence why I said to seek professional opinion, I wasn't trying to override any other replies, I was merely stating what I would do in the same predicament.

Nigel
 
Hi All
Thanks for your replies, much appreciated.

The majority of the time we are able to help reduce instances of Hypos by regulating his medication. As he is getting a lot more active then this is more critical.

When we miss out and he does get a Low at night we give the Gel as normal but if there was a “liquid gel form of biscuits or toast etc” for want of a better phrase,,,, this could be easier administered and would not disrupt his sleep as much.

I have looked at the Lucozade Sport Products and one of them the “ Carbohydrate Energy Gel” seems to be high in carbs but low in sugar. Has any one had experience of this product.
 
Hi, I have bought something called GlucoJuice from Boots. It comes in a little bottle and is classified as a fast acting energy drink and can be found with the glucose tablets, the one I buy comes in a Berry Flavour. We have never used this, I bought it for my husband if his sugar falls in the night, so I can't really comment on its effectiveness, having said that it is fast acting rather than slow, so not sure it is really what you are looking for. Hopefully someone else may have some other ideas. Leggott
 
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