Panic attacks and sugar drops

[Sharrryn]

Hi
Does anyone find when they are anxious or panicking their sugar drops.
I use to always spike when anxious but lately I seem to drop and this makes me more anxious.

 

[ert]

Hi
Does anyone find when they are anxious or panicking their sugar drops.
I use to always spike when anxious but lately I seem to drop and this makes me more anxious.

How quickly do they drop? How do you treat it?

 

[Sharrryn]

How quickly do they drop? How do you treat it?

Well this morning it dropped around 5mmol in about 20 mins. It never got low as such - 6 was the lowest reading but the drop from 11to 6 so quickly felt intense. No active rapid on board so not sure other than the anxiety what caused it. I had breakfast and half my usual breakfast dose after it stopped dropping and I’m sitting at 10 now.

 

[ert]

Well this morning it dropped around 5mmol in about 20 mins. It never got low as such - 6 was the lowest reading but the drop from 11to 6 so quickly felt intense. No active rapid on board so not sure other than the anxiety what caused it. I had breakfast and half my usual breakfast dose after it stopped dropping and I’m sitting at 10 now.

Your dose is correct if you end up at the same pre-meal level 5 hours after eating. You could talk to your DN about dosing after you have started eating, or splitting your dose. It may help stop the sudden drops. It gives you a chance to give less than your total calculation for the second dose also. Coffee and cream with a meal also slows the insulin down.

I have sudden drops sometimes with exercise after lunch. I have a Dexcom and get double arrows down where I've dropped at worse 1 mmol/l every 4 minutes. I start eating fruit, followed by Dextro if that doesn't work, followed by coffee and cream if I'm at home. It's much easier to exercise before breakfast where this never happens.