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Seizures Type 1 Diabetes

M

Marina23

Newbie
Messages
3
Hello,

So I'm not a diabetic but my partner is a type 1 Diabetic, and we've been together 3 years now.
Throughout our relationship he's had a couple of Severe Seizures they're mainly at night while he's sleeping because he can't detect the symptoms soon enough.
Luckily enough I've always been there when its happening and I treat it by giving him Glucogel, my problem is that I may not always be lucky.
I live at home but my work makes me have to stay 4 nights away every week.

My question is, If he has a seizure while Im not at home will he be OK? If he doesn't get to sugar in time, will he wake up after the seizure? Or will he fall into a coma?

Please help me with my questions I've been searching for answers.

Thank you!
 
Are the seizures due to hypoglycaemia @Marina23 or does your partner have another medical contribution that is causing these or making them worse?

Can you explain a little about his insulin regime and what his diabetic control is like?
 
Hi there @Marina23 and welcome, your partner sounds like he is having a night time hypo ( the 'seizure's, could be the reaction to a very low temperature during the hypo) do you test his BS at some point to get a reading or has he another medical condition or possibly a condition that is un-diagnosed? He should speak to his diabetes team or his GP, as it is a worry and a concern for you both and needs addressing.
Take care
 
Sorry yeah he has severe hypoglycemias.
Sometimes he wakes me up eating sweets in the middle of the night, so we check his blood and would be around 1.5 and sometimes he wakes me up having the seizure.
After giving him Glucogel, until he fully recovers I check his blood every 15min.
I believe he carb counts every meal and then takes the required amount of insulin.
He aims in between 5 - 7.
I know that stress can affect and taking paracetamol or ibuprofen. I think we are learning from every time it happens.
I just don't know what will happen if I'm not there to help him.
 
Has he done a basal test to see if his basal is at the right level? That's the first step. It may be that that's contributing to the hypos. A change of dose of change or change of insulin might help.

Does he start the night high and then drop? What are his before bed sugars like?
 
Sounds as if he is using far to much insulin for his background. He needs to do some basal testing.
 
He tries to aim for 6.5 before bed, its normally always ok, but then the other day it was getting low so he had some jelly babies, and everything seemed ok, he then woke up again in the night and it was about 20, so he took about 10 in insulin and that's when it went to low.
What's a basal test?
 
All my 28 years T1 I've had probs with nighttime hypos so I aim for 8 or 9 before bed which makes a big difference. If I am 10 or under at bedtime, I don't correct.

Basal test vital then readjust. Continuous glucose monitoring is very helpful too but show him these messages to start with the basal first.

I'm fortunate enough to be on a pump called 640g by Medtronic and CGM. Basically when I go low, it stops my basal /background insulin on my pump and stops my hypos. This doesn't work for everyone but has been great for nighttime hypos for me.
 
@Marina23, do you have a Glucagon injection kit also? Sometimes Glucogel by itself isn't enough to bring someone round if they are in a severe hypo.

If you don't have one, I'd strongly suggest that you get one.

As the others have said, it sounds very much like mismatched doses, probably both basal and correction doses. There's nothing more for me to add so good luck
 

See @catapillar 's link above

It does sound like the recent hypo was due to an overcorrection. If I have to,correct in the night, I always aim for a higher number than during the day just to be safe.

Your partner could try setting an alarm to,test in the night to get an idea of what his BS is doing and identify whether there's a regular problem during the night or just on occasions when he corrects.

I also recommend eating the evening meal around 6pm or so rather than late, as then you know the bolus isn't still working when he goes to bed. He can them check he's at a safe number for the night and only have to worry about the action of his basal insulin.
 
If you can afford it, I would recommend getting a CGM as @London36_ suggests. A Dexcom would alarm if his blood sugar is low. A Freestyle Libre doesn't have alarms, but would help him work out what's happening whilst he's asleep. The Libre is cheaper to set up if you just wanted to try one for a while.

In my opinion the NHS should supply a CGM if he is having seizures.
 
To answer the OPs question directly: Normally the liver will do a glucose dump if a hypo occurs and the person would come round shortly after - the bodies own built-in safety device*, a bit like an auto brake on a free falling lift - however I wouldn't like to be in that lift, and so would prefer not to hypo too! The other posters advice is good and should be looked at.

*there are caveats like any good insurance policy.............a few untreated hypos on the trot, not having had chance to top up the livers glucose store is asking for trouble, also depends on what and how much insulin you have on board, and a myriad of other factors to take into account, so best try and avoid them and getting his night time hypos minimised or non existent is best.
 
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