• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Type 1 Severe hypos

C

Chirovici

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello,
I have type 1 diabetes for 12 years now. It's very well controlled generally, but for the past 3 days i've been having severe hypos (1.6 - 2) at around the same time every night (10:30 pm). Today it's the third time it happens and the doctors have no explanation for it. The sugar level drops suddenly from 14-18 to 2. I nearly pass out and i am really concerned especially that i don't understand why it happens. Has anyone of you experienced something like that? Again, it's very odd it happens at around the same time.
 
What basal are you taking @Chirovici ? Some people have had problems with Lantus and surprise hypos.

Would you like me to move your thread to Type 1?
 
I'm on Lantus indeed. And today even i've been on half of dose of Lantus because i've been to a&e yesterday and i skipped the Lantus. I usually make it at 10 pm. But today i split it in half and i did half of dose this morning and half of dose at 10 pm. Even so, i had a 2.9 level at 9:45 all of a sudden.
 
Chirovici said:
I'm on Lantus indeed. And today even i've been on half of dose of Lantus because i've been to a&e yesterday and i skipped the Lantus. I usually make it at 10 pm. But today i split it in half and i did half of dose this morning and half of dose at 10 pm. Even so, i had a 2.9 level at 9:45 all of a sudden.
Click to expand...

There are a number of threads about this. Here's one:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/lantus-followed-by-2-9-hypo.95565/

If it persists, you could consider a change of basal maybe.
 
Chirovici said:
Hello,
I have type 1 diabetes for 12 years now. It's very well controlled generally, but for the past 3 days i've been having severe hypos (1.6 - 2) at around the same time every night (10:30 pm). Today it's the third time it happens and the doctors have no explanation for it. The sugar level drops suddenly from 14-18 to 2. I nearly pass out and i am really concerned especially that i don't understand why it happens. Has anyone of you experienced something like that? Again, it's very odd it happens at around the same time.
Click to expand...

Hi,

Sorry to hear you're having problems.
Two questions I wish to ask. (If your OK?)

Have you started a new batch or cartridge of Lantus in the last "3 days"?
& when/what time did you bolus for tea/supper/evening meal??
 
Is this really a lantus problem?

One the on hand you're saying you're well controlled, but then you say:

Chirovici said:
The sugar level drops suddenly from 14-18 to 2
Click to expand...

14 to 18 isn't an indicator of good control, and then a sudden plummet to 2 suggests there's maybe a bit of insulin stacking going on: maybe you've recognised the 14 to 18 is way too high, you've maybe been doing what the Americans call rage-bolusing to bring it down (repeated small shots of insulin), then it all kicks in all at once and, bang, you're at 2.

Figure out why you were at 14 to 18 in the first place and then think about what you did in response to that: did you take a whole lot of insulin to bring it down?

Not having a go at you, man. I was on an office night out leaving do on Wednesday, in a Vietnamese restaurant. Lot of rice, noodles and beer, thought I'd bolused for it ok, but got way higher than I wanted, but a couple of shots of Lagavullin to finish the night off tempered it nicely....
 
Thank you, @azure, that is very helpful. I wasn't aware of this problem with Lantus.
@Jaylee, i did change the batch. When this first happened, it was the day i changed the Lantus batch. I heard someone else say this might be an issue. And the bolus for dinner was at 6:30 pm. I don't see how the Humalog could've caused this as it only lasts around 4 hours and the hypo occurred at 10:30 pm. Moreover, it's the first time it happens in 12 years of diabetes. It's extremely scarry and in those moments panic kicks in and you realise how much you rely on someone else to help you.
@Scott-C, after the 1.6 episode, i was afraid to do full doses of insulin the next day, hence the 14-18 levels. My hb1ac is 48 and except for the first years of dieabetes, it was never higher than that.
Thank you all for your replies.
 
Back
Top