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Somogyi effect is it real.

Hannah11688

Member
Messages
11
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi.

I think i keep sleeping through my hypos.

I recently went on a very active holiday, i went to bed with 8 units of active insulin and a bg of 10.1 (the 8 units were for tea at 5) didn't inject straight away as we were going swimming again and i had a hypo at tea time. bed at half ten, italian thin pizza for tea remember waking up that night hypo but went back to sleep as I was too out of it but when I got up my sugars were 18.1 queue a freak out. Which I found oddly weird as I know when I woke up I was coming out of a severe hypo. (3/4am) so it happened for the rest of the week would generally go to bed with a 9/10 wake up anywhere from 18/22. So when I got home It got me thinking why is this happening. I came across the somogyi effect. I remember the same thing happening last year on an abroad holiday and assumed I was doing something crazy wrong even got told off from my diabetic nurse and I was only 5 months diagnosed at the time. I've woken up this morning and slept all night which is unusual for me as I wake up multiple times in a night. I did a correction dose before bed as they were 22 i freaked again corrected checked again at 12 pm i was 12.1 queue panic as again still had 6 active units according to my accu chek machine. I had a shot of peanuts and alas woken up with an 18 again. With no idea what happened to me in the night. Its frightening and scary. I'm so tired constantly. My eyes feel like grit and I have a headache almost feel hungover. Has anyone else experienced this effect or is it a myth.
 
Hi @Hannah11688 - it sounds as though you need to take a step back and test your basal insulin and also your insulin carb ratio.

This will make a big difference to how well you sleep. It sounds right now as though you're on an uncomfortable roller coaster.

The only way to stop this kind of thing happening is to stop the hypos in the first place and to do this you need to understand how your insulin is working. It is resolvable. It just needs a little work.
 
You could try out a Libre sensor for two weeks so you can see what's happening and when it's happening, if you can afford it. That makes it much easier to make sense of strange blood sugars. And they work with your phone if you use android, so no need for a scanner.
 
What is your acting time on your meter?
 
I suggest you eat your last meal at 5pm. Test every 2 hours at least till bedtime... at bedtime test. If your acting time (and no corrections) it should show by 11pm that your active insulin is zero... you need to wake up and test at 3am at least. Or get a libre...
you need to have normal levels pre bed and no corrections active to find out what is going on at night.

If you are eating late, bolusing late, correcting late you cannot establish whether its your basal that is causing you hassle or your other factors.

Start from basics... have your last meal around 5 to 6pm. Test, test and ensure you get to a point where your levels are ok pre bed... then without food, any corrections and waking up during the night to test you will get a true picture of how your body and bloods are reacting.
 
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