Strange day of hypos

[MarkHaZ123]

A few weeks back I had a bad hypo and seemed to have resolved that as why I had it after been on the bike all day but yesterday takes the visit for me

I woke as normal bloods around 6.3

I went to work as normal and got on with it, had a carrot cake bar on the way. Mid morning checked my bloods when the customer gave me some crossaints and a tea they were 6.1 and that was before food. This was around 10.30

I normally stop for dinner at 12 but ended up stopping at 12.40 instead with what I was doing and I wasn't hungry with having food already.

I checked my bloods and they were down to 3.1 and dropping as I could feel them dropping. I hadnt been doing anything other than what I normally do in the morning to have caused this

All afternoon I felt awful. Tired, aching etc

At home checked bloods and they were in the 6s mostly

Had my tea which I had a carb heavy meal last night as I was hungry. 4 hash browns, bread and chicken Fillet strips. After I had a yoghurt and some toffee fudges. Worked out that I should take 8 shots and that was without the yoghurt and fudge.

2 hours later decided to do my bloods as I bernadotte so and I was 2.6 with no signs etc. This was at 9pm

I had a jam sarnie, bag of crisps, singe orange juice and some jelly babies but half an hour later nothing at all, I started to get the shakes and sweat as you do so I had some chocolate.
Half an hour later my bloods finally went up a little. They went to 5.7 when I expected higher than that with what I had.

Through the night I have stopped back into the hypo zone for a short period and come back out.



I don't understand why Iv had a day like yesterday, its killed me for today. I'm so tired.

I'm a bathroom fitter so always on the go, I rarely use insulin during the day as I just work it off. I take less basal on a morning for it than if I'm off.

Can low bloods be a sign of an illness or anything like that if it continues? Any one got aby advice on the above?

Thanks for having a read through if you do

 

[becca59]

My first question would be how long have you been type 1. If recent, then it is most likely your body pumping out its own insulin. Also, what basal are you on. I know if I alter doses then that dose change takes 2-3 days to work. So taking less basal that morning will have no effect on that day.
Perhaps try having some low GI food with your other quick acting carbs. So brown bread rather than white. Some baked beans and 2 Hash Browns rather than 4. Balance some complex carbs with the quick acting ones. Have plain yoghurt with some fruit.
Bear in mind that the previous days activity levels impact the following day, especially if quite vigorous. It’s an absolute pain isn’t it.

 

[MarkHaZ123]

My first question would be how long have you been type 1. If recent, then it is most likely your body pumping out its own insulin. Also, what basal are you on. I know if I alter doses then that dose change takes 2-3 days to work. So taking less basal that morning will have no effect on that day.
Perhaps try having some low GI food with your other quick acting carbs. So brown bread rather than white. Some baked beans and 2 Hash Browns rather than 4. Balance some complex carbs with the quick acting ones. Have plain yoghurt with some fruit.
Bear in mind that the previous days activity levels impact the following day, especially if quite vigorous. It’s an absolute pain isn’t it.

I have been type 1 since October last year, before that I was been seen as type 2 but they said I'd be type 1 but until certain things happened they didn't want to confirm type 1

Yeah normally I don't eat like that, we have been eating healthy lately. Id normally have maybe 2-3 hash browns with beans but last night didn't fancy them.
Basal I'm on is levemir. I took 20%less last night than normal and that was before my 9pm issues

 

[kev-w]

Absolutely no help whatsoever but similar happened to me yesterday whilst trying to finish my bathroom refit, I'm in my 36th year of T1 and cannot for the life of me explain why the day went so pear shaped.

I'm suspecting bathrooms

 

[Marie 2]

You sound like you could be in your honeymoon period. I don't know how long you were diagnosed a type 2 before they changed it to a type 1, but the honeymoon period where you still make some insulin can last years.

Being able to go without insulin during the day and eating a fair amount of carbs is a sign you are still making some insulin or your basal could actually be too high. If you normally can get by without insulin your basal amount could be helping take care of some of those carbs you eat each day or you are making a little insulin still. There are a few athletes that do cardio all day that can skip insulin during the day, but not usually every day. Look for that to change as time goes on if you are in your honeymoon period as you will slowly stop making insulin.

And then there is type 1 can decide to just be a PIA for the day, any day, for no reason......................

 

[ert]

It does sound like your pancreas is still making insulin. You could ask for a c-peptide test to confirm this. Or due to exercise, you become insulin sensitive 24 to 36 hours afterwards.
http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/what-is-the-best-time-to-exercise-with-diabetes/

 

[ert]

Apart from "interesting to know", what is the value of knowing if your pancreas is making some insulin now when honeymoons often mean it is inconsistent and you know it will stop at some time in the future?
I am not asking to be antagonistic - I am interested to learn as the option wasn't available when I was diagnosed.

As the diagnosis of type 1 isn't confirmed, this would be a good starting point.

 

[MarkHaZ123]

Unfortunately, diabetes is not always predictable and sometimes it is not easy to find a reason for the highs and lows.
A few things to bear in mind
- one hypo can make us more susceptible to hypos later in the next 24 hours so if I have one hypo, I keep a close eye on my blood sugars.
- our brains are "clever". They can be trained to expect certain blood sugars. That is why we may be less aware of a second or third hypo in a day. Another reason to keep a close eye on blood sugars after one hypo.
- fat in food delays the absorption of carbs. Therefore, eating crisps with dextrose could cancel out the fast acting nature of the dextrose. I believe the advice is to eat slower acting carbs once blood sugars have risen above hypo levels.
- calculated/stated carbs in foods are estimates. So, the more carby foods we eat in one sitting, the greater the possibility of combining "bad" estimates. This is one of the reasons some people with type 1 eat a low carb diet (I don't). A heavily carby meal can lead to hypo even if you precisely calculate the carbs because you could be compounding over-estimates/errors.
- fat in food delaying carb absorption can also mean the sugar from something like carb-heavy, fatty hash browns (or pizza or curry) are absorbed after the peak of your insulin. This could be part of the cause of your evening hypo and is why some people split their bolus when eating these kind of meals - something like half their insulin before eating and the rest 30 minutes later. As with everything diabetes related, we are all different so you may need some trial and error to work out what works best for you.

Hope that all makes sense and your post-hypo hangover doesn't last too long.

I agree on that. Diabetes is a nightmare at times

I generally don't have issues at all but having one the other week which I put down to a really hard bike ride and then Iv had yesterday. Even today I had a couple of muffins for breakfast and had half the insulin I'd normally have and Iv gone low but not too low yet

It is a constant life cycle of adjusting. I find hot and cold weather varies things so much

I'm also thinking as I have had sinusitis for about 3 months this maybe something to do with it.