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Unawareness and scared!

Kelsie

Kelsie

Well-Known Member
Messages
144
Hi all,
My diabetes has been pretty well controlled, i have had type 1 diabetes for nearly a year now and my sugar levels generally remain between 5-11. However in the past week, my sugar levels have been considerably dropping despite no change in my diet or insulin etc. and I have lost my hypo awareness suddenly, I used to be extremely sensitive and would feel symptoms when my levels were in the fours but now I have had sugar levels of 3.8, 3.1 and 2.1 and have felt nothing!!! I am on very very small amounts of insulin compared to other diabetics due to my very active lifestyle and job. I have been trying to run my sugar levels high in hope to gain my awareness back but I was looking for some advice with regard to how high should I run my sugar levels? I'm apprehensive to reduce my insulin too much as I'm scared to have sugar levels above 12, so I don't know how much to reduce by. It probably sounds silly-but I don't want to ask my hospital or doctors for help as I don't want to risk my drivers license being taken away. Any help would be great! Has anyone else suffered with this?! Thanks in advance


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Hmm I don’t know the best thing to suggest here as normally hypo unawareness develops after having Type 1 for far longer. The only advice you will be given by your Health Care team is to run your levels higher for a few weeks and they will come back. However speaking as someone who has gone through this myself, this does not always work. However I have been Type 1 for over 30 years and hypo unawareness can often just become a fact of life after this period. My awareness is quite erratic nowadays.
I personally would suggest running them at 8-9 for a few weeks (12 is too high) and keep them at this level to see what happens. Don’t allow them to drop below 6 would be my suggestion.

I know you are concerned about losing your licence however there are a couple of points you really need to take seriously. Firstly are you actually safe to drive? You are in charge of a heavy box of metal travelling at high speed which, when controlled by someone in a state of confusion can be lethal not just to yourself but also others. Think very carefully about the risks you are posing.
Secondly I’m afraid the fact you have posted his on the internet is an admission that you may have a problem. The internet is not a secret society and if you are involved in an accident this post could become public knowledge very easily. You MUST ensure that you test at all times before driving because of this to protect yourself from possible repercussions.
I personally have withdrawn myself from driving as I believe it is the right thing to do. However I do appreciate it is not always a pleasant option for everyone.
It is unlikely you will lose your licence at this stage but you do need to try and deal with this appropriately and if it does not resolve you have to look at yourself in the mirror and decide what is the right choice to make.
I sincerely wish you all the best and hope some others can offer a bit more practical advice than I can.
 
Thank you for your advice :) I religiously test before driving anyway even if I only tested half hour ago because I would hate to be a risk on the road. And if I have been below 5.0 (which prior to this week is v rare) before driving, I have food, wait 45 mins and then test again before actually driving. And as I only ever drive for less than 20-30 mins at a time I am confident that I am safe on the roads. I just meant that I don't want to go to the doctor, explain my situation and they instantly tell me not to drive without asking further questions about testing etc. I'll run them high and see what happens-hopefully my awareness comes back swiftly!


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It is all they will tell you to do anyway (or the only advice I have ever been given). Maybe someone else may contribute something else you can try .Good luck!
 
Nothing to add to Canary's advice which is excellent. And Kelsie you are to be commended for your responsibility in testing thoroughly before driving.

Just as a guess, it may be that having stabilised your blood sugars you have now entered the honeymoon period, when your own insulin production has temporarily and partly recovered. That may have caused a series of lows, which is what suppresses hypo awareness. As you are so recently diagnosed it is extremely likely that hypo awareness will return by running slightly higher for a while. Once you have the hypo awareness back, it may be you need less insulin while the honeymoon period lasts. Watch your meter and be on the lookout for that. Bring your insulin levels back up slowly. You don't want to have lows again and lose the hypo awareness again.

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this might help. i have been type 1 for 6 weeks now, and i asked the diabetic clinic when i was there last week if my beta cells had stopped working altoghther. they said no and that i would still have about 10-15% insulin still produced by my pancreas, but this will cease in about 12-18 months and when it happens the blood sugars will go abit haywire for a while after . maybe this is happening to you, wouldn't hurt to get it checked out, let me know how you get on
 
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