Just wondering ..

[SusieGriff]

I have been reading all sorts of threads on here, being fairly new to D, there are still quite a lot of questions that keep popping up. I have been quite good lately controlling my levels, but still have the odd hypo occasionally, usually because of exercise or mis-judging doses. They say that Hypo's are just as dangerous as hypers, why is this, and if so, what are the dangers, apart from the obvious (coma) in extreme cases.??

 

[Northerner]

I think that, if you are trying to keep tight control of your blood sugar levels, then the occasional hypo is inevitable. Personally, I don't worry about anything in the upper 3s, but always try to pin down the reasons and try and modfiy my behaviour/doses in future. Even so, I still go through periods where I am reducing insulin and still getting a lot of hypos because it's so tricky to guage. My current 7-day average of 5.0 tells that story very well 😱

I think the main danger associated with lots of hypos, especially if they are severe, are a reduction in hypo awareness - meaning that you may be lower and lower before you notice something's wrong, and then you may not notice in time to help yourself or get help. Also, I've heard that it can affect cognitive function and memory but I've not been aware of that (yes, I've always been like this! 😉). I've only been diagnosed 3 years though so maybe some of the 'veterans' know if there are other dangers.

 

[SusieGriff]

Yes, I think mine is mainly exercise, I must either calculate a lower dose or have a biscuit while out walking. But I don't always know how long I'm going to be out and what the reading will be. I'm relieved that there are no physical damages caused by hypos apart from the obvious. I'm waiting to see, as you said, what the 'veterans' come up with !!

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Lots of hypo's do damage memory
Before I was diagnosed with addison's disease I was having 56 hypo's a month 😱 Medical advice was control your diabetes. No looking into why I suddenly had a problem.
The end result is my memory is now very bad. Even though I have very few hypo's now the damage has been done and this was 8 years ago.

 

[SusieGriff]

Oooo! that's not good. I'll remember that 🙂

 

[Robster65]

Like Sue, I've had a lot of hypos over the years, some bad enough to need ambulance callout, others resulting in convulsions or just very scary lows that never seem to go up. And sometimes a lot (no idea how many) over a series of days or weeks.

However, my memory has never been the best (my mind wanders easily 🙄) and concentration is a bit hit or miss.

Having swapped notes with a few other people, older or younger, but all non-diabetic, I think my memory is no worse than it was, considering age and lifestyle. I'm sure it affects us all differently, just as alcohol and other factors do, so I would say it's one for the jury to decide upon.🙂

What was the question again ?

Rob

 

[mcdonagh47]

I have been reading all sorts of threads on here, being fairly new to D, there are still quite a lot of questions that keep popping up. I have been quite good lately controlling my levels, but still have the odd hypo occasionally, usually because of exercise or mis-judging doses. They say that Hypo's are just as dangerous as hypers, why is this, and if so, what are the dangers, apart from the obvious (coma) in extreme cases.??

Hypos damage a part of the brain called the Hippocampus which is concerned with long and short term memory and spatial navigation.
A few brain cells there die off every time you have one.

 

[trophywench]

I only know the brain damage one from comas, and the memory one as outlined by Sue. But I don't think having a couple of days a month when you just hypo a fair bit and get fed up with it, has all that much effect really.

Trouble with hypos in a series like that though is that each successive one is likely to be lower than the last so the message for that is don't over-correct else you get on the Hi/Lo seesaw.

 

[lizabetic]

I've always got hypos before and 'after' diabetes - including even now without any medication. When I didn't eat for long periods before diabetes i'd get 'the shakes' and now the situation is the same, at least it has reasoning.

Consequently I also do have a very poor memory! I probably hypo at least 2/3 times a week.

 

[SusieGriff]

I've always got hypos before and 'after' diabetes - including even now without any medication. When I didn't eat for long periods before diabetes i'd get 'the shakes' and now the situation is the same, at least it has reasoning.

Consequently I also do have a very poor memory! I probably hypo at least 2/3 times a week.

I used to get that too Lizabetic!! even after I'd had breakfast, I'd take the dog out walking, come back and be shaking like a leaf and eat 2 slices of toast at least til it stopped. Now I know what that was. I didn't think it was diabetes even then, that was about 6m before I was dx. how come? It all still amazes me what goes on.