• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

First low last night at what level do peope get their warning signs

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
A

astbury1

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi all. I had my first low reading last night which was unexpected as I felt no different to normal. It was 3.8? Surely I should have felt something?

I know everyone is different but at what level does everyone feel their hypo warning signs?:confused:
 
Hmm...the problem I have found is that there are different types of low. The ones that hit me hardest are the ones where my levels are dropping fast, which is logical as your brain has more to cope with in a shorter time so gets more distressed. On the other hand, if I'm just gradually slipping low - perhaps a short time before my next meal is due and I have little circulating insulin from the last meal - then it would have little impact until it got to the low 3s, sometimes lower.

3.8 is only 'just' hypo, and you may in fact have been slightly higher due to the margin of error on your meter - they are not totally accurate. A non-diabetic person might fall to 3.5 and wouldn't get any symptoms - their endocrine system would keep them balanced at this level. Our problem is that we may have some injected insulin still working away to drop us lower.
 
Thanks for that as makes me feel a bit better. Completely freaked out as wasnt expecting it. Glad I was in the house! I appear to be honey mooning at the moment so having to keep a close eye on it and keep having to reduce my insulin. I wish there were more accurate meters however it is better than not having one at all!🙂
 
astbury1 said:
Thanks for that as makes me feel a bit better. Completely freaked out as wasnt expecting it. Glad I was in the house! I appear to be honey mooning at the moment so having to keep a close eye on it and keep having to reduce my insulin. I wish there were more accurate meters however it is better than not having one at all!🙂
Click to expand...

Interestingly, when I first got a smart meter, the DSN told me to programme 3.5 as a hypo, not 4 as is normally assumed.

While I would treat 3.8 I wouldn't really consider it a proper hypo. I might only use 10g carbs to treat it, for example.

Like Northerner, symptoms for me depend very much on how fast my blood sugar is dropping rather than how low they are.
 
Thanks Mary Plain. Am having a steep learning curve I must admit! I did freak out an probably ate more sweets than I should have. My naughty pancreas is causing some problems!😛
 
i can tell when my levels have dropped to just below 5, this to me is a sign they are going down and i'll usually react to the hypo then as i feel hypo.
 
But, remember DVLA has its own defintions of hypoglycaemia, both blood glucose levels and whose actions to treat, so drivers wanting to keep their licences need to be aware of those limits.
 
Copepod said:
But, remember DVLA has its own defintions of hypoglycaemia, both blood glucose levels and whose actions to treat, so drivers wanting to keep their licences need to be aware of those limits.
Click to expand...

You're right as usual. I don't drive much any more but if I were driving I'd make sure I ate if my blood sugar was below 5 and I certainly wouldn't drive at 3.8!

In effect I get jittery if I see a blood sugar below 5 - ok if I'm about to eat, but if not I do some swift mental calculations to work out whether there's insulin on board and if there is, or I'm doing exercise, I would eat something slow acting to top me up. If it's under 4 I'll use a fast acting but if it's only just below 4 I would only use 10g carbs rather than the normal 15g.
 
I get a bit nervous when I see a 5 but then am just getting used to this. Am a nervous driver also so i would most likely eat just before I drive just in case! Just spoke to someone who does not feel anything until they have hit about 3 so looks like all of us different! I think I just got nervous at a 3.8. I was expecting to feel something!
 
astbury1 said:
I get a bit nervous when I see a 5 but then am just getting used to this. Am a nervous driver also so i would most likely eat just before I drive just in case! Just spoke to someone who does not feel anything until they have hit about 3 so looks like all of us different! I think I just got nervous at a 3.8. I was expecting to feel something!
Click to expand...

I wrote a poem about the different types of hypo 'Thirty Words for Snow' :D

http://diabetespoetry.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/thirty-words-for-snow.html

In time you will probably experience many varieties caused by different circumstances. The things to always remember are: to always carry some fast acting sugar with you so you can treat it straight away, and also to try and work out why it happened so you can try to avoid those circumstances in the future. Try not to be afraid of hypos - we are asked to try and keep our blood sugar levels in a very narrow range, something non-diabetics don't even have to consider, and there will be times when this may result in lows and sometimes highs. Learning what probable causes are helps to minimise them, although there will always be some that are hard to explain. Be prepared and you'll be fine 🙂
 
Thanks Northerner! Excellent poem!🙂












Northerner said:
I wrote a poem about the different types of hypo 'Thirty Words for Snow' :D

http://diabetespoetry.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/thirty-words-for-snow.html

In time you will probably experience many varieties caused by different circumstances. The things to always remember are: to always carry some fast acting sugar with you so you can treat it straight away, and also to try and work out why it happened so you can try to avoid those circumstances in the future. Try not to be afraid of hypos - we are asked to try and keep our blood sugar levels in a very narrow range, something non-diabetics don't even have to consider, and there will be times when this may result in lows and sometimes highs. Learning what probable causes are helps to minimise them, although there will always be some that are hard to explain. Be prepared and you'll be fine 🙂
Click to expand...
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top