• 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

Advice re hypo

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

Claire007

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Making this quick as don't feel great.diagnosed last week as type 1 and BG was initially 20 and has dropped to 12-16 ish over the weekend.
I have had a few lows and just had a reading of 4.1. I felt shakly etc that's why I tested. Had 2x gluco tabs & 2 digestives and will test again after 40 min.

What happens tonight? I was told to up my units to 8 from today, which I have, do I have a full 8 of slow release at bed time?

I feel very shaky at around 5 tooeven though that's my target but I guess that's because it's a big drop from where I've been?

Sorry if it's rambled.
 
i am no expert on hypos - but from what i remember from other posts i think you are correct its because of the differential and you are having false hypos.
Any body willing to correct me do so please. 4.1 is on the low side though but i think is not quite hypo level - which i think i have seen stated as 3.5.

hopefully someone with more knowledge will post a more informed post soon
 
Thanks for your reply. Whatever the official hypo level might be, I felt like shite @ 4.1 :D
 
LOL Claire - yes!

Even ancient T1s like me - if we drop sharply and quickly, will feel mega hypo at levels above 4.

At the moment - use 4 as the absolute minimum, but really you'll be better aiming for 5, since that's what non-diabetics bimble along at for most of their lives. Actually, my husband is invariably 5.5 whenever I test him or he goes for his MOT. At 4 - there isn't much room for manoeuvre if you do drop a bit,

Just don't overtreat it is all, and gradually your body will get used to being at a lower level more often than not, and not start giving you hypo warnings unless you really are.

Officially in the UK - hypo is still below 4 - 'Four is the floor' but clinically - your brain is always affected whether you believe it to be or not! - at below 3.3.
 
Thanks, yes I was worried about sending myself back up too high. It's early days 🙂
 
Welcome Claire. I remember when newly diagnosed a year or so ago I felt very shaky if I.Got anywhere near 4, but this gradually changed as my body adapted.
Like has been said, it would be great to try not to swing it back up so quickly. LUbe try just the fast acting glucose and then test again 15 mins later. If you need to eat something in between, try something like cheese, I find babybells helpful as they take time to eat ( getting those wrappers off) give me something to focus on and the time to next test has gone. Stops me shoving in all the carbs! Good luck and let us know how you get on 🙂
 
Hi Claire
Yep I remember it well, at first I'd feel like I was going to pass out when it went under 7, because the body has adjusted to much higher levels so it "feels" low even when it isn't officially low. It does calm down as things gradually become lower overall, but I still feel it sometimes when it's a sharp drop like that. Looks like you did just the right thing though and exactly what I did when newly diagnosed. On the dosage front I've always stuck to what I'm comfortable with, so if at any point you aren't comfortable increasing, wait till you can talk to your nurse, mostly because you have to go with how you feel not what they expect will happen. Hope you're feeling less shaky and much better this morning 🙂. Oh and don't forget to top up your hypo treatments if you're increasing doses, just to be safe 🙂
 
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I feel all over the place at the moment but I'm trying to listen to my body and feed it appropriately! I am constantly hungry though, even half an hour after a meal.

Quick question if anyone can help. When I woke up this morning my hands were swollen, rings were really tight and my face felt puffy. Tongue like I'd had a skinfull the night before and a moderate headache. I drank plenty of water and it settled back down.
What would cause this? Not drinking enough water? I felt like I had a reasonable amount yesterday but maybe now I've not got the constant thirst of pre diagnosis I'm not having enough?
 
I think you've hit the nail on the head, I seemed to lose my normal thirst mechanism for a while after my body got some insulin, but it returned to normal after a few months. Just try and remember to drink (I sipped constantly and that seemed to work). I had swollen fingers and feet for a little while too and headaches like you wouldn't believe but I think it takes a while for everything to balance back out, the body loses a lot of sodium and potassium when blood sugar is high because you basically pee it out (hate that word sorry 😱) so it tends to hold on to it when it gets a bit hence the puffiness. If it doesn't settle down in a few days I'd ask the nurse or GP just to be safe 🙂

I was also incredibly hungry, I'd quite likely have stolen food from a small child! That's normal too, you're body has been starving (literally) for a while so it's trying to build up reserves. That lasted for about two months for me but I lost a ridiculous amount of weight before diagnosis so it probably won't last that long. It gets better I promise 🙂
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top