Anyone got any advice on this please?

[sg295]

Hi all,

So I’ve been experiencing that my levels tend to drop while I’m driving home from work at the end of the day which is slightly concerning!

Although it’s very rare I have a hypo while I’m actually driving, my levels just seem to slowly drop over the course of the hour long drive home and then I get home and have a hypo (usually only very mild like the 3.8 I had today but still annoying that I managed to drop from 5.9 to 3.8 in only an hour or so!)

Does anyone else experience hypos from driving or got any thoughts on why this might be happening, what I can do about it etc?

If I do shorter commutes this doesn’t tend to happen. It also doesn’t happen on the way to work, only the way home. I don’t think my basal is wrong because it seems fine in any other situation. I also don’t think my ratios are wrong because if I do my usual ratio without driving I’m fine. It seems to be the driving causing it!

I try to have a snack before I drive, even if my levels are in the 5s or higher, because I know this tends to happen, but I forgot today and this happened!

Sorry for the long post, any help much appreciated!

Thanks 🙂

 

[Inka]

I think you’ve answered your own question - make sure you have a snack enough time in advance of driving so that your blood sugar stays high enough to drive. I like to be around 7 for a longer drive like that, and that gives me a cushion. Do you have a Libre?

Did you feel hypo signs as you were driving? If in any doubt, always pull over and stop the car.

 

[sg295]

I think you’ve answered your own question - make sure you have a snack enough time in advance of driving so that your blood sugar stays high enough to drive. I like to be around 7 for a longer drive like that, and that gives me a cushion. Do you have a Libre?

Did you feel hypo signs as you were driving? If in any doubt, always pull over and stop the car.

Hi,

Ok thank you, I do have a libre but currently using finger pricks as my sensor was playing up and haven’t had a chance to replace it yet.

And no it’s not while I’m driving, it’s always when I get home I crash. I’ve only ever had a hypo whilst driving once or twice and have pulled over to deal with it

 

[Jelly Babies Save Lives]

I keep a packet of fruit pastels in the car. Late afternoon is usually my low point because of the hours between lunch and dinner not eating.

 

[C6H12O6]

I do exactly the same: plummet as I walk through the door. Even if I leave work on a 6, I'm in the low 4s when I get home an hour later. I now keep a tin of dextrose tabs in easy reach and have one when I'm halfway home. I then reach home comfortably in the 5s without having to stop and faff about when all I want is to get home!

 

[Lily123]

I do the same when walking home from school (30 minutes) I can start walking on 10 and end up on 4 or 3 when I get in. I think for me it’s that there is still insulin active from lunch.

If I’m walking anywhere else for the same amount of time then it doesn’t happen.

 

[rebrascora]

It may also be the wind down from the day at work or school. The body or brain has possibly been working quite hard and then suddenly it has a bit of a lull when it replenishes it's stores whilst you are driving/walking home. My levels usually drop like that when I climb into bed after a hard day.

 

[sg295]

It may also be the wind down from the day at work or school. The body or brain has possibly been working quite hard and then suddenly it has a bit of a lull when it replenishes it's stores whilst you are driving/walking home. My levels usually drop like that when I climb into bed after a hard day.

Ah ok, that’s interesting, thanks for that!

Hadn’t really thought of it like that but that definitely makes sense.

Think I probably just need to always remember to have a bit of a snack before I head off, even if my levels are steady in the 5s, 6s, 7s etc to prevent the drop.

At the end of the day, I would prefer to overdo it and come home with slightly elevated levels than have hypos!

 

[Lucyr]

I try to have a snack before I drive, even if my levels are in the 5s or higher, because I know this tends to happen, but I forgot today and this happened!

You must always have carbs available close by when driving, as a condition of your driving licence, so best thing to do would have been to pull over and eat the snack before continuing the journey.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

I had, particularly in the first 15 months, hypos while driving; one of my most disconcerting was on a really busy M42 and trying to get into a safe place during that was not fun. I also have had Libre alarms while driving and, of course, unable to immediately finger prick to verify whether the alarm is real.

For longer journeys I now, always, start at least in the 7s (often higher) and my Libre alarm is set to 5.6 - it's top limit - to warn me when I'm falling. There are a variety of snacks, with different GI and carb values, in really easy to reach places in both our cars, in packaging that has been opened and so easy to graze on. Things like Nature Valley twin pack bars as precautionary carbs in response to that alarm at 5.6; as well as Jelly Babies in packages of 4 for when hypo symptoms might be hitting me. There is also a pre-opened small bottle of Lucozade in the door pocket; pre-opened so it's easy to get a swig from in extremis and so that first burst of fizz doesn't end up on my lap! Flat or near flat Lucozade has the same carb content as full fizz. I enjoy fruit pastilles as a hypo response, but object to the sugar granules that inevitably don't reach my mouth (!) but do reach the upholstery (or my clothes); also unless they are already loose in a container or packet they're tough to get out of the roll one-handed.

I think that driving is a deceptively high mental activity and even though you might sometimes think you are relaxed and in a form of auto pilot, your brain is still working hard to achieve that auto pilot status - and mental activity uses up BG. I've had driving hypos, or near hypos, at various times of day.

My precautions, along with Libre and/or Diabox CGM alarms, have allowed me to head off all potential driving hypos in the last year and the JBs not touched; I replaced them with fresh ones only last week, having spent 12 months getting melted and frozen and gradually got stuck together. (I don't like dextrose tabs, too 'dry' for me).

The big worry now is that eating, even a small biscuit, is essentially illegal while driving; as is looking at your Libre reader or LibreLink phone display. Strange new legislation: you are allowed to light a cigarette and smoke, but not eat a car sweet, which can be considered as driving without due care and attention. Even having a quick bite while stationary, but behind the steering wheel, could put your licence at risk; and no point trying to claim you were pre-empting a possible hypo, that could end up with your licence being withdrawn anyway. The thing about common sense is that it's not very common .... and I increasingly think the people who produce new legislation meet my definition of common sense!

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Although it’s very rare I have a hypo while I’m actually driving, my levels just seem to slowly drop over the course of the hour long drive home and then I get home and have a hypo (usually only very mild like the 3.8 I had today but still annoying that I managed to drop from 5.9 to 3.8 in only an hour or so!)

I try to have a snack before I drive, even if my levels are in the 5s or higher, because I know this tends to happen, but I forgot today and this happened!

Obviously you need to snack before you leave work and also remember not to forget 🙂
Also have a look at your basal and see if that needs cutting back ie do a basal test. So skip lunch and test each hour until you see a drop. If no drop then look at carb ratio as some if not all find their bolus has a bit of a kick in it towards the end of it's duration.

All this thinking ahead is a must for having a pump as it wont adjust your insulin automatically unless you have sensors and a closed loop system.