Heataches???

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Rubyloo

Rubyloo

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all having a good day!
I was wondering if any of you suffer severe headaches since you have been Diabetic? I seem to spend every day in a kind of fog which makes me feel drunk! Its almost like a bad hangover & I feel wobly! Am I just wierd or is this happening to anyone else? I wonder if I am having Hypos in the night as when I have had a Hypo I get a headache! I am going to see my Diabetic nurse tomorrow so it would be helpful to know if this is a kind of side effect. I'm fedup with feeling so ill & just want to find out why.

Debs x
 
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I'd say night-time hypos is a real possibility. The headache, and a slight rebound of highs, is usually my indication that I've gone low in the night. The best way to check it out is to set your alarm for a 3am (or there abouts) for a test, a bit of a pain but well worth it if that is what's happening.
 
aymes said:
I'd say night-time hypos is a real possibility. The headache, and a slight rebound of highs, is usually my indication that I've gone low in the night. The best way to check it out is to set your alarm for a 3am (or there abouts) for a test, a bit of a pain but well worth it if that is what's happening.
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I'd agree with aymes - you have exactly the same symptoms as me when I have had a night hypo. The problem with testing at 3 am for me is that it takes me a while to get off to sleep, and the testing really wakes me up (you have to be fairly awake to do the test and see the result!) so it's unlikely I'll get much more sleep before getting up:(

I never have the 'rebound' effect though - my readings are usually around 4-5 when I get up in the morning.
 
Thanks Northerner & Aymes,

What do you mean by rebound effect? Is it when you wake up high after having a Hypo in the night?
Do you get that hangover feeling? At first I blamed alcohol (I'm not an alkie, just 2/3 glasses of wine) but I have been feeling terrible all week & only had wine yesterday.
Over the last week I have been cutting down on my cals intake to get rid of those xmas pounds so have had dozens of Hypos, I guess I have not eaten enough. Also I don't genally eat after 6pm & have breakfast the next day around 7am, do you think thats just too long without food? If I eat something before bed I wake up high! It just seems like a vicious circle!

Dx
 
Rubyloo said:
Thanks Northerner & Aymes,

What do you mean by rebound effect? Is it when you wake up high after having a Hypo in the night?
Do you get that hangover feeling? At first I blamed alcohol (I'm not an alkie, just 2/3 glasses of wine) but I have been feeling terrible all week & only had wine yesterday.
Over the last week I have been cutting down on my cals intake to get rid of those xmas pounds so have had dozens of Hypos, I guess I have not eaten enough. Also I don't genally eat after 6pm & have breakfast the next day around 7am, do you think thats just too long without food? If I eat something before bed I wake up high! It just seems like a vicious circle!

Dx
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By rebound I do mean your levels going up a bit after a hypo as often your liver will start kicking our glucose if you go too low - usually too late to make the difference at the time unfortunatley!
I usually have a headache for 1/2 a day or so after a hypo and I describe it as like a hangover, sort of a headache with general grogginess and just really tired.
If you're on a basal bolus regeime and have your basal level right there's no reason why you can't go that long without food if that's what works for you. If it's a possibility you're having nighttime hypos it may be that your basal is too high. Another was to test the basal (although not ideal as the rate you need may vary according to the time of day) without having to get up at 3am is to try a carb free day, have your usual breakfast and evening meal but just try to make sure your lunch and any snack are carb free, if your levels remain pretty steady then your basal is probably right - you'd need to make sure you don't do any unusual activity during this time also though to make it a fair test.
 
Aymes,

Sorry to sound really thick :confused: Is Basal & Bolus when you have 3 fast acting injections & 1 slower for overnight?

Thanks
Dx
 
Rubyloo said:
Aymes,

Sorry to sound really thick :confused: Is Basal & Bolus when you have 3 fast acting injections & 1 slower for overnight?

Thanks
Dx
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Yep basal being the long acting insulin that you'd have once or twice a day (in my case lantus) and bolus being fast acting which most people would adapt according to carb intake and have with meals(I have novorapid)
 
Thankyou Aymes,

I'm on Novorapid & Levemir...........now I understand!

Dx
 
I def know what you mean by feeling like youve had one to many after a night hypo. I suffer from a banging headache, feel weak, dizzy and sick and also get intolerant to bright lights (tv, computer etc). These can last up to 24hour for me frequently result in me having to take time of work. (as i am at the moment :()

Can be a bit worrying when you call your boss and describe the exact symptoms of a hangover of a monday morning!! Thankfully mine is very aware of my diabetes and its complications.
 
I have at least two or three headaches a day Ruby and have done since November. I just thought it was part of the package!

;-)
 
I suffer from chronic headaches, meaning I get headaches more than 15 days out of each month. In reality I get them every single day - I wake up with them, they get steadily worse throughout the day, and I go to sleep with them. This didn't start until 7 years after I was diagnosed and I have seen two GPs who both told me that the cause is hardly ever known and I will have to put up with them.

Recently I've discovered there's a correlation between my headaches and artificial sweeteners. They definitely get worse as soon as I have a drink with them in.

Yours may well be related to night time hypos like the others said but there are a million different reasons that you can get headaches, from stress to nutrition to blood pressure. If you do a few 3am checks and find you aren't going hypo, it's really worth writing down how you feel and what you've eaten/drank when the headaches are really bad. I wish I'd done that 2 years ago and cut out sweeteners then.
 
My headaches are conected to high blood pressure. After I have taken pill they seem to get better.

Sometimes at night I get some of hypo symptoms, so do a quick test, and am usually OK.

It may be worth getting things checked by doc. There are a number of causes for headaches, stress being one of them. If you are worrying it is causing more stress so more headaches. As worzelgummidge has said, some headaches are cuased by artificial sweetners.
 
Hi there

It could be the alcohol causing you to go low. I drink two or three glasses of whisky a night but have to be real careful as it stops the liver kicking out the sugar when your levels drop. Wine can be worse cos 3 small glasses of wine is around 4.2 units which in theory would take your liver around 4 hours to deal with the alcohol before it even begins to deal with your sugar levels being low.

On average the liver can deal with 1 unit of alcohol per hour and this is providing you arent still drinking. What I do to drink and keep safe is the old pace myself. I take it with meals is I can but also I will have a drink and wait until I think my body has excreted it before taking on the board the next one. If Im gonna have a session I have to eat medium/ slow release carbs with the food and if Im below 8 before bed I know its gonna continue to drop overnight so I have a slice of toast or some crackers.

My fasting is between 4.7 and 5.7 I take novorapid for meals and lantus for basal. New years eve was fun though ate loads to counteract the drink woke up at 3.9. Next year I will cut back on the insulin slightly so I run a bit high before I drink. Not great advice but its only once a year so Im prepared to risk it!
Spirits with a fizzy mixer (sugar free) is probably the best to drink as theres no sugar to give you a false high and it gets into and out of your system quicker than wine which helps.

Emma
 
my son has headache when is high usually 2or3times a week
 
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