Help from partners re hypos

[Geniekeepcalm]

Think I just need to share a concern. Sorry for long post !
Today I went from having high blood of around 15 post lunch, to a low early evening . So as I was treating my hypo which my Medtronic Guardian 4 said was 3.3 ans heading straight down, and tgen less than 2.8 I got very worried about what would happen if it kept dropping. My husband has his own health issues and currently not very mobile and certainly not quick. I didn't tell him I was hypo and my finger prick checks weren't as low as 2.8 .
Later i mentioned my worries, as i didn't think he'd have been able to help me . But i hadn't mentioned at time as,was just internally quietly panicking or brain not working properly.
Should add I'm looping and have rarely had a significant hypo , but as we all know............
I'd welcome any thoughts.

 

[Anna DUK]

Sorry to hear you had such a significant hypo @Geniekeepcalm. If you weren't able to treat your hypo, would your husband know what to do? How did he feel when you discussed things later on?

 

[Geniekeepcalm]

When i asked him , at first he said he said he'd phone nurses ! Seeing my horror, he changed to more suitable answers. I definitely need to keep reminding him.

Think I was feeling very sorry for myself. Would have liked someone to have made supper ie not me, but he'd only have managed to present me with toast etc

 

[Anna DUK]

Think I was feeling very sorry for myself.

Very valid and entitled to feel this way, especially as such significant hypos don't happen very often for you.

Would have liked someone to have made supper ie not me, but he'd only have managed to present me with toast etc

I can imagine the last thing you'd want to do is to be cooking after a hypo, although (wholegrain/wholemeal) toast after you've treated your hypo is ideal to stop levels dropping again.

 

[Geniekeepcalm]

Well actually made scrambled eggs wuth seeded sourdough toast , quick and easy

 

[Anna DUK]

Nice, definitely quick and easy.
If this was to happen again, what do you think you would like to happen differently?

 

[Geniekeepcalm]

Hmm good question . I'll have to sleep on it

 

[Lucyr]

So as I was treating my hypo which my Medtronic Guardian 4 said was 3.3 ans heading straight down, and tgen less than 2.8 I got very worried about what would happen if it kept dropping.

You should always fingerprick for hypos and especially for recovering from hypos. If the cgm kept dropping you would have fingerpricked to check it and believed the fingerprick result not the cgm. Then you’d have followed the hypo treatment protocol, a fingerprick test every 15 minutes and 15g carb every time the fingerprick indicates a hypo needs treating. Ignore cgm until fingerpricks are stable and out of hypo.

 

[SB2015]

Hi @Geniekeepcalm
I am looping with the same system as you and as you find it will generally keep me out of hypo land.
Any hypo is worth checking with a finger prick and then following your hypo rules as necessary. Whilst these will be reduced it is still essential to have hypo treatment with you all the time.
I still have the alerts before lows active so can usually head off hypos. They still happen (especially if I am ‘too busy’ to react to alarm) and are no less scary/exhausting. I am glad you had a conversation with OH afterwards. I find it really helps to have someone around who ‘gets it’, but I still have stuff accessible for me to deal with the drops myself.

 

[Inka]

I didn't tell him I was hypo and my finger prick checks weren't as low as 2.8 .
Later i mentioned my worries, as i didn't think he'd have been able to help me.

@Geniekeepcalm Always go by a fingerprick as the Libre will show you still dropping even if you’re stable or coming up. That just causes panic and isn’t very nice to see. Were you near your husband when your blood sugar dropped, ie a room or so away? If so, it’s always worth calling out to him just so he’s aware even if you don’t want him to do anything.

Also, it’s helpful to have hypo treatments in various places in the house, including upstairs so you don’t have to go trailing round looking for them and can reach for them automatically. For bad/fast hypos, I find Lift GlucoShots or a 150ml can of normal sugary Coke best (make sure it’s real Coke, the others don’t have enough glucose). If you need to sit down for 20 minutes or whatever after you recover, then do so. Sometimes hypos can make us feel weak and not right, so take the time to recover if you need it.

Finally, I don’t loop but is there any settings you can change so you don’t get so low, ie that you get an alarm earlier? I have a Dexcom G7 and set the Low alarm high enough that I can ward off the majority of hypos before they happen.

 

[Geniekeepcalm]

Thank you all for your replies ...much appreciated. Yes I did / always check Cgm lows with finger prick and use the latter. I think my issue was the realisation that if I needed help i couldn't be sure I'd get it.... suppose like those who live alone. At the moment it's me having to help husband with basic stuff so I guess it's worrying about that. I have hypo treatment in various places around home and in my bag so always have been ok. Like @SB2015 i love the Medtronic HCL, and have alarms set so i can react and keep an eye out. It's been brilliant at catching hypos. I'll have to try to be more vocal if in that situation again.

 

[Anna DUK]

Sounds like generally you're above board with it all, but last night was a reminder that your husband might not be able to help if you ended up needing support. And this isn't because he doesn't want to, more that he might not fully get what to do, or be physically able to. Maybe being vocal about your thoughts and feelings with him before another hypo should happen because then you're both somewhat better prepared.