Help with Hypo's

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lucy123

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Type 2
Hi All
I hope you have time to read this and can give me some good advice because I really don't know what to do.

I have posted in the past that I have been having hypo's when exercising despite being told by nurse/gp that I can't have them because type 2 d/e. I have learnt that even non diabetics can hypo though when doing athletic exercise and have accepted that.

However yesterday I was in a meeting at work around l2 noon, and suddenly felt quite queer, starving hungry, shaky, couldn't follow what was being said, and after only a few minutes was unable to ask my boss to pass me a chocolate mini roll which I knew would probabaly help. I am a bit confused about what happened next, but was told by my MD I was sort of waving my arms as if to say I am going and looked like I was trying to say something but was very pale and all the managers instantly knew something wasn't right. I have to say they all acted perfectly though.

I did manage to stand up and go and sit by the sweet box outside and someone opened a packet of sweets for me and after a few i went back into the meeting. Apparently another manager also gave me half a small glass of full fat coke - but I have to say I honestly don't remember!


Then last night the meeting had moved to a local restaurant. We had placed our order and was waiting for dinner and then about 5 mins after ordering the signs came on again, I ate some granary bread and felt better and continued with the meal.

Today the meeting continued (yes long meeting) and about 10.30 I wasn't anywhere as bad as yesterday but felt low even though I had had porridge at 8.30. I tested and was 4.1. As I didn't feel so bad, I didn't eat or drink anything other than coffee, I tested again 1/2 hr later and was 4.0. I then did a test at 11.45 and was very surprised to see I had gone up to 5 when I expected to hypo again. After lunch I have been fine. Yesterday I did feel out of sorts for the rest of the day and really wanted to go to bed.

The only difference I have noticed tonight is that i do feel quite bloated but nothing else out of the ordinary.

Sorry for going on so much here, but my issue now is that my MD is insisting that I get checked out by my GP tomorrow and is concerned about me being a lone worker which I often am early mornings and late evenings.

The only problem I have is that i feel I am wasting my GP time as she won't believe I have hypo'd and even if she does will just say non-d's get it so eat chocolate or drink lucozade.

My MD thinks I may need some medication though but I am sure he is just panicking!

I am so confused and am stressing over this appointment and don't want my GP to think I am fussing over nothing.

Please tell me what I should do!

thanks for listening.
 
Poor you! *hugs* That sounds horrible, especially when your GP won't listen to you. I'm glad your work colleagues are being supportive though!

Is it possible that you have something like reactive hypoglycemia? Maybe your pancreas is dumping way more insulin than it should in response to food or something and that's sending you low? I'm not sure how you would get tested, but it definitely sounds like your GP should be sending you to see a specialist of some kind!
 
Oh Lucy am so sorry you've felt like this, not a good feeling at all :(! Think maybe it would be wise for you to get checked out with your doc. it may be you have something coming on, and hopefully if you see your doc you will be able to put your mind at rest.

Take care, love and hugs

Shirl
 
Hi Lucy

Sorry to hear of the difficulities you have been having.

The first episode sounds very much like a full-on hypo to me. Pale/trembling/arm waving and loss of a few minutes in a day are things I have experienced when quite seriously hypo. As randomange says, it might be reactive (a splurge of insulin pushed out in response to rising levels)

Not sure what your stats were when diagnosed, but I know of another condition which results in the individual having a propensity to hypoglycaemia. Family friends of ours have two sufferers in the family.

Whether this condition is something that can exist alongside Diabetes I really don't know, but it might be worth asking your doc.

Also, some T2s that begin to return their BGs to normal levels experience hypo symptoms while still in 'normal'/non-hypo figures. It doesn't seem like this is happening to you since you didn't appear to get symptoms at 4.1, but it may be worth keeping your meter handy to check whenever you feel a bit funny.

My advice would be to carry something sugary with you at all times. People have little pots that they put sweets in, I have a pocket-sixed tin that fits 4x cafe style sachets of sugar. That way if I ever feel myself dipping I have something to hand (even if it's just to stir into a hot drink around a meeting table.

Hope things settle down for you soon
M
 
Hi Randomage, Shirl and Mike.
Thanks so much for taking time to help.
This all seems to have been happening since I started the exercise in June when diagnosed, I did exercise on Monday night too so wonder if yesterday could have been delayed.

Mike I was diagnosed in JUne with fasting bs of 7.9 and first hba1c in August was 6. It would have been much worse in June!

Since June I have totally changed my life - have lost over 3 stone in weight and exercise very hard. I am wondering if this change in diet, weight and exercise are all together causing this.
Its a horrid feeling though and leaves me feeling shattered.

Will going to the GP help though. If no meds are needed, do I just need to get on with it.

At my last appt my GP said quite nicely, 'I do know how you wittle' which I didn;t think I had ever done - and now I feel silly going with this tomorrow just becuase my boss tells me I have to.
 
lucy123 said:
Since June I have totally changed my life - have lost over 3 stone in weight and exercise very hard.
Click to expand...

From what I read of the experiences of other T2s, significant weight loss can have a dramatic effect on the body's ability to use insulin.

If you are 'exercising hard' too that may well be a factor - isn't it right that marathon runners can go hypo at the end of a race? Northie would know...

So massive congrats on the weight loss - but it seems your body may still be catching up to the 'new you' 🙂
 
Thanks again Mike -still unsure about a GP visit but if my MD insists!
I guess I will know if need to do anything different jsut by having a chat.
 
Well appointment is now booked for 10am.
MD is happy but i feel like I am wasting GP time!
I will let you know the outcome!
 
Hi Lucy,

I was a bit slow on this one I'm afraid!

I had similar issues during and after my walks. I just made sure that I had a pack of glucose tablets with me at all times (I guess jelly babies would do too).

I suspect that some of my symptoms were also down to my body getting used to the lower levels, but to all intents and purposes it felt like a hypo and my body reacted as if it was (and my brain went into 'panic' mode making things worse!).

I guess that you need to treat it in the same way that others have mentioned before on other posts where you have an immediate intake of fast acting glucose and then follow it up with something a little more long lasting (to avoid dipping again afterwards).

If you're anything like me, things should stabilise because I haven't needed my glucose tablets for ages now.

Andy 🙂
 
I hope so Andy as they have been getting more frequent and recent two not whilst exercising - just sitting.
I have my appointment at 10 am and now feel such a fraud going, but my MD is insisting that I get checked out, or won't let me work alone. Today I hate diabetes!!!
 
Not sure if you will get to read this before you see your Dr.

Is there a nurse or first aider at work who would be able to test your blood glucose when you have a turn - they could then provide some evidence to your GP that you are not making things up.

There is a very rare condition called an insulinoma - which is a tumour that secretes insulin - I remember seeing it once on a medical drama. It is very rare so it is unlikely that you have the condition - but if you continue to get lots of hypos despite being on no meds ask your GP if it can be ruled out.

Hope that your GP is of help
 
lucy123 said:
I hope so Andy as they have been getting more frequent and recent two not whilst exercising - just sitting.
I have my appointment at 10 am and now feel such a fraud going, but my MD is insisting that I get checked out, or won't let me work alone. Today I hate diabetes!!!
Click to expand...

I don't see why you should feel a fraud. You have a problem and your GP needs to help you. End of story! 🙂

Andy
 
Hi All

After getting worked up about being a fraud and worrying GP would tell me it can't be happening - the GP was actually really nice. Was shocked at my weight loss (!) and also is a member of my club and said she is well aware of how hard I train.

She said I was definitley having hypo's but needs to speak to a consultant to work out why. She also asked if my weight loss had slowed down too which it kind of has but i just thought it is because I have hit a wall. She has told me to test when hypo if can and if I can't to train others to test me too so we can see how low I am going.

She said she thinks something peculiar is definitely happening with my insulin and I am probably becoming quite sensitive to it - not sure what this means???

She is going to call me in a day or two to discuss further, but has advised me to eat a little more carb before exercising. I already eat 2 burgen bread sandwich, and then reduce calories somewhere else in day to see if this helps in the meantime.

I am on my first outdoor run today, followed by gym and boxing (yeah!) so this will be a good test to see if a little more carb helps!!!

Thanks all for the support, and apologies for worrying about my GP and me being a fraud.
 
Hello lucy congrats on losing weight and reducing ur hba1c, yesterday i had my metfarting as usual and fer my trapped nerve (called bert lol) i was told by gp to increase my gabapentin from 1 to 3 tablets 3 times a day fer bert so i had 2 and after a while during the day i felt spaced out shaky and icky which i put down to berts gabapentine increase so i rang dr and asked if berts dose would affect metfartin and he said 'wouldnt thought so' and just to reduce dose to 1, 3 times a day. Weird huh? I was told not to exercise below reading of 4 mmol or above 14 mmol, maybe ur training too hard? Drinking water could also bring ur levels down after exercising, hopefully ur body might level out and get use to ur new weight/health regime and ur diabetes to settle down too? Tc lucy my fellow type 2 er lol :D
 
Hi Scoot, great to see you are back and thanks for pm.
Water - not thought of that I drink 3 litres whilst training!

I will test before I start, but always have a burgen bread sarnie before starting.
Confusing over your tablets? Hope you get it sorted.

Must go now - got my run in an hour.
 
Hi Lucy, am so pleased you went to see your GP 🙂 and as for being a fraud rest assured you arn't. Your doctor is there for you to go to especially when things aren't right. Hopefully when your doc has hd a word with specialist you may begin to get some answers and be able to do something about this.

So good luck, lv shirl
 
lucy123 said:
Hi Scoot, great to see you are back and thanks for pm.
Water - not thought of that I drink 3 litres whilst training!

I will test before I start, but always have a burgen bread sarnie before starting.
Confusing over your tablets? Hope you get it sorted.

Must go now - got my run in an hour.
Click to expand...
Thanx Lucy dr rang again and said that there may be a small possibility of gabapentine dropping my levels ??? bummer eh?? lol enjoy ur run ttyl tc 🙂
 
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