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Hi

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Blue

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Type 1
Just managed to sign up. I'm a type 1 and have been for almost 40 years. Now becoming unaware of hypos which means lots of testing. I live presently in Barbados but when retirement comes around will return to the UK (Norfolk). I am a marine surveyor and ex ship Captain/ engineer. Living with diabetes is a pain but it beats the alternative so have try my best.

Blue
 
Welcome Blue 🙂. Well done for doing your best from someone who has been T1 for more than 51yrs. As you have done being active at work is the best way 😎
 
Living with diabetes is a pain but it beats the alternative
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Sure does. :D Hello and welcome to the forum Blue.
 
Hi Blue and welcome to the forum. I love Barbados.
 
Welcome from someone just over the border in Suffolk - Norfolk is about a mile away!
 
Hello Blue and a warm welcome to our supportive forum ~ sorry to see you here but glad you found us ~ lots of knowledgeable and experienced folk here so if you feel like having a rant ~ then rant away. There's plenty of threads that you can visit ~ some about diabetes and some off the subject. Feel free to roam around. I bet you could tell a tale or two whilst in your line of work?! Take care x
 
Hi and welcome to forum
 
Thanks for the welcomes, nice to be among folks with similar problems. I was wondering about pumps or even this constant glucose monitoring as I have been going low a lot recently. The CGM system is expensive with ongoing expenditure monthly and I am paying for things myself. Don't know anything about pumps or their reliability, effectiveness or cost but I have to do something to get back on track. Thanks, Blue
 
The advice to anyone on insulin losing hypo symptoms (and it's something that happens to an awful lot of us after ages) is to run higher for a moth or two until they re-establish.

Bearing in mind you may not be on what we regard as cutting edge treatment - what insulin/diet regime are you on?
 
I inject before each feeding, taking Lantus and Apidra in the morning with just Apidra after that. Very small amounts apparently. 5 of Apidra each meal and 13 Lantus daily. Cutting back on carbs and tropical fruits as they are sending me high for hours. I'm not particularly overweight (abt 82 kg) but was heavier a few months ago. Do hypo symptoms return after losing them ? I would be very happy if they did 🙂. It's a bit sad what makes us happy really but needs must.

Blue
 
Blue said:
I inject before each feeding, taking Lantus and Apidra in the morning with just Apidra after that. Very small amounts apparently. 5 of Apidra each meal and 13 Lantus daily. Cutting back on carbs and tropical fruits as they are sending me high for hours. I'm not particularly overweight (abt 82 kg) but was heavier a few months ago. Do hypo symptoms return after losing them ? I would be very happy if they did 🙂. It's a bit sad what makes us happy really but needs must.

Blue
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With hypo symptoms it's all about how accustomed your brain becomes to lower levels. If you are having regular lows then your brain will start to perceive these as 'normal', and will only get in a flap when levels start dropping below this new 'normal'. This can then become progressive, eventually leading (if you're not careful) to you being so low before you get symptoms that there is little or not time to act - your brain becomes starved of energy. Running levels higher for a while resets the 'normal' at a higher level again, so hypo symptoms will usually return 🙂 Much will also depend on length of diagnosis, when this 'reset' might be more difficult to achieve, plus, of course, we are all different and the process may not be straightforward for everyone.
 
Thanks Northerner for the heads up there, I will try that for a while and see how it goes. I have been running low of late trying to stave off 'complications' which we all seem to have to look forward to. But that seems to be leading to issues of it's own.
 
Blue said:
Thanks Northerner for the heads up there, I will try that for a while and see how it goes. I have been running low of late trying to stave off 'complications' which we all seem to have to look forward to. But that seems to be leading to issues of it's own.
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It can be a bit of a tightrope to walk sometimes :(
 
Hello Blue and welcome 🙂

I lost my hypo awareness about 15 years back when I started to have serious hypos with no warning and no time to save myself. It is very worrying and the advice I was given was to run my levels higher for a few months. My DSN worked with me to try and pick out any tiny physical changes that might indicate I was hypo, I used to be able to see the laser burn patterns flashing in my vision but that disappeared too! The difficulty I had with trying to run my levels higher was that I couldn't tell if I was high, low or in between by how I felt so I found it a really hard thing to achieve. That was in the years pre cgm, Libre etc so even with extra testing it was often hit and miss if I tested at the right time. Unfortunately my hypo warnings didn't return, My brain just didn't pick up on dropping levels and I got really scared to leave the house for any length of time. I felt safer at home for some unknown reason!

It can work and help to reset your brain to pick up when your glucose level is dropping but the longer you've been dealing with the ups and downs of diabetes does have an influence. Using a pump has helped me so much with tiny increments of insulin and temporary basal rates to try and prevent hypos. I'm in the very fortunate position to use a pump with cgm which gives me a constant graph and number of my glucose level and alarms to indicate rate of fall/rise and suspends insulin delivery to me if my levels fall below a pre set glucose level. It helps me massively to feel safer and touch wood has cut back on the amount and severity of hypos I was getting.

It is a narrow tightrope to tread and I hope you are able to get some awareness back to make you feel safer. Good luck 🙂
 
Blue - after running with an HbA1c of low 7s for a couple of decades - suddenly the new number required of me was 6.5 - I couldn't get there so was awarded a pump to assist.

Well - it did BUT I lost my hypo warnings and that's scary. Since then I have accepted that 'around 7' is where my body is happiest - despite what the ruddy textbooks say!
 
I just looked at the pump and CGM system on their website but not sure I could deal with all that hardware hanging around my waist while clambering around on ships. The concept fits but not sure it is practical as the probe is in exactly the place where I would lean over (a handrail or ship side). Shame as I really could do with something. I'm just staying high presently, which when I was in Italy wasn't difficult. Went for a 15 mile bike ride yesterday and ended up higher than when I started! Par for the course. Although once I had to have a load of glucose tabs to become sane again. Totally unpredictable.
 
Blue said:
Thanks for the welcomes, nice to be among folks with similar problems. I was wondering about pumps or even this constant glucose monitoring as I have been going low a lot recently. The CGM system is expensive with ongoing expenditure monthly and I am paying for things myself. Don't know anything about pumps or their reliability, effectiveness or cost but I have to do something to get back on track. Thanks, Blue
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Pumps are one of the best toys for us T1s. Have a read of "Love my pump" on this forum. Good for you being active because as you know its good for you 🙂
 
You can stick the cannula in wherever you have flesh really Blue, and the same for the CGM sensor. The pump we do have to 'wear' somewhere as it's usually attached to the sensor by tubing (unless it's a 'pod' pump) but again it's our own choice where we 'stick' it, today!
 
Checked 'Love my pump' and it seems you certainly have a band of followers who love them Hobie. I thought the delivery bit had to be around the abdomen but seems some vary that. Same with the CGM sensor. Is there a pump / CGM that works through a phone rather than another box to carry about everywhere with you?
 
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