hypo awareness

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xxlou_lxx

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
When I woke up in the night my blood was on 1.6, I actually woke up as I needed to visit the loo 😱 I didnt feel hypo at all so otherwise wouldnt have woken up!
My blood sugar has been quite good lately sitting on 5/6 but usually 4.7 ish before meals and no higher than 7.5 an hour after eating!
I have had a few highs in the last fortnight due to insulin adjustments but no higher than 12.

Im not sure what to do in regard to my bs now as I quite like having it in the 5 area but dont want to risk hypos that i can not recognise! 🙄 I tried reducing lantus by 2 us last week but i ended up waking on 8.5 ish for the time i reduced it :confused: and for me that is too high

I know im meant to have my bloods below 6 (advice for me from dsn) but do any of you run it higher due to hypo unawareness? I only worry about it being higher as I know its not good in the long run!

cheers for listening 🙂 x
 
DAFNE targets:

Breakfast : 5.5 - 7.5
Lunch : 4.5 - 7.5
Dinner: 4.5 -7.5
Bed: 6.5 - 8.0

Thats the targets that are safe and keep your awareness good.

However, you might still get the odd hypo that you might not realise till your 1.5 and so on, especially at night.

Regard it as a one off unless it keeps happening, then you might need to drop the insulin a smidgen.

EDIT*

If your below 6 all the time (testing times) you are lucky.......
 
Hi Lou, sorry to hear you're losing your awareness, I go through phases of it and it's horrible. Are there any patterns or trends to the hypos that could help you pre-empt them?

Do you have the pen that only goes in 2u? Ask your DSN for one that does 1u increments to see if dropping it by 1u helps.

In theory you shouldn't have to run your levels higher because of the fear of hypos - could your team help you out by maybe lending you a CGM or something along those lines?
 
shiv said:
Hi Lou, sorry to hear you're losing your awareness, I go through phases of it and it's horrible. Are there any patterns or trends to the hypos that could help you pre-empt them?

Do you have the pen that only goes in 2u? Ask your DSN for one that does 1u increments to see if dropping it by 1u helps.

In theory you shouldn't have to run your levels higher because of the fear of hypos - could your team help you out by maybe lending you a CGM or something along those lines?
Click to expand...

She did suggest one of those ages ago when I was taking lots of hypos but never transpired and also put me forward for a pump (which i dont think ill be needing anymore since my diabetes seems to be getting better again)

I do think you have a point about the 1 unit pens (I cnnot get an appointment with my doctor to have them prescribed though, they are always so busy) think they are solo star or something :confused: lol

No pattern to my hypos unfortunately, as i say its been quite good past week and I always eat before going to bed lol my blood was on 7 when I went but i did not get to sleep until 3.30 am due to my neighbours music and loud drunken antics!:( maybe stress was the reason for my hypo hehe still doesnt explain why i didnt feel it! even when i checked i checked again because i felt completely fine!

quite scary really 🙄
 
I have a 1u pen - http://www.owenmumford.com/en/range/6/autopen.html the Autopen Classic 1 unit 3ml. Push your DSN for one, sounds like it could really help you out!

You're right, it's really scary. I had a 1.8 one with no symptoms and I was terrified at the thought of what could have happened (sorry to be all doom and gloom).
 
I use the disposable NovoRapid Flexpen.......1 unit incriments........

Surely these must be available.........1 unit of quick acting insulin drops your sugar by 2-3 mmol/l(everyones different at different times), a significant amount I would say....having refined control would be a struggle on a 2 unit pen...........
 
novorapidboi26 said:
I use the disposable NovoRapid Flexpen.......1 unit incriments........

Surely these must be available.........1 unit of quick acting insulin drops your sugar by 2-3 mmol/l(everyones different at different times), a significant amount I would say....having refined control would be a struggle on a 2 unit pen...........
Click to expand...

novo - Lou is talking about the pen for Lantus - I agree it would be virtually impossible if you had fast acting insulin in 2u increments only though!
 
novorapidboi26 said:
I use the disposable NovoRapid Flexpen.......1 unit incriments........

Surely these must be available.........1 unit of quick acting insulin drops your sugar by 2-3 mmol/l(everyones different at different times), a significant amount I would say....having refined control would be a struggle on a 2 unit pen...........
Click to expand...

My humalog short acting one is 1u (was meant to be getting a 1/2 u one of those too, its just my long acting lantus that is 2u at a time) 😉
 
I do apoligise got distracted in work.......

Does Lantus not do the disposables too.........its been a while since I was on Lantus....

I split my background with Levemir, which are identical to novorapid pens then moved on to Humilin I.......

Sorry about that........
 
shiv said:
I have a 1u pen - http://www.owenmumford.com/en/range/6/autopen.html the Autopen Classic 1 unit 3ml. Push your DSN for one, sounds like it could really help you out!
Click to expand...

The Autopen Classic is for levemir, the autopen 24 is for lantus. I know this because they kept prescribing me the wrong one! (I'm on lantus). I just wrote the request on my repeat when I handed it in, although they then proceeded to mess it up three times by giving me two classics then a 2-unit pen grr!

Regarding running levels higher, it's easier said than done - I know exactly what you mean! I was trying to explain to my GP how hard it is to let yourself run 2 mmol higher by skimping on the insulin when your instinct is to get the numbers as tight and accurate as possible! They do recommend that you try it for a short period though, so that your brain adapts to a new, higher 'normal' and reponds better to the onset of hypos when still above 3.
 
I'm on Lantus too, I use the Solostar pen, and they do 1 unit increments.

I was having the same problem, I agree it's quite scary!!!
I started decreasing the Lantus dose by 1 unit at a time, waiting for my values to settle at every change. It took about a month to adjust and decide which dose was best for me, but after that my awareness is much better! Now I can feel a 3.9 rather than a 2.9...
 
manu said:
I'm on Lantus too, I use the Solostar pen, and they do 1 unit increments.

I was having the same problem, I agree it's quite scary!!!
I started decreasing the Lantus dose by 1 unit at a time, waiting for my values to settle at every change. It took about a month to adjust and decide which dose was best for me, but after that my awareness is much better! Now I can feel a 3.9 rather than a 2.9...
Click to expand...

I have eventually gotten a drs appointment today so will be asking for a solostar prescription, I didnt think 1u of lantus would make so much difference since its long acting but its worth a try! :D
 
xxlou_lxx said:
When I woke up in the night my blood was on 1.6, I actually woke up as I needed to visit the loo 😱 I didnt feel hypo at all so otherwise wouldnt have woken up!
My blood sugar has been quite good lately sitting on 5/6 but usually 4.7 ish before meals and no higher than 7.5 an hour after eating!
I have had a few highs in the last fortnight due to insulin adjustments but no higher than 12.

Im not sure what to do in regard to my bs now as I quite like having it in the 5 area but dont want to risk hypos that i can not recognise! 🙄 I tried reducing lantus by 2 us last week but i ended up waking on 8.5 ish for the time i reduced it :confused: and for me that is too high

I know im meant to have my bloods below 6 (advice for me from dsn) but do any of you run it higher due to hypo unawareness? I only worry about it being higher as I know its not good in the long run!

Just a thought but why did you test in the night if you didnt feel low? Maybe you did but because you were sleepy were unsure. Only reason I ask, is that two nights ago i woke, just needing the toilet. After a few minutes though i thought "am i low" sure enough i was 2.8

Could it be the hypo that actually woke you up, and because you were sleeepy you thought you woke for the toilet? It sounds like your bg are pretty good at the moment so well done for that. Maybe some night time basal testing will see if you need to reduce it or not. 🙂
Click to expand...
 
Lol i had a similar problem too.

When in holiday in east africa I couldn't sleep (thought it was because of the heat).
Then i checked and it was 1.1.
Lol i had to open one of those glass coke bottles and there was no bottle opener nearby!
The things we experience......
Things were fine after.

You get the occasional unrecognised hypo.

I've heard it get's worse as the years go by. Can anyone confirm this?
 
Northerner said:
The Autopen Classic is for levemir, the autopen 24 is for lantus. I know this because they kept prescribing me the wrong one! (I'm on lantus). I just wrote the request on my repeat when I handed it in, although they then proceeded to mess it up three times by giving me two classics then a 2-unit pen grr!

Regarding running levels higher, it's easier said than done - I know exactly what you mean! I was trying to explain to my GP how hard it is to let yourself run 2 mmol higher by skimping on the insulin when your instinct is to get the numbers as tight and accurate as possible! They do recommend that you try it for a short period though, so that your brain adapts to a new, higher 'normal' and reponds better to the onset of hypos when still above 3.
Click to expand...

Northe, I have both the classic and other one sat on my side and both fit lantus. Levemir only fits in Novopens 🙂
 
SilentAssassin1642 said:
Northe, I have both the classic and other one sat on my side and both fit lantus. Levemir only fits in Novopens 🙂
Click to expand...

Ah! Had a look on google and I see levemir is made by novo nordisk. The autopen 24 is supposed to be used for sanofi aventis insulin (lantus) and the classic for eli lilly (humalog) and wockardt UK (porcine and bovine insulin), but obviously the cartridges fit both. 🙄
 
Hey tracey, I actually checked due to sweat "moustache" I had when i woke up, I guess had i not got up for the loo, then it was unlikely id of been woken up with sweat:confused: who knows lol

Got my solostar pens today, hopefully the 1u adjustments work for me 😱 I go for disposible pens only because every time i use the cartridge ones, the mechanism always fails me🙄 I reckon its me haha so im safer with the throw away ones 😉
 
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