Hypo early symptonskicking in?

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Merryterry

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Early in my Diabetic 'career' I used to get early warning symptoms, (sweating/ weakness etc), of a low BG at around 5.0mmols. After many years I now find I can get down to 3.0 without such symtoms and, if it wasn;t for my Libre Alarm, would probably go Hypo?

When I questioned this with a Diabetic Nurse she told me to let my levels drift upwards for a while and my early warnining symptoms will return. Did not fully follow her advice.as it didnt seem right to me.

Anybody heard this or got better ideas?
 
Merryterry said:
Early in my Diabetic 'career' I used to get early warning symptoms, (sweating/ weakness etc), of a low BG at around 5.0mmols. After many years I now find I can get down to 3.0 without such symtoms and, if it wasn;t for my Libre Alarm, would probably go Hypo?

When I questioned this with a Diabetic Nurse she told me to let my levels drift upwards for a while and my early warnining symptoms will return. Did not fully follow her advice.as it didnt seem right to me.

Anybody heard this or got better ideas?
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Yes, I have heard this and used it. It works and is standard advice.
When I find I am losing hypo sensitivity, I increase my target level from 5.5 to 6.5 for about a month. I still try to avoid levels in double figures.
After a month, I return to my usual target with improved hypo sensitivity because my body is very used to "familiarising" itself to a level. This is why some people are not aware they have type 2 diabetes - their body has slowly adjusted to higher levels - and why some experience false hypos - their body is not used to lower levels.

Can I ask why you think this advice didn't seem right to you?
 
Yes your body acclimatises to being low and you can lose hypo awareness. Running slightly higher for a couple of weeks can restore hypo awareness without pushing your HBA1C up too much.

It also happens in reverse. If you’re consistently high for a while you can have hypo feelings when still above 4.
 
Running high is standard advice. If you lose hypo awareness you will have to inform the DVLA and likely lose driving licence. So it’s important to try running a bit high as soon as you notice you’re losing symptoms to get them back ASAP
 
Lucyr said:
Running high is standard advice. If you lose hypo awareness you will have to inform the DVLA and likely lose driving licence. So it’s important to try running a bit high as soon as you notice you’re losing symptoms to get them back ASAP
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I mean my Hypo symptons kick in at lower levels (say around 3.- 4mmls) but they still kick in. I always check my levels before driving and check every half hour if driving any distance.
 
Merryterry said:
I mean my Hypo symptons kick in at lower levels (say around 3.- 4mmls) but they still kick in. I always check my levels before driving and check every half hour if driving any distance.
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If they are kicking in at 3 then you are hypo unaware.
 
Merryterry said:
I mean my Hypo symptons kick in at lower levels (say around 3.- 4mmls) but they still kick in. I always check my levels before driving and check every half hour if driving any distance.
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If your hypo symptoms don’t kick in until 3 you’re not aware enough, and are risking your licence and other people’s safety.
 
Merryterry said:
I mean my Hypo symptons kick in at lower levels (say around 3.- 4mmls) but they still kick in. I always check my levels before driving and check every half hour if driving any distance.
Click to expand...

Run a bit higher like your nurse said. It does work. I always try to stay 5 or above and even though I had good hypo awareness, this has sharpened it up nicely. If yours is poor you might have to stay a little higher, but it’s worth it.
 
It’s really important to familiarise yourself with the DVLA guidelines on driving with diabetes and using insulin @Merryterry

‘5 to drive’ is the sort of catchy tagline, but it’s important to maintain good early warning signs to keep yourself and other road users safe.

Driving and diabetes

For most people with diabetes, driving isn’t a problem, and they can hold a driving licence and carry on driving. Here you’ll find everything you need to know about diabetes and driving. "As someone with diabetes, it's really important that I'm aware of the rules around driving in the UK" - Mim...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk

This DVLA leaflet has all the details

 
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