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Hypo signs ?

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ctony70

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Type 2
Hi
I've been prescribed Insulin about 3 weeks ago after all other medication seemed to fail and my HBC1a went up to 97 over the last 3 months.
my question is I recently had a period were my heart was racing and I felt quite queasy, I tested blood sugar and it was 4.9 after eating all went back to normal but if your used to running with blood sugars in high teens, 20s is 4.9 to low ?
 
It's not actually too low, but it will feel like it if you have been high for a while. It's called a false hypo, once your body gets used to being at lower levels that feeling will pass and you will only get it when you actually are too low.
 
Generally speaking 4.9 isn’t too low, though as mentioned it could feel it. Having said that reducing levels too quickly from 20s down to 5ish in a short space of time could bring its own problems so probably a good idea to mention to your doctor in case they want to lower the insulin dose and reduce levels more gradually.
 
The first question that I would ask is "Am I type 1?" Medication effective for type 2 did not work and you had to go to insulin after a short time all this says type 1. If the answer given is type 2 then I would ask what an earth leads to this conclusion (an answer of "well at your age" just does not cut it).

It is not easy for a type 1 using insulin to regulate BG levels and bting down BG slowly, although it might be a very good idea. Perhaps the best plan is to accept the symptoms as a early warning that BG is falling. You are very wise to have checked BG levels. I would suggest that a very small correction is appropriate just to bring BG up by one or two units. It is very easy to over correct.

Only experiment will show how much glucose is needed to do this.
 
Like Leon, I would be asking them to check for T1 with you needing insulin so soon and also levels going so high. If they tell you it is age that tells them you must be T2 they are wrong. Along with a lot of others on here I was diagnosed with T1 as an adult. I was 53 at diagnosis.

They can confirm the diagnosis by doing an antibody test. T1 is an autoimmune disease which destroys the Beta cells that make the insulin we need. In younger people these are destroyed more quickly but as we get older this process slows down. Some manage in Metformin for quite a while but most eventually need insulin.

Well worth asking this of your GP. If they quote the age factor ask for a referral to the specialist team at the hospital.
 
I was told GPS can’t order those tests, so I’d push for a referral. Don’t hold your breath though, I keep being told I’m type 2, although insulin is all I respond to. I got told I was very sensitive to it too because I’m only on a low dose (started on half the standard starting dose of 10 units, and still only take 10 units now),but the penny still isn’t dropping yet.
 
Maybe it depends on you local health trust, but last month my G.P. ordered an antibody and C-peptide test for me.

They clearly do not order them often, though, as no one knew how to do the latter test in two of the three phlebotomy centres that cover a borough of over 325,000 people. Mind, no one other than that one G.P. knew how to read the results either, after it was twice misinterpreted.

So maybe it is just something most G.P.s are unaware they can do, although it is probably better to get a referral and let a specialist order the tests given the risk of a G.P. not understanding the results.
 
Wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest, it’s still the 1950’s here. It’s like Brigadoon without the tartan and disappearing act.
 
Just to complete the picture; when we make insulin we also make c-peptide. We could test for insulin directly, but the test can not tell your insulin from any which has been injected. We test for c-peptide, which remains in the blood a little longer than the insulin which also helps.

Why get the correct diagnosis? You are likely to get better care from someone who treats many more T1 than the average GP. as well as not being told nosense about T2s on insulin.
 
Plus if you are T1 it then opens up the possibility of being allowed to ask for a pump and more accurate BG and ketone measuring technology whether a Libre or full CGMS when you need it. Also encourages better treatment as a hospital in patient eg testing for ketones as well as just BG.
 
I've been type 2 since 2011. I started insulin last year and it seemed to be ok. I had some adjustments to make with levels and I had to watch what I ate for breakfast, but in general things seemed to be better than when I was on pills.

Since MarchI have been on furlough so my whole routine has changed. I'm not up and about walking all day asI am at work and as a result my levels have been a bit more up and down.
Over the last few months though I have experienced exactly what this thread is saying, my heart racing.
I thought at first that it was panic attacks brought onby the stress of everything.
But recently I've discovered thatI thinkit's to do with my insulin acting too fast or something.
It usually happens just around lunch time when I'm out.
I saw my nurse at the surgery who said that my heart rate was fast. She told me to book in to see the dr. I did and she wasn't happy with it and sent me straight to the hospital for a check up.
They didn't find anything and I felt fine.
Ispoke to my Dr and he is sending me to have an echocardiagram this week.
But I can walk 3 Miles no chest pain nothing so I'm pretty sure it's not my heart that's at fault.
I'm going to have that anyway but I'm thinking for sure that I need a change in medication again as I'm getting tired now of these heart racing things. It feels like a panic attack, I have to sit and drink Water and breath and wait for it slow down or I feel like I'll pass out.
Horrible.
 
You don't have to have a heart attack for this to happen - with diabetes it is normally a sign that your BG has been too high for too long (so you will know whether it's that because of course you're doing extra testing, now, aren't you?) - but without D it can still happen, so absolutely needs checking out.
 
trophywench said:
You don't have to have a heart attack for this to happen - with diabetes it is normally a sign that your BG has been too high for too long (so you will know whether it's that because of course you're doing extra testing, now, aren't you?) - but without D it can still happen, so absolutely needs checking out.
Click to expand...

Do you mean too high that day? Or in general.
I just had it again, my blood sugar level was 7.5. But not long after my heart raced and I had to wait for it to slow down.
 
I have not taken Insulin but did take Gliclizide for a while and one of the hypo symptoms I got whilst taking it , was feeling like I was having a panic attack but taking my bloods i was hypo.
 
If BG id too high for too long the body gets the idea that this is normal, if you then lower the BG to a more sensible level the body thinks that this is a hypo and does all the panic things.

So the answer to your question is "in general" and for some time before you changed treatment.
 
Welcome to the forum @Stevehorwood

Sorry to hear about the troubling symptoms you are experiencing.

This page outlines some common symptoms

What is a hypo (hypoglycaemia)?

A hypo is when your blood sugar level, also called blood glucose level, drops too low. This is usually below 4mmol/l. A hypo, also called hypoglycaemia, can happen quickly. So it’s important to always have hypo treatments with you. It's also important to know what the signs are and how to treat...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk

As you were 7.5 the most recent time you checked it does make me wonder whether this might be something else? (unless you are generally running in the mid-teens or above)

Sounds like something you should speak to your GP or diabetes nurse about.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Sounds like something you should speak to your GP or diabetes nurse about.
Click to expand...

Yes, just in case it's something they can diagnose. I've had tachycardia for years now, and they didn't find anything wrong. It was found just after I had a (benign) brain tumour removed so I always wondered whether that was related, but perhaps the high BG just before that caused some permanent damage? (So it was indirectly related.)

Anyway, I just take one more pill a day and that seems to control it.
 
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