hypos

[cath d]

hi newbie here! my husband has had type 1 diabetes for 27 years and always had really bad hypos. last week he had one and fell in the bedroom and broke his ankle! hes now potted up for 6 - 8 weeks! when he has a hypo its as if he is having a really bad fit, throwing himself around and bashing his head on walls etc. does anyone else experience such violent hypos?
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[Copepod]

Welcome Cath D.
I have seen people fitting when hypoglycaemic, but have never experienced it myself. I have sometimes managed to get some padding (cushion / jacket / towel, depending on what's available) between their head and wall / floor / radiator to prevent some injury.

 

[Northerner]

Hi cath, welcome to the forum 🙂 Very sorry to hear about your husband's ankle, hope it's not making him too grumpy! I personally haven't had such bad hypos, I tend to go quite dizzy with a bad hypo and have to stop and try really hard to concentrate. However, people can react in so many different ways. Do you know what his blood sugar levels are like when he hypos, and is it only the really low ones that make him react this way? Has he spoken to his consultant about it? What insulin regime is he on? Sorry for all the questions!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hi Cath D

Sorry to hear about your husbands nasty hypos. Are these very frequent? Are they only triggered at very low levels?

Are you getting much support from your husbands team to work out what is causing them? What regimen is he on (eg pump... injections...) Do you carb count? Does he still have much in the way of warning signs?

Sorry about all the questions!

Hope someone can help you reduce the number and severity of these nasty incidents

M

 

[Robster65]

Hi Cath. Welcome 🙂

I have suffered from quite a few hypos much as you describe and it's not as rare as you might expect.

I have badly bitten my tongue most times and apparently go rigid and jerk about as if in a classic (as I would imagine) epileptic fit.

It's a reaction of the brain when blood glucose gets exceptionally low in some people.

I haven't had one for several years but it is generally preceded by muscle twitches which does happen occasionally in severe hypos.

Rob

 

[chrismbee]

Hi cath d and welcome 🙂

Your OH is a lucky man to have someone as caring as you!

I've always been lucky with hypo's - they just make me a bit confused, sometimes irritable/grumpy/short-tempered and I get the shakes if BG's drop below 2. Guess it would be quite a challenge to test OH's blood in the middle of a fit, though 😱
There was a programme about biker paramedics on the television recently where they showed a young chap having a hypo-induced fit - first time I'd ever seen that reaction, so I can imagine it must be difficult for you to contend with, at times.
There has been quite a bit of debate recently about the effects that hypos can have on brain function so it seems sensible to avoid them if possible, although in the life of a T1 that is easier said than done!
It seems that OH may benefit from fine tuning of his treatment?

Hope you have some success soon in improving things. Explore the threads, ask loads of questions, perhaps encourage OH to join in as well.