Hypos

[shandy84]

Hi all
I need some advice so last week i had a hypo glad i was with my mum as i had my kids with me, I collapsed and ended up having a fit doctors has said I must not drive which i alright about but this is the 2nd time I've had a hypo in 4 weeks my insulin has been reduce twice, Also is there any information i could give to my children who are 8&9 to let them know what to do when that happens

 

[trophywench]

Shandy - clearly your insulin dose(s) are too great for your body's current needs and need further adjustment - what ongoing help are you getting with this, do you get warnings that this is about to occur or is it as much a surprise to you as everyone else? Do you get seen in a hospital diabetes clinic or not? Which insulins are you taking and what other drugs? (whether for diabetes or not)

Sorry for all the questions!

I'm sorry to hear this - the children no doubt were scared and no-one wants that. Are they sensible kids, able to ring 999 from their/your phone or able to ask the nearest adult to do so, coherently?

 

[shandy84]

Shandy - clearly your insulin dose(s) are too great for your body's current needs and need further adjustment - what ongoing help are you getting with this, do you get warnings that this is about to occur or is it as much a surprise to you as everyone else? Do you get seen in a hospital diabetes clinic or not? Which insulins are you taking and what other drugs? (whether for diabetes or not)
Sorry for all the questions

I'm sorry to hear this - the children no doubt were scared and no-one wants that. Are they sensible kids, able to ring 999 from their/your phone or able to ask the nearest adult to do so, coherently?

i do get warnings i tend to be really shaky and very light headed, i have only just started seeing a hospital diabetic nurse, i'm on novorapid breakfast,lunch,tea and lantus at night i am on 90mg duloxetine (anxiety tablets)

 

[Inka]

Hi @shandy84 How horrible for you

You said you’ve had two hypos in 4 weeks - are these hypos a sudden change (ie were you ok before?) Has anything changed that might have caused this eg more exercise, etc

Do you carb count and adjust your Novorapid for meals? Can you find any reason for the hypo eg you had to estimate carbs as you were eating out, etc etc.

I think explaining your hypo signs to your children is important, then show them where you keep your hypo treatments in the house and in your bag. Explain to them when they should phone for help (ie you’re not with it enough to eat). Do a practise run with them and make sure they’re confident in using a phone.

Let us know how you are.

 

[trophywench]

If you are not (or no longer) on any 'Type 2' drugs, then you do need education on adjusting your doses of insulin depending on the food you eat, the times you eat it, what happens to your blood glucose levels overnight and what exercise you take - eg for me I did an hours strenuous (for me) vacuuming this morning, which caused my blood glucose to drop several points - didn't have that much effect on me when I was younger and fitter - and walking round the shops whether you personally consider it as exercise or not, your body does recognise it as that!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry to hear about your recent severe hypos @shandy84

They must be very worrying for you.

As others have said, it sounds like you need much more support in helping you manage your diabetes, because it will change from time to time, and even if your ate exactly the same meals every single day your doses would still need adjusting periodically.

But eating exactly the same meals every single day isn’t really a great option, so it also would really help you to be able to adjust your doses to whatever you happen to be eating at any meal. This isn’t always foolproof, but a few basic pointers will vastly improve things massively for you and significantly reduce your risk of severe hypos.

I used to have one every few months, but I’ve not had a severe hypo for about 8 years now - so this is certainly something that you can work to resolve.