Loss of hypo awareness.

[Thebearcametoo]

My daughter (9) was diagnosed in March and up until recently had good hypo awareness. In the last week it’s totally disappeared. She’s been as low as 2.4 without feeling anything and still wanting to bounce around. Generally her management is better than it was with more of the time in target rather than being consistently at the higher end of target or above (7-10) so I’m hoping it’s just an adjustment period but it’s unsettling.

She’s got a Libre at the moment so we can see trends but the readings aren’t particularly accurate so a lot of guesswork needed as to when she’s low and how low she is (obviously we finger prick when she’s dropping). The point of the Libre was to reduce finger pricks but currently she’s doing more than ever.

 

[Kaylz]

You must be feeling really anxious about this and I completely understand why, I lost hypo awareness for a while too and its rather frightening if I'm honest, it often happens if spending a lot of time in the low 4's etc, also I sometimes don't feel a hypo if its a slow drop, generally the advice is to run levels a little higher for a short period in the hope you regain hypo awareness, it worked for me but I'd ask your daughter's team as I wouldn't be sure if the same would apply to children xx

 

[trophywench]

The weather? - when it's warm/hot a lot of us adults, and I see no reason why children would not be the same - need to reduce our insulin until our bodies get used to it. Eg a fortnight's holiday for me in Greece - basal the same but no need to bolus for breakfast or lunch, only for dinner from c.Day 2 to c.Day 10 then back down to earth and normal doses with a bump by Day 11.

 

[KARNAK]

I can also suffer but have learned to raise my levels for a while, heat is a mitigating factor, also as @trophywench says I do not Bolus during the day.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

Yes I suspect the weather is a factor. We have adjusted her insulin ratio down but I guess we need to do it even more. It’s a bit of a rollercoaster at the moment (her BG as well as all the emotions).

 

[Bronco Billy]

Mine can feel fine and be in the 2s, but feel awful in the high 3s. It’s something that can only be explained by the words ‘that’s diabetes!’ You may know the signs of a hypo, but just in case, I have linked to it below. If she has lost awareness, it will come back, probably when the honeymoon period is over and/or her body has adjusted to the weather.

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/complications/hypos

 

[Lizzzie]

I find it's to do with the gradient of the graph ie how fast the blood glucose is dropping, and what I'm doing at the time.

Hope you manage to recalibrate things. Last time it happened to.me the nurse asked me to run slightly high for a bit to get it (awareness) back. If ever offered a dexcom, tbeyre fab (i wear a sensor and my phone alarms when I'm heading for hypo. Available on NHS sometimes, but not widely yet).

 

[trophywench]

Yes I suspect the weather is a factor. We have adjusted her insulin ratio down but I guess we need to do it even more. It’s a bit of a rollercoaster at the moment (her BG as well as all the emotions).

Even once puberty and school/Uni is over and done with - it's still a roller coaster for the rest of every T1's life - though the slopes seem to get less violent and the curves more gentle as the years pass - simply because we get used to it happening. Even after decades - when something new and unwanted appears in an individuals life it's just as scary as it was when we were young and inexperienced except hopefully by now we have a sufficient support network to announce 'I'm a T1 - get me out of here!' to!