Newbie GeorgeOrwell

[GeorgeOrwell]

Hello everyone, a scared newbie here.... having multiple hypo's daily. Can anyone give me advice on quick acting remedies as the dextrose tablets aren't working for me. Also, what can I eat after treating the hypo that's quick and "good". Thank you for any advice / suggestions. PS: I have discussed this with GP who has taken me off ALL diabetic meds 2 days ago but still having multiple and slow/difficult to treat hypo's every day.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.
Can we just clarify a few things because some of what you are saying doesn't quite add up.

Are you a newbie to the forum or a newbie to diabetes or both?

How did your diagnosis come about and what was your HbA1c at diagnosis?
What medication have you been put on and how long have you been on it?... I appreciate that you have now stopped this medication.

What sort of readings are you getting for your hypos and how long do you wait after the dextrose tablets to recheck.

How many dextrose tablets are you taking for a hypo..... 3 is recommended I believe.
Many people use a small van of full sugar coke or a small carton of orange juice instead of Dextrose tablets or gluco gel pouches (because liquid is absorbed slightly faster than the solid tablets) or there are glucagon injections I believe but these are an extreme measure, usually intended to be administered by a 3rd party if you have lost consciousness or are unable to swallow.

Are you using a BG meter to check your readings when you are hypo or Freestyle Libre.... the Libre has a 10 min delay so you may be recovering from the hypo but the Libre is not yet showing it. When hypo, a finger prick test is recommended rather than relying solely on the Libre.

Hypos are pretty scary particularly the first few but you do get used to them and part of the problem in the early days is that you/your body panics because it has been used to running at a higher than usual BG level and this makes them feel a lot worse.
I often feel worse when I am recovering from a hypo than I do when I have been at the lowest reading, so I might not feel too bad at 2.7. I take my treatment and it starts to come up but I might feel absolutely shocking 10 mins later when it is actually 3.5 and rising. The treatment is working but there seems to be a delay in the sensations that my body experiences. I don't worry about this or take extra hypo treatment, I just give myself time to recover and test again 10 mins later when I am usually back in range.
One of the first bad ones I had in the early days, I went down to 2.8 and after taking my treatment, I went really pale and sweat beaded on my skin and the urge to sleep was incredibly strong. It took about 30 mins to recover. Now I usually just take my hypo treatment and continue to do whatever I was doing before and whilst I don't feel great, I don't get that feeling that I am going to pass out and I always check 10-15 mins later to make sure I am coming back up.

If you are having hypos without taking medication which can cause them, then you may have Reactive Hypoglycaemia. I believe the best treatment for that is to eat a low carb diet (which is beneficial for diabetics anyway) and to eat little and often.

I look forward to you giving us more information so we have a better idea of your situation and can therefore provide the most suitable response but hopefully some of what I have mentioned above will help.

 

[Toucan]

Hello @GeorgeOrwell
Welcome to the forum. Things sound very distressing for you.
As Barbara says, if you can tell us a little bit more about yourself then we may be able to help a little bit more.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @GeorgeOrwell

Sorry to hear you are struggling with hypos.

As others have said, it’s rare to get them so regularly while not taking diabetes medication, but it’s not completely unheard of.

It could be ‘false hypos’ where the body’s internal glucose ‘thermostat’ gets a little out of alignment after a period of high BG and sends out warning signals in the normal range, or it could be reactive hypoglycaemia where a ‘spike’ of blood glucose after a meal prompts an overreaction by your pancreas’s ‘second phase’ insulin response, which then pushes your BG too low.

Hope you manage to find a solution, as it sounds very difficult for you.

My treatment for nastier lows tends to be Lucozade. About 190ml is roughly 15g of carbs.

 

[GeorgeOrwell]

Thank you for all replies, so many useful and reassuring comments. I am new to the site, not to diabetes type 2. I was diagnosed around 10 years ago but I had to do a lot of research myself, I didn't get much help or advice. My mom was diagnosed soon afterwards and I learnt more through her care team. I don't know what my HbA1c was on diagnosis however.... I had been on metformin and gliclazide for years and Victoza injection was added about 6 years ago. I have a new GP now who revised my medications as they weren't helping me it seemed. He put me on Sukkato 100mg twice daily, Empagliflozin 10mg daily and Semaglutide 1mg injection weekly. Since September 2019 I have lost 12kg, 5 of which have been since March 13th... so I got very ill. The medications have now ALL been stopped, (Empagliflozin first, then the sukkato and injection). I had full bloods done this week and, with the weight loss, my HbA1c has come down from 58 (November) to 44 (pre diabetic range). My iron had gone very low, down to 10 so I'm now on 3 iron tablets a day and beginning to feel a bit better. I'm still having hypos and have found that orange juice works better for me than dextrose tablets. My chemist has advised that Glucogen tubes may be better. My lows are going down to 2.7, 2.8. I was retesting after 10 minutes but sometimes it doesn't come back up for 30 minutes. Yesterday, my lows only went to 3.2 so it might be that the meds are now coming out of my system as my last injection was last Saturday (8days ago). I'm eating sooo often to keep them up but I'm hoping this will now balance out, especially with iron going into my system too. Thank you all for your comments. I have to ring the doctor again tomorrow to update and am currently testing every 2 hours.

 

[GeorgeOrwell]

PS: I use a Nexus finger prick machine and testing strips. Advice about what is good to eat after a hypo would be welcomed if possible? Also, I had virtually lost my appetite as I didn't need all that medication so I wasn't eating enough through February and March so hopefully all of this will soon go away... probably put weight back on which is also a scary thought. I hope everyone is ok.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Food after a hypo is quite an individual thing. Early after diagnosis I was recommended to ‘follow up’ after a hypo with approx 10-15g of longer-acting carbohydrate, eg a slice of whole grain toast, or a digestive, perhaps an apple.

I quickly discovered that this follow up treatment made my BG spike high more often than not, so soon stopped using it, but I know that for some people one hypo is often a predictor for another later in the same day, so it may be worth considering for you, but let your BG meter be your guide.

Hope your phone call / appointment goes well.

 

[GeorgeOrwell]

Thank you all for your support over the weekend, I was very scared and I don't have anyone around me with diabetes so couldn't talk to anyone about it. My GP, and the diabetic nurse, both phoned me today. My BG readings are, touch wood, not going low as frequently as they were on Fri, Sat and Sun and today, touching wood again, I've felt much better and no hypo as at 12.50pm. Just had a sensible salad lunch. The GP felt that it was the Semaglutide that remained in my system but should now be gone. He has also advised me that without meds my BG testings will rise, and to take half a Sukkato daily, (i.e. 500mg) IF my readings rise to consistently between 7 and 10. The nurse assured me that she will phone me again and that I can phone the surgery and leave a message for her to call me. Today, I feel relieved, reassured, still cautious but not scared. I think with it all worsening over the weekend I went into a total, emotional and scared wreck, so, once again, thank you so much for getting me through. Your support and information sharing was so very much appreciated. Have a lovely day all.

 

[Toucan]

Hello @GeorgeOrwell and thank you for letting us know how it is working out.

It sounds as if things are getting a little bit better for you, and that the GP and nurse is being quite helpful.
It is quite understandable with all that was going on, that you felt scared and concerned, and good that you came on the forum t talk to us.
I hope you will keep posting and tell us how it is going, and we will always try and help if we can.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thanks for the update @GeorgeOrwell

Glad to hear the hypos are leaving you alone for the moment