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bev

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Hi all,
Last night A was 3.8 at 11pm. We treated him and checked 10 minutes later etc.. But my question is that he had last eaten 4 hours earlier, so no food or insulin on board,if we had left it - would he just have stayed at that number all night? In other words, once you have hit under 4 - are you more likely to plummet just because your under 4 or is it just the same as if you were 6? Are you guaranteed to drop because your under 4 or is it possible to stay there without any consequences?
Not sure if anyone will understand this - i found it hard to put into words!😱Bev
 
No, I see what you are saying bev, and it's something I've pondered myself. Remember he's not without insulin, as he has his basal. If the basal is just right, then he'll most likely stay steady, but if one of the othr myriad factors is coming in to play, then he might fall further. I don't think you're guaranteed to fall into a bad hypo just because you've dipped below 4. In the past I've taken a reading at 3 am and been 4.1 - I didn't have anything and woke at 4.3.

Better to treat and bring him up to 6's or 7's though, in case he should fall further.
 
bev said:
Hi all,
Last night A was 3.8 at 11pm. We treated him and checked 10 minutes later etc.. But my question is that he had last eaten 4 hours earlier, so no food or insulin on board,if we had left it - would he just have stayed at that number all night? In other words, once you have hit under 4 - are you more likely to plummet just because your under 4 or is it just the same as if you were 6? Are you guaranteed to drop because your under 4 or is it possible to stay there without any consequences?
Not sure if anyone will understand this - i found it hard to put into words!😱Bev
Click to expand...

Hi Bev,

Totally understood what you were saying🙂

My own experience with Nathan..is that once he has started to drop, then he continues doing so regardless of the time of day/night..but I also have to be aware of the other factors coming in to play..age, hormones etc.

With Nathan all readings 4 and under are treat as hypo's...in order to preventing further plummeting in levels.

Again I think this is a very individual situation..as some may not drop any further than 4...and run with that level most of the time.

Heidi
xx🙂
 
bev said:
Hi all,
Last night A was 3.8 at 11pm. We treated him and checked 10 minutes later etc.. But my question is that he had last eaten 4 hours earlier, so no food or insulin on board,if we had left it - would he just have stayed at that number all night? In other words, once you have hit under 4 - are you more likely to plummet just because your under 4 or is it just the same as if you were 6? Are you guaranteed to drop because your under 4 or is it possible to stay there without any consequences?
Not sure if anyone will understand this - i found it hard to put into words!😱Bev
Click to expand...

He may have stayed steady, if he was doing no exercise (I'm guessing so at that time!) and his basal was spot on. But then of course past exercise etc could still be having an effect. 4 is quite low to sleep on as you're leaving yourself less of a margin whatever happens so bringing it up to 5s/6s is certainly the safest option.
 
hi
although he had eaten four hours earlier it depends what it was as food will carry on releasing much longer in my understanding carbs eaten with fat release very slow, so in theory he could of been ok also depending on your basal regime i know levemir only lasts around 16, we have been on a coninuous glucose meter recently and my daughter stayed just below 4 for several hours during the night but always came back up just before waking, if you are worried check again around 2-3am my nurses say. hope you can understand my ramblings.
sarah
 
Thanks all!

I am just happy you understood my ramblings!

The reason i was asking this is because i have noticed that the people who pump say that their nighttime levels can remain very constant - and i wondered is this possible on MDI - but i would have been too worried to have left him at this level, i suppose when he is on the pump i will have to get used to not 'overreacting' to lows (obviously i wouldnt ignore anything under 4) - but may have to get used to leaving him on 5 through the night.🙂Bev
 
Hi bev, nowadays I go to bed on 5.x-6.x and always wake up to 5.x, so yes it is possible on MDI. But, of course, my experience is no guide to how anyone else's levels might fluctuate!🙂
 
Northerner said:
Hi bev, nowadays I go to bed on 5.x-6.x and always wake up to 5.x, so yes it is possible on MDI. But, of course, my experience is no guide to how anyone else's levels might fluctuate!🙂
Click to expand...

I have a similar experience, I can go to bed as low as a 5 and wake up at a similar level, I'll usually snack if I'm into the 4s though. It's certainly possible to manage it on MDI so long as the basal is spot on, but of course the nature of MDI means some people won't be able to get it so spot on so need to be higher before bed. I suppose the advantage with the pump on this is the ability to vary the basal for different times of day to get it more exact so you can stay steady.
 
Northerner said:
Hi bev, nowadays I go to bed on 5.x-6.x and always wake up to 5.x, so yes it is possible on MDI. But, of course, my experience is no guide to how anyone else's levels might fluctuate!🙂
Click to expand...

Hmm Ive noticed that if I go to bed less than 7 I am always hypo in the night /early hours of the morning :( or I wake to a random 20 due to a night hypo and glucose dump . Grrrr 😡
 
bev said:
Thanks all!

I am just happy you understood my ramblings!

The reason i was asking this is because i have noticed that the people who pump say that their nighttime levels can remain very constant - and i wondered is this possible on MDI - but i would have been too worried to have left him at this level, i suppose when he is on the pump i will have to get used to not 'overreacting' to lows (obviously i wouldnt ignore anything under 4) - but may have to get used to leaving him on 5 through the night.🙂Bev
Click to expand...

Hi Bev

My first thought was it depends on what he ate, ie some foods hang around for hours and NR can stay around for up to about 6 hours not necessarily just 4 !

Then re the pump bit v BB (MDI). The levemir or Lantus works in a different way to NR. The way it was explained to me made me understand it so scuse the very idiot proof way of explaining it : When injected it stays in a lump under the skin where it was injected. Then throughout the 24 hour (although we all know neither actually last 24 hours) it relaeses a bit at a time.

Now bear in mind that it is out of our control once injected it could be releasing as and when it likes erratically. If it has been injected into a lump in the skin some will just be absorbed by the body anyway and not used properly and it might release a bit more one hour than in another hour. So you cannot compare it to like a pump basal at all which we can control to the hour.

Does that make sense?
 
Hi Northerner..

The link wont open for me either....:D

Heidi
🙂
 
Northerner said:
Here's a very stupid and naive question - does the pump/canula etc. go directly into the bloodstream i.e. into a vein, or is it subcutaneous, like with a pen injection?
Click to expand...

Eeek I definitely wouldnt get a pump if I had to stick it in a vein 😱
 
katie said:
Eeek I definitely wouldnt get a pump if I had to stick it in a vein 😱
Click to expand...

Don't worry, it doesn't go in a vein just subcut.
 
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