Sudden insulin sensitivity

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K_B

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I’ve suddenly become really sensitive to my insulin - needing less than half my usual bolus amount. Feeling so stressed out about it as I’ve been hypo so much and can’t work out what’s going on. Currently waiting to hear back from my nurse but I wondered if anyone else had experienced anything similar? I was unwell with some kind of bug at the weekend and even then my BGs were lower rather than high.
 
If you've reduced all your doses to half and you're still going low a lot i would reduce them further until your bgs go up
 
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How very weird - have you (ie your body) been under significant stress somehow prior to this? - like whatever this 'bug' was that could have been building up for quite a while before you actually felt it? Almost like you've had some sort of infection that you couldn't see - only thing I can think of to try and compare it to is getting an abscess which just goes on building up pus, til suddenly it appears outwardly, hurts like hell then literally erupts - providing instant relief.
 
trophywench said:
How very weird - have you (ie your body) been under significant stress somehow prior to this? - like whatever this 'bug' was that could have been building up for quite a while before you actually felt it? Almost like you've had some sort of infection that you couldn't see - only thing I can think of to try and compare it to is getting an abscess which just goes on building up pus, til suddenly it appears outwardly, hurts like hell then literally erupts - providing instant relief.
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No, I wouldn’t say so - the bug was something I picked up at work pretty quickly I think. It’s really weird - it’s almost like my pancreas has kickstarted again. I’m stumped!
 
K_B said:
I’ve suddenly become really sensitive to my insulin - needing less than half my usual bolus amount. Feeling so stressed out about it as I’ve been hypo so much and can’t work out what’s going on. Currently waiting to hear back from my nurse but I wondered if anyone else had experienced anything similar? I was unwell with some kind of bug at the weekend and even then my BGs were lower rather than high.
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Sure basal isnt to blame instead of bolus doses, in your shoes would be checking that first before reducing your bolus further.
 
K_B said:
I’ve suddenly become really sensitive to my insulin - needing less than half my usual bolus amount. Feeling so stressed out about it as I’ve been hypo so much and can’t work out what’s going on. Currently waiting to hear back from my nurse but I wondered if anyone else had experienced anything similar? I was unwell with some kind of bug at the weekend and even then my BGs were lower rather than high.
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I'm another one who thinks you should reduce your basal.
Insulin amounts do change over time oh it it also depends on which way the wind is blowing as well :(

Last few days I have had my pump turned off more than on and still hypo. I know it's a basal problem because all I have done is eat jelly beans with no other food eaten and no bolus given.
 
Could it be that the bug you have had has affected your liver's ability to produce and release glucose rather than your pancreas suddenly producing more insulin. I agree with others that basal dose is the first thing I check and adjust whether it is because I am hypoing lots or persistently high.
 
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K_B said:
Thanks @nonethewiser and @Pumper_Sue - that makes sense. I‘ll reduce my basal a bit more and see how I get on. Sick of hypos!
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It's better to be a bit higher than normal and work your way down rather than hypo all day and night 🙂
 
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Over the last year or so I've had to reduce my basal by 33%, I just accepted that it's one of those things happens when you are a T1. Stopped me thinking I had an insulinoma in my battered pancreas!
 
mikeyB said:
Over the last year or so I've had to reduce my basal by 33%, I just accepted that it's one of those things happens when you are a T1. Stopped me thinking I had an insulinoma in my battered pancreas!
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I'm beginning to wonder if it's a problem with the cyst I have on my pancreas disrupting the glucagon supply. A question to ask the endocrine specialist when and if I ever get to meet him/her.
 
mikeyB said:
Over the last year or so I've had to reduce my basal by 33%, I just accepted that it's one of those things happens when you are a T1. Stopped me thinking I had an insulinoma in my battered pancreas!
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So interesting and frustrating at the same time! I’d love to know what suddenly changes in our bodies. But I think you’re right, just another curveball to add to the list!
 
K_B said:
I’ve suddenly become really sensitive to my insulin - needing less than half my usual bolus amount. Feeling so stressed out about it as I’ve been hypo so much and can’t work out what’s going on. Currently waiting to hear back from my nurse but I wondered if anyone else had experienced anything similar? I was unwell with some kind of bug at the weekend and even then my BGs were lower rather than high.
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Hello, did you find out what was wrong? I am experiencing the same issue.
 
R26 said:
Hello, did you find out what was wrong? I am experiencing the same issue.
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No I haven’t unfortunately - I’m at a point where my BGs are a bit more stable than what they were but I’m on much lower insulin doses than I was and still trying to get it right. No idea what‘s caused it...
 
Did you speak to the doctor? I’m waiting for a call from the diabetic nurse. I’ve been reading about it. It’s seems that it is something that happens to diabetics even if they’ve had diabetes for many years and not changed anything. Thanks for the reply. I do hope your sugar levels settle.
 
R26 said:
Did you speak to the doctor? I’m waiting for a call from the diabetic nurse. I’ve been reading about it. It’s seems that it is something that happens to diabetics even if they’ve had diabetes for many years and not changed anything. Thanks for the reply. I do hope your sugar levels settle.
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That's interesting - I didn't know that. I've had to reduce my Novorapid down to around half or just under half of what I used to take pre meals/snack and this seems to working ok so far for me, though not always - and post breakfast is proving really tricky as I keep hypoing straight after breakfast and then rebounding to quite a high level a couple of hours after. I managed to speak to my nurse a couple of days ago who suggested a couple of things to me. We decided that maybe if we can fix the breakfast/morning problem then the rest of the day might go a little smoother. One thing she suggested to me was that I reduce my breakfast bolus down even further. Another was to go back to injecting 15mins before my meal and see if that made a difference (I'd stopped doing this and just injected straight before eating as I was sometimes hypoing before I'd had a chance to eat my breakfast.) The other thing was to have another small snack about an hour after breakfast before leaving the house as sometimes I'm dropping before I'm even out the door in the morning. She also mentioned if I was still having issues we could discuss maybe trying a different insulin rather than Novorapid, though I'm a bit reluctant to do that just as I've been on Novorapid for years...hopefully one of these things will work! I'll give them a go next week. It's just so strange how it happens so suddenly - I really hope you get sorted with yours too and your nurse is able to help you get your BGs back on track.
 
@K_B have you actually done any basal testing? Basal is normally culprit.

My levels changed almost overnight and so far I have dropped 4 units from my basal and that's a lot on a pump I can assure you.
 
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In the past 10 days I have had to progressively drop my evening Levemir dose from 6units down to 0 and now back up to 5.5. My basal needs vary massively from day to day, but then they might be stable for weeks or even months. Libre is enormously helpful in enabling me to see when my basal insulin is not holding me steady. Just skipping a meal here and there makes it so obvious. Not sure if you have Libre but if not ask about getting it.

I would put money on this being a basal issue for you and it makes far more sense to do some basal testing and adjust that rather than prebolus when you are already hypoing after breakfast. I can't see the logic in that at all.
 
It’s been really tricky to do a basal test as I’ve either never been in the right range to begin with or work-wise it’s not been a good day to do it. But yes, it’s something I need to do to double check whether there’s any issues there - hopefully tomorrow I can take a look at it.
 
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