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Testing too much?

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H

hkk1970

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent of person with diabetes
Hi, am feeling that I am becoming obsessed with testing Harry through the night for fear of hypos / highs etc.

Night time seems to be a night mare for us , no one night is the same. Some nights he is high some too low and on the brink of a hypo.

Its beginning to affect me as I am tired most of the time and having to work 3days a week is not easy either.

The hospital consultant has said to me , why do you test so much, what do you think would happen if he had a hypo, his liver would kick in to keep him safe, well to be honest I havent seen the liver kicking in yet !!

I know I am becoming obsessive and need to get out of this pattern.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Helen
 
Unfortunately, from what I hear from other parents, this advice about the liver kicking in doesn't always hold true. I don't think you are being excessive, but can certainly see how this must take a toll on you :( Hopefully some other parents can help by suggesting coping strategies.
 
How often are you testing at night? I would have thought that one test at approx 2-3am would be enough to keep him safe.

I don't test my daughter every night, which I know some parents may think is mad, especially as I did catch a 2.3 hypo at 2 am the other night, that was a lucky check!! I usually only do it if we are basal testing or having problems. At the moment I am doing one or two tests a night because things seem a little erratic and I'm trying to work out what to do about it.

I am currently trying to work out whether I should continue with this all the time anyway just to be on the safe side; my DSN, consultant, and all family (including t1 mum) have all said much the same as you and that I shouldn't worry too much. But I can see the other side too, it's hard to find a sensible balance isn't it. I think if I did test every night I would just do the one.
 
Hi, approx every 3 hours, more often if he is low. I just cant settle if he is on the lower side.

I need to get his basal right on his pump , but as I say every night is different, so am faced with a dilemma what to do.

If he is about 6 at around 2am, he probably would go hypo.

Helen
 
Hi Helen

Well in that case I can understand lots of tests; you need to get several nights' worth of readings and then get in touch with your DSN to talk about basal tweaks. So it could be hard work for a few weeks but if you can get him more stable at night then you will be able to scale it down a bit and do less tests at night. You need your sleep too!

My daughter is currently a bit uneven at night (although it sounds like perhaps not quite as much as your son), I am testing approx. 11pm and 2am, I will collect all the data for the next week or so and then speak to the DSN the next time I see her. If there was an obvious pattern I would just change it myself but I'm a bit confused at the moment!

Hope you can work it out and get your son a bit more stable so that you can sleep more at night! 🙂
 
I test every night too - my son's levels are also unpredictable, and there is no such thing as a fixed basal profile that will stay the same for longer than a few days at a time in a growing child! Sadly there have been deaths of children due to undetected nighttime hypoglycaemia, and I'm not prepared to take that risk just so that I can have a night off! It is untrue to say that the liver will "kick in" or that the child will always wake up - I have found my son hypo on many occasions and he has always been asleep. As a single parent it is exhausting doing all the testing with nobody else to share the burden. The best advice I can offer is to try and get yourself four hours of sleep (ie one adult sleep cycle) either side of the alarm you set - ie test at 11pm, 3am, 7am. Doesn't always go to plan (especially when I fall asleep on the sofa and wake up at 1 or 2am!). But it does mean that if they are hypo, it won't continue undetected for the whole night. For highs, pump protocols say you should correct through the pump, then check BG again 60-90 mins later that the BG is dropping, but if I physically can't stay up or get up again, I prefer to inject by insulin pen for nighttime highs, so I can go back to bed with the certainty that the correction has gone in.
 
Hi redkite, I too am not prepared to take the risk. Harry has never woke up when he has been hypo.

I dont need to set an alarm, my body is weird !! I automatically wake every 2-3 hours.

I feel for you having to do it alone, Im not a single parent but am in the night !! My husband sleeps like a baby through the night and doesnt wake unless I hit him on the head with a hammer ( only joking !!) when he is awake he is like a zombie..Hope my husband doesnt read this !!

Helen
 
Redkite said:
As a single parent it is exhausting doing all the testing with nobody else to share the burden. The best advice I can offer is to try and get yourself four hours of sleep (ie one adult sleep cycle) either side of the alarm you set - ie test at 11pm, 3am, 7am. Doesn't always go to plan (especially when I fall asleep on the sofa and wake up at 1 or 2am!). But it does mean that if they are hypo, it won't continue undetected for the whole night. ./QUOTE]

Please don't be under any illusion being married/living with partner shares the burden of the *nightshift* lol 🙄 I decided a good while ago just to get on and get done, I no longer feel the need to even discuss what's occurring, it's just less stressful all round.

When basals need changing it is exhausting or little one is poorly, other than that, a quick check in the early hours I find bearable on the whole. Some nights I will stay up til mid-night - 1am reading, do a check, and hopefully if in range then sleep through.
Click to expand...
 
Lol yes it was much the same when my ex husband still lived here. He would only ever do a night test if I was completely incapacitated with flu or something (and even then would have to be asked, he wouldn't just spontaneously think of doing it). Then if he wasn't sure what to do, he would wake me anyway to ask!
 
hkk1970 said:
Hi, am feeling that I am becoming obsessed with testing Harry through the night for fear of hypos / highs etc.

Night time seems to be a night mare for us , no one night is the same. Some nights he is high some too low and on the brink of a hypo.

Its beginning to affect me as I am tired most of the time and having to work 3days a week is not easy either.

The hospital consultant has said to me , why do you test so much, what do you think would happen if he had a hypo, his liver would kick in to keep him safe, well to be honest I havent seen the liver kicking in yet !!

I know I am becoming obsessive and need to get out of this pattern.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Helen
Click to expand...

I'm not convinced the liver would "kick in" either as have not seen any evidence of this over the past few years, and my eyes were wide open after the first cgm use we had. It's a shame though you're having to be up so consistently frequently. Is there any chance of loaning a cgm from the hospital team as it is a really good way of seeing patterns and what may need tweaking and where without the intensive finger pricking. 🙂
 
Redkite said:
Lol yes it was much the same when my ex husband still lived here. He would only ever do a night test if I was completely incapacitated with flu or something (and even then would have to be asked, he wouldn't just spontaneously think of doing it). Then if he wasn't sure what to do, he would wake me anyway to ask!
Click to expand...

Hmmm, sounds familiar! 😉
 
Hanmillmum said:
Is there any chance of loaning a cgm from the hospital team as it is a really good way of seeing patterns and what may need tweaking and where without the intensive finger pricking. 🙂
Click to expand...

Yes, CGMs have shown that most children DO NOT have a natural release of glucose to bring them out of a hypo! I would caution that sensors can be a double-edged sword, ie. you can end up having a much worse night's sleep if the flippin' alarms go off all through the night! We get ten sensors per year funded (bought our own transmitter six years ago) - when we download a week's results it always shows clearly how variable his levels are (each day's line is shown superimposed on the same graph) - some days he will rise through the night, others he will fall, every now and then he will be 5-6 all night.....His consultant says that is typical!!!! What we really need is a cure 🙄
 
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