Worry From Across The Pond

[feelinghelpless]

I live in England, and my sister resides in the states. She's had several episodes of not waking up, and finding paramedics in her bedroom after her boyfriend didn't hear from her. Something is very wrong, but not being there, I have no idea what happens, and why she's unable to control her low blood sugar. I personally don't think the doctor is much help with my sister's Type 1.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @feelinghelpless

Sorry to hear that your sister is struggling with severe hypos overnight. Severe Hypoglycaemia is defined as a low blood glucose event where the person with diabetes is unable to treat themselves and recover, and need third party help to get their blood glucose levels into a safe space.

SH becomes 6x more likely if a person had impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia, so that warning signs they would have relied upon to treat their low BG early. And impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia becomes more likely with more years lived with T1, and more exposure to low-level hypos.

It must be a very worrying situation for you. Especially being so far away.

The good news is that there are some practical things your sister can do to try to reduce her chances of these severe hypos.

Additionally, there are tech options to help her and her boyfriend.

Is she on an insulin pump or injections? If on injections there are newer basal insulins which have less of a ‘peak’ of action. Overnight hypos can be caused by too much basal insulin, so getting her basal ‘right’ (as right as it can be at the moment, then tweaked on an ongoing basis) could help her enormously.

If she is on an insulin pump, there are options where a continuous glucose sensor can automatically suspend insulin delivery if levels are dropping too low - particularly helpful overnight when you are sleeping.

Some CGM (continuous glucose monitor) options also have options where the information can be shared ‘in the cloud’ and her boyfriend could be able to see what her levels were wherever he was to ensure she was safe, and receive alerts if her levels dropped into hypos.

Do you know if your sister uses CGM?

 

[feelinghelpless]

Thanks for all your helpful information - she has a Dexcom CGM system, and a loud alarm clock, but even slept through that on a few occasions. But I don't know if she even makes it to bed - when I was there, found her asleep with her head down on the computer table in another room.
Has had Type 1 for almost 15 years (diagnosed at 46) and is bitter/angry this is a permanent part of her life.

There's only one endocrinologist where she lives, and infrequently sees her GP instead who does not have special training and experience in treating people with Diabetes.

Shall pass all on to her; my sister's a psych nurse working nights, and I know it plays havoc with her sleeping patterns as she's always suffered from anxiety with her job. I'm in the dark about Type 1, but will let her know what you said, and much appreciated.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks for all your helpful information - she has a Dexcom CGM system, and a loud alarm clock, but even slept through that on a few occasions. But I don't know if she even makes it to bed - when I was there, found her asleep with her head down on the computer table in another room.
Has had Type 1 for almost 15 years (diagnosed at 46) and is bitter/angry this is a permanent part of her life.

There's only one endocrinologist where she lives, and infrequently sees her GP instead who does not have special training and experience in treating people with Diabetes.

Shall pass all on to her; my sister's a psych nurse working nights, and I know it plays havoc with her sleeping patterns as she's always suffered from anxiety with her job. I'm in the dark about Type 1, but will let her know what you said, and much appreciated.

She may find it beneficial to join this forum as she can ask questions and get feedback directly.
There are a number of people here from other countries so she could join without problem. She would need to be aware that some of the units used when blood glucose levels are talked about are different in the UK and obviously the medical system is different when accessing treatment.

 

[feelinghelpless]

I'll make her aware of the forum, and hope she joins. Thank you.