Is wanting to sleep really too much? Just something that needs to be told...
For the majority of the days, I've had pretty decent numbers.
Since a lot of unplanned things happened on the past 3-4 days, it's not surprising it has been a little more difficult to keep my bg in range than it usually is (and that's difficult enough!).
But some numbers are just... random.
There is no explanation whatsoever for a 305 - at bed time, and that's the point I decided that I do hate this day. I've been thinking about it several times today but until then I could take it somehow. With grumbling but I took it. But enough is enough. I'm tired, I'm exhausted, and I've eaten double of what I would have liked to eat. I can't even blame that roller coaster on overtreating lows or highs, there have always been several hours in between. As I said, it's so random today...
Anyway, I corrected that 305 with less insulin than I usually would and still ended up at 82 which went down to 61 - after I ate something.
And now? Now it's 2 in the morning, I still don't dare going to sleep and I already can tell that tomorrow's ruined.
Also, I ate so much more than I'd liked to that it is out of question that I put some weight back on, another fact that's depressing me. I just hate eating when I don't want to and especially the amount of food I had in addition today. It's not exactly great to feel so full...
How do you handle a night you are forced to stay awake despite being dead tired?
What do you do if you can't figure out what on earth you could have done wrong?
What I mean: I knew I waned to sleep so I took a smaller correction to NOT be in danger of going too low. Since I was feeling so sick and thirsty, I then sat down to drink a bottle of water. The result is that I don't know whether I should regret the latter or not. On the one hand, I feel a lot better now. On the other hand, drinking water when having a high bg seems to dramatically increase the risk of a following low bg... but I didn't make any obviously wrong decisions, did I?
Since a lot of unplanned things happened on the past 3-4 days, it's not surprising it has been a little more difficult to keep my bg in range than it usually is (and that's difficult enough!).
But some numbers are just... random.
There is no explanation whatsoever for a 305 - at bed time, and that's the point I decided that I do hate this day. I've been thinking about it several times today but until then I could take it somehow. With grumbling but I took it. But enough is enough. I'm tired, I'm exhausted, and I've eaten double of what I would have liked to eat. I can't even blame that roller coaster on overtreating lows or highs, there have always been several hours in between. As I said, it's so random today...
Anyway, I corrected that 305 with less insulin than I usually would and still ended up at 82 which went down to 61 - after I ate something.
And now? Now it's 2 in the morning, I still don't dare going to sleep and I already can tell that tomorrow's ruined.
Also, I ate so much more than I'd liked to that it is out of question that I put some weight back on, another fact that's depressing me. I just hate eating when I don't want to and especially the amount of food I had in addition today. It's not exactly great to feel so full...
How do you handle a night you are forced to stay awake despite being dead tired?
What do you do if you can't figure out what on earth you could have done wrong?
What I mean: I knew I waned to sleep so I took a smaller correction to NOT be in danger of going too low. Since I was feeling so sick and thirsty, I then sat down to drink a bottle of water. The result is that I don't know whether I should regret the latter or not. On the one hand, I feel a lot better now. On the other hand, drinking water when having a high bg seems to dramatically increase the risk of a following low bg... but I didn't make any obviously wrong decisions, did I?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Zoe on -
I absolutely don't think you made any obvious wrong decisions, Anne. You have had a really sucky day and have the right to be grumpy but don't make it worse by beating up on yourself for anything. It sounds like you had a lot going on today and I'm sure the stress was a part of your roller coastering numbers. I totally know how you feel about not being able to go to sleep when you're tired. I nearly got fired from a job because they wanted us to be on call overnight and I wouldn't do it. (If I'd gotten fired I would have blown the insurance I now have in retirement!). Can you go to work late tomorrow or call in sick? The worst thing about not being able to go to sleep to me is worrying about having to get up. If you can remove that from the equation then maybe you can just get into a good book or watch a movie, and go to sleep when you feel you are safe. If eating will bring you back up don't hesitate to do that (because you are guilty about overeating). It's not worth it to stay up when you can sleep.
Bottom line is we can all learn from our blood sugar experiences, even if we didn't "screw up" there is always information that will help us for "next time". But personally I would wait until tomorrow to look at it all. When you're overtired everything seems harder, more negative and your brain struggles to function logically. It's not worth it.
Give yourself a break and try and relax and chalk it all up to the Diabetes gremlins!
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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on -
I would look at that as an opportunity to obtain a lot of useful data? If a smaller than normal correction got you to 61, perhaps a new "normal" is in order? I totally agree with drinking water when I run high too. That's supposed to help protect your kidneys or something like that. I don't usually stay awake, I have small snacks by my bed and will occasionally turn my pump down. Good job!! ;-)
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Permalink Reply by latvianchick on -
I cannot understand why you ate so much more than you should have done. Who forced you?
Are you under a lot of stress? Do you have an infection - perhaps one that you do not know about? Have you started taking medications other than diabetes ones that might affect blood glucose levels?
The way I stop hypos at night occurring is to take my night time slow acting insulin as normal AND a small snack or some milk. If I do have them then I have some form of sugar on my bedside cabinet. I will usually wake up during a hypo, though I have been known to sleep through them, waking up "hung over" and damp. Your blood sugar will usually go up during a hypo - sometimes a bit high for a morning reading as a defence against the hypo.
I really do not think that the water causes a low! It might make you want to pee more.
I would just let yourself go to sleep and you should feel better in the morning!
And go and have a chat with your doctor or endo to see what might be done. Perhaps you need to take antidepressants for a while to get you sorted.
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Permalink Reply by T1Forever on -
You just had a really bad day. I totally agree that stress probably impacted both the high and the low. It can affect me either way. I also agree with Acid Rock that you may have a new normal to deal with. And, in nearly 50 years of D, I have never known water to cause a low.
You need to gather some confidence that you are doing the right thing. Staying up all night is not healthy, especially for a D. You need to make sure you understand how things impact you and owyou react and then confidently move forward, believing in yourself.
Do you sleep through lows? Do you have someone with you who can also be aware of the situation? Can you set the alarm to get up and check BG in the night? All of these are better than staying awake.
I certainly hope all gets better. There is a lot of really good advice in all your responses. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Scott E on -
It sounds like you just had a sucky day. As much as my scientific mind tries to understand things, sometimes I'm convinced that all my insulin for the day gets stored in this hidden reservoir somewhere in my body (rather than being used), and then at the worst possible time, BLAM-O!, it dumps it out all at once causing a massive drop in BG.
As for wanting to sleep, I've tried setting my alarm for 2am to wake up and test, but that doesn't always work. Drinking a ton of water will help -- it may force you to wake up and get out of bed a few hours later to use the bathroom, at which point you can do another fingerstick.
As for your other question; if you can't figure out what went wrong, but it's an isolated incident, then just let it go. If it happens all the time, then it's time to figure out what's happening. Ask you doctor, CDE, or come here to ask us for help. No, you didn't make any obviously wrong decisions. (Well, when you were given T1 diabetes 13 years ago, maybe you should have politely declined...)
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Permalink Reply by MyBustedPancreas on -
It sounds like you did everything right. Sometimes, insulin acts in a way that has no rhyme or reason. I've had so many experiences where I've corrected several times for a high, only to end up really, really low many hours later. And I always find that funny because aren't analogue insulins supposed to "go away" after 4-6 hours? Why will it send me into a low 12 hours later? Argh.
I too sometimes get "random" numbers. Being a woman, I assume that these are sometimes due to hormonal fluctuations in our body. My endo told me that women in particular have a hard time with T1D because we go through so many hormonal changes on a daily/weekly basis. I've really struggled with this myself.
When I can't figure out what I did wrong, I sometimes just chalk it all up to the disease itself (not me) and start fresh in the morning. But I know how hard that is, especially when you're sleep deprived. I'm chronically sleep deprived because of my T1D and it is really hard. I am very thankful for coffee.
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Permalink Reply by Linda B. on -
Coffee can stimulate your metabolism. Perhaps backing off it a little might help prevent a later low?
I'm a T2, non-ID, and drink huge amounts of plain coffee with Splenda over the course of a morning. (My 'cup' at work is actually a latte mug--HUGE--and I have several of them before lunch). I drink ice water most of the afternoon and then several tall glasses of tap water once I get home until I go to bed around 10 p.m. I read until I fall asleep (bedside lamp is on a timer) and most nights sleep until 4:30 or so, get up to use the toilet, drink more water and take my thyroid meds, and then go back to bed until 6:30. If I'm really stressed, I'll wake up every couple of hours after midnight and will cut back on the coffee the next morning--sure, my backside will be dragging for that day but I'll sleep better the following night.
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Permalink Reply by DC Reporter on -
In 52 years as a T1 I have slept all night, every night. (Not counting non-D reasons during college, work, of course.) I have never tested and in all those years I've never had a seizure or a serious problem. I have no complications. My one and only meter stays downstairs with all the food while I sleep.
The reason is simple: I have a routine that I trust and that works. I also have zero problems waking up in the 50s. In fact, when that's the case my numbers for the rest of the day will be really good.
My best advice: find a routine that works. Don't eat crazy stuff, especially late in the evening.
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Permalink Reply by Teowyn on -
I have noticed (especially in the past few weeks) that when I stay up past the point of headache-y fatigue, I get highs that go low with sleep. Stress can raise your bloodsugar--it could be that waiting up at night because you're stressing over lows is sending you high--and sleep might be exactly what you need in order to calm the blood sugar down.
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