Comment

Comment by Bill on June 1, 2012 at 1:41pm

Hi John,
Welcome to the group. When I created this group several years ago, I thought that was one of the few things us diabetics avoided talking about... and with good reason. Non-Diabetics have absolutely no idea what it is like. BUT, with people that do understand, I thought this would be a good place to talk, vent, cry, laugh, etc about what happens when we go Hypo.

As far as going low with tighter control, it will happen. BUT, you can lessen the extent with frequent monitoring. I couldn't handle Medtronic's CGM insertion vehicle and had to give it up. I had so many bad bruises from it not inserting properly PLUS the fact that it is a 10 gauge insertion needle (not sure I have gauge measurement exact, but I know I am close) that is 2 inches long was too much. I test by blood sugar on average 15 times a day, and almost always catch the lows at the beginning. It's when you get involved in an activity that runs longer then expected and forget to test that I find I have problems.

I swear by (not at) Medtronic Pumps and have tried other systems and been continually disappointed by them. I hope you find the Omnipod to work great for you. When I tried the Omnipod for 2 months, my pods kept falling off or shorting out and I would get no insulin delivery and have to change them sometimes 2 a day. But that was 2 years ago. ANYWAY...

When you get Hypoglycemic Unawareness (clinical term for your body not letting you know when you start to go low) the docs say to run a bit high (not over 200, but between 120-200) for 2 weeks without a low and the sweating and shakes will return. I've tried this, but find it very difficult to not let a low slip in somewhere and I usually have to start all over.

John, if your CGM is reading your blood sugar every 5 minutes, then it should alarm you when you go into a sudden drop and warn you about that. Then you can take action to correct it before it gets bad. When the Medtronic CGM worked, it would do that for me and it was awesome! Unfortunately, that was only when I was able to get it inserted correctly and that wasn't often.

I really hope the Omnipod/Dexcom CGM works for you. If it does as intended, then you should be notified as a low approaches.

All the best John, and let us know how it works.

Bill

Comment by jdsnyc on June 1, 2012 at 9:25am

Thanks for having this group, I didn't think I would find such interesting experiences and information posted anywhere concerning hypo issues. I am a type 1 diabetic, and have been for 21 years (I'm now 41), I have been having gran-mal seizures for the last 5 yrs due to hypoglycemia. I have them every couple months.

I have finally been able to have insurance cover Pump/CGM. So I'm starting this process now. I have a Dexcom 7plus CGM, and I'm still amazed at the auto-readings every 5 minutes. I am getting Omnipod pump next week to work in conjunction with CGM. Wondering if I should worry about more hypo's then, being that I (am assuming) will have tighter control.

Up till now, I have kept bg levels high to avoid seizures. So, now I'm a little worried about more hypo/seizures in future.

Does anyone have any info/experience on this?

John

Comment by Bill on April 12, 2012 at 3:37pm

Hi Mariah and welcome to the group.

For me Hypoglycemia is the worst immediate effect part of this disease. If you don't plan exercise activities strictly, then surprise! another low. I'm on a pump and have had issues with scar tissue effecting my insulin absorption. I might be high, high, high several hours after changing a site and post correction and then it's like falling off the Grand Canyon... at least that's what I imagine it's like.

My lowest (recorded) blood sugar measurement was during one of these episodes: 7. That is what the Paramedics showed me after I woke up. I'm not an illegal drug user, but I actually hallucinated that the Paramedics were aliens and they were performing experiments on me and I freaked out. They were afraid to give me anything to calm me down because they weren't sure how it would affect me, so they strapped me down to the gurney so I couldn't hurt anyone.

Sometimes I remember everything during my lows and sometimes I don't remember a thing. Sadly, that one is burned into my consciousness.

I do now know, that if I am high after a site change and the initial correction, I have a bad site and change it immediately rather than hoping it will be ok.

Always try and look for patterns (and many times there are none) if you can with Hypo's. If you can identify them, then they can be changed to help eliminate the lows.

All the best Mariah.

Comment by Mariah on April 11, 2012 at 11:53am

I sure hope all of you who have written about your hypo experience here are supporting elected officials or candidates who support some version of "Obamacare" which guarantees coverage for pre-existing conditions.

My first seizure occurred on the beach in Italy. I was still on Lantus at the time (now pumping) and was fortunate because my fellow sunbathers were paramedics (Belgium) and a nurse (German). I woke up brifly in the ambulance on the way to the Pronto Socorso, which is an rapid care facility, and finally became fully alert (and aware that many Italians were starring at me) in the treatment ward. I was at the ER for about 2 hours, in which time I saw the doctor twice (diagnosis and results), had blood drawn and analyzed, and had an EKG. Universal Health Care is provided to all in Italy, including tourists, and my expense was roughly $120.00 US. My second seizure occured in New York City where my husband and a security guard treated my with glucagon. I woke up briefly in the hotel room and again at the ER. Costs for this little adventure were enormous: ambulance was nearly $2000 and ER care was more. BC/BS policy through eployer covered most of the ER expense but declined to pay the ambulance because it was through a non-approved provider. In both cases, I was in a place where I was alert to the sensation of feeling very warm, which generally precedes the feeling that my heart is racing and the awareness that I am losing it, i.e., going ataxic. Time from ataxia to full seizure is very rapid but a glucoshot or tube of gel can get me back into a pre-ataxic condition pretty quickly.

I am a second generation LADA type 1. My mother was diagnosed in the days before Humalog and experienced wild swings in BG. In a low, she also exhibited odd behavior. One time she woke, walked into the kitchen, turned on all the burners on the stove and talked of going to the airport. Another T1 I know would take off her clothes when her BG went low. I've probably experienced about 20 ataxic events in the last 7 years and haven't had anyone tell me that I behaved oddly prior to the event.

Thanks for listening. I learned quite a bit from your entries.

Comment by Bill D on March 24, 2012 at 10:54am

To all my BG been ok and yes I am on the pump. Been running a little high last 2 days due to worrying about what I am doing to do next. ( Ilost my pt job even tough I am on disability for MS) my average BG for last 24 hours was 138 and A1c in late Dec 2011 5.9 with 22 day average of 117. I have enough NovoLog for 3 months. just without an income I am going to have to change something.

Comment by Tarra on March 24, 2012 at 9:34am

I Would recommend looking into an insulin pump. I know I had a lot less lows with the pump verses shots. I also recommend setting an alarm in the middle of the night in an attempt to wake you up so you can check. I was in a similar situation to you not too long ago. I am blessed to have a diabetic alert dog who is helpful but you must realize that not all diabetic alert dogs end up alerting at night. They are just a tool in an arsenal and should not be depended upon as the only thing to help with hypoglycemia unawareness. I test very frequently even more so with my dog. I also have used a CGM from time to time as well. Diabetic alert dogs are a lot of work. There is on going training, grooming aspects for public access, costs to keep dog healthy. I would not trade Dutches my alert dog for anything but I was aware of the commitment involved.

Comment by catlover on March 24, 2012 at 9:24am

Hi JJ- jrtpup is right, lows during the night are serious. You need to see an endo to get your insulin regulated. Do you check your BG before going to bed ? Maybe you need a snack before you go to bed. You really do need to regulate those lows.

Comment by jrtpup on March 23, 2012 at 3:06pm

I do not mean to be sarcastic, but when's the last time you saw an endo or a good CDE? It seems to me that the solution is to get rid of those lows!

Comment by JJ on March 23, 2012 at 12:44pm

my repeated lows in my sleep below 20 have made me forgetful and not myself in stressful events, my employer says I sometimes appear to be overwhelmed at times, my work has been nice to give me easier tasks but have asked me to get some help with my issues. What would be the best type of doctor to see for my issues ??? may be a dog would help me out too.

Comment by rahrbunny on August 22, 2011 at 5:48am

I have a diabetic alert dog also. As she accompanies me everywhere, she has had a huge impact on my overall control; specifically in regard to my all encompassing glycemic unawareness( both high and low). In the car...at work...asleep..she is there to be a giant symptom for me! She even wakes me up. I have had sketchy symptoms for all 23 yrs with D....Personally,I think my hypo unawareness has more to do with how my body reacts with rDNA insulin than repeated prolonged lows... I don't think it is a " complication" because I have been dealing w it just as it is now since I was 9.

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