bedtime lows

hello everyone we're new here ! my 12 yo daughter (type 1) had a low (70 -- but we know she needs to be around 100 when she goes to bed) at bedtime this evening and we had a discussion about what seems best to eat in that case & how much of it -- to keep you from another low until morning but avoid a very high during the night. i was wondering if any of you has one or several suggestions ? thank you !

Tags: 1, bedtime, carbs, children, counting, food, low, type

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Permalink Reply by Jodil on October 28, 2011 at 10:38am

Thanks...he could run low b/c of the excitement and all the running around from house to house. I am sending his flashlight and meter with my husband (I stay home to hand out treats) and having them check his sugar a few times if needed.

Permalink Reply by Hockey Mom on October 28, 2011 at 12:21pm

My son's pump is set to adjust him to 125 on any snack eaten after 9pm. He puts the carbs in and instead of adjusting to 100 as the rest of the day, it corrects to 125 for bedtime. It then is set to start giving more insulin at about 3am to slowly adjust him back to 100 by waking/breakfast.

He is 17 so if he did not have the 3 am adjustment, he would wake up not at 125 but higher at about 150 or even 175 due to the dawning effect and hormones.

Permalink Reply by Kj on October 29, 2011 at 3:40pm

We are relatively new to this (my son was diagnosed in May of this year, he is 4 now), but we often give a 8-10 carb snack at bedtime, usually in the form of nuts. Some of his favorites are pistachios and almonds. This works for us. Originally they suggested giving him a snack if his blood sugar was below 150, although we have figured out his body would still take his blood sugar too low over night. So, now we give him a snack regardless of his bs, even if its 250. He still wakes every morning at about 100-120.

Permalink Reply by ValerieE on October 30, 2011 at 12:28pm

thank you ladies ! it is a warm glow in my heart that we can to exchange ideas, opinions, feelings, experiences here. there 's a halloween sleepover at my house so i can't reply individually now; but i certainly will before next weekend. i hope life will be kind/gentle on our little & less little ones tomorrow. best wishes to everyone xx

Permalink Reply by SJR on January 8, 2012 at 6:41pm

My son is 12 and going throug puberty too...battling highs has been our "norm". BUT...I think I have a new discovery. He is on the omnipod and for John, this seems true. If he eats a low carb dinner, and all the insulin has gone through by bedtime, AND if he is is a good target zone, (150-200), then, when I check him at 10:30 and 2am, I usually find that he is still in that target zone and I don't have to feed him or give a correction in the middle of the night. So, it seems that dinner is key to managing nighttime. John has had lows (50's) at 2 am so this new "discovery" is so encouraging to me, if this proves to be true in the future.I hope this helps!

Permalink Reply by Hockey Mom on January 9, 2012 at 7:47am

It may also be that a lot of the carbs that this age group likes (or we all like) are also high fat and that will continue to rise many hours (6-8) after it has been eaten and not be offset by the insulin taken with the meal. I know there are options on the pump that can be programmed to add insulin later, but we don't use this if it goes into the night. We have missed the target too many times after Saturday lunch pizza and had him too low to be comfortable with that feature when he is sleeping.

Most of the lows my son has during the night we think are due to his late afternoon and evening sports. We are always aware of 6 hours after an activity because that is when he drops. He is more aware and knows to temp his basal after an organized activity, like hockey, but it is the impromptu soccer game, shhoting hoops, frisbee, working sports medicine and all that is harder to gauge and know if a temp basal is needed during the activity and after.