Have you ever seen this on your meter?I had a scary episode of low BG this morning. In fact, I think I made a new low record. According to my Ultra OneTouch meter, I was "LO" (as they like to spell it), which means I was below 20 mg/dL. Needless to say, it was a very unpleasant experience. I think there are several factors that contributed to this, so at least I have a good explanation and can learn how to avoid this in the future.
First of all, my Dexcom is not working. The sensor that I have been using for the past week has been an A+ sensor, tracking my actual BG's quite nicely. Because of the unfortunate requirement to reset the sensor every three days, it was no longer working. (It worked fine up until the 3-day time limit expired and I reset it, which imposes a 2-hour delay while it calibrates.) Anyway, I was hoping it would start working last night but it didn't so I guess I'll have to insert a new one soon. The end result is that I didn't get the tip-off to low or falling BG's that I have begun to rely on with the Dexcom.
Secondly, I think my insulin sensitivity has gone up. I've been exercising a bit more in the past few days (but not a lot more than usual) and have also been eating less. My total daily insulin dose has been reduced by about 25-30% and I have lost maybe 1-2 pounds in the last week. These things usually increase my insulin sensitivity.
Fortunately, at the time of the low, I was close to work, which is a medical center. I found 2 hospital employees to help me; I think one of them was a nurse. I am really grateful for the help of these two people. Since they were medically trained, they didn't freak out and didn't call 911 when I declined the offer. I explained that I was a type 1 diabetic, that my blood sugar was really low and that I needed some help. I was fairly sure that the 2 sports gels that I had eaten would pull me out of it, but was concerned because I had also taken Symlin this morning. I don't think I've ever felt that close to passing out (except when I did pass out once after surgery, but not for low BG!) One of the people asked me if I needed more food. I would take anything and ate both of her yogurts. I hope she found some other breakfast. I also ate the remnants of her Christmas candy canes. I started feeling better pretty soon and they agreed that I was looking better.
Not to be too glib, but now, that I've seen both "LO" and "HI" on my meter, after 18+ years with type 1, does that make me a real diabetic? (Of course I would never intentionally go this low!)
And why do some people pass out at 40 and others not? I've never passed out because of low BG.
7 comments:
Sorry you had a rough day. That's super scary! Unfortunately, I have seen that more than I like to think about. And I am really hoping you went back in the memory and took that picture later, now when you were LO.
Ha ha! no I took the picture this afternoon. The question is this: why did I feel compelled to test my BG when it was obvious I was super low? I had already eaten 50 g of gel before testing, and I guess I'm always curious to see just how low I am.
Thanks for your comments...
I become curious to know how low I go too.
Crazy thing is, I feel like if I didn't test, I can't write it in my log.
Those lows are indeed scary. I have had 4 or 5 of those "LO" readings during the past summer, being able to do the test and eat by myself.
After starting the pump it actually seems like those below-2.0(36)-readings have become more part of the routine - not at part that I like, though! Strange thing is that it is not like I am asymptomatic at the time, but the severity of the symptoms may vary quite a lot from time to time. Some time I feel like crap when I am 3.8 (68), while other times it is just a hunch that I should test, only to discover that I am 1.8 (32), but feeling remarkably well and not needing any help to treat the reaction.
Scary, Anne! that's pretty LO. I'm glad you were able to get some help. Shane once treated a patient, and the nurse told him that his blood sugar was 1. Is that possible?
I bet the nurse was referring to mmol/L units instead of mg/dL. 1 mmol/L is equivalent to about 18 mg/dL. Did the patient show up like that? I don't know how long someone could stand being that LO.
Wow.
I have never had a low that low (though I have had one or two HI readings in my 27 years of diabetes). That must have been very scary.
And that is a great question as to why some folks pass out at 40 and others do not. I have no idea, but I have never passed out either. I have blacked out, but was still concious enough for friends to help out, but that only happened a few times and it has been quite a while since the last time.
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