I got diabetes 2003 and was on Pens with Novorapid and Lantus for 4 years before i got a pump. During remission I had to inject very little basal (~2IE Lantus/day) and even after remission and getting a pump my Basal was always around 15 IE. The past 2 years have been stressful for me and due to professional reasons I couldnt do as much sports as I used to do. However my Hba1c always stayed below 7%.
Recently I recieved a CGM and due to that started to track my values. Since they were often above 150 I increased the basal. Unfortunately this seemd to have the opposite effect. My BG rises more often and also seem to stay higher as if injected Insulin doestn work well. At the same time I have Hypo symptoms like being light headed, feeling weak and nervous/stressed/anxious…
What was your total daily dose (TDD) of insulin early after diagnosis compared to today? TDD includes basal and bolus. You mention an increase in stress and a decrease in sports activity. Both of these developments could lead to taking more insulin. Have you gained any body weight between diagnosis and now? Unfortunately, taking more insulin may lead to worse results. It’s counterintuitive and doesn’t make sense. A relative increase in insulin resistance may also be playing a role here.
Do you have low blood pressure? I have consistently low blood pressure and sometimes I confuse the feeling a low blood sugar with low blood pressure. Sometimes they are very similar. If it is low blood pressure, I recommend drinking more electrolytes, taking vitamins and possibly seeing a cardiologist. I saw one and I found out I have orthostatic hypotension. I take meds to increase my blood pressure.
Just a thought.
My daughter has the same response to basals that are too high. It sends her into a stress response, leading to higher & higher BGs.
If you think that could be happening to you, you can easily test it by setting a reduced temp basal for an hour, then watch your CGM to see if BG starts dropping.
My daughter who is 4 years old is having the same effects, I thought I was just thinking crazy, but i think that may just be the case, as soon as the basal was increased I am seeing really ugly numbers.
So do I understand this correctly - that your hypo-like symptoms are when your BG is actually elevated around 150 or so? I get that some times with a blood sugar a bit higher than my preferred range, but not often. The symptoms I get occasionally when at 150-160 are very similar to what minor symptoms I get with a hypo, either nervousness or a very faint odd taste in my mouth. Some people say it may be at a time one’s BG is rising or dropping rapidly. I don’t have a CGM and am not willing to test often enough to confirm that, so I just take it as a possibility.
