I see an endo myself. Also like you I can have very low BS and still walk and talk and also been oncosiosness too.Quite a few times it all depends on the person no one is the same. I weigh 220lbs an not fat. The key is check your blood sugars more often and correct the amount of insulin needed to regain normalcy. Keep a chart of food you ate and what time count your carbs and your bolus thats where most mistakes are made over bolussing on food. Or to high basal rate at night to wake up with low bs. Keep this for the Doctor.
Some doctors are great, and the others are just downright dangerous. There are 2 local hospitals that I will not got to anymore because every time I have been there, they always want to give me enormous sliding scale doses of insulin while I’m half conscious and then not check my blood sugar for 4 hours. It disgusts me to hear doctors accuse their patients of lying over things like whether or not you can talk in the 20s. Fortunately, there are lots of endocrinologist out there, you can find one who will respect you.
I have been down in the 20s several times, the lowest was 23, and have always been able to walk, talk, ect. I have never passed out from low blood sugar, though. I believe that your brain learns to conserve energy and adapt to constant lows, although I don’t remember the book I read this in. It’s the same phenomenon that makes someone whose body is used to the 300s feel low at 90.
I was nursing for the first two years of having diabetes, and I remember that I was unbelievably insulin sensitive (compared to now, at least). I tried out a dexcom for a week when they first came out, and thought that it was broken because my blood sugars looked so crazy on it. My nighttime blood sugars would zigzag between 360 and 40 6 or 7 times a night (my nighttime basal was .25u/hr as opposed to .75 now) and in retrospect I can see that my daughter was just a heavy night time nurser (we did the family bed thing.)
sorry i have not been on lately… mady… i have a stupid question, what is a dexcom? there is a lot of information that is lacking in this area, or at least the docs just think that i am an idiot so refuse to give me information… i am really not sure which.i have just gotten some bad news also… i found out i can not go on the pump or the omnipod because i am allergic to adhesive i thought this would be a much better way to control my bs… sadness : (.does anyone else have an issue like this… i may start up a new thread as i think this one may have died out.
Amanda,
I am with you 100% girl!! I have had diabetes for 20 years and still haven’t found the right doctor. I had 3 endo’s in two years. I had to report 2 of them for literally YELLING at me. It isn’t easy, but you are right. . you know your own body. I was able to find a Nurse Educator who has two children of her own that have diabetes, she GETS it!! I usually ignore a lot of what my doc. tells me and rely on my own knowledge of diabetes and my body and my Nurse Educator (NE). Don’t be afraid to make your own minor changes, my NE actually encourages me to do this. But again you don’t want to take your own health too far. Even though some docs are real jerks you can usually find one person in your diabetes management team who makes up for the rest of the idiots.
I suggest you keep looking. Ask around. If you know anyone in the medical field you can sometimes get further. Use this site. Most importantly if you can find someone who has a direct relation to diabetes (i.e. a doc with diabetes or like my NE) they really get it much better than those just following what the ADA puts out as guide lines, LAME.
Good luck and I guess we will continue our search together 
Well,I have to quit being a doctor guys!!!
NOOOOOO!!!
A dexcom is a continuous monitor. You can find out a lot more about them and the alternatives in the cgms forum.
I remember my rep at medtronic (my pump company) talking about a barrier for people with adhesive allergies. You paint it onto your skin , and then attach the infusion set, and it prevents the adhesive from interacting with your skin. It would be worthwhile to talk to a pump rep about this issue. Also, I know that different infusion sets cause different reactions. I use a sure-t and find it hypoallergenic, but other infusion sets have given me weird red sores. So they may be using different adhesives, are you allergic to a specific one?
sohair: I am so sorry if all of our ranting has offended you. i am sure you are a great doc. unfortunately, just like all professions, there are good docs and bad ones. I wish that you were in my area so i could talk to you because by just being open to the information on this site you are making strides above and beyond what many of the docs in my area would. i apologise for all of our frustration, but we rely on our docs to help us manage our health and when they dont listen to us it destroys our confidence in their ability to assist us in our healthcare goals.please dont let others mistakes make you feel unable to continue the work that you do. every good doc truly changes lives and makes the world a better place!
mady: Thank you for that info… i see my doc on the 31st so i will ask about it. i dont completely know all of the adhesives i am allergic to, but i do know that i am allergic to the adhesive on the omnipod… my sadhesive allergy did not present itself until the birth of my first child, who i had to have an emergency c-section with. when they took off the dressing my skin came off with it. it was not fun. now i cant wear a bandaid for more than an hour without my skin looking sunburned.
samantha: Ahh the yelling docs… yes those are a favorite of mine… they tend to be the same people who honestly believe you can eat the same thing every day for 50 years and be completely happy… if such a person exists i commend them, however i cant live like that. oh well the search continues.: )
I’m all for doctor shopping. This person is such an important person in your life that it is important to have a good relationship with them. I was going to see the only endo for a hundred miles here but he was so arrogant/pompous that I couldn’t take it. I found a wonderful GP who knows how to communicate, is truly concerned and realizes that I know more about myself than she does. She simply asks if she can suggest I make a basal rate change at certain times. I’m the one who makes the decision considering her observations and mine.
Yes, I too can be really low and still be functioning. It’s been awhile but I remember a 26 a couple of years ago.
Sohair, I can tell you are a caring person. Please keep on doctoring!
Dena
We can all tell you understand and hear your patients! You wouldn’t be on here if you didn’t. You are one of the good ones!
Physician says patients need to become more educated about their doctors.
In the New York Times (12/19) Doctor and Patient online column, Pauline W. Chen, M.D., wrote that she recently reviewed physician evaluations on Angie’s List, and found that “there was a correlation between good grades and attentiveness. Reviewers gave less-than-passing, and even failing, grades to those physicians who seemed rushed, brusque, or distracted; and they uniformly gave ‘A’s’ and ‘B’s’ to doctors who were warm, concerned, and focused.” But, there was “almost no mention of a doctor’s actual medical skill.” According to Dr. Chen, patients should consider other issues, “such as the physician’s training, board certification, experience, membership in a respected professional society, safety records, and hospital affiliations.” Yet, research has shown that over “a third of patients who had an operation in the last five years never reviewed the credentials of the surgeon who operated.” While Dr. Chen acknowledged “trust is important” in the doctor-patient relationship, she also argued that patients need to be “educated about their doctors, their illnesses, and their treatment.”
Okay, First off, I live in the same area as Amanda. The endos around here are few and far between and not the best around. I have had one almost kill me because he didn’t believe anyone could have a that severe of a latex allergy. As he gave me a injection with a needle containing latex and watched me go into anaphlaxis. His comment was “I guess he is that allergic. I think we will need the crash cart.”
Amanada I have both the omnipod pump and Dexcom Seven CGMS. I have latex and adhesive allergies as well. I use IV3000 patches as barrier to protect from reactions. It is a bit of a pain to put on and take off but I won’t give up either one. I started the Omnipod on Halloween and have been on the CGMS since the 13th of Dec. The extra steps also mean that it is almost impossible to know them off.
I hate to say that my best advise is to find a general MD around here and tell them what you want. The endos are second rate at best and want to treat everyone as a Type 2. Nothing wrong with type 2’s but you can’t treat a Type 1 like a 2.
Amanada, I too have been having lows that aren’t explained. But now with the CGMS I can see them coming and head them off.
Chef
Ahh, so you have had similar expiriences as i have! i worry for people in this area who are vey young and dont know a lot about diabetes in this area because there are some endos that are trying to put people in comas. unfortunately, or fortunately, i am on public aid so i can not be on the omnipod, or have a cgms. for a period of time, i was paying for all of my diabetic care costs out of pocket, the cost is btw astronomical. i am glad to know there is a barrier system as i really hate the idea of peeling my skin off to take insulin. lol. i am apparently not allergic to latex, but adhesives of all types dont get along with me. i had a really good md, but he moved during my pregnancy.the joy continues.