Early results from the TuAnalyze Hypoglycemia Survey

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Thank you to everyone who has taken the hypoglycemia survey! Since we introduced this survey three weeks ago, 397 TuDiabetes members have participated. Below are some preliminary results of reports to date—this survey is still open so these results are likely to evolve as more users provide information.


The hypoglycemia survey respondents are made up of:

  • 74% Type 1
  • 14% Type 2
  • 11% LADA
  • 1% Pre-diabetes

In the past two weeks, how many times have you “gone low”?

Responses to this question ranged from 0 to 75; the average was 6 episodes in the past two weeks. Persons with Type 1 and LADA diabetes report on average 7 lows in the past two weeks, while persons with Type 2 and pre-diabetes report an average of 2 episodes the past two weeks.

The frequency of the reported number of lows in the last two weeks, by diabetes type, is summarized in the bar charts below. The scales on the two charts are not identical because Type 2 and pre-diabetes reported many fewer lows than Type 1 and LADA. Patterns are different by type.



In the past 12 months, how many episodes of severe hypoglycemia* have you experienced?

29% of respondents report experiencing at least one episode of severe hypoglycemia in the last 12 months. 30% of Type 1 and LADA and 24% of Type 2 and pre-diabetes users report at least one severe low in the past 12 months. The number of severe lows in the last 12 months ranged from 1 to 150. Among those that do have severe hypoglycemic episodes, over half report having three or fewer episodes throughout the year. The average number of severe lows is 13.

We don’t yet have enough Type 2’s reporting severe lows to describe their distribution, but below is the distribution for Type 1 and LADA:


*Severe hypoglycemia is defined by one or more of the following: being unable to treat a hypoglycemic episode without the help of another person, a hypo that resulted in unconsciousness or a seizure, needing glucagon to treat a low, or being treated by paramedics or EMTs for a low.

If you haven’t yet taken the hypoglycemia survey, it is not too late to contribute your data! Every response helps us to better understand the full picture of hypoglycemia in the TuDiabetes community.

Once you’ve taken the hypoglycemia survey, make sure to complete the first Care Overview survey and update your A1c. Currently 65% of the users who have taken the hypoglycemia survey have also completed the Care Overview survey and entered an A1c. In the coming weeks we will be providing detailed analyses of members’ survey data on this blog—drawing from all available surveys to tell a full story of diabetes health. Completing the surveys will aid this effort!

Thank you for your support!

The TuAnalyze Team

2

101+ severe lows requiring help to recover? Is that real? How does that happen? How does that continue to happen? I would think after several weeks or months somebody would realize something isn’t right or working and changes in routine or treatment started? Help me understand this…?

3

A lot of people are also hypo-unaware. I have gastroparesis, so it is hard to balance food & insulin because you never know when or how much food is going to digest. I test my BS 18 times a day, I wear a Dexcom and I eat the exact same foods every day. I can go along for a week with everything working fine and then boom, the bottom falls out. I eat 69 grams of carbs a day so I am not taking massive amounts of insulin. For me, it is not a matter of being able to change anything.

4

Ken, part of me wonders if some people didn’t enter “extreme” results just to mess with the results. I can’t see how someone could have 150 severe lows a year (that’s 3 a week!) and NOT do be very proactive in doing anything they could to change that… it is stated that more than half of T1’s reported having no more than 3 severe hypos a year, which is reassuring.

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Sarah, Ken,
As scary as it may sound it is possible that some folks (possibly due to hypo unawareness too) may be experiencing that many lows a year… :frowning:

6

Thank you for posting this. Yep Manny I’m one of those Type 1’s with hypo unawearness and it happens to me all the time.

7

Thanks for posting the early reults. They have made me realize that I need to keep working to reduce my lows. I am tinkering with the idea of trying the lower carb approach. I can’t remember…did the survey poll for carb intake? Those who follow it say one of the benefits is that it helps even out he bg. It would be interesting to see how low carbers survey results compare to those who don’t follow low carb approach. (Of course, we would have to all actually decide on a definition of low carb!! Ahhhhh, the fun of research!)

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The hypoglycemia survey doesn’t ask about carb intake, but the Care Survey does ask in a more general way if you use diet to control your diabetes. This may be an area we can survey on in more detail in the future!

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I found this very interesting. I must be be very lucky, as I’ve had type 1 for 43 years and I’ve never had to call 911, had a seizure, used glucagon, been unconscious, or needed assistance because of a low. I have a few times asked my husband to get me something in the night, but I could have done it myself.

10

I’m the person with all those severe lows that people are questioning. It happens - I’m not going to go into the details, because people usually attack me when I talk about it. Just know that, yes, I get severely low several times a week and, no, I don’t have hypo unawareness.