So my daughter has had a BG of 70 and felt “funny” and a BG ofd 44 and felt fine. What’s the deal with that? How could she be so low and not feel it? I’m sure everyone is different but how low could she go before the inevitable? She also seems to get randon stomach aches. BG is fine just a stomach ache. Every couple of weeks. Weird. I almost feel silly mentioning it but all I did was mention her thirst to the doctor a year ago and now here we are. So I guess everything matters!
not sure. sometimes i feel awful and I’m at 70 and sometimes I dont’ feel bad and I’m under 60. just another joy of diabetes.
no clue about the tummy ache. sorry
Hypounawareness is what she is experiencing. I at times don’t feel lows, it happens when we’ve had too many lows. The body doesn’t recognize when it’s low. If she can keep bs within range for 2-3 weeks without lows the feelings will come back.
I’ve found that I feel the lows when I’m in the 70s and 80s and even the 60s, but under 60 I don’t feel a thing, it’s just too low. Especially when you’re newly diagnosed, it can take a while to start to feel the lows and recognize the feeling.
yeah, I think my brain turns off below 60 and I don’t recognize that I’m low.
I have noticed the same with Manuel… It is not the norm, but sometimes he is not even aware of being low, he doesn’t act or feels any symptoms, but the meter says his BS are 40… then other times he fees terrible and it is not even 60.
I always wonder if there is something going on that we don’t know… or if the meter is not being accurate…
After living with D for 40+ years, all I know for sure is, the NUMBER doesn’t make that much of a difference, I think it has a lot more to do with how quickly the drop happened, and the overall tendancies of the person with D. My symptoms vary, at this point in my life, it’s more just a matter of feeling something isn’t right, testing and confirming the low. It took a long time to develop that sense The actual symptoms could be anything from loss of central vision, traditional sweaty shakey, numbness in lips, inability to concentrate, tiredness, ect, and other times, nothing, just a knowledge of self. Want to freak a nurse out? have her do a blood draw and come back with a BG of 23. I scared her to death, she kept saying “but you shouldn’t be awake”, I just told her, juice please, or would you prefer I drop now : )
I know, evil, but you have to have some fun with the medical professionals 
Honestly, some people w/ D never lose conciousness, for others, it happens near weekly. I’ve only lost it during my 2 pregnancies, I’m hoping I keep that tendendancy, the idea of passing out suddenly with no warning is horrifying to me.
Sometimes I feel great at 69 and lousy at 139, go figure!
Hey Renee,
I’m like others - that for me a BG of 70 is perfect for me - but maybe as a child it might not have been (I come from the days of urine testing in the a.m. before school and then I think sometime at night - but my brain cells seem to have obliterated my childhood memories of those times ). I know when I’m going low tho’ around 50, but have gone as low as 20, and still been functioning (tho’ I am doing an internal fight to remain “normal” as I don’t like to attract attention - and I take care of myself right away). I’m sure other PWD’s can relate to.
Again, sometimes when I think I might be high, due to thirst, I’m not, I am at a good BG reading. I’m very bad at not drinking enough fluids, so that could be my problem. I do get the occasional stomach ache, but I just thought it was me, and it’s always something I’ve lived with and never questioned. I don’t think it’s a silly question. Nothing about diabetes is silly!
I’ve had the same experience of feeling some lows acutely & others not at all. My husband says I get a funny look in my eyes & makes me test. Lo & behold, he’s right.
Sudden drops feel worse than regular lows to me. Lows in the evening feel worse than those during the day probably because I’m tired.
Other than trying to connect the tummy aches to a certain food (some diabetics have celiac disease) or an emotional event, don’t know what that could be.
The awareness for lows changes over time. The body will not always trigger an adrenaline response (sweating etc) because it will lower the trigger barrier over time (getting used to lows). In most cases you will recognize a low only at lower numbers when the previous low was within hours before (body is less aware and sensitive). Most diabetics learn to watch for second degree signs of being low: mostly visual disturbanced (impacted visual field, visible dots and points etc) and other feedback of the body (feeling hungry, trembling fingers etc). Usually these second degree signs appear at a lower level than the adrenaline response when the brain is already starting to have problems because it is running out of carbs. In very rare cases and at very low numbers a low could trigger an epileptic seizure. This is why lows should be avoided (theoretically I know). Also the time of being low should be reduced to not get used to these levels. Thus I recommend very fast acting carbs like glucose tabs to treat a low.
For the stomach issues you should check your child for gluten allergy (coeliac disease). Many diabetics will have more than one autoimmune problem.
I’ve noticed if its a quick drop, I’ll feel it. If its just a slow trickle downwards, I’ll feel off, but not know exactly what it is, I test and find out I’m 40. Unfortunately, my only symptom of a low lately is not being able to focus my eyes to read.
Good luck with your daughter!
Renee,
We don’t have much experience with the lows (can’t seem to keep her anywhere near her target), but we have ALOT of experience with the belly aches. I did some research online and found that kids with diabetes seem to have more unexplained tummy aches. (Her doctor doesn’t agree with this). Some articles suggested that it may be some form of pain from the pancreas or with girls things related to ovulation. I found MANY articles suggesting that girls with diabetes have worse menstral symptoms. Even if your daughter hasn’t started her period yet, it could be pre-puberty symptoms. If it’s pain and not nausea, a heating pad almost always works for my daughter. Good luck!
Thanks everyone. This information and form of communication is invaluable!
I agree with the others, it’s the rate of the drop that gets me. Can’t speak to the stomach aches though. Has your doctor tested for celiac? Its rates are higher in T1’s, and will cause stomach issues. Have you noticed any relationships between certain foods and the tummy issues?
Hi, Renee. I have a 15-year-old that was diagnosed at 8. A first she did not feel any symptoms of having a low, as a matter of fact, the firs time she ever went low she complained that her tummy was hurting. Of course I did not now she was going low, but I made her test her BG and she was down to 47. Since then, anytime she complained about a tummy ache, I tested her BG, and most of the times, yes, she was low. As time went by, I really cannot tell you if she developed some sort of resistance or is just she did not feel it as bad as before. She will go down to 27 and still be walking and talkin, she will say she was feeling funny… Now, for the past three weeks she has been going low pretty frecuently. Two weeks ago, she went low in school. She had a doctors appointment so I went in to get her; school was already out and the children were waiting to be picked up. When I got to where she was, she was lying on the floor, and I thought she was asleep, but when she opened her eyes I immediately knew something was really wrong. I flew down the stair to the cafeteria and got her something to eat. When I got her in the car I tested her BG and she was on 58, meaning that she must have been really low; she DOES NOT remember anything. Last week the same thing happened, and again she does not remember what happened. Luckily tha episode was at home and I was here to take prompt action.
She is on the pump, and we’me made adjustments to avoid these lows, but today, again, after volleyball, she went low. Not as bad, but the tummy ache came back.
So I guess tummy aches ARE cause for alarm, at leat in my case. And as you say, everything matters.
Keep you posted if we do happen to get her lows in check with more basal adjustments to her pump.
My son feels lows coming on in the 80s and sometimes higher. Dr. says it’s because he’s probably dropping quickly. Other times he feels low and by the time he tests he’s in the 40s. I definitely think it’s whether it’s a slow decline or a quick drop. I noticed below that someone mentioned celiac. my son was tested for celiac and does have it. he was having stomach aches daily though. i’m not at all saying that I suspect your daughter has it. However, since it is fairly common, I do encourage everyone I talk to to get tested, whether or not they have type 1!
Like many type 1s, I have felt perfectly fine with a BG of 20 many times during my 28 years with it. Other times I can feel a 60 or 65. It is just the nature of type 1 diabetes and the nervous system. Context is also part of it. That is, activity level, stress, individual metabolism, etc. It is one thing that makes diabetes a unique type of chronic disease to manage. You can’t just take a pill and forget it. As we all know.