On a related subject. How low will you go and still drive? I live 1.6 miles from my office and go home for lunch. Occasionally I will go low before my lunch so I tested driving at different BG levels. There is a mild hill coming out of our industrial campus with a stop sign. If my BG is 58 or higher I always stop right on the stop line of the stop sign. My intention is to do the same, regardless of BG. The lower I go below 58, the longer it takes me to come to a full stop and I end up going past the stop line. Without boring you with all the data points. When my BG drops to 48 I concentrate hard and attempt to stop on the stop line but consistently overshoot it by 16 ft.
So beware, there is a direct relationship between low BG and delayed driving reflex abilities.
Yes, I experience this, too. Of course, I am usually relying on Dexcom (unless it is a new sensor) so there is probably a delay in displaying an accurate rise. As long as I’m feeling better even though Dex shows a low, I rely on my own senses and don’t take in more carbs. I know if I do, it is a fools game, and I’ll spike!
Hey Mika,
So glad you brought up this question because it is still a weird thing for me as well. An update for those of you who have read my posts on wanting a Dexcom, I now have the Dexcom 6, love it except for the every ten days changing the sensor site. I too have 70 as my warning level/reading for when I am going low. I know there is a delay somewhat from what our sugar is and what is then read on the sensor. I think one doctor told me there is ten minutes of lag time between what your glucose actually is and what is then read by your sensor.
Today, I was working, my sensor is reading 90 and I started to get shaky. I have moments like those that I am like what—I’m not that low. And then yesterday I am exercising, hit 70 and my sensor was going off and it warns you that you have 20 minutes to bring your glucose up.
I do like having it at 70 because it gives you those 20 minutes to respond before you get to 50. Hope this helps
I was told by drs at Joslin that for me no more low bg. Was told to keep them a little higher. Another endo told me the same thing. Reason, and their has been research done on this too many lows cause dementia and Alzheimer just what we all want. Look at it this way damed if you do and damed if you don’t. A very fine line that we have to walk
Our brains don’t need insulin to function, neither do our kidneys.
It’s kind of weird
I think real cases of diagnosable dementia would not be caused by low sugars. Of course not where you are having seizures.
But I think it might cause us to be more forgetful or foggy.
I’ve seen Alzheimer’s brains, there are serious holes and plaques
For me, low is under 65 and urgent low is less than 55. My G6 alert is set at 75 to give some time for carbs before going too low. The trade off on a relatively high alert is if carbs for correction doesn’t work, then the next alert urgent low. I figure carbs to correct in my pump and fudge for steepness of BG drop and IOB.
As far as hypo symptoms, I’ve somewhat recovered awareness in the range mid-40s to mid-50s. Except for sensor change, hypo detection is the CGM.
Welcome to the world of Highs and lows. I have a continuing cat fight between my endo doc. And my Kidney Doc. On where the want me balanced. Endo say Hi at 180. Low At 75. Kinder doc wants a tighter range. Hi 180 Low 85.
Needless to say it’s a constant battle
Terry4 is right on as over time you will learn your own levels and treat accordingly. I as well have found that 1/2 a glucose tablet woks if I am approaching what I feel is a low. Dexcom CGM works well but I have also switched to Tandem T Slim pump with Basel corection where it recognizes your glucose levels and will reduce or increase your Basel based on the threshold settings. Wow, what a difference cause I was always fearful of lows during night sleep and now the pump will make corrections with delivery. It’s not that I totally depend on the new TSlim with Basel correction but certainly is a long awaited advantage
I was diagnosed in 1945, and I was not able to test my blood sugar until the mid 1980s with my first glucometer. I had seizures many times 1945-1985. When I started using that glucometer I had all the physical symptoms of hypos when I fell as low as 140. Things gradually improved when using Humalog in the late 1990s. My first A1C was 11 in 1980. in the first decade of this century I had an insulin pump and fast acting insulin. My A1C’s dropped into the high 5’s. I still had some hypos, but they were easily managed. No help needed. I had hypos with my BG in the low 70s.
I did not trust the Dexcom CGM until 2015. The G5 and G6 are very good. I still test with a fingerstick 6 times per day, on the average. I still feel low in the low 70’s.
I rarely get low symptoms. Occasionally I get a sense weirdness. I used to run higher sugars than I should due to a fear of lows. Actually, I would feel fine and alert in 60’s going to 50’s. I keep skittles and hammer nutrition gel with me for emergencies. The cgm is helpful. I still test for lows and high sugars to verify cgm. My low alert is set at 100. although I do not treat until 70ish The setting gives me time to access time of next meal, what I am doing, and other pertinent factors.
i have not heard the dementia warning, however, i have maybe for the last 10 years or so received strong lectures on the link to hypoglycemia and heart issues.
i have also posted this warning picture before, but after reading the articles they gave me, i do try to avoid going under 70 mg/dl whenever possible… drinking v8 splash often (quick carbs and you cant taste the carrots) and i usually dont have to dose again to bri g the levels back down…
Shortly after I was diagnosed in 1981, my doctor was encouraging me to maintain my blood glucose as near normal as possible. I was in college at the time and had a standing order from him to stop into the infirmary for a BGL at any time of day or night (that was the life!) I ran 5-6 miles/day then and walked everywhere. When he saw that I was registering in the 40s and 50s at times, but seeming okay behavior-wise, he suggested that I read a fasting glucose study of normoglycemic individuals that showed that there really was no “normal”. Several of the subjects in the study routinely had fasting BGLs in the 40s and 50s without showing symptoms of hypoglycemia. Everyone’s different, we just need to be sure to have access to sugar when needed.
Hypoglycemia symptoms are not always consistent, especially from person to person. I have done finger-sticks while engaged in active conversation with someone and measured very low numbers, < 54 mg/dL (3.0 mmol/L). When I asked them if they thought I was acting unusual, they replied in the negative.
If I’m slowly dropping into a hypo, I often find that I feel more alert and cognitively able. This aspect of impending hypoglycemia fools me into thinking nothing is amiss and I fail to finger-stick. These symptoms often proceed into a severe low.
This rarely happens these days since my CGM keeps a close watch and nags me when appropriate.
zdc1389.pdf (156.7 KB)
my endocrinologist told me they usually have discussions on this topic whenever they go to any training seminars or additional education, etc
That study is now 11 years old. From their conclusion:
Although smaller observational and epidemiological studies suggest an association between hypoglycemia and cardiovascular events, there is currently no evidence for causality.
While I do believe that severe hypoglycemia can harm all systems including the heart, I think that hyperglycemia and glucose variability exact more damage to more people.
I have an incredible DBE who is also a nurse practitioner and she helps me adjust all of my settings on my Omnipod. She too has stressed to me that when making decisions it is always safer to go high than to go low as with every episode of a low blood sugar there is a greater and greater chance of memory loss.
Teri I believe I’m going to have to ask my DBE about SD & CV because I think I would like to understand them better. Right now reading what you said I have no idea what you were talking about!
I have had type 1 for 62 yrs with 22 years of urine testing only. I have had many highs and lows although I have never been hospitalized for either.
I am 70 yrs old and my memory is fine. I search for words once in awhile, but most 70 yr olds that I know do. High glucose levels have brought me retinopathy which cleared up 40 yrs ago when I cut out most highs, frozen fingers, frozen shoulders, dupuytren’s, and frozen upper thighs. I have some hearing loss, but that is mostly genetic I think. 11 yrs ago I received 2 HEART STENTS from HIGHS from childhood high glucose levels and high LDL levels.
Highs have hurt me much more than lows. For the last almost 20 yrs I have kept an alc of 4.6 to 5.3. My time in range is very good.
Just because I keep a low A1c does not mean that I am having having dangerous lows.
It does take a lot of work though.
Doctors should be warning about highs just as much as they warn people about lows. It is ridiculous that they don’t.
I know very few diabetics personally, but I know 2 who died because of highs. I have heard of two who died from not getting to glucose in time. I have no idea what their daily averages were. This is why CGM’s are so important.
