I know that in diabetics the ability to sense hypoglycemia wanes but don't know when it happens.It is really frightful that you cannot take corrective measures in a child and the child can become unconscious without any symptoms.What to do to prevent it developing in future? Please elucidate whatever you know about it.
I don't know really. My 7 year old DD is 20 months past diagnosis and she still feels all her lows. She's never been able to feel a high, but she's felt lows since the very beginning. I think the ability to feel lows and highs (if you can feel them at all) is diminished if you spend too much time low, or too much time high. I've heard of people re-sensitizing themselves to lows by spending a period of time higher than usual with no lows. Then they can feel their lows again.
As I understand it, hypoglycemia unawareness isn't an inevitable thing. And with my son, I see it come and go — sometimes he will come and say to me that he feels low, and other times he won't. With him, it really depends on whether he's focusing hard on something he enjoys that he doesn't want to stop doing for the sake of addressing his low blood sugar. (I'm the same way, actually!)
I have been told that repeated experience of hypoglycemia sometimes contributes to unawareness, and that makes sense to me — the brain learns to compensate and adjust if it has these experiences regularly. So really it's a matter of being conscientious about taking regular BGs and "checking in" with your child to ensure hypos don't develop often enough that he loses this sensitivity.
There are those who seem to be insensitive to BG changes regardless. If yours is one of those, a CGM or a diabetes alert dog may be the best options.
I’ve been type 1 for over 17 years, diagnosed at 11 years old. I always have and still do feel all my lows, including night lows, which wake me up. I have lows maybe once every two days. So it’s certainly not inevitable that you lose your sensitivity.
I have been type 1 since 1976- a pumper since 1981- solid control no life threatening complications but neuropathy and some nerve damage- so my perspective is that I can walk around with BSG's around 40-70 and not feel a thing- my reactions are not very quickly to onset, but managable......I did not have any real problems with recognizing low blood sugars until I was in my 40's, some 30 years after being diagnoised- I always woke up with an adrinlin rush, etc..when I was young, and through high school, college, etc.......my guess is the tighter the control, the longer the body can react early to reactions- I would certainly hope well past the 30's for kids diagnosed very young- My 13 year old was just diagnoised as type 1 after being in the Trial Net study for three years....she gets shakey arounn 70- so its good for her situation-
Hey there, hypoglycemic awareness (as well as hyperglycemic) can vary among diabetes. I have some friends with type 1 that can't tell when their blood sugar is lower or elevated. I've had type 1 for 12 years and have a pretty strong sense of my blood sugar levels, especially when it drops (I'll even wake up from sleep if I get a low). It is a scary thought, but just ensure you are taking preventive measures, like testing blood sugar before bed and decreasing insulin if necessary. With kids, doctors recommend running blood sugars slightly higher to avoid a hypo at night. When I was first diagnosed, my endocrinologist suggested eating a small bowl of ice cream before bed. The fat releases the sugar in the ice cream over a longer period of time and I remember having very few low blood sugars at night. I'm not sure how old your child is or if he/she is still in the honeymoon period, but I came across your post and just thought I would chime in my thoughts. :) Hopefully, it helped a bit.