I have become more and more hypo-unaware over the last year. I used to KNOW at 70 - 80 that I was going low, but now it it much worse. My wife had to shake me awake a few nights ago because I was trembling and soaking wet. Turns out I was at 38. I am trying like hell now to get a Dexcom G5 ordered, but he insurance battle seems to be all uphill. AT this point I am actually keeping myself high at night and finger sticking 10 - 12 times a day to try and make sure I don’t get into any serious trouble. If she had not awoken me, I hate to think what may have happened.
The longer you have diabetes the more likely you will be unaware of extreme highs and lows.I had my monthly transplant labs done last year, and when I got home the hospital called and my glucose was 14.No wonder I started eating candy in the parking lot.I have had type 1 since 1977 age 9.
It can get worse. I can go below 30 without symptoms and other times a feeling of being off will prompt me to check my BG around 40. The slower the drop the less likely I am to feel something. Had one where my meter read 26 and didn’t believe it. Second test was 24.
There is some thought and literature that running BGs high for several weeks can reprogram or reset BG levels for awareness. My endo had me try that and all I got was tingling one leg (the one also affected by back problems) so bad it was painful. Even though I followed for the minimum time she specified, she claimed I hadn’t run high long enough. The tingling did mostly go away after a while at normal BGs.
I did the running high thing for a few months… didn’t help neuropathy got my. Ability to tell …and my blood pressure as well
I’m not sure from my reading that you need to run high – the key is to reduce the frequency of lows, which of course will happen if you run high, but it can also happen if you can run with fairly “normal” numbers – that is, tightening control. In my own experience, reducing the frequency and duration of lows once I had a CGM, and without running high, did result in the return of some degree of hypo awareness after several decades’ absence.
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I was still on MDI at the time of my experiment. I’d still get some lows, even while trying to run 140-180. So I ended the experiment at 6 weeks, the minimum my endo stated.
@William7, my Endo suggested that I maintain a BG between 180 and 250 for 2 weeks, followed by BG levels between 100 and 160 for 2 weeks in an attempt to “reset” my hypoglycemia awareness. I tried it over Xmas, and I do get some indicators I have not felt in many years, but nothing like the full on responses I had when I was first Dx’ed.
@beacher I agree that it is reducing both frequency and duration of lows. I never let myself ride at a BG below 5. I try to remain above 5 all the time. My awareness is not the same as it was 30 years ago but it is much better than it was when I was experiencing hypo unawareness and not cognisant of the underlying reasons