Well today I woke up with a bg of 50. Probably should have had a snack last night after all the moving of boxes full of books I did but I didn’t want my numbers high this am (usually if I eat a snack at night my numbers skyrocket). What concerns me is that I didn’t FEEL hypo. There have been a few occasions where my number went down to 70 and I would wake up shaky, short of breath, and sweaty. This was not the case. It makes me wonder when else have I been hypo and not known it? Is this something that happens regularly to me? Isn’t it dangerous to be that low?
I know I slept in later than usual due to it being a holiday and my being up so late last night. I expected my number to be on the low side, but I felt fine. Now I don’t know what I know. It has been a little more than a year for me and I swear every time I think I know anything about living a healthy life with d, something shatters my confidence.
Unfortunately, Alyssa, as you come out of your honeymoon period, you might find that out or range numbers are more common. For better or worse, I no longer get alarmed at a low of 50 or a high of 250! That doesn't mean that I am ok or resigned to those numbers, I just know they are part of the variability of Type 1 for many of us. No, it isn't dangerous to be 50. Many of us have experienced numbers in the 30s, 40s and even the 20s. That doesn't mean that it's good for you and the danger, of course, is a 50 sliding down lower.
As for feeling lows, that can really vary. I've had lows that sent me spinning (usually more cognitive issues than physical ones for me) and ones I had no clue about. Symptoms can be subtle. I actually also woke up with a 55 this morning and felt ok when I woke up. But then when I sat down to take my blood sugar I had some trouble focusing on the blood on the strip and guessed it would be low.
I did say I'm not alarmed by a 50, but I don't ignore it either. There is the immediate treatment which I do in measured doses of glucose tablets so I don't over-treat. Then there is the "is this a pattern?" I don't make any changes based on one number. Some people do that and then wonder why they are always on a roller coaster. But if I wake up that low a few times it is a pattern and I make changes. I wouldn't eat to stave off lows because that's "feeding the insulin". I'm on a pump, so I would just make some changes to my basal rates, but you might want to look at changing the dose and/or timing of your long acting if it's more than just a one time thing.
I know I woke up hypo one time this week, I think it's because I didn't have a snack the night before. It depends a lot if this is a one time thing or not. If you continue to wake up hypo for like a lot of the week, consider dropping your long acting down a unit, but if not ? You probably have nothing to worry about. If I eat a snack before bed and go to bed around 100 mg/dl, I am fine.
Thanks! I really am hoping it was the boxes of books I was going through last night. I know I my muscles feel more worked out than when I actually work out lol
That could definitely make you low. I woke up at 2.8 (50) this morning as well. The crazy part is that I was trending low before bed and still had a lot of insulin on board so I ate 30 grams of carbs with no bolus. Figured I'd be high in the morning! I haven't trended low today, but it's something to keep an eye on.
I agree with Zoe, numbers like 50 and 250 are pretty routine for a lot of us. I don't feel many symptoms if I am within this range, actually. It's not until I go lower or higher that I start to feel really bad. Different highs and lows also have different symptoms depending on how long you've been high/low and how rapidly your blood sugar has been changing.
