Low BS Unawareness

I have a shot on hand for my husband to use should I pass out. I had assumed if I was able to get to the drawer with the shot, I could get to the fridge with the juice. The glucose into your veins is faster, I’d imagine. I have so much to learn. Glad you are OK and hopefully, feeling fine…I know a low can slow me down for a while.

I go low so fast that my Dr. has told me that if i feel like i am dropping to fast to get the shot in me before it gets to that point, especially since I was already throwing everything up I put in me. He would rather have me a little on the high side than to low.

The only suffering I’ve experienced thus far because of Diabetes was when a Doctor misdiagnosed me (falsely thinking my symptoms were Diabetes related) and didn’t give he the proper care. I’ve had some trigger finger issues (which tend to be more prevalent among Diabetics, but is also common among musicians, so it’s hard to determine the cause of that).

I wouldn’t say I’ve had “great control” for all of my 31 years, but I’ve probably generally had better than average control. I recently read that less than 10% of Diabetics even achieve the ADA target of a 7.0 A1C. For the past 6 years my A1C has been between 5.8 & 7.2. Now that I’m on a pump and more attentive to my control than I used to be, I suspect I’ll stay pretty close to the 6.0 range.

Elaine,

I don’t have as tough a time keeping my blood sugars in order as someone would who has Type 1 because I have the oddball genetic diabetes where I don’t make post-meal insulin, but I still have a hefty basal response. The more I read about what people with Type 1 have to contend with the more respect I have for everyone who deals with Type 1. It’s very tough!

It feels to me like I eat a lot of carbs, but that is because I’m coming from almost 7 years where I had to eat almost no carbs at all because I couldn’t get my doctor to prescribe insulin and I’d spike into the 200s if I ate more than 15 - 20 grams of carbs. So after never eating more than 15 grams at once, my current diet feels like a major carb-out most of the time.

w I eat 20 - 25 grams at breakfast and 30-40 grams at lunch or dinner now. And maybe another 10-20 for snack. If I eat out, I might go up on the carbs, but I won’t ever use more than 4 units and I am most comfortable with 2 or 3, which means 30-45 grams of carb.

But I also have to watch my calories because I gain weight extremely easily, thanks to being a lady of a Certain Age, so there are a lot of things that I just don’t eat because if I do, I’m going to end up gaining weight that will never come off. If I still had the metabolism, weight wise that I had in my 30s and 40s, I’d probably eat more carbs.

Jenny. I am at that “certain…where the ____ did this stuff around my waist come from?..age,” as well. It is an extra motivation to eat responsibly, eh. I am usually OK with 2-3 units with my dinner, also. I need to zero in on what (and when, I suspect,) certain foods cause spikes or stubborn high #'s.

Thanks again, for you input.

I suspect you will, too…something for me to aspire to. Thanks.

This is most likely different for everyone. I have only had this disease for 18 months and at first I would notice lows when my BG was in the 80s. Over time it became the 70s… then the 60s… then the 50… now I notice them in the 40s and sometimes I don’t notice until my BG is just over 30.

That’s the same thing my Dr told me years ago! Funny how they all think the same huh??? You know the old sayinh “Birds of s feather flock together” HA!!

Doris,
My doctor knows how bad my lows can get which is why I think he tells me to use it if I think I am dropping to fast. I can be at a normal range and then 15 minutes later be in the 30’s

That is a little scary for you…

Hi Elaine! Here is my experience with sensitivity. It is very tough being sensitive to lows. I am very sensitive to mine and I have been T1 for over 20 years. Don’t let that discourage you though. It is really hard to give a recommendation as to the loss of sensitivity because everyone is different.
There aren’t varies levels of intensities of T1s. When you no longer create sufficient insulin you no longer create it. Sensitivity appears to not be based on your T1 diabetes, but on your immune and nervous system’s reaction to various hormones and physiological circumstances. Some people’s bodies react more than others. Some bodies acclimate to the various changes so they lose the sensation of being low or the feeling becomes blunted. Some bodies do not adapt so they are always sensitive. It varies from person to person. I was once told by an endo that diabetics lose their sensitivity within the first few years (that was after I was T1 for over 10 years) and that statement really made me feel very freakish after so many years went by and I still felt every slight change.
You may or may not lose sensitivity. Generalized statements handed out by endos and doctors are still generalized. Whether or not you lose sensitivity is not determined by your diagnosis, but how your entire body handles the circumstance.
If you get fed up with waiting to see if you lose sensitivity the best thing to do is try to keep in tight control so that you get fewer fluctuations to feel. The “nice” (although it doesn’t feel nice) thing about being sensitive is that you can react quickly to blood sugar fluctuations. Tu Diabetes is a great site for support with this issue. Some diabetic lose there sensitivity and some do not. Some do feel it, but not as much as time goes by. Certainly you will come across a variety of responses to your question.

That’s my doc too! I’ve had him for 23 years and won’t change!!! He told me one time that he knew me better than any of his assiocats and That was true!!!

Doris,
Are ya sure we don’t have the same doctor since we live next to each other state wise. Oh and BTW I was in Jackson last weekend.

Cody

Hi Alice…Thanks for your input. I am not bothered by feeling the lows, although I’d rather not have them…my fear is that I will lose the sensation and not be able to act on them. I am glad to hear that you remain sensitive after over 20 years…maybe you have maintained tight control…that seems to be the secret.

DN has been diagnosed at 8, now 12, and only feels lows sometimes. Her main symptom is a “shakiness” she will feel when standing. If sitting down or sleeping she can and has been in the 50s, even 30s and does not feel anything. It is very scary but she was even 20 once at school and, though symptomatic, did not lose consciousness so I think she has been lucky in that regard. These lows can happen when we do not expect them to. We have always tested every three hours, round the clock. There are times when we have missed the alarm though. We have Dexcom 7 Plus but are not happy with the alarms. We sleep right through them. Also, Dex only gives one beep then is silent for five minutes, then one beep, etc. Crazy! One would think low alarms, at least, would come in loud and not cease until answered.

The standard answer was between 10-15 years after diagnosis that “un-awareness” might happen to you. Many have awareness long after with no problems, others loose awareness in that time frame, perhaps sooner .

One cure for the problem was B.G.A.T. (Blood Glucose Awareness Training) by someone named Cox (out of UVA) et al. Not certain they are still there or not. Essentially the idea was stop trying to force the control to be soo tight, have ZERO (0) lows, not a single one for 72 hours and the symptoms do return.

The basic problem, forcing ourselves too low is like wondering why a commercial airliner would EASILY crash with no warning, when its forced to fly only 100 feet (or less) off the ground. Same-same. Pull back just a bit for a very short while and the warning signals reboot and have the time to do any good .

Stuart

I had heard about being able to regain awareness with very tight control, but had not heard the 72 hour part. Thanks, Stuart. I hope I never have to deal with it, but it does help to know that unawareness can be reverted.