Hi all.
Today, I have had a terrible time with my glucose. I was high this morning so I took my correction and meal bolus before leaving for work so that by the time I arrived and got settled, I could eat my breakfast. This is usually a 15 minute time frame, so I don’t usually worry about it. However, today was different. When I got to work, just before fixing my breakfast, a customer walked in. It took an hour to help her, and in the midst of it, I completely forgot about breakfast. By the time we were almost done, I knew my glucose had to be dropping because the words on my computer screen looked funny. Then I lost the ability to see out of my right eye and was losing it out of my left. This was the only symptom I had though - no shakiness, numbness (I almost always get numbness in my lips as a first sign) or concentration problems. I excused myself to the back and ate my applesauce and drank my juice (the breakfast I should have had, by this time, an hour before.) I checked my glucose and it was 54. I didn’t think this was low enough to cause me to have a headache THIS bad. I normally get a headache when it gets in the 40s or lower (which is not very often). In just a few minutes, I could see fine, but it left behind the worst headache I have ever had… and only on the side with the eye I could see out of. I thought I had just strained too much so I took tylenol and tried to go about my business. Well, that didn’t stay down for 15 mintues! I got so sick, I immediately had to leave work, left my boss a note as to what I was working on and left. Got home, threw up and laid down. My husband wasn’t far behind me in coming home with Ginger Ale and gatoraide, but since I drank some sugar water (I did this because my sugar was dropping) and held it down, I took an Aleve since I figured the tylenol didn’t stay in long enough to do anything. In just about 30 minutes, that was up too. I drank Ginger Ale and went to sleep for a while. But I guess it had a little time in my stomach to dissolve because my headache did seem to ease. I took another Aleve after about 4 hours (you can take 2 in an 8hr period) and it seems to be helping. I have never had a migraine, and the only reason why I’m calling it that is because all the symptoms I had line up with the on-line descriptions of one. (Pain on one side, nausea, vomiting, sensitive to light and sound…)
The headache is still here, but my question is, I guess, does anyone else get migraines with low glucose? If so, is this something that happens all of the time? Or is this just one of those random symptoms that you get sometimes but not others?
Thanks.
I usually always get a migraine after coming up from a low… I either don’t have them during the low or I feel so crappy I don’t notice them but by the time my sugar is getting back to normal my head starts pounding… I’ve never thrown up though. I had a pretty bad one today during my work out and then slept through the headache with a nap. Hope you start feeling better.
Hi LillyBell! I get migraines quite frequently from low sugars. Most of the time it happens when I have overnite lows. I will wake up with a really bad migraine and it takes many hours to get better… I do not get them with every low. It seems to be random and usually when my sugars have been in the 40’s. Luckily, since I have been on a CGMS I do not have as many lows. I have had hypoglycemic unawareness for a lot of years. I have never taken migraine meds and usually just muddle through. I will take aspirin.
Amy
Take a few glucose tablets when you have injected insulin and cannot eat in time. damaging your brain is not a good thing.
After I have had a high or a low, I will have a headache along with horrible body aches. The body aches are mainly after a high due to lactic acidosis.
I get them all the time. A couple of things to remember all lows do not behave in similar fashions. What happens once cannot be counted on to happen again. Sometimes I get to the 40’s and have no problem whatsoever, other time in the low 50’s i am a danger to my dog.
As for the migraines, I understand the longer we have diabetes the more unusual the highs and lows become. I for one have been having such terrible difficulties coming back from a low, it seems that I am walking in a fog. Just awful. Used ot be I could bounce back immediately, now it may take four or five hours.
Rick Phillips
Hi Rick! Same for me. I have the “unawareness” so that makes it challanging too. I do not bounce back to well when I am in the 40’s…even worse if in 30’s 
Rick,
It does seem that this is true. I have had T1 for 20 years now and it seems to be getting harder and harder to treat. After all of my lows and migraine yesterday, I suddenly went from a nice 82 to up to above 400 after supper and it took me all night and until lunch time today to get it back down… (after 3 correction boluses, a temporary basal rate of +30%, and 3 pod changes - last one using a brand new insulin bottle, even though the other one had only been used once three days before). Not sure what happened because I ate something that I’m used to eating and I had the carbs down to a T - 60g of carbs for that supersub all the way and took my 6u for cover. Just couldn’t figure it out. Oh well.
I finally am over the pain of the headache part, but I’m still nauseated. I’m hoping this will pass (probably caused from the sugar swings, though). Migraines run in my family as something that lasts a few days. When my mom gets one, she’s out of work for at least 2 days.
Thanks everyone for your comments. I don’t feel so crazy now that I know it probably was low glucose related! I keep glucose tabs on hand, but most of the time I panic and eat whatever comes to mind first. I will be sure to use them next time.
Oh , YES …migraines when a low , feeling pukey …and several hours to bed, dark room , even during holidays .Not every time I had a Low This phenomena has subsided , since I became a pumper in 2001 and I became aware of the lows Wearer of Continuous Glucose Monitoring device since 2007.
I woke up this morning with a blood sugar of 62 and a migraine…of course for the first time in a while it is going to be in the 40’s today and sunny…I hate it when it is sunny and I have a migraine. I can not enjoy it!