It’s 2am here in Bouder, CO and I just woke up soaked in sweat with my heart racing due to low blood sugar. At least once a week lately I’ve been waking up with these horrible night sweats. It’s very intense and very unpleasant. This use to only happen once in a great while. I’m not sure why they seem to be happening more often. Normally, if I have a low a night I simply wake up drink some juice and go back to bed but these episodes are much different than a typical low. I should mention that I am currently training for a marathon so my activity level is also pretty intense. Anyone else have a similar experience? Suggestions?
I never have a night low without the sweating and racing heart. Those are normal symptoms of an adrenaline rush (adrenaline is one one the hormones that will raise BG). Maybe you’re producing more adrenaline because of the extra exercise?
You might be needing a lot less insulin than your accustomed to due to all the running. Maybe back off a unit or two on your last shot of the day and see if that helps. Or adding a pre-bed snack as Gerri suggests.
Strenuous exercise can cause lows hours later. Google “delayed hypo” or try the book The Diabetic Athelete. Are you on a pump? Can you lower your overnight basals?
Have you lost any weight while training? Reduction in wieght and increased exercise can of course lead to a decrease in insulin needs. I bet you need to back off your nighttime basals quite a bit (maybe 15% at most) and unfortunately waking up to check once or twice a night might also be a good idea.
Hard to know about lowering basal since this doesn’t happen regularly, just once or more a week. If the lows are related to those days of particularly rigorous training, that’s a good idea.
