How low is LOW?

I know that anything below 70 is considered low for my son.  I understand that  people  react differently and at different numbers but would love to hear real life on lows.  How low is Low and what affects does the low have for you?

Low is relative, <100 is low if the BG is trending low. 70 is not low if the BG is trending up. 

BG is just a snapshot and you need to ID what is causing the low and to recognize that the target may be 80-120 ideally, but there are other thing that come in to play to dictate how it needs to be treated when it is out of or going out of the ideal range. 

Below 100 may start to impact your body physiologically, although it may not make you aware that you are low, depending on what you body is used to as a normal range.

Hope that helps a little.

I suggest you pick up "Think Like a Pancreas: A Practical Guide to Managing Diabetes with Insulin" which does a comprehensive job of discussing D and does it with a practical and real world approach.

The lowest bloodsugar i've tested was 48 and i felt like i was in a traumatic car accident.  Your heart races fast, you have a cold sweat, your limbs are shaking, and you can't think clearly, and when you walk your knees give out every now and then and you bump and lean on walls because you don't have enough energy to walk straight.  It's a time of panic-- just trying to think of how to raise your sugar.  It's very scary when you have a low, so it's essential to always be prepared with glucose tabs or juice always around.  

Does your son know when his sugar is going low?  Is he able to feel the physical differences from being above 70 and under?  And are you able to see when he is going low?  Does his attitude and characteristics change?  I hope there is some kind of detection that either you or him have in order to catch his blood sugar from going under 70 so he can prevent the lows from going too low.  

My son is only 3 so his target BG is 100-200. He often starts feeling low when he's in the 80s. I think this is great because I can catch it before he goes too low and just give him a regular snack.

My lowest was actually over the weekend, I just changed insulin and the dosage was way too much (12 units of levemire). I don't know the actual low because the meter read "LOW" and I was so disoriented my boyfriend have to give me an emergancy shot. BUT I get super hot, very hungry, disoriented, and sometimes if it's in the teens (VERY RARE) I won't know who anyone is or where I am; if it's that low all I have in my mind is I need help and will yell or something. My doctors do tell me that being low is 69 and down though.

It depends how sensitive someone is to said LOW. When I was first DX'd, I thought it was good that I couldn't feel the lows as much but was informed by my endo that becoming hypo-sensitive to the lows was no bueno and that when I'm low, I should run it a bit higher (~150-180) to build up glucose in my kidneys/liver (whichever), and in the process feel lows before I'm in the 40's or 30's. Now, I  usually feel myself going low when I get around 70 so I can grab something to eat/drink then and avoid crashing.

I feel real lethargic when I'm low. My face goes numb and reaction time goes down. It's almost like being drunk except less fun. Lowest I've ever been was 18 and didn't pass out. Guess I'm thankful for that...would like to avoid any type of diabetic visit to the hospital outside of the endo appointments.

Ah yes... the LOW reading on a bloodsugar meter. It's really quite elusive and fantastic (in a very macabre way almost). I think that for most meters when it reads low, it is below 20. I was in 6th grade. I woke up like any normal morning, except of course, and I wouldn't be telling this story if it didn't involve the LOW reading, that I couldn't really... function. I started by staring at the shower for twenty minutes before my brother woke up and asked if everything was alright. I looked at him, confused, and walked to the sink. I took my deodorant and stared at it for a few minutes before finally figuring that the best way to get the deodorant under my arms was by way of my hand. So I spread the deodorant on my hand and tried to get deodorized that way. That didn't really work and I got frustrated. I couldn't remember how to brush my teeth, or how to use that gel I wanted to use so badly in junior high but couldn't because I still had a bowl cut, and then I started to dress my self. Shoes first of course, then two pairs of pants, and a hat to go on top of my goopy, sugar-deprived head. I then asked my brother for help. My mom came up, funneled a coke down my throat, and then checked my blood sugar. LOW. I remember her saying, right before I passed out, "What the hell does that mean?" So poignant.

[quote user="sjwprod"]I suggest you pick up "Think Like a Pancreas: A Practical Guide to Managing Diabetes with Insulin" which does a comprehensive job of discussing D and does it with a practical and real world approach.[/quote]

 

I just got this -- and it is a very informative and easy to follow book. 

DS's lowest  was 29 coming off the soccer field the other day.  He was a bit upset that he couldn't go right back and play, but took the juice and waited 15 minutes before going back out.

 I have had lots of low since i was diagned. Sometimes my BS can be 60 and I feel disreonted or it can be LOW on my machine and I feel perfectly fine. My dad gets crazy when my BS is below 80 and wants me to drink juice ASAP. I guess it depends on the body and how its reacting.

I find I feel "off" when I'm below 70, but I remember one time at diabetes camp when I was 70-something, ate a snack, and was playing a game with some other kids when I felt really weird and not right.  It was hard to describe and I don't remember it very well, but I'm sure I was dropping really quickly and it took a solid 30 minutes for me to feel normal again.  If I've been low for a while, the symptoms are usually much more pronounced, even if it's only a reading in the 60s.  Other times, I'll be 40 and barely notice it. 

If you know you are hypo-unaware, be especially careful and try to keep your blood sugars higher until you can feel when you are low.

[quote user="Pat"]My face goes numb [/quote]

 

Me too! I never heard of this happening to anyone so I was thinking that I was just imagining my face feeling numb...

It's kind of funny you said if feels like being drunk without the fun because when I was younger, my friend used to tell me that I was acting drunk when I was low..  just nice to have a common feeling about something!  And 18?? That's crazy..I've been 30-something and I thought that was scary, but I've blacked out before at 55...but was still conscious the whole time.  Thank God!

I think being below 70 for too long is potentially dangerous. I seem to feel the best when I'm between 95-115 I'd say. My endo said he'd rather have me over 100 just to prevent lows. I am for the most part, but I still get low once and awhile. 

When I am low I've been shaking and sweaty (if I get below 60). Other times I've actually felt numbingly cold in my hands. It seems to vary summer/winter months.

for me, it really depends on if i'm dropping quickly or slowly. if my BGs are skyrocketing in a downward direction, i usually feel pretty symptomatic around 80-65 (shakes, confused, lethargic). if it's a slow drop, i don't always notice it until it's down in the 50s or lower. i've had a couple of "LOW" readings before, I was always symptomatic too. my feelings of 'low' always get more intense the farther it drops. i keep glc tabs in my lab coat at work so i always have something quick handy if i can't stop and test. i don't usually like glc tabs because i feel like i have to eat a million before my BGs go anywhere, but they're nice in a pinch.

 

like most others have said, for me "how low is LOW" is below 70. i won't usually treat if i'm above 70, unless i'm really feeling it.

[quote user="C"]for me, it really depends on if i'm dropping quickly or slowly. if my BGs are skyrocketing in a downward direction, i usually feel pretty symptomatic around 80-65 (shakes, confused, lethargic). if it's a slow drop, i don't always notice it until it's down in the 50s or lower.[/quote]

Thanks for sharing that tidbit. I've wondered why sometimes Brandan feels low in the 80s and other times he can be in the 50s or 60s and not show any symptoms. That could be the explanation.

I've never seen a "LOW" reading on his meter. (Knock on wood.)

Benjamin is young so he can't tell me when he is low.  Sometimes I can tell because he gets lethargic, or fussy, or shaky, or hyper.   It seems like his "low" signs can really vary.  His endo says to treat anything 80 or lower.  The lowest he has been when I have check him is 27.

Thanks for the recommendation of "Think Like a Pancreas: A Practical Guide to Managing Diabetes with Insulin."  I have hear this book recommended a few times & I am going to get it & see if it can help me understand Benajamin & his needs a little better!

Debbi

I use to feel low around 80 when younger and my mom liked that because she could catch it before it was too late..but now I will get into the 40's and sometimes not notice my lows as much which sucks. I'm 23 and have had it for 12 years. On a pump now which helps.

[quote user="Pbandj64"]Does your son know when his sugar is going low?  Is he able to feel the physical differences from being above 70 and under?  And are you able to see when he is going low?  Does his attitude and characteristics change?  I hope there is some kind of detection that either you or him have in order to catch his blood sugar from going under 70 so he can prevent the lows from going too low.  [/quote]

His lowest was 29 ( I wasn't there)   but was plenty scared just to hear about it/  Sometimes he feels it and sometimes not -- I liked what was posted about that when it is dropping more rapidly you feel it!  Sometimes his attitude shift is quite obvious, usually I can tell that something is up ...but honestly he is better at feeling when he is high rather than when he is low. 

I really appreciate all the real life comments about what it is like -- so helpful in understanding!  Also interesting to hear how common and yet how individual the lows can be.  THANK YOU all for sharing your personal stories.

To put it short and sweet (humor), the rule should be "never depend on the feeling" because other things will mask or intensify the "feeling" often and the only real feeling you should rely on is the reading on the meter. 

This is coming from 40 year of T1D and being humbled more often than I would like to admit. 

woo and I generally think just the opposite.  Case in matter the other night - in the middle of the night I woke up very symptomatic.  I tested and the meter read 103.  But because I was so symptomatic, I took a few glucose tabs, waited 10 minutes and retested.  I was 38 and obviously dropping fast. (I have the CGM but took it off that day to have a MRI and didn't put a new one on.  But I'm sure the CGM would have shown me that I was dropping).

 But using your rule if I didn't depend on my feeling and only depended on the meter I would have gone back to sleep then who knows what would have happened.  So if I'm  symptomatic I  listen to my body because most times my sugar dropping quickly.    I was once told that if your sugar drops more than 100mg/dl within an hour most will become somewhat symptomatic.

Your rule is a rule I would following if I was feeling high.  There have been times when I think that I'm high because either I'm thirsty, tired, etc... then test to find out that I'm not.  So in that case if you feel like your high I would agree that  you would want to test prior to given any boluses, etc...