Hi everyone,
For the past year or so I've had a lot of trouble managing my blood sugars through the night. I usually drop a bit before bed as the insulin from dinner leaves my system, but I tend to overreact for fear of going low in the middle of the night (I passed out twice as a child, both times after waking up in the morning, likely because I was low throughout the night) and eat too many carbs. As a result, I tend to wake up at around 180 mg/dl or 10 mM. It's extremely frustrating because even though I know rationally I'm going to wake up high, I can't help myself. It's also very disheartening because I work so hard throughout the day to keep my blood sugars in control, and then end up spending 8 hours high throughout the night. Has anyone else overcome this fear, or have any advice?
Thank you,
Dylan
i feel the same way sometimes but i dont wake up win i have high sugar, only when its low so im ok going 2 sleep
Hey Dylan!
I know exactly what you are dealing with! Im always afraid to go to bed because I dont want to bottom out during my sleep. What I typically do is when I take my insulin for my last meal I take a little less than I would any other time I eat. Before I go to bed I check my sugar and if it is under 150 I eat pb crackers depending on how low it is. Not only does this give me a sense of security but also I know i wont drop too low in my sleep.
I hope this helped even a little bit!
Morgan :)
Try not overcorrecting for the low, then set your alarm for 2 or 3am to check your blood sugar. That way if you're dropping you can catch it early. If you're not dropping, it will give you peace of mind.
I'm guessing you do shots, but if you use a pump adjust your basal rate down by a few tenths of a unit through the night.
I know exactly how you feel-last night is a perfect example! I checked my blood sugar right before I went to bed, and it was 128. I didn't take any insulin or eat anything because I was hoping it would stay around that range. But of course, I woke up this morning and my blood sugar was 245! It's so frustrating because I feel like I keep my blood sugars in check during the day, and I can't help what it does at night.
And I'm scared because I know complications are more likely to develop the more often your blood sugar is high....I think I'm just going to take jenngrant's advice and set my alarm to check in the middle of the night...
Thanks for your responses everyone, I am going to try fiddling with my basal a bit so I don't drop before bed and attempt to exercise some more self control,t too.
Sarah it sounds like your basal's are off, what did you eat that night for dinner, or what was the last thing you ate and at what time before going to bed?
Dylan
I had whole wheat waffles with sugar free syrup and fiber 1 yogurt that only has 4 grams of sugar...but it still made my blood sugar really high the next morning...
My endo had be split my 24 hr insulin, Levimir, into 2 doses. One in the morning and one before dinner, so that's seemed to help a little bit. I'm just going to keep adjusting the dose until my blood sugars are more consistent...hopefully it'll work!
I have to admit that it scares me, too. Luckily, I have yet to have any really bad experiences.
I'm pretty sure I overdid the carbs a bit at bedtime before I got a CGM, because I was just soooooo scared that I might go low, not wake up from it, and die. (My CDE insisted I'd either wake up or my body would kick on the glucagon, but I couldn't be convinced at heart!)
Have you thought about a CGM? I know it can be tough to get approved, but I think this is a pretty valid reason to fight for one. I was lucky and got approved early on, and I'm now pretty comfortable going to sleep at a healthy number. And I discovered I really never did go low at night (maybe once), until I got pregnant and hormones threw things out of whack. Once that started happening, I was so thankful for my Dexcom. I absolutely can't overdo the carbs and keep my BG higher overnight right now, and Dexcom has been great about waking me up when I need to treat a low before it gets bad.