For the past 3 hrs or so, my BG has been low. No matter how much I have consumed, it hasn't seemed to raise it, but it does keep it from going any lower. Now, for me, lows are rare as it is. So I find it incredibly strange, and very worrisome, that I have been low for so long. When I first tested, around midnight, possibly even earlier than that, I was at 3.2 mmol/L. So I had a can of pop, some toast and some cheese. Since then I have tested every 15-20 minutes or so to check if my BG has returned to a more comfortable level, but the highest I have reached is 5.1 mmol/L, which I was not comfortable going to sleep with. I have continued to correct, trying starches to maintain, quick sugars to get it up, but even after 4 full cans of regular pop, two glasses of orange juice, 5.1 is the highest, and I maintained that for about 10 minutes, if not less.
The first questions I know someone would ask: did I take too much insulin today? eat enough carbs? Ironically, today I only took one of my lantus doses of only 18u and I only had one shot of NR which was of 13u to count for quite a substantial dinner, which also consisted of pop. All in all, I would have expected to be HIGH, not low by any measure.
Anyways, so what I was looking for was maybe some answer to what the heck would have caused that. Not a pleasant experience. I certainly don't plan on falling asleep tonight for fear of going even lower while asleep.
(I realise I probably won't hear anything about it for quite some time though since it is quite early in the morning).
Thanks to anyone who has any ideas or info for me =)
The meter was my first guess as well. You might want to calibrate it if nothing else. My only other guess is with the 13 units of NR you may have over calculated. Still I can't foresee have over calculated that much. That carbs and multiple cans of Pop should have thrown it off. Other guesses could be that you just hit a really sweet absorption spot. You may have hit a pocket of insulin that due to fatty buildup or scar tissue may never have been absorbed (highly unlikely). Did you do both the lantus and NR at the same time? Could you have possibly given yourself 13 lantus and 18 NR??
I didn't give them at the same time, so it wasn't reversed. There is the possibility of the fact that maybe my meter was off, but seeing as how I was testing because I felt low to begin with, I'm going to say I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be too far off. Thanks for the input on possible problems!
What about your emotional state? Are you anxious or nervous about anything (no matter how major or minor it may seem)? Sometimes, I have prolonged lows when there is something subconsciously on my mind.
Probably too much info but I have problems similar to that at different points in my cycle. I'll get overnight lows that I have to consume seemingly ridiculous amounts of food- then decrease my basal rates, and same deal. It is going to be a topic of great discussion at my next endo visit.
i may have missed this somewhere but do you take your lantus shot at night? maybe you mixed it up with your NR? i did that a few weeks ago(after 16years of diabetes and never doing that!) and couldn't keep my bloodsugar above 3.2, the highest getting to 4.5 for about 3-4hours cuz i took 20units of NR(my ratio is 1:10 so i took enough insulin to cover 5cans of coke) by mistake instead of 20units of lantus.
Well I am in the midst of final papers and midterm exams. So I suppose that could be causing me anxiety. It's a possibility, but it would be a change in the way my body reacts to the stress, since last term I was constantly high instead. Can the way our bodies react (in regards to going low now instead of going high) change over time?
I took them at different times, Batts, so I didn't take a larger dose of NR by mistake. But thanks for the suggestion.
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oh i didn't mean that you took them at the same time. i don't take my novorapid shot the morning at the same time as my lantus, they are usually at least two hours apart cuz i don't eat til at least 10am. i just grabbed the novorapid bottle instead of the lantus bottle without noticing/realizing it.
I have no suggestions as to why this happens... BUT... i have had it also occur to me a few times.
One time I was camping...and COULD NOT get my blood sugars up... my husband and I ended up driving an hour and a half to a hospital because we were at a COMPLETE loss of waht to do and were running out of food. This was Easily one of my WORST diabetic experiences.
I too ... KNOW I didnt take too much insulin... so although i dont have any answers... it is somewhat comforting to know that someone else has experienced this. I hope you are feeling bettter.
By the way ... did your blood sugars spike the next morning!.... cuz mine did ... once I finally stablized... the next morning I was WAY UP THERE...
I never did figure out what happened that night... and I had a few other nights during the same summer in which the same thing occured but THankfully none in the last year or so... It really is a horrible and scary feeling.
I dont know if you have ever heard of 'insulin pockets' but basically (the way I understandt it) it is when insulin essentially does not get absorbed properly and just sits in/near the injection site. Perhaps ... you had an insulin pocket and then it released randomly... THUS causing too much insulin. not sure if its true ... but its a possibility.
My only other thought other than what others have said like the insulin pockets, something wrong with your meter, or mixing up insulin doses is did you have anything on your finger? I know that most people think that when you have something on your finger when you test, it makes it go higher which is true. But, if your finger was at all wet with water or something, it does lower your blood sugar. I have tested after swimming and or a shower and felt fine, or even high, but my meter said i was really low because it was wet. It can even happen if you have wiped your finger with an alcohol wipe or after washing your hands and it was still wet. It can bring you BS down drastically which was really surprising to me.