I've been a T1 for 32 years, and I am constantly baffled by blood sugars.  Don't let it cause you (or your daughter) too much stress.  Have her keep up the testing, stay in touch with her doctor (for any adjustment in meds that he feels is necessary) and be patient.  A journal detailing her foods, meds, and activities would be helpful to her doctor in pinpointing how and where to make changes to her routine.  Unfortunately, as the control improves, lows do happen.  Make certain that she carries some form of quick sugar for such emergencies...like hard candy. tubes of cake frosting, or glucose tabs.   And try to relax a little...OK?  sheryl

Hi Ilona:

Try not to be too stressed out about this.  Things will improve.

I was diagnosed at age 8 and Im 41 now.  Yes, all diabetics have lows and highs.  A day in the life of a teen/pre teen is never the same.  Stress, activity, food, insulin, sleep, lack of sleep,hormones, and other things can cause lows.  Even illness or colds can affect the blood sugar.

Lowering her dosage at night may help.  Waking your daughter up (I know this is a paaain) in the middle of the night for a few nights in a row, to check her blood sugar might help until you can get her stabilized throughout the night & early morning hours. 

Hang in there...it seems tough, but it will get better.

Have a Great day

Diane

 

 

 

 

Just a question Mike.....Have you thought about going on an insulin pump?

 

I took several shots per day for many years.  Then, I went on a pump.  What a difference !  The Control, ease, freedom,  and normalcy of life is so much better with a pump.  My only regret is that I didnt do it sooner :)

Diane

 

 

Hi Mike :

Im glad that you are doing so well with the Lantus and Novolog.  Your A1Cs are excellent....Good job & Congrats !  

 

Before I started using a pump, I was also very creeped out by the thought of being hooked to a machine, especially at night while I slept !   Honestly,  I wouldnt lie to you....I did get used to it very quickly.  I even amazed myself at how easily it really was to get used to.  Now I dont give my pump a second thought, its like wearing socks or underwear, you just dont think about it.

The reason that I finally went on a pump was that I was having a lot of serious lows, up to 5 per week while taking shots.  I had a friend that was a type 1 for 44 years.  He had tried to talk me into going on a pump for three years, I just wasnt ready. He was the one person that really talked me into going on a pump and Im very happy that I did and Im thankful to him for talking me into it.  Unfortunately, I lost my close friend last year to diabetes related problems. He had suffered kidney failure before going on an insulin pump.  The pump actually helped him to live a more normal life for the remainder of time that he had left to live. 

Like you said, Maybe someday, who knows ? :)

Be Well,

Diane

ps:  I called the company yesterday to get info on the Omnipod but nobody has returned my calls yet.  Im in Michigan and I would like to know if it is available in my area also.

 

 

Hi Mike :

Thanks for the info.  Im going to check out their web site right now.  Hopefully I can find out if and when, the Omnipod becomes available in the Detroit area.

From what Ive read about the Omnipod, it sounds Amazing.  What a technologically- exciting time we live in.

Be Well,

Diane

In response to your question, perhaps the best advice is to a) familiarize yourself with the symptoms of hypoglycemia (though not every low will have symptoms, so rely on testing rather than non-specific symptoms if at all possible) and b) try not to get too upset over it, because lows are a fact of life for patients with Type 1.  Below is an excerpt from an article published in the journal Diabetes Care:

 

Hypoglycemia is a familiar event for people with established (i.e., c-peptide–negative) Type 1 diabetes mellitus. (4,5) Those attempting to achieve some degree of glycemic control suffer untold numbers of episodes of asymptomatic hypoglycemia; plasma glucose concentrations may be <50 mg/dl 10% of the time. They suffer an average of two episodes of symptomatic hypoglycemia per week—thousands of such episodes over a lifetime—and episodes of severe, at least temporarily disabling, hypoglycemia approximately once a year. (1,10,11) Indeed, an estimated 2�?% of deaths of people with Type 1 diabetes have been attributed to hypoglycemia.

 

Overall, the frequency of hypoglycemia is substantially lower in Type 2 than in Type 1.  Event rates for severe iatrogenic hypoglycemia (requiring the assistance of another individual) are roughly tenfold lower in Type 2 than in Type 1, even during aggressive insulin therapy. (10,12�?5)

 

1.  The DCCT Research Group: The effect of intensive treatment of diabetes on the development and progression of long-term complications in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med 329:977�?86, 1993

4.  Cryer PE: Hypoglycemia: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and Treatment. New York, Oxford University Press, 1997

5.  Cryer PE: Glucose homeostasis and hypoglycemia. In Williams Textbook of Endocrinology, 10th ed. Larsen PR, Kronenberg H, Melmed S, Polonsky K, Eds. Philadelphia, Pa., Harcourt Health Sciences. In press

10. MacLeod KM, Hepburn DA, Frier BM: Frequency and morbidity of severe hypoglycemia in insulin-treated diabetic patients. Diabetic Med 10:238�?45, 1993

11. Reichard P, Berglund B, Britz A, Cars I, Nilsson BY, Rosenqvist U: Intensified conventional insulin treatment retards the microvascular complications of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM): the Stockholm Diabetes Intervention Study (SDIS) after 5 years. J Intern Med 230:101�?08, 1991

12. Saudek CD, Duckworth WC, Giobbie-Hurder A, Hendersen WG, Henry RR, Kelley DE, Edelman SV, Zieve FJ, Adler RA, Anderson JW, Anderson RJ, Hamilton BP, Donner TW, Kirkman MS, Morgan NA, Department of Veterans Affairs Implantable Insulin Pump Study Group: Implantable insulin pump vs. multiple-dose insulin for non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA 276:1322�?327, 1996

13. Abaira C, Colwell JA, Nuttall FQ, Sawin CT, Nagel NJ, Comstock JP, Emanuele NV, Levin SR, Henderwon W, Lee HS: Veterans affairs cooperative study on glycemic control and complications in type II diabetes: results of the feasibility trial. Diabetes Care 18:1113�?123, 1995

14. Gerich JE: Hypoglycaemia and counterregulation in type 2 diabetes. Lancet 356:1946�?947, 2000

15. The UKPDS Research Group: Overview of 6 years of therapy of type II diabetes: a progressive disease. Diabetes 44:1249�?258, 1995