Surprise hypos
Having been hyper so much recently, I was more than a little alarmed when I got home and tested my blood sugars. I walked into work in a very impressive 28 minutes (and no stops for breath). Walking home I felt terrible. I just about walked the downhill part then felt I needed some sugar (actually, I thought I needed some salt, but that sugar would be enough to get me home to salt and insulin). Had a Snickers, but still was having really bad trouble walking. Found an off-license and bought a Sprite and downed it within a few minutes. After that I was actually feeling well enough to finish walking home, and almost had a spring in my step for the last 500 yards (hindered by hurting feet but, hey). Blood sugar reading: 3.9.
A soft drink and a Snickers would normally raise my blood sugars by about 3 points, so I dread to think what my blood sugars were when I started walking home. Worse still, they must have been low for most of the afternoon without me noticing. Any time I've asked questions on the subject, I've been told there are no long-term medical problems from being hypo*, so I'm not worried that way. I'm worried because I didn't notice, and I didn't notice later on either. Had I been driving and had an accident, it would have been curtains for my license.**
So yeah, later on. I've been taking 40 units of insulin at tea for the last week or so, not been eating the rich fruit cake that drives my sugars up and still been taking extra insulin later on. I took 38 last night, had a pretty good slice of cake and still went to bed a few hours later with blood sugars of 2.6. Because of the hypo I had been feeling a bit odd all evening but I put it down to tiredness. It was only with my head spinning on the pillow that I realised the problem.
To be honest, this is a good turnaround, but it's also the biggest turnaround I've had with the diabetes. I suspect that a large amount of it has been the walking (my diaphragm is moving much better, so better diabetes, better digestion), but maybe the dry weather also helped.
And briefly on the subject of the Sun, I seem to be continuing the trend of the last few years where I don't have any particular problems with hot sunshine. I have to take this as a sign of good overall health, even if I don't always feel that way.
* They are always reluctant to admit this, presumably because all their instincts tell them that being hypo is a Bad Thing. Which it is in the short term because the body doesn't have enough sugar to operate at full power, the brain especially. But then I have to live with all this.
** Driving with blood sugars outside proper limits is Bad. Luckily it's a short drive between home and work and I'm a good driver, although I would never intentionally drive when hyper/hypo.
A soft drink and a Snickers would normally raise my blood sugars by about 3 points, so I dread to think what my blood sugars were when I started walking home. Worse still, they must have been low for most of the afternoon without me noticing. Any time I've asked questions on the subject, I've been told there are no long-term medical problems from being hypo*, so I'm not worried that way. I'm worried because I didn't notice, and I didn't notice later on either. Had I been driving and had an accident, it would have been curtains for my license.**
So yeah, later on. I've been taking 40 units of insulin at tea for the last week or so, not been eating the rich fruit cake that drives my sugars up and still been taking extra insulin later on. I took 38 last night, had a pretty good slice of cake and still went to bed a few hours later with blood sugars of 2.6. Because of the hypo I had been feeling a bit odd all evening but I put it down to tiredness. It was only with my head spinning on the pillow that I realised the problem.
To be honest, this is a good turnaround, but it's also the biggest turnaround I've had with the diabetes. I suspect that a large amount of it has been the walking (my diaphragm is moving much better, so better diabetes, better digestion), but maybe the dry weather also helped.
And briefly on the subject of the Sun, I seem to be continuing the trend of the last few years where I don't have any particular problems with hot sunshine. I have to take this as a sign of good overall health, even if I don't always feel that way.
* They are always reluctant to admit this, presumably because all their instincts tell them that being hypo is a Bad Thing. Which it is in the short term because the body doesn't have enough sugar to operate at full power, the brain especially. But then I have to live with all this.
** Driving with blood sugars outside proper limits is Bad. Luckily it's a short drive between home and work and I'm a good driver, although I would never intentionally drive when hyper/hypo.