My mom has type 2 diabetes and I need help?
Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at
12:25 pm
Karen B asked:
She takes 2 injections a day plus pills and lately in the middle of the night her sugar level has been dropping in the low 60’s. Does anyone know why this keeps happening?
She takes 2 injections a day plus pills and lately in the middle of the night her sugar level has been dropping in the low 60’s. Does anyone know why this keeps happening?
Tagged with: Mom • Pills • Sugar Level
Filed under: Diabetes
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
She needs to visit the doctor and get her prescription changed.
I agree with Kelly D. Your mom definitely needs to contact either her doctor or her diabetes specialist nurse. (Hopefully, your mom has kept a record of the times she takes her injections and the times she’s been experiencing hypoglycemia.)
I wish your mom the very best of luck in a solution being easily found to her low blood sugar levels.
To understand nighttime hypoglycemia, it’s necessary to know how sleep affects glucose production. Normally the body produces two hormones — glucagon and epinephrine — that combat low blood glucose levels. However, glucagon production is typically lower at night. In addition, type 1 diabetes impairs glucagon production, which becomes further depressed with each episode of hypoglycemia.
Other factors, including longer periods between meals and increased insulin sensitivity, also contribute to hypoglycemia during sleep.
What Are the Signs of Nighttime Hypoglycemia?
While the standard signs of early hypoglycemia include sweating, heart racing, shakiness, hunger and anxiety, nighttime hypoglycemia presents an unusual challenge, as the symptoms of this occurring may not be as apparent during sleep.
Keep an eye out for night sweats, poor sleep quality, headache or a tired feeling upon awakening, and higher than normal blood glucose levels in the morning, which is the “rebound” effect in blood sugar levels known as the Somogyi effect.
If a person does not awaken during an episode of nighttime hypoglycemia, low blood sugar remains untreated and may progress to more pronounced hypoglycemia, which is characterized by drowsiness and confusion with symptoms that easily can remain masked during sleep. Nighttime hypoglycemia may not be recognized until blood glucose levels are dangerously low, possibly low enough to cause convulsions or coma.
Avoiding Nighttime Hypoglycemia
To avoid or prevent nighttime hypoglycemia, it is helpful to maintain a consistent late-afternoon and evening routine of diet, activity and insulin dosing.
Special Considerations for Insulin Dosing and Nighttime Hypoglycemia
The timing and dosing of long-acting insulin in the evening is critical to preventing nighttime hypoglycemia. Long-acting insulin is most active between four and eight hours after an injection. When long-acting insulin is administered at the evening meal, the peak insulin response tends to occur during sleeping hours. By changing the timing of a dose of long-acting insulin closer to bedtime, it places hypoglycemic levels closer to the waking hours, when hypoglycemia symptoms are more easily recognized and treated.
It is particularly important to avoid overdosing insulin — particularly long-acting insulin — to avoid nighttime hypoglycemia. For example, if an evening blood sugar measurement is high after a large meal, one may be tempted to administer a larger-than-typical dose of short-acting plus long-acting insulin to treat the hyperglycemia. Although this may work well during the day, changes in hormone released at night, with lower levels of glucagon production while sleeping, may yield lower-than-expected blood sugars compared to the insulin dose, resulting in hypoglycemia.
Eating a bedtime snack of complex carbohydrates — such as dried fruit, granola or oatmeal — may help prevent nighttime hypoglycemia by maintaining a more steady release of glucose to accompany the action of long-acting insulin.
Hope this helps , good luck>
So what is she eating for dinner and her bedtime snack? that is the most crucial meals of the day for me to not go hypo then hyper in extreme by daylight.
My doctor does not like for me to have half cup of ice cream at bedtime, but that works to keep me from going hypo around 2 am then hyper in the extreme by 6 am.
Maybe she’s eating less than before thus she needs less insulin. The best way to know what is happening is to write down the time and what she eats or drink, and when she takes her medications. This will help see the pattern of the effectiveness of the medications. Meantime, buy glucose tablets for the night or day she needs to bring her sugar up, without eating too much calories. They are available in most stores like Walgreens or WalMart.
For the DAILY JOURNAL – be consistence in writing all amount intakes (food and Rx), blood sugar reading, and activities. Divide the 24 hours into 8 (3 hours). This will help see the pattern, and how you can tailor the medicine.
But most of all Make Sure You See The Doctor About What Is Happening.
She might need to lower her insulin doses, talk to the doctor!