Being T1 Diabetic & Low Blood Sugar

I am also T1, as are several of my MFP friends. I know it sucks, and it was interesting getting a balance of sugars in relation to exercise, eating right, etc. For a while it was my excuse not to change, now I realize I can't let anything get in the way of being healthy. Good luck in your journey!

I can totally identify...I'm a T2 Diabetic (recently taken off my meds by the doctor because of my 70lb weight loss). Holy cow, when that blood sugar bottoms out...bad things start to happen. And you're right...you cannot shove enough food in fast enough. For me the magic window of stable blood sugar is 90-110. Anything lower than 85 and I start slurring my speech and can't form a complete sentence. Above 115-ish and I get dots in my vision...yeah, it's awesome. Thankfully though, I've been pretty lucky with it since being taken off the meds...but I feel your pain!!! Congrats on the weight loss!

Sure you get ravenous, your body is demanding to have your sugar levels brought up. And there are worse choices than snickers...at least the peanuts provide you with some protein

I am also T1, as are several of my MFP friends. I know it sucks, and it was interesting getting a balance of sugars in relation to exercise, eating right, etc. For a while it was my excuse not to change, now I realize I can't let anything get in the way of being healthy. Good luck in your journey!

Oh I soooo know what you mean about balancing exercise--I have to completely disconnect my pump just to walk my dogs or I end up all low sugar stupid. lol I have a friend who tries to talk me into doing Zumba with her but I am way too afraid--something high-energy/high-aerobic will for sure send me into a coma. I'm convinced. lol but not.

I thought the same thing about Zumba, but then I tried it and loved it! Never had a low during, sometimes after but I got some advice from my trainer that really helped me, he told me not to eat an hour before exercise, and it was like a light bulb went off, if i eat an hour before it's enough time for me to digest a snack before a workout, and not too far before that i will be running low. I also learned to adjust how much insulin i take before a workout to accommodate for what i'm about to burn.

I can totally relate to wanting to eat everything in sight during a severe low! That's why i've gotten rid of all unhealthy snacks so that they are no longer a temptation for me. (yeah, i definitely don't reach for the glucose tablets, i want some real sugar! LOL!)

I can also relate to another user who mentioned that they don't even feel hungry when they eat, they're just eating to keep from falling low, been there, done that; the good news is your body will get used to a regular routine and will actually feel hungry when it's time to eat! keep up the good work!

P.S. feel free to add me. Us T1's gotta stick together! it's always encouraging to know that there is someone else out there who can relate to what you're going through

I can relate all too well with the ravenous "shove anything edible in my line of vision down my throat" thing. Nothing passes my mind but SUGAR NEED SUGAR until I can feel my body again. I've been T1 since I was 3 years old, and had my fair share of extreme lows (and crazy insane highs) in the 17 years, and there's nothing worse than that jittery sunken stomach low feeling. Once I woke up in the middle of the night LOW (the meter actually read LOW) and felt myself blacking out while I was in bed and couldn't get up. My phone was next to me and somehow(I still don't know how) I managed to call my mom in the next room and she saved me.

When you guys work out, do you find that there's a delayed reaction time with the blood sugars? It's been happening often to me lately, where I'll exercise in the morning, be fine during the day, and then come 6ish I'll go low, drink OJ, 2 hours later go low again. Like today, I had a great workout in the morning, covered up to my lunch snack (but not for the peanut butter, just for the bagel) and then at dinner I was 132 and didn't take insulin (I never cover for veggies or whatever). At 6 I felt low, and was 61. Had the yogurt, went up to 97. Usually for 30+ uncovered carbs like that, I'd go even higher an hour after eating them, but around 7:30 I felt low again, was 54. Had the orange and the OJ, fine until 9ish: 52! WTF?! I stopped logging at this point and had real carbs (a bagel) and some more OJ, but now I'm scared to go to sleep for a few hours until I'm sure my blood sugar's up, hence why I'm killing time here. Anyone have any insight?

I can relate all too well with the ravenous "shove anything edible in my line of vision down my throat" thing. Nothing passes my mind but SUGAR NEED SUGAR until I can feel my body again. I've been T1 since I was 3 years old, and had my fair share of extreme lows (and crazy insane highs) in the 17 years, and there's nothing worse than that jittery sunken stomach low feeling. Once I woke up in the middle of the night LOW (the meter actually read LOW) and felt myself blacking out while I was in bed and couldn't get up. My phone was next to me and somehow(I still don't know how) I managed to call my mom in the next room and she saved me.

When you guys work out, do you find that there's a delayed reaction time with the blood sugars? It's been happening often to me lately, where I'll exercise in the morning, be fine during the day, and then come 6ish I'll go low, drink OJ, 2 hours later go low again. Like today, I had a great workout in the morning, covered up to my lunch snack (but not for the peanut butter, just for the bagel) and then at dinner I was 132 and didn't take insulin (I never cover for veggies or whatever). At 6 I felt low, and was 61. Had the yogurt, went up to 97. Usually for 30+ uncovered carbs like that, I'd go even higher an hour after eating them, but around 7:30 I felt low again, was 54. Had the orange and the OJ, fine until 9ish: 52! WTF?! I stopped logging at this point and had real carbs (a bagel) and some more OJ, but now I'm scared to go to sleep for a few hours until I'm sure my blood sugar's up, hence why I'm killing time here. Anyone have any insight?

if you find insight on the delayed low's, i'd love to be enlightened too! i have that happen. sometimes when i do something new to exercise or off my typical schedule, my body seems to rebel by waiting 4-6 hours to drop randomly, when i'm not expecting it. /

Im also Diabetic, this Aug will be 24yrs. I know what you mean about getting low blood sugar. I'll be doing good all day on calories, then BAM my sugars drop and I start pigging out to get it back up! It sucks!! There are also times when Im not hungry, but I know I have to eat so my sugars don't drop. I have the pump also, I got it back in 2001 and it's helped out alot, especially with all 4 pregnancies! But sometimes it's a pain in the butt, I often find myself running out of spots to insert the infusion set!

You mean you don't grab a handful of chalky glucose tabs to bring it back up instead of a candy bar? For shame! :laugh: I just told someone it's almost like you're having an out of body experience while you're shoving the food in and then you come to when your sugars start to stabilize and look down to see the crumbs all over and think... what the?... who did that? Awful. What kind of pump are you on? I have the Minimed and love it (never ever thought I'd say those words!).

bahaha i love that example of how you feel when you're low. i've come to, sitting on the kitchen floor in front of my fridge & having scarfed way more than i needed without meaning to. when you're really low, there isn't the thought process of only eating a certain number of carbs & getting in some protein to keep us higher. hate it.

Is anyone on the Animas Ping? I'm on that and actually have liked it so far. It's expensive to be on but is competely helpful. Yes I do want to throw it across the room at times but all in all, I am glad to be on it. Ask me that about 2 years ago and I would have a totally different repsonse for you.

I think having T1 has been the biggest frustration with weight loss. When I'm working out, and wanting to stick to my calorie goals, and then experiencing lows while trying to readjust my basal rates... It *KILLS* me to have to consume those calories!

And if you think about it, those ravenous lows make sense. Insulin is a growth hormone (which is typically why the more insulin you use the fatter you are and the more you need... it's a vicious cycle) and if your blood sugar drops quickly you're getting a huge hit of growth hormone demanding to be fed...

I do use the glucose tabs b/c I find I'm a lot less likely to have one of those eat-everything-in-sight reactions when it's glucose tabs vs candy or ice cream or anything tasty. The Walmart Fruit Punch brand ones actually aren't too bad.

On the oither hand, it's really satisfying to have lost over 60 pounds and see my total daily usage go from 90 to 35 on my insulin pump, and my basal rates go from 50 to 17.5.

i'm on the minimed pump, but my warranty just ended, so i'm thinking about switching to the animas or omnipod, anyone have good experiences with them? i like my minimed, much better than trying to regulate on injections, but the buttons get stuck sometimes (meaning mailing it back to them & them overnighting me a new one), making the warranty essential.
my nutritionist/nurse educator, told me that omnipod is coming out with a smaller infusion set this fall... it looks ideal, but the reviews are so mixed!

I am on the Animas Ping and really like it. The glucometer is a remote and meter in one. It's really convenient. My endo has the Minimed and loves it. I talked to an Animas rep at a JDRF walk in April and he said that they are going to release a new pump by Dec this year with a glucometer inside the pump so you would only have 1 site. Are you on a CGM? I am curious about them but HATE to have another site.

Ya the Big D can suck a lot. I try to keep a positive look on it though. I swear if I wasn't type 1 I'd be 300lbs. I wouldn't have cared about my weight/health and all that.

It sounds like you need to adjust you basal and maybe even insulin to carb ratio. I was having morning lows so all I need to do was adjust my 10pm-10am basal.

I have been pumping 6 years first with Cozmore and now Animas Ping. I have had nothing but success. I keep thinking about the CGMS but the idea of another "set" and receiver doesn't thrill me.

FYI: Don't forget cardio(aerobic) makes you BS DROP while Strength(anaerobic) makes yours BS RISE
(incase you didn't know that)

PS: I took get pissed about having to eat extra calories for a low. I been trying to keep to a 10oz apple juice that is only 140 calories but its 34carbs/sugar. When I'm low I tend to look at sugar content over carbs.

Good idea about the apple juice boxes. I've been treating lows with granola bars and those sit at 190 calories.

I am neither Diabetic or Hypo. But, my blood sugar drops also. I only drop to very low 70's. At least that is were I have monitored it. I don't monitor all the time, so I don't really know if I actually drop lower. Always carry glucose tabs. They are the quickest way to boost your blood sugar. I think that you know that. Food then will balance you out.

I have learned to eat a protein/ccarb/fat diet. All of my meals are this way. Sometimes there is a slight variation. I was told to do this by several doctors. This way my BG should be maintained.

Ex: 24g Protein : 17g Carbs : 4g Fat

This combo works well. A BG or tab or two is 20/40 cals a snickers is 280 cals.

Protein for long term
CCarbs for immediate and short term
Fat for immediate