[Brian23]

I normally try keep my sugar levels between 70-130 through out the day. About four times a week I will feel kinda funny and be in the low 50's or 40's and the correct. My fasting(am) BS is 70-110 mg/dl. Yesterday I was hanging Christmas lights on my house(from on top of the roof, alone) and I begin to feel kinda funny. So I promptly climbed down the latter and checked my sugar. To my surprise, I was at 21 mg/dl, re-checked on another meter and was 26 mg/dl(the lowest I have ever been). Should I have passed out? What factors would make you pass out, is it the time frame that you are low or how low you are? Please Help

[Cormac_Doyle]

You were probably close to passing out ... at those levels, it's really only a matter of time. However, everyone is different.

[hodgsonsurvivor]

Good question. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer. I've tested as low as "LO" before and was conscious enough to test. I have felt black outs coming. Then there were times when I've come to with someone over me. And, those times my levels were still registering on a meter.

[fgummett]

I hate to state the obvious, but you didn't pass out... which I would have thought is a good thing

Sounds like you have excellent control and good hypo awareness - which do seem to go together.

Consider that the BG level shows the Glucose available in your blood and not necessarily the current state of your cells which need to use that Glucose - so in the same way that an untreated Type 1 can have a very high BG while the cells are starving for energy, you could have just given up your last dregs of Glucose to your cells and thankfully caught it in time

[Deetles13]

Everyone is different and not everyone reacts the same to lows. I was fine with my sugar at 28 once, but then somtimes ill feel like im going to pass out when im only at 50 somthing. I think each low has a mind of its own. I have never passed out from low sugar... hope it stays that way.

[VinceF]

My guess is you probably were close to passing out. It does sound like a case of developing hypoglycemic unawareness. repeated lows on consecutive days use up the hormone that signal hypogycemia and help you feel the pending low.

Dave

[Maddogg]

Wow, 21mg/dl is dangerously low, I've been there at least a handful of times (my record low is 16mg/dl, my meter doesn't register anything below this) and I never passed out from a hypo... However I did feel like a wreck with parkinson's (no offence) on most of those occasions, but was still fully conscious.
Glad to hear you didn't fall off that ladder though!

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by Brian23

... To my surprise, I was at 21 mg/dl, re-checked on another meter and was 26 mg/dl(the lowest I have ever been). Should I have passed out? What factors would make you pass out, is it the time frame that you are low or how low you are? Please Help

I have spent a lot of time pondering over this, as I have extreme hypo unawareness. I have tested at 20 and been able to deal with the hypo without assistance on numerous ocassions. And it seems to me that there are two key variables affecting when we feel symptoms : the rate at which blood glucose declines, and the insulin level in the blood.

The level at which inadequate glucose supply to the brain causes you to pass out is much lower than it is commonly thought to be. All those hypo symptoms - sweating, shakiness, confusion, passing out etc. - are caused by hormonal changes. And the brain is actually doing fine. This is why people with hypo unawareness feel no symptoms at those low levels.

The rate at which blood glucose falls determines to a large extent when those hormones get produced, and the blood glucose level at which we feel distressed. Your blood glucose probably came down very slowly while you were putting up those lights, which is why you didn't feel symptoms.

Another issue is the amount of insulin in circulation. We are able to deal with low BG more easily when insulin levels are low. This is because insulin supresses the ability of the brain to use alternative energy sources (ketones). So an increased insulin-sensitivity induced hypo (as a result of exercise) is more easily tolerated than a hypo caused by injecting too much insulin.