What a weird night!

[GeishaGirl]

So I indulged in my absolute favorite carby treat last night -- ramen. 100g of carbs. Yes, I'm lame. I tried a new tactic and square bolused the whopping 22u of insulin over an hour, because anything more than 6u instantly, or 15u over half an hour, tends to "disappear" and my sugars go through the roof. I hit it darn close, because before bed (around 1am) my sugar was 140, instead of the 220 it usually is after ramen.

I wake up around 4:45am having to pee (happens every night).

I wake up at some other point (not sure when) having just dreamed about eating chocolate. What yummy chocolate it was too! I laugh to myself "maybe my sugar is low" and go back to sleep. (If my tester had been in the room, I'd have tested to be sure, because I NEVER dream about food. Note to self: keep tester in bedroom at night....)

I wake up around 5:40. Try to go back to sleep. Can't, because it's too effin' hot. I realize my thighs are aching and think "aw, man. Now I have to get up" because my first reactions to a low are being overly warm, and having my upper arms and upper thighs start to hurt, then shake.

When I smack into the wall on my way out the door to the living room, I KNOW I'm low. I was only 63, but felt like I was in the 40s because by this point I was shaking so badly I splattered some blood around testing :P. I figure (with what little reasoning I have) that I must be dropping REALLY FAST to feel like this, and sit down with my glucose tabs. I don't know how many I ate, but it was a fresh bottle and it looks like I ate just under 1/4 of it, so probably around 10-15. When I went back to bed, I was chilly, and 106. Figured, glumly, I'd be around 200+ when I got up again because of the sheer amount of tabs I ate.

Nope. Dragged my butt out of bed around 9:30 and my sugar was 98. I really don't want to know what my potential sugar would have been if I hadn't gotten up, if I'd been able to go back to sleep. My husband doesn't wake me up in the morning, and he doesn't come home until almost noon for lunch.

So strange -- I never get nighttime lows.

[lark 27]

"I wake up at some other point (not sure when) having just dreamed about eating chocolate. What yummy chocolate it was too! I laugh to myself "maybe my sugar is low" and go back to sleep. (If my tester had been in the room, I'd have tested to be sure, because I NEVER dream about food. Note to self: keep tester in bedroom at night....)"

Glad to hear that you've made that note to self about keeping meter in bedroom. I had a severe low that led to a seizure about 6 years ago due to a low BG in the middle of the night. Ended up in the hospital after wife called 911. That night was a real wake up call for me as I've tightened up control quite a bit since then. I always make sure I'm aware of BG trend at bedtime and err on the side of caution. Now that I'm on a pump with a continuous glucose monitoring system it really helps as well as it alarms if BG drops to a specified level.
Nighttime lows can be a scary issue, so all the best to you.

[foxl]

Is this what is called a reactive hypo?

[poodlebone]

Is this what is called a reactive hypo?

I don't think a Type 1 can have a reactive hypo because they don't produce insulin. I thought a reactive hypo was only in non-diabetics where their body has a delayed reaction to carbs and spurts out a ton of insulin a little too late, causing the hypo.

[GeishaGirl]

Is this what is called a reactive hypo?

Not in a type 1 with no beta cells functioning :) Reactive Hypoglycemia is when someone eats a carby meal and the pancreas overreacts and sends out too much insulin. (My grandfather has this) I may have bolused too much, but in that case I would have gone low around midnight-2am, not 5:30ish. I was fine when I got up to pee, because I was awake, aware, and had no hypo symptoms. The hypo occurred sometime in that hour between pee and awakening after the chocolate dream.

I've done several overnight basal tests, and my sugar is always spot-on until around 5am, when it starts to go UP due to DP -- at least, until I started back on Met a month ago, and my fastings have been quite good.

[foxl]

Not in a type 1 with no beta cells functioning :) Reactive Hypoglycemia is when someone eats a carby meal and the pancreas overreacts and sends out too much insulin. (My grandfather has this) I may have bolused too much, but in that case I would have gone low around midnight-2am, not 5:30ish. I was fine when I got up to pee, because I was awake, aware, and had no hypo symptoms. The hypo occurred sometime in that hour between pee and awakening after the chocolate dream.

I've done several overnight basal tests, and my sugar is always spot-on until around 5am, when it starts to go UP due to DP -- at least, until I started back on Met a month ago, and my fastings have been quite good.

D'OH! Missed that you are T1, sorry! I love the story of the chocolate dream, BTW.

[genie86333]

D'OH! Missed that you are T1, sorry! I love the story of the chocolate dream, BTW.

Maybe in your dream you were a type 2 & your dream pancreas kicked in. ;) Glad you woke up in time to do something about it!

[foxl]

Maybe in your dream you were a type 2 & your dream pancreas kicked in. ;) Glad you woke up in time to do something about it!

THAT's what it was ... was telling DH this story (since he would have a dream of chocolate but it would involve secret agents trying to get the forumal from him, ROFL), and that to me it confirmed Bernstein's law of small errors ... which makes me sad. Because ... I miss ramen noodles, in particular!

[It Ain't Over]

You are very likely experiencing a temporary loss of the dawn phenomenon. I gather it is so common we are trained to dealing with it.
I do not now and have never had dawn phenomenon. What happened to you often occurs with me. I have set the pump way down, but often see a drop in bg at about 4 am.
Doesn't bother me too much. I get up a 4:30. Just in time to get that confused feeling,

[GeishaGirl]

You are very likely experiencing a temporary loss of the dawn phenomenon. I gather it is so common we are trained to dealing with it.
I do not now and have never had dawn phenomenon. What happened to you often occurs with me. I have set the pump way down, but often see a drop in bg at about 4 am.
Doesn't bother me too much. I get up a 4:30. Just in time to get that confused feeling,

Interesting! My endo recently put me on Metformin, so it might very well be that. I know my fasting numbers have improved incredibly -- down 50 points, on average, into the "good" fasting zone (usually, 70-100). It's only happened once in the month I've been on Met, so I'm not very worried :)

[It Ain't Over]

Interesting! My endo recently put me on Metformin, so it might very well be that. I know my fasting numbers have improved incredibly -- down 50 points, on average, into the "good" fasting zone (usually, 70-100). It's only happened once in the month I've been on Met, so I'm not very worried :)

That could be interesting. As I understand it Dawn Phenomenon is caused by a release of some strong hormones, epinephrine, hgh, cortisol. Say it prepares the body to wake up and get going. For the diabetic is fouls up the morning routine.
I wonder if Metaformine slows the release of some of these hormones? I know that the hormones get the liver to release sugars into the bloodstream and ' Metformin activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a liver enzyme that plays an important role in insulin signaling'. (Wikopedia)
Not a biologist, but the connection to the liver functions is interesting. Have never heard of anyone being given Metaformin to treat Dawn Phenomenon.