Im Confused !! Sugar Levels Dropping Overnight.

[mle]

I have had Type 1 Diabetes since 2001. I am experiencing very bizarre patterns right now, and have no idea what is going on, so thought I would ask.

For the last several weeks, I have woken up low - usually between 2 and 3, but this week the lows are getting worse. Yesterday, I finally was woken by a friend and was completely soaked in sweat, shaking. Ok, now here is the strange thing. I have stopped taking my supper time insulin the last week and my lows are getting worse! It does not make sense. For instance, last night, I was 14.6 before bed. I thought, ok, fine, will be a rough night because of being high, but can deal with that as long as I am able to wake up. But, this morning, 7 hours later, I had dropped to 3.4. Huh?

I take 2 types of insulin - Lantus twice a day (20 units in the morning, 10 units at suppertime) and Novorapid with meals (sliding scale). I have not changed my Lantus, but I only take the Novorapid now with breakfast and lunch.

I have not changed any of my routine. I go to the gym after work everynight (usually around 5pm until 6-630pm) then I eat supper. And usually in bed by midnight. I would have thought the exercise was having an affect, but this has been my routine for the last 2 years and I have been fine up until the last several weeks. I eat the same foods I always have. I am very confused. Esp. with what happened last night - there is no reason really for the sugar to have dropped more than 10 points over night, when I only had a small amount of long acting insulin in my body, that was taken at 6pm last night and I ate dinner, with no insulin.

I am very frustrated and tired of waking up feeling awful.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Scratch]

The basal metabolism isn't a fixed object. It moves around. Your liver for whatever reason may not be pumping out as much glucose in the past and your basal dose of Lantus is exceeding what is needed.

Over the past year and a half, my dose of Lantus has been as low as 14u a day and as high as 26u a day. Presently it's at 21 units. I'd be having loads of trouble if I was always trying to stay at the same dose without adjusting for the realities of shifts in the basal metabolism.

[mle]

Thank you for the information. Do I assume that the amount of Lantus that I need is a guessing game, until I see how things react? Or, is there a test I can take that would tell me the liver is doing X so I need to do Y ??

[Scratch]

No, it doesn't have to be a guessing game. You can follow a procedure of lowering your dose by about 10% and you can also use an alarm clock to wake you up during the night to see what's going on. The more information you acquire, the more you can refine your procedure to find the dose you need.

[mle]

Ok, thank you again. I will try that and see what happens.

[xMenace]

A few thouhts.

Sounds like your basals are too high. Do the 10% drop thingy.

Basals are usually pretty steady in the short term, but can vary over time due to aging, body mass changes, hormonal changes, activity levels, and seasonal changes. Anything hit home?

You're only 8 years in, so it's conceivable you are experiencing a honeymoon, a regeneration of some beta cells. I've seen very little discussion on this, but the little I've stumbled across does suggest it can happen a number of years after dx.

[It Ain't Over]

[QUOTE=xMenace;474518]A few thouhts.

Sounds like your basals are too high. Do the 10% drop thingy.

QUOTE]

This is good advice. Whenever you experience a change in glucose levels, going lower or higher, first thing is to check the basal rates. If they are off you will have hi's and lo's at different times. Most type 1's are guilty of taking too much insulin at times.

[mle]

Thank you for the help. Since posting this, I thought a lot about my daily routine, and the only thing I could think of that is different, is I started July 2, going to a tanning bed .... I was wondering if that would have any impact?? But, really that is the only thing that has changed in my day to day activities. Weight is consistent, exercise same, stress level - that varies, but has always varied.

I will try the 10% drop and see what happens over the next week. Funny enough, this morning I woke up normal!

[genie86333]

Not sure if tanning itself woud have an impact, but perhaps the fact that you're treating yourself to something like that & taking the 10 minutes or so to relax while tanning is responsible.