Hypoglycemia is when your blood sugar level is lower than the normal blood sugar levels. For most people without diabetes, the normal range for your blood sugar levels between 4 - 8mmol/L.
The common symptoms for hypoglycemia are :
Feeling shaky/trembling
Sweating
Dizziness
Fast heartbeat
Tiredness
Turning pale
My main symptoms are shaking, feeling weak, dizziness and fast heartbeat. I always know when I'm having a hypo, I don't know if this is the norm for people with diabetes? I can't imagine not realising that I'm going through a hypo.
My main worry associated with diabetes is having a hypo while being asleep. I don't actually think this has happened to me or if it has it's never been serious and I have dealt with it quickly. I always go to bed with my blood sugar level slightly above normal range just incase my levels drop slightly over night which sometimes they do. This isn't to say you should be doing this because I'm aware this isn't what you're told to do, but for peace of mind I do this so I don't have to worry as much during the night.
My first hypo experience:
I remember the first time I had ever had a hypo. It was a few weeks after I was diagnosed, I had obviously injected too much insulin for something and that resulted in my blood sugar levels to drop.
We were waiting for a pizza delivery and I remember feeling quite weak, I could feel it in my arms. I knew something wasn't right. About 1 minute later my mum said I looked pale so I thought I'd better check my glucose levels.
My glucose levels were at 3.7mmol/L, it made me feel quite panicked as I had never experienced this before. I had been given glucose sweets from the hospital so I had 2 of those. I haven't actually had them since using up the first packet, they were raspberry flavour but they still weren't that nice! By the time the pizza came my blood was normal again. I think I felt more prepared in case this happened again, I knew what to expect and what symptoms I might feel.
I also felt relieved that I did know something was off, I think I was worried that I wouldn't feel when I was having a hypo. The fact that I was told that if you don't treat a hypo straight away, it could lead to serious consequences such as seizures or loss of consciousness really frightened me. I wanted to be prepared, and thankfully I had my sweets ready and wherever I go they are ALWAYS with me.
My worst hypo experience:
So my worst hypo experience was when I was on holiday with my partner in Mallorca. It was our last night before getting up at 5am for our flight. We had gone out and had a lovely meal and drinks by the beach. I think we can all agree that you never really know how much alcohol you are served when you go on holiday abroad, I think they put about double or triple more in than you ask for but I guess to some people that's a bonus...it's not for me.
Alcohol really affects my blood sugar levels, it makes them drop if I have a big amount (I'm not a big drinker by the way) I think I had about 4/5 drinks that evening. I don't drink often and drink has always hit me faster than my friends - yes, basically I'm a lightweight. I don't have cocktails as I never know what ingredients they include so I often opt for a vodka and a diet soft drink to go with it.
We were going to sleep at around 10:30ish as we were getting up early in the morning and I tested my blood before going to sleep and it was 4.2mmol/L. I ate a few Jelly Babies because I knew the alcohol was going to drop my levels slightly. I then tested my blood again about 30mins later and my blood levels were 3.4mmol/L. This is when I started to panic, I had already eaten 4/5 sweets and my levels were still dropping. I ate about 5 more sweets and waited a further 20mins.
I must've tested my blood about 5 times within an hour, constantly checking and waiting for my levels to suddenly rise but they didn't, they weren't nessesarlyiy getting lower but they were sat at 3.5mmol/L. I was worried if I stopped eating, my blood sugar levels would drop.
I basically ended up eating a whole packet of Jelly Babies within an hour and after drinking alcohol that night it didn't agree with me, then all of a sudden I felt sick. I threw up in the toilet, I then worried about my levels dropping and not being able to keep anything in my stomach. I then started panicking even more, I thought the next best idea was to call an ambulance, I needed fast acting glucose as my levels were at 3.2mmol/L at this point and there was no sign of them rising.
It was hard to contact someone for an ambulance as they didn't really know what was wrong (their English wasn't the best) but when I finally showed them my injections and testing kit, they knew what was happening. I remember the ambulance coming within about 15mins, while we were waiting I was sipping on full fat Coke praying that my levels would finally start going up.
The ambulance came and they gave me some sort of gel (it was vile) and then monitored my sugar levels. They finally went to 6.2mmol/L after about 40mins. This was the best feeling ever. After that we went back up to our room and had about 4 hours sleep. I was so glad to be home the next day. I think being in an unfamiliar environment made me more panicked, I was relieved when we got home, we had an amazing holiday, and it was a shame it ended the way it did but these things happen and sometimes you can't help that.
I personally use Jelly Babies for my hypo treatment but I'm intrigued to hear what other people use, I've always been recommended these particular sweets because they're not too chewy - eat them faster therefore treating a hypo quicker.
I also have Gluco-Boost Oral Gel with me all of the time as well, this is more for emergencies, if I need to have sugar fast. I have never actually had to use this before but I can imagine it doesn't taste the nicest!
I don't really know why I have done a post about this topic, I think it's something that I would've found interesting when I was first diagnosed, just knowing what to look out for and the potential consequences of things like alcohol.
I also hope that I have made people feel less alone living with diabetes, it can often feel lonely or like no one understands but you have to remember thousands of people live with it in the UK, you are not alone.
Thanks for reading,
Phoebe
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