My endocrinologist switched me from Janumet, a diabetic medication that got too expensive, to metformin which is basically the same drug without the new part that lets the drug company charge way more. I take one in the morning and one at night. This change plus my eating less these days has for the last several months caused my blood sugar to go too low. This week it has happened three times. Normally in the morning, because at night I normally take 25 units of long acting Lantus insulin. During the day I take a fast acting insulin with meals. That I adjust on a sliding scale, and my last prescription lasted almost a year instead of three months because I am keeping my blood sugar low by cutting out sweets and sugary breakfasts. And again I eat a lot less, and a lot more salads.
The reason I had to go on to insulin was my blood sugar was high when it was being taken care of by my primary care who seemed clueless about diabetes. Plus I was not serious about my diet and ate too much. When I started seeing the endocrinologist as soon as I told him I take steroid injections every few months, he informed me that pills won’t work against steroids, that takes insulin itself. And for the first week after getting the injections I have very high blood sugars, but not as high as they used to go. In the past I had 300 and 400 blood sugars. My doctor wants it no higher than 178 and no lower than 80. Now that first week I am in the 170 or 180s normally.
Now to the low blood sugars. For over a week I have not had to take any fast acting insulin or only 2 units. I eat and before the next meal check my blood sugar again and it is still low. Yesterday I did not have lunch, which is normal. I prefer to eat mid-morning and late afternoon. But before supper I got really shaky so I checked my blood sugar and it was below 80. I was going to have some chips, but Ron had my salad ready and was working on the burgers. I decided to have the salad. It tasted good, I used a mixture of Ranch and Red Wine Vinaigrette. I recently learned it was almost like Creamy Caesar. It was a medium size salad, and was not taking me long to eat it, and as I got near the end I went into Hypoglycemia .
Some of the symptoms of low blood sugar are below. There is one I did not see but happens to me, I get very tired and sleepy. I am unable to stay awake and will pass out.
How you react to low blood sugar may not be the same as how someone else with low blood sugar reacts. It’s important to know your signs. Common symptoms may include:
- Fast heartbeat
- Shaking
- Sweating
- Nervousness or anxiety
- Irritability or confusion
- Dizziness
- Hunger
As I was near the end of my salad, I got the above, except I was not irritable but was very confused. I struggled to my feet, I knew I had to get to my bed right away. As I left the Playtime Pink Palace, I said to Ron I was going to lay down for a while, maybe a half hour. He saw I was diaphoretic, but did not realize it was so bad. I got to the bed, struggled up on it (we have a storage bed with a very thick / large Purple mattress. Between the height of the bed plus mattress, it is 35 inches high. It comes up to my hip bone. I normally have no difficulty getting in but Ron is short and he uses a single step stool to get into bed.) I slept for hours, waking about 9:30 pm. I remember Ron coming in once to ask if I was OK, but I don’t remember what I said. Ron told me last night and again this morning he goofed, he missed how bad I was. How low my blood sugar was and I was too confused to understand or tell him. I should have taken sugar or a glucose tablet. So yesterday I had taken no insulin during the day and last night after talking with Ron he told me not to take my nighttime insulin nor my nighttime metformin. This morning, my blood sugar was only 91. It is acceptable but remember I am not to go lower than 80. So I won’t take insulin this morning, as we are having hard-boiled eggs. I should have had pancakes but that I would have to cover so I will stick with the eggs and toast. Hugs
Scottie's Playtime 