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Can low blood sugar cause lethargy?

5K views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  50257 
#1 ·
I woke up late this morning (was really annoyed about it as I went to bed on time, but woke up way too late due to being so exhausted). I had a quite bad low this morning- 2.5 mmol/L. When I finally woke up, three hours later, I was only 4.3. Would this cause extreme lethargy while sleeping? I don't understand how it's possible to feel so exhausted while sleeping. Shouldn't I feel recharged on waking? I just feel like I want to pass out when the alarm goes off :confused:

EDIT: If I have chronic fatigue, it seems pretty mild. I seem to not feel sleepy when I should (say midnight or before), but then I'm super exhausted when it's morning time?
 
#2 ·
Do you mean you had a hypo in the night?

If so let me tell you that I dread those because I am useless until after lunch the next day, not only are my numbers the next day totally Wacked in any direction, but my head is so foggy I have totally walked into walls, I need about 5 cups of coffee to be able to drive, it is VERY BAD.
 
#6 ·
Actually there was a post I made a while ago about treating lows...and someone suggested that I may be overtreating my lows- since then I have found lows to be as bad as they were before- though I still feel a bit bummed after sometimes- depends on how severe it was and for how long I guess.
Do you get a rebound high after going low? You may definitely be overtreating it.

I will try and find that post for you because I found it helped me deal with my lows a bit better- at least now I'm not going low- then high- then low again. Though now I've said that it probably will because that is just my luck LOL.
 
#4 ·
It's good to know this isn't just me that experiences this..I was starting to think I must have a sleep problem.

I have gone low the last morning and today, so I adjusted my pump basal rate based on when the low happened....though it was hard to tell if it was the previous or the morning basal dose that was the cause so I adjusted both slightly to be on the safe side. I guess I'll see what happens tomorrow morning.
 
#8 ·
Of course if I sit on my meter and follow the correct protocol 100 percent I do just fine, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way (like at 2 am…. have you guys seen the hilarious video along the lines of 'Stuff Diabetics Do' with the chick yelling at her economy size canister of glucose tablets: I JUST WANNA SLEEEEEP)

So yeah, if I follow all the rules it is fine, if I don't it is not… I am not able to follow correct protocol at 2am. Unfortunately. On the bright side I haven't had a low at night for a couple months. Woohoo!
 
#9 · (Edited)
LOL no I've never seen that. Think I've found it though :p

I know what you mean though lol. I somehow usually manage to keep my sanity when I go low, enough to know that if I overdo it I will REALLY pay later- roller coaster bsls make me feel like absolute rubbish. So I try to talk myself out of it. The only time it gets difficult is when I go low and I'm extremely hungry- but now I have learned, if that happens- eat a hunk of cheese or something with fat that is available just to try and fulfill the hunger until my bsl raises- I know the temporary discomfort of hunger will pay off later usually. I wouldn't recommend this though if you have taken a large dose of insulin 5 hours before- because I assume the fat could slow down the absorption if you needed more glucose. The cheese might have a little carbs, but the effect would be nowhere near as bad as binging on like 40g carbs. But I tell you- when low, foods that I normally don't touch become tempting all of a sudden :p

Still, even so, I still get so annoyed if I wake up feeling low and have to test, I get REALLY miserable and moody being woken up rudely like that. I'll be honest though- I'm not a star patient, I usually go by how I feel rather than testing again 15 minutes later. :sleep:

All I can suggest is- if you are prone to lows at night- then I would keep my bsl before bed slightly on the higher side. Also I test my bsl usually before I go to bed- just to be safe- sometimes I'm lazy though lol. Keep meter and a packet of glucose tablets next to your bed- that way you won't have to go to the fridge and start seeing all the suddenly tempting foods. Even though my adrenaline is going like mad sometimes, I try not to worry about it going lower- because if I do, it very well may. Patience is the key really when it comes to diabetes.. easier said than done though :rolleyes:

I have followed the advice that John gave me (he sent that link on treating hypos). You get your weight (or closest to your weight) on the table and then take the suggested amount of glucose to bring your bsl up to a certain amount. From my own experiences (and I have had ALOT of lows lately- about one every few days in the morning hours usually) I have found this table to very accurate and even though the lows are awful to go through, I feel a lot better when I read a nice '5 mmol/L' instead of say 16, later on. I just can't function like that.
 
#11 ·
And this is the thing, is that if you are a good sleeper (as we all should be, right?) and you wake up in the middle of the night, your judgement IS impaired and I think that is pretty natural. Kudos to all of you that can do all the right stuff while semi conscious, for me avoidance of nighttime hypos is the only real solution…

That youtube clip is hilarious, isn't it PinkTea? :)
 
#12 · (Edited)
Sorry to hear that teacher. You are right- being half awake can impair judgement. Sometimes I will take a few more glucose tablets than recommended just for the sake of not having to check- because I want to get back to sleep lol. Bad I know- but I usually can't sleep well when I'm half low anyway.

I'm not sure if I watched the right clip...had a girl drinking a diet soda and not knowing if it was sugar-free or not? :p
 
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