Hi all,

I have gestational diabetes and am on 24 units of novorapid at breakfast, 12 at lunch and 12 at dinner.

I've been pretty stable up until Thursday when i had my first hypo :eek:

Could any of you please give your advice on the best and fastest way to deal with this.

Thurs i drank some lucozade as i was slurring my speech etc and then had my lunch (wholewheat sandwich and a banana), i didn't take my insulin as i was too scared to, but then i went too high (205).

This morning i took my after breakfast reading (was a bit high at 177 ) was feeling fine, but when i got back from shopping around mid morning i started to go hypo again. It was snack time anyway but i decided to take the quick option of 2 glucose tablets (which i was told at the hospital to do) as i could feel myself starting to shake. I then had half a banana, and at lunchtime had my normal lunch (and took my insulin this time).

If the hypo happens right before lunch and i have to take some glucose, am i doing right in not taking my insulin, or should i be doing so? Also, after dropping to 43 is 2 glucose tablets the best way to go, or should i be doing something else. I know they take a few minutes to work and it's quite scarey waiting as i can feel myself getting worse before i get better.

This is scaring me now as i thought i had everything under control, thankfully i am being induced in two weeks. I salute those of you who have this to deal with permanently, i now understand my mum a lot better.

I'm back at the hospital on monday, i just have to get through this weekend

Thanks,
Helen x

Are you taking any basal insulin or just insulin w/ meals? The Novorapid should peak at 2 hrs. If you are dropping to 43 I would suggest something liquid to injest quickly soda, oj, cake icing. Anything in a small amt to get it up faster than a tablet. You would probably only need 4oz if you are planning on eating your snack at that time. Pregnancy is a really hard time w/ all the hormones at work plus extra insulin. It sounds like the insulin is lasting a little longer than your food. I would still take your insulin w/ the meal because every time you eat your blood sugar will go up. If you are too low before the meal than you could adjust your dose but dont skip it. Good luck and I hope you a healthy happy baby!

Glucose tablets are a very good way to handle a hypo, but check the bottle (before a hypo episode, not during ;) to see how many to use when treating a low. I have a feeling you need more than 2 tablets to treat a low of 43!

The best thing to do is to take the tablets, wait 15 minutes (time it) and check your bg level again. If it's up close to 80, and you're planning to eat soon (within 1/2 hour), you don't need to do anything else. If you're not going to eat for an hour or two more, then you also need some kind of snack...I find peanut butter crackers to be perfect (the pre-made ones you can buy packaged). 4 sandwich crackers are about 15g carbs, but they've also got protein from the peanut butter and will hold you off for quite a while without giving you a rebound high. Quaker Q-Smart bars are good, too.

If your blood sugar isn't too low (say 60's-70's), you may not need as many glucose tabs. You'll have to experiment a bit with this.

Once you've got your bg level up to normal, you should procede to take your insulin as prescribed, but you can adjust the dose somewhat...if you're at only 80 when you start your meal, you may only need 8-10 units, depending on what you're eating.

You may want to talk to your doctor about carb-counting and adjusting your insulin dose based on the number of carbs you'll be eating. It's a bit of pain in the neck at first, but you can get portable carb-counting books to carry around with you, and carb-counting may give you a much more even bg level.

Ruth

Thanks ever so for your replies.

Thankfully i haven't had anymore hypos :)

I'm only taking insulin with meals.

The diabetologist today seemed pretty happy with how things are going, and has booked my induction for 1st Sept :eek:

Thanks for your tips, i'm making sure i snack inbetween meals wherever i am and it seems to be working (especially the peanut butter)

Helen x

Helen,
Wow, you're due this week? After you have the baby and are feeling up to it, come back and post as to how you and the baby are doing, and let us know whether it's a girl or boy.

Glad to hear you're doing better and not having lows.

Ruth