Monday, November 12, 2007

LO!

As much as the parent of a diabetic doesn't like the blood glucose meter to greet you with a HI (meaning blood sugar ABOVE 600), you REALLY don't want to see LO.

LO means less than 20. Many diabetics have had seizures with blood sugar levels higher than that.

We got a LO on the meter yesterday. It was during a time that Emma typically goes a little low, so we were checking her. We got a LO on the meter! So, while I was checking it again, Mike got Emma some juice. My 2nd reading was 24 - so that LO was pretty accurate.

Emma's only symptom of a problem with a bit of stumbling disoirentation. She doesn't know when she's low - or if she does, she doesn't know how to explain how she is feeling.

So, after quite a few days of degrees of lows around dinner, I lowered Emma's basal rate during that time. Not that I can check it today, as she has been running high all day so its tough to tell how effective a change in treatment is.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does Emma go low at night? If so, does she wake up when she is low?
I'm wondering this because my daughter, Stevie, sometimes goes low at night when sleeping. She does not wake up, as the doctors say she will when low. This really freaks me out because going low is VERY serious, especially at night when it might not be caught because my wife and I are also asleep.
I hate this disease; it is so hard to treat because it is not consistent in its behavior!
--Charles

The Stopper Family said...

Charles:

Luckily we have been able to get Emma's basal rates set for overnight pretty good. She has had a couple of lows recently but not many. On Lantus she had a predictable low overnight - it was just a matter of finding it! So we were checking overnight to catch the lows.

No, she would never wake up. She would hardly wake up to take the sippy cup of juice we handed her to drink.

But, the good news is we didn't have LOW lows overnight - usually in the 60s and 70s. The super lows tend to come during the day, which are easier to catch!

I do HATE that its inconsistent!!