December 12, 2000
Daily Care, Exercise and Sports
Question from DeLand, Florida, USA:
My 10 year old son has had type�1 diabetes for six years and is now on an insulin pump. He is very active in sports and has been in good control. Recently, he has had hypoglycemic reactions in the middle of the night, with seizures. His blood glucose level before bed was fine. I check his sugar at 3:00 am about every other day, and it is usually high. Our endocrinologist is unsure as to why this is happening. Can you offer any suggestions?
Answer:
Perhaps exercise is the culprit. Activity can cause hypoglycemia several hours later. Look at the glucose levels, especially on active days. We know that there can be undocumented hypos. You may need to change basal rates. What is the time of the hypo and compared with known glucoses? You certainly can change the basal in the middle of the night.
LD
[Editor’s comment: Your situation might well be clarified by monitoring sugar levels continuously for several days to try to sort out what’s happening in more detail. See The Continuous Glucose Monitoring System
SS]
