April 12, 2001
Hypoglycemia, Insulin Pumps
Question from Adrian, Mississippi, USA:
My 35 year old husband has had type�1 diabetes for 22 years, and has been on the pump for almost two years. Lately, he’s been having low sugars (17-32 mg/dl [0.94- 1.8 mmol/L]) at least once a day, and for the past week, he can no longer tell when he is going low. Is this a bad sign? Could the pump this be the reason for the constant low sugars?
Answer:
It is true that frequent low blood sugars cause more low blood sugars. It is in the insulin pump patient population, with the capability of tight control, that these low sugars without symptoms are more likely to occur. Your husband needs to work with his physician to aggressively avoid hypoglycemia. There is some evidence to suggest some awareness of lows can be regained over time by letting the blood sugars run a little higher.
JTL
