Question:
From America OnLine:
My 17 year old diabetic daughter has no low sugar reactions. Is
there anyway to regain the ability to sense low blood sugar before it drops
drastically low? We attempted the insulin pump and it didn't work.
She is now using Humalog [lispro] and NPH insulins. She has been diabetic
10 and a half years and has never had a low blood sugar reaction.
Answer:
I assume you mean that your daughter does not have the warning symptoms
of low blood sugar reactions, but drops to a very low blood sugar and
has problems such as seizures or passing out without having the warning
symptoms.
This is referred to as hypoglycemia unawareness. Individuals who have a lot of low blood sugars may lose the warning symptoms. She may regain the warning symptoms if she raises her target blood sugar a little. In individuals with longstanding diabetes, they may have neuropathy, a condition affecting nerves in the body. One form of neuropathy can affect the nerves that help release hormones when the blood sugar is falling to help prevent a low blood sugar. If this is your daughter's problem, she may not regain the warning symptoms of a falling blood sugar by increasing her target levels for blood sugar control. However, if this is the problem, she should still increase the target levels to avoid serious low blood sugars.
TGL
Original posting 22 Dec 96
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