Yeah, 4:30 am was a long time ago, especially since it came after a night that was interrupted for an hour.
I have a lot of trouble with hypoglycemic episodes in the middle of the night. I wear a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) because my sugar is volatile, and I have hypoglycemic unawareness. It’s a damned good thing I have the CGM. Without it, I wouldn’t have known that my sugar was going dangerously low.
Hypoglycemia is defined as a blood glucose level lower than 70 mg/dL. There are three levels: Level 1 is under 70 but above 54. Level 2 is under 54, and according to the CDC, that’s defined as severe hypoglycemia. The American Diabetes Association explains level 3 as: “Your blood glucose has affected your ability to think or control your body, so you need help to treat it.”
My CGM occasionally gives me crazy readings. It has to be calibrated using an old-fashioned meter that works by pricking my fingers, so I still have one on hand.
When I woke up to the CGM alarm around midnight last night, the CGM said my sugar level was 53. I got some juice and a snack, then tested using the old-fashioned meter. It said my sugar was at 33.
My endocrinologist got excited (not in a good way) when I reported some measurements in the low forties last year. I don’t think he would approve of 33. I have a Glucagon kit, but I’m not supposed to use it unless I can’t take in carbohydrates by mouth. Rick has been instructed in its use in case I pass out.
I try very hard not to wake Rick when I get up in the middle of the night, but we’ve agreed that I will always wake him for any measurement under 50. Of course, I had to wake him. Happily, the juice did its job. Eventually. We were up for about an hour.
The CGM alarm went off again at 4:30. I got up and ran the whole drill again. This time, at least, my sugar only went down to 44. I had to wake Rick again. He went back to bed around 5:30. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to sleep, so I just got coffee.
There were three things on my calendar today. I made it to all three, although I was dragging. I’m grateful that the last one ended early.
Because now, I can go to bed!
