# what does a hypo feel like?



## Patricia (Apr 20, 2009)

Hello all

I write again as a parent, as the only role i can be in -- today E had a hypo, measuring 3.1 -- but he was miserable with it, panicky, heart racing, sweating, and fearful. He has been like this a few times, and I know it's the physiology of it. But it's a little heartbreaking to see. He's desperate for it to go away, and feels really quite freaked out. I suspect it was dropping etc. An hour later and 4 glucose tabs later (and some cheese because it was before dinner and he wanted to avoid big carbs), it was only 5.1.

He was also very thirsty at some point; I remember someone talking about this.

What do hypos feel like for you? He and I talked about it. They sound so scary for him. Have they changed over time for you? His was over and done with in the usual time, 15 mins or so, but he was exhausted, and cold. So dreadful for him.


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## beanz20 (Apr 20, 2009)

unfortunately i have similar symptoms still 6 years in... just got used to it...i still get the shakes and sweats im afraid but i find the quickest thing to bring me out of a hypo is lucozade drink. the thirst normally comes on when you are too high.


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## aymes (Apr 20, 2009)

What do hypos feel like...?

Interesting one, I guess as I know how they feel for me I've never really tried to describe them. I've managed to have three today (and not managed to get a reading above 4.3 yet today!) so today the overall feeling is that of frustration! For me I tend to feel as if time has somehow slowed down, or rather I've slowed down and everything else is moving at the same speed, almost as if I'm in some sort of bubble and can't quite keep up with everyone else. Very tired and panicked, I feel a sense or urgency inwardly but can't seem to translate that to action as quickly as I'd like. I know it can be very scary for other people but I find that I need to just sit still and quietly for 10 minutes and find having to talk to people confusing, of course sitting quietly worries people even more so they ask me more questions! Post hypo I just feel very tired.
I don't know if I've really been able to describe it properly or not, I may come back in a bit and see if I can do a better, and more succinct job!


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## coldclarity (Apr 20, 2009)

Patricia, I imagine being the carer watching a hypo can be really scary too. I cope best with them cos I know what I'm feeling, I imagine watching and trying to guess what's going on is really hard in it's own way.

I feel off in a way I can't explain very well. My elbows go a bit wobbly and weak. I start to lose concentration. I feel almost feverish, in a sweaty but not really hot kind of way. Then I start shaking and get a bit of adrenaline. My number one sign of a hypo is that when I get my meter out and try to assemble a test strip and lancet I fumble and find it very difficult, in a way beyond my usual clumsiness! 

Once I've had some sugar I start to feel more steady and normal, but I do feel scared and vulnerable. I'll feel rough afterwards physically - like I just need to go and sleep it off. I've only been doing this for less than two months, so the fear may lessen with time, but feeling like my body has control over me and isn't working well enough for me to stand up and take care of myself is very frightening. 

The initial crash and climb back up is usually over in ten or twenty minutes for me too, but it does take me a lot longer to feel 'right' again. Probably an hour or so, and it takes me a while to shake off the feeling that I might crash again at any time.

I don't get thirsty as such, but when in that kind of state I find it very difficult to swallow anything dry. Not sure if that makes sense. Glucose tablets especially really need something to lubricate them as they go down.

That's just my, very limited (and pregnant) experience. I hope you get lots more, I'd be interested to read too...


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## Vanessa (Apr 20, 2009)

Your description of the panic, heart racing, sweating and fear reminded me of the first hypos I experienced - really was most odd state to be in and it took me quite a bit of time to work out what was going on.  Now I still get the heart racing, sweating and the shakes but the panic is less - partly I suspect as I know what is happening.  Whilst they are over quickly with carbs the difficulties are (a) not having too many and then going too far the other way (b) impatience with the longer lasting tiredness and (c) waiting for my brain to catch up with my body

In many ways though it is worse for my husband - he feels that it must be awful for me but as a Type 2, my hypos are relatively rare and a price I pay for tight control as I feel much better when my blood glucose doesn't creep up


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## beanz20 (Apr 20, 2009)

i must admit, my family seem to worry more when im having a hypo, than i do myself, i know it must be scary to watch but they have got used to it over time, and they even know the signs when im about to have one now!! after i come round from a hypo now...usually after about 15 mins, i feel fine, no further after effects at all, so that may happen after having diabetes for some time.


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## Tash.x (Apr 20, 2009)

Usually when i am having a hypo i get like sweaty, shaky, palpitations or feel like really hungry (the typical signs), i usually treat it with a can of coke and my blood sugars usually goes up to 8 or 9. But if that doesn't work i have glucogel well as much of the tube that i can handle as it tastes disguisting  but it does the job!


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## Northerner (Apr 20, 2009)

Vanessa said:


> Your description of the panic, heart racing, sweating and fear reminded me of the first hypos I experienced - really was most odd state to be in and it took me quite a bit of time to work out what was going on.  Now I still get the heart racing, sweating and the shakes but the panic is less - partly I suspect as I know what is happening.  Whilst they are over quickly with carbs the difficulties are (a) not having too many and then going too far the other way (b) impatience with the longer lasting tiredness and (c) waiting for my brain to catch up with my body...



Vanessa has saved me from typing up my experiences of hypos, as they are very similar! I think the ones I really don't like are the ones where I feel I'm falling fast - as described in my previous threads 'Wow, what's happening?' and 'Dropping like a stone'. When I get ones like that I feel like I'm shovelling the jelly babies in to no effect and do feel a little panicky. Most often, though, it is a gradual fall, where I know I am getting low (i.e. below 4.0) but feel I have plenty of time to correct it. My mistake then is becoming blas? about it and finishing off things instead of treating it straightaway, then I will often end up dropping below 3.0. Hope that makes some kind of sense! As has been said, it must be worse for a carer, and in particular a parent as the child may be more frightened by the experience than an adult (especially a 50-year old like me!)


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## Patricia (Apr 21, 2009)

It's really interesting to read all this. Something my son said yesterday also seems to ring true here -- that he never feels safe when hypo. He also wants to run away from it, so that he physically expends more energy than he can really afford by hanging onto me, or holding his head. He too speaks of an urgency to *do something*, like his body is telling him something. The waiting for the glucose to take effect is what really does him in.

I'm also interested to read about the exhaustion -- this is very marked with him in some situations. Yesterday he had to go sit on the sofa, watch television wrapped up in a blanket. Took a long time.

I have told him that there will always be people around him to help him through these if he chooses, people who love him, family friends and partners. It's the adrenaline he needs help with, the reassurance that everything is going to be okay. I'm hoping though that some of what you speak about -- the increased *belief* that everything's going to be okay, does happen for him. 

I don't find it as scary to watch as I used to -- but I feel for him so intensely, just want to take it away. I'm sorry he has to go through it -- wish I could instead!


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## Northerner (Apr 21, 2009)

Patricia said:


> It's really interesting to read all this. Something my son said yesterday also seems to ring true here -- that he never feels safe when hypo. He also wants to run away from it, so that he physically expends more energy than he can really afford by hanging onto me, or holding his head. He too speaks of an urgency to *do something*, like his body is telling him something. The waiting for the glucose to take effect is what really does him in.
> 
> I'm also interested to read about the exhaustion -- this is very marked with him in some situations. Yesterday he had to go sit on the sofa, watch television wrapped up in a blanket. Took a long time.
> 
> ...



I believe the fatigue felt afterwards is a consequence of the adrenalin, and the adrenalin is a consequence of the brain's distress at not getting enough energy, so they are all connected. Understanding it helps me accept it more (but not like it!)


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## Patricia (Apr 21, 2009)

Yes, I think this is right -- when you think that adrenaline is  the 'fight or flight' hormone: once the danger is past, you have to sleep it off!

I always remember being present on a general ward when someone unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest. It was all hands on deck, and the defib machine was wheeled in, etc. Such a scrabble, and intense. The patient in question was saved -- it was impressive -- and right afterward, all the medical team just collapsed with cups of sweet drinks, wiped out for some time.


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## insulinaddict09 (Apr 21, 2009)

Patricia said:


> It's really interesting to read all this. Something my son said yesterday also seems to ring true here -- that he never feels safe when hypo. He also wants to run away from it, so that he physically expends more energy than he can really afford by hanging onto me, or holding his head. He too speaks of an urgency to *do something*, like his body is telling him something. The waiting for the glucose to take effect is what really does him in.
> 
> I'm also interested to read about the exhaustion -- this is very marked with him in some situations. Yesterday he had to go sit on the sofa, watch television wrapped up in a blanket. Took a long time.
> 
> ...


hi patricia i used to get really tired and headachey after hypos but i dont anymore, i have been on insulin since feb 08. does your son have hypo awareness? i always feel my hypos coming on {so far} even if i am asleep i wake up and dont feel quite right, i always have lucozade next to the bed & have a bottle in my handbag just in case it comes on when im in the queue in asda ha ha. When you are hypo it does make you feel vunerable and as if you are going in slow motion, the worst thing for me is when you feel your sugars dropping fast and you get a panicky feelig and a few times i have " come to" sat at the kitchen table  eating cornflakes and crunching sugar cubes with my eldest scowling at me because i have been hypo and talking rubbish and hysterically laughing!! luckily i have never gone unconcious when hypo, that is one of my biggest fears, also the fact that your body can be working on autopilot and your brain/ memory is taking a break, i have apparently done alot of hysterical things while hypo but dont remember any of them! the scariest hypo i have ever seen was my brothers, he's been type 1 for over twenty years, its was frightening- much worse than having one. As your son gets older he will find hypos less frightening and hopefully so will you.


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## Northerner (Apr 21, 2009)

Patricia said:


> Yes, I think this is right -- when you think that adrenaline is  the 'fight or flight' hormone: once the danger is past, you have to sleep it off!
> 
> I always remember being present on a general ward when someone unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest. It was all hands on deck, and the defib machine was wheeled in, etc. Such a scrabble, and intense. The patient in question was saved -- it was impressive -- and right afterward, all the medical team just collapsed with cups of sweet drinks, wiped out for some time.



I was on the cardiac care ward when the guy opposite me went into cardiac arrest - the consequent alarms, barking commands, rushing around and tension nearly gave *me* a heart attack! It scared me half to death and I did wonder at the logic of having a whole ward full of susceptible people then being witness to such trauma!


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## sofaraway (Apr 21, 2009)

I feel shakey, usually I find that i can't write properly, then my heart starts racing, if it's a really bad one then i will start sweating. I am also very thirsty, which is my strongest symptom. I can drink a can of coke in one go and still want more. it's different to the thirst of a high.

I find other people having hypos harder than my own.


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## insulinaddict09 (Apr 21, 2009)

sofaraway said:


> I feel shakey, usually I find that i can't write properly, then my heart starts racing, if it's a really bad one then i will start sweating. I am also very thirsty, which is my strongest symptom. I can drink a can of coke in one go and still want more. it's different to the thirst of a high.
> 
> I find other people having hypos harder than my own.



thats a good point i feel HOT and can be soaked with perspiration, i always get like that when hypo but dont get thirsty when low. I get hot when im running high as well but not as bad as my hypo sweats!! ha ah


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## sofaraway (Apr 21, 2009)

insulinaddict09 said:


> thats a good point i feel HOT and can be soaked with perspiration, i always get like that when hypo but dont get thirsty when low. I get hot when im running high as well but not as bad as my hypo sweats!! ha ah



And then feel cold and still covered in sweat. Makes me glad I haven't had a hypo in 6 months


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## Patricia (Apr 21, 2009)

Wow, how have you not had a hypo in six months? Amazing.

I'm not sure what exactly what's meant by hypo awareness. He will often 'catch' himself at about 4.6 or 4.3 or something; although this is supposedly a 'good' number, he sometimes feels it as hypo coming, and will eat a little something.

I think he does feel them coming, but I don't know for how long...Yesterday he came downstairs saying, need to test, am low, but then we all got distracted by a baby bunny the cat had brought in (another story), only for about 30 seconds,maybe a minute. By that point he then switched on to being desperate to test and get on with it. He wouldn't take glucose without testing, even though I said he should, knew he was hypo etc. In the event he only tested at 3.1, but it felt much worse.

Is there a hypo awareness that sort of keeps a hypo from really coming? Or is hypo awareness just being aware at some point that you are low?

(The bunny, by the way, was taken to the vet's, looks likely to make it. If it's not one thing, it's another!)


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## sofaraway (Apr 21, 2009)

Patricia said:


> Wow, how have you not had a hypo in six months? Amazing.



Well not strictly true. I've had I think 2 in the 3.6-4.0 range which I have caught before a meal and not felt low. I have tried to avoid hypos' at all since an A&E hypo in October last year.


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## aymes (Apr 21, 2009)

Patricia said:


> Is there a hypo awareness that sort of keeps a hypo from really coming? Or is hypo awareness just being aware at some point that you are low?
> 
> (The bunny, by the way, was taken to the vet's, looks likely to make it. If it's not one thing, it's another!)



It's really just being aware that you are either hypo, or close to it. Some people, particularly if they've been diabetic a long time or had low numbers for a while can become hypo unaware and not get the usual warning signs before they're very low, or at all, which can be dangerous. It sounds like your son is doing well catching his hypos (or near hypos) early which is the main thing. 

Sofaraway - I'm also very impressed at the lack of hypos!


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## Patricia (Apr 21, 2009)

Thanks aymes, feel comforted!


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## Northerner (Apr 21, 2009)

sofaraway said:


> Well not strictly true. I've had I think 2 in the 3.6-4.0 range which I have caught before a meal and not felt low. I have tried to avoid hypos' at all since an A&E hypo in October last year.



Just looked at my meter software and in the past 6 months (conveniently, 1000 tests!) I have had 81 below 3.5 and 80 between 3.5-4.0. This equates to about 16%, with 8% 'true' hypos. 18% of my tests have been above 7.0, but this includes a lot that I would expect e.g. when I am testing before/after a run when I hope for it to be on the higher side. So, 66% of my tests have been in my target range, which I'm very happy about!

I'd say that, out of the 80 hypos, maybe half a dozen have been 'memorable' i.e. feeling a fast descent and a bit panicky.


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## rossi_mac (Apr 21, 2009)

wow lots of different experienced noted.

At first I would feel the shakes come on pretty seriously, but only 6 months later, either I'm better controlled, but the shakes don't happen that much unless I'm real real low. so maybe I'm getting towards a state of hypo unaware? Of late I've thought that I've been low but I haven't been just been hungry! Find that unknowning feeling (hunger or hypo) quite annoying to be honest does anyone else get that?

I worry quite a lot when I could be low when I'm sleepy that I may be low and I won't do anything to counteract my hypo, as I'm tired, so I test and I'm not low? does that make sense? I read on here somewhere that people get lothargic when they are low.

I also find that I take a good 15 plus minutes to come around, and it is best to sit down and "not operate heavy nachinery"


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## Northerner (Apr 21, 2009)

rossi_mac said:


> ...Of late I've thought that I've been low but I haven't been just been hungry! Find that unknowning feeling (hunger or hypo) quite annoying to be honest does anyone else get that?...



Yes, I get that quite often, particularly before lunch, and you're right, it is annoying!


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## AJL (Apr 21, 2009)

beanz20 said:


> unfortunately i have similar symptoms still 6 years in... just got used to it...i still get the shakes and sweats im afraid but i find the quickest thing to bring me out of a hypo is lucozade drink. the thirst normally comes on when you are too high.



It took me nearly 30 years before I tried Lucozade for low sugars - and it was the best thing that I ever did.  For me Lucozade definitely works much more quickly than anything else for getting a low sugar back up and so reducing the length of time that I feel bad from the hypo - although I have found that sometimes it is trial and error as to how much I need.


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## Heike (Apr 21, 2009)

You are all so lucky of being aware when go hypo.  I only feel hypo when I am below 2 and then I feel really ill and nauseous.  Only manage to drink some fruit juice then and go to bed. My husband is getting quite good of noticing when I'm hypo.  Apparently I loose the ability to speak, words getting slurry and grammatically wrong.  I once told him that every silver lining has a cloud .


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## Patricia (Apr 21, 2009)

Wow, what an array of answers. I'm so grateful for this.

My son doesn't like fizzy drinks, which may mean he can't abide lucozade. But if some find it gives a quicker response, he may try it. It's waiting for the glucose to have an effect, as I say, that really undoes him.


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## insulinaddict09 (Apr 21, 2009)

Patricia said:


> Wow, what an array of answers. I'm so grateful for this.
> 
> My son doesn't like fizzy drinks, which may mean he can't abide lucozade. But if some find it gives a quicker response, he may try it. It's waiting for the glucose to have an effect, as I say, that really undoes him.



Im not a lover of fizzy drinks but its amazing what you will eat and drink while hypo!! i hate lucozade but there are lots of different flavours, the only one i can stomach is the lemon one which does'nt taste sweet but will stop a hypo in its tracks!! its worth trying to see if he likes any of them, even if its just to get his sugars up quickly in a couple of minutes rather than waiting longer. the glucose hits your system pretty much immediately and you dont need to drink bottles of the stuff either, although when hypo it is easy to over compensate and go too far the other way especially when eating!!


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## Tezzz (Apr 21, 2009)

Patricia said:


> Wow, what an array of answers. I'm so grateful for this.
> 
> My son doesn't like fizzy drinks, which may mean he can't abide lucozade. But if some find it gives a quicker response, he may try it. It's waiting for the glucose to have an effect, as I say, that really undoes him.



Apologies if this sounds silly - have you thought opening the Lucozade and letting it go 'flat' in the fridge.

I haven't had a hypo yet as I am still on my first week of  1 a day  500mg Metformin.  I have added Lucozade to the shopping list just in case when the dose goes up to 2 a day. 

Tez.


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## Steff (Apr 21, 2009)

brightontez said:


> Apologies if this sounds silly - have you thought opening the Lucozade and letting it go 'flat' in the fridge.
> 
> I haven't had a hypo yet as I am still on my first week of  1 a day  500mg Metformin.  I have added Lucozade to the shopping list just in case when the dose goes up to 2 a day.
> 
> Tez.






how are you finding it tez on the metformin?
im in the same boat been on them week today


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## insulinaddict09 (Apr 21, 2009)

brightontez said:


> Apologies if this sounds silly - have you thought opening the Lucozade and letting it go 'flat' in the fridge.
> 
> I haven't had a hypo yet as I am still on my first week of  1 a day  500mg Metformin.  I have added Lucozade to the shopping list just in case when the dose goes up to 2 a day.
> 
> Tez.



i was on 3 metformin a day for 6yrs and was told you cant hypo on them. are you on insulin aswell?


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## Steff (Apr 21, 2009)

sorry for butting in but as im in same situation on my part i am not on insulin


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## insulinaddict09 (Apr 21, 2009)

steff09 said:


> sorry for butting in but as im in same situation on my part i am not on insulin



To the best of my knowledge you can not hypo while taking metformin, as i said before i was taking them for 6yrs 3 times daily. As you will see from my status i am type 1, i was misdiagnosed as type 2 and only found out i was type 1 after a trip to the hospital with DKA.


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## Steff (Apr 21, 2009)

im still in process of having any health care team at all so i cant say alot i aint had it that long, so its all books and know how that im using at the minute oh and common sense and this forum lol x


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## Tezzz (Apr 22, 2009)

steff09 said:


> im still in process of having any health care team at all so i cant say alot i aint had it that long, so its all books and know how that im using at the minute oh and common sense and this forum lol x



I do BG tests twice a day since I was first diagnosed. The doctor put me on Metformin last Tuesday because I hassled him about the tiredness. He said take 1 500mg a day for a week then up the dose to 2 a day after a week. 

I have porridge made with 3 dessert spoons of oats and water only for breakfast (I am getting used to this liquid cardboard instead of a fry up now ) and something as healthy as I can get from the canteen (read greassy spoon cafe) at work - e.g. 2 poached eggs on dry brown toast with tinned tomatoes. A normal low-ish fat evening meal like pasta and tomato sauce or grilled chop minus the fat with loads of veg, 2 boiled potatoes and a drizzle of gravy. And if I get the munchies between meals I have a raw carrot. 

Since the tablets started at 1 a day my BG has droped to ftom 8.0+ in the morning to 5.6-6.0 and in the late afternoon ftom 11-15s to 4.5-5.5. So it appears  something good is happening. My concern was if I went on 2 tablets a day the levels  would drop even more. Perhaps I should ask about having one 850mg slow release tab a day. However if it is not possible to hypo on Metformin perhaps I should take two 500mg tablets a day to get the waking BG down to the 4.x's.

I have some books and this forum to get advice from as I too haven't had an appointment with the diabetes clinic yet, that is next on my hastle the doctor list (along with getting BG test strips on prescription).  I did get a letter to have retinopathy photographs so that's the next thing on the to do list. 

So can anyone here tell their experiences with the upward change of Metformin dose?

Tez.


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## Vanessa (Apr 22, 2009)

hi Tez

My situation was very different to yours in that metformin alone wasn't sufficient so soon ended up on gliclazide too.  Therein lies the difficulty - we all react differently so the best thoughts I can come up with is to build up slowly and keep monitoring your blood glucose to see the impact


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## insulinaddict09 (Apr 22, 2009)

brightontez said:


> I do BG tests twice a day since I was first diagnosed. The doctor put me on Metformin last Tuesday because I hassled him about the tiredness. He said take 1 500mg a day for a week then up the dose to 2 a day after a week.
> 
> I have porridge made with 3 dessert spoons of oats and water only for breakfast (I am getting used to this liquid cardboard instead of a fry up now ) and something as healthy as I can get from the canteen (read greassy spoon cafe) at work - e.g. 2 poached eggs on dry brown toast with tinned tomatoes. A normal low-ish fat evening meal like pasta and tomato sauce or grilled chop minus the fat with loads of veg, 2 boiled potatoes and a drizzle of gravy. And if I get the munchies between meals I have a raw carrot.
> 
> ...



When i first went on metformin i was on 1 tablet for 1st week ,2nd week 2 tabs and by week 3 on 3 tablets , the only thing i noticed was that i felt constantly sick and had an upset stomach on them but after a week or so that went and i was fine. My sister-in-law was on them at the same time and had the same problem with sickness etc. If you read the leaflet enclosed in the tablet box you will see that it is one of the tablets that does'nt cause hypos, there are a few that do though. Looking at what you eat it does'nt sound like you eat much.. is that because of the tiredness, are you feeling sick with the metformin? After i had been taking it for a couple of weeks i felt 100 times better, not tired thirsty and ill or the time. let us know how you get on when your dose is upped.


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## tracey w (Apr 23, 2009)

I always remember being present on a general ward when someone unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest. It was all hands on deck, and the defib machine was wheeled in, etc. Such a scrabble, and intense. The patient in question was saved -- it was impressive -- and right afterward, all the medical team just collapsed with cups of sweet drinks, wiped out for some time.[/QUOTE]


this brings back memories of nursing, many moons ago  I worked on a medical ward where there were frequent "situations" happening, we would all go into overdrive, alarms ringing, running around, but everyone had their job and knew what to do.........you find inhuman strength too, i remember hauling a very heavy lady out of the bath all by myself ( i was only 7 stone in those days!),. But afterwards i had the most intense headache, aching legs and would be soo tired. ADRENALINE! Much the same feelings i get after some of my hypos too


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## Patricia (Apr 23, 2009)

Interesting, tracey w -- it's all about adrenaline, isn't it?

Hypos still must be the most enormous pain though, however you slice it...


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## aymes (Apr 24, 2009)

sofaraway said:


> I feel shakey, usually I find that i can't write properly, then my heart starts racing, if it's a really bad one then i will start sweating. I am also very thirsty, which is my strongest symptom. I can drink a can of coke in one go and still want more. it's different to the thirst of a high.
> 
> I find other people having hypos harder than my own.



You know, I don't think I've ever witnessed someone else having a hypo, although I dont really know other diabetics 'in real life' so I guess it's just something I haven't had much opportunity to come across.


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## tracey w (Apr 25, 2009)

aymes said:


> You know, I don't think I've ever witnessed someone else having a hypo, although I dont really know other diabetics 'in real life' so I guess it's just something I haven't had much opportunity to come across.



me neither. Going off subject a bit, witnessed someone taking insulin right infront of me at next table is staff canteen the other day........felt amazing, so not alone somehow!


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