Does anyone else have anxiety attacks when they know their blood sugar is going down? I have never passed out even though I have had 3 close calls in my 17 year run with T1D, but it seems like the older I get the more this becomes a problem for me. I also get very nervous because I now have a baby and I am scared that its going to happen when I am with her. I wear and CGM and watch my BS very closely but I have this fear of passing out and I really hate it! Does anyone else have this problem?
If you have a CGM and test a lot you should be fine. It's hard to balance a baby and diabetes, but just make sure to take time to test and eat if you need to, no matter what else is going on, so you don't put you and baby in a bad situation.
You may also try having a higher target blood sugar for a while... aim for 130 instead of 100 so you have a little cushion.
In my experience I only passed out from a low when I had hypoglycemia unawareness, after having constant highs and lows for 25 years. Once I started using a pump I had fewer and less severe lows, so the hypo unawareness reversed and I haven't passed out from a low (or been unable to wake up from a morning low) since.
T1 since 1977 Minimed pump since 2002
In the past, I had a run with "general anxiety disorder" for a year or so and saw a therapist when it started to interfere with my life. The stuff they teach you is about anxiety attacks, what they are, why they are, and what you can do to help reduce anxiety and stress in your life. The therapy helped a lot, so does exercise, yoga, and avoiding caffiene and alcohol (and other things)
then there's the fact that anxiety feelings are actually triggered by low blood sugar. a low will most likely (most people) cause adrenalin to be released and so you will get all the physical aspects of an anxiety attack... but it's real in this case and not just in your head.
so what's really happening? is it anxiety or an actual low?
Joe
joelicorcie at netscape dot net