So, for the past 3 days, we’ve not had a single low, while staying around 135 overall BG and that got me to thinking…as a fun question. What’s the longest you’ve gone without a single low, severe or otherwise?
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So it kind of depends on what you mean by low. I certainly don’t go by the < 70 that many Endos freak about.
There are many different types. My general list, in progressive order of getting worse:
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There is “slowly heading down” where you are okay but you have to eat a little something within 30-60 minutes before it gets worse.
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There is “I’m okay, but I kinda need something relatively soon”
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There is “I’m okay, but I kinda need something very soon”
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There is “drop everything, get something to eat now”
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There is “barely can make it to the fridge under my own power”
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There is “need help to recover from this one”
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There is “don’t remember what happened…thanks for the help”
In answer to your question, I really only worry about 5, 6, and 7. Those are relatively rare. I can usually go a few days without a 4. But 1-3 happen pretty much every day for me.
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This should mean whatever YOUR low is. I know everyone has a different threshold.
For us, below 70 is low and below 60 is severe low…that’s the standards we’ve set for Liam based on our guidance/reading/understanding, but I know this varies – especially once you’re out of the youth stage where brain development isn’t a concern any longer.
So for me, a low would be a “4” or worse, and I can go without those a few days at a time, I guess.
I never really thought about the time without the less severe ones. For me, 1-3 is just daily living. Like some people will say “I’m hungry”. I will just say, “I need a little something to eat.” They don’t even seem like lows to me.
For a “5”, those can happen every few months or a couple times a months, it just depends.
Fortunately, the “6’s” and “7’s” are rare.
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What are the numbers associated with levels 4 - 6 for you? 4 maybe a 50? Then go down from there?
What is strange is that the numbers are not really always the same. It just depends on how fast you are dropping and how long you are dropping. I just can’t put a definite category with a number, it just doesn’t work like that for me!
Maybe some other people have a similar experience with it?
Like sometimes a 50 can be pretty bad, but other times it is nothing.
My numbers would probably freak doctors out.
Last night I had a 28. But I was able to get something by myself, I didn’t need help. It was a “4”. I mean, I was stupid enough to take a picture of it, and I wasn’t crawling to the fridge or anything, so definitely a “4”.
In other times, that number would be a “7”.
I really have no idea why the numbers are not always the same for each severity. You gotta ask someone smarter than me (shouldn’t be hard to find 
)
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OMG, we’ve never hit the 20’s with Liam yet…38 is the lowest so far, and that scared the crap out of us. He seemed fine with the 38 which confused us even more. But we knew it was good for him so we fixed it promptly. But 28…yikes!
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That’s the thing - it just depends! It really is something I haven’t quite figured out yet.
We should collectively put our brains together and see if we can figure out why the numbers are not always the same severity.
Sometimes I joke when I test and see a low number and I want to double check it. So I will do another test right away. I will see something like a 43, and do a retest and see a 44, and say, “Oh, I’m glad I did a retest. That’s much better!” 
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While we were away, I got the urgent low alarm and treated appropriately (or so I thought). But I watched the numbers drop on my CGM until it read LO. I didn’t feel “weird” at all so I did a finger stick. Thankfully it was just the CGM lag and I was already back in the 60s!
I have been in the 40s and have been shaky and had visual distortions…and then other times have had no SX at all and then it’s “oh s**t”, pop a glucose tab and double-check! So peculiar!!
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This is where I was last night. After my wife yelled at me and told me to go do something about it I relented and drank some o.j. I would have been just as happy to ignore it.
But there have been other 35’s when I was totally out of it and needed assistance. Like I’ve said before, diabetes is a strange disease.
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I can’t wait to get to the point with Liam where he is able to coherently explain and describe how he feels during certain numbers. But we haven’t had a low yet (except ones where he’s sleeping), where he isn’t acting totally normal. When asked how he feels, he indicates he feels fine. I just don’t know if he’s able to differentiate fine from not fine being 3. It’s hard to believe we’re going on 1.5 years of living with this disease.
We have recently started focusing more on his lows (definitive numbers) because his Low and Severe Low percentages are higher than they should be. He’s at 1.3% severe lows and 4.3% lows…and we’re trying to fit within the 0% (more practically .4 or .5% severe lows (< 60)) and 4% lows (< 70).
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Only having had D while an adult, I am certain that there is a world of difference between an adult being at 30 and a child or adolescent being at 30. Not only in the self awareness department, but also physiologically.
Also, as an adult I tend to worry more about the highs, while I’m sure with Liam you are far more worried, rightfully so, with the lows.
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for my endo anything under 70 is severe.not for me at all. i feel perfectly comfortable in the 70’s. for me, sometimes in the 50’s i can’t see clearly; everything is overly bright with spots and is distorted. i am not shaking or sweating at all in the 50’s; its just my eyesight that is a problem. going into the 30’s i will sweat and shake. but, sometimes i am just feeling a little low, so i will do a finger stick and once i see that i am in my 40’s, its only then that i begin shaking. even when i correct with some chocolate and my BGs come back up, i still feel shaky for a while afterwards.
the longer i have been D, the harder it is for me to notice a mild low; but, if i start dropping quickly from 150 down to 100 in 15 minutes, i really can feel that.
i don’t go a week without a good low. but i am pretty much able to care for myself without assistance. although when i was first dx, when i fell below 70, i would pass out; but that was over 30 years ago. i haven’t passed out since.
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