Sarah Howard
Sarah Howard (nee Tackett) has dedicated her career to supporting the T1D community ever since she was diagnosed with T1D while in college in May 2013. Since then, she has worked for various diabetes organizations, focusing on research, advocacy, and community-building efforts for people with T1D and their loved ones. Sarah is currently the Senior Marketing Manager at T1D Exchange.
Sarah and her husband live in NYC with their cat Gracie. In her spare time, she enjoys doing comedy, taking dance classes, visiting art museums, and exploring different neighborhoods in NYC.
I have hypo unawareness, but I am saved by my DEXCOM CGM and its alarms.
I generally do not have any symptoms until I am well below 50. Thank goodness for my Dexcom and Tslim X2 with Control IQ.
Overnight unless I was to get really low I don’t wake up. And long before that the Dexcom screams out its warning so I can deal with it before it gets serious.
I am thankful for the Freestyle Libre and use it constantly during the day and when I get up at night for the bathroom break. I live alone so it is imperative that I keep on top of trending arrows as well as numbers. So far, so good.
I am a teacher and I am easily distracted during the day with an array of things, now including teaching students virtually. I don’t always feel the low coming on and perhaps it’s due to adrenaline/stress. I do find that it takes, what feels like forever, to come back to normal again if I wasn’t able to treat it head on. I do wear the Dexcom CGM, but sometimes I feel like I’m so distracted that I don’t hear the alarms.
I do not feel lows until under 50 either. Dexcom gives me alarms, so it’s not usually a problem.
I also don’t feel low until I get into the 40s. With the Dexcom, that only happens if I am between sets on the warmup or if I’m somewhere and it stopped working. Maybe twice in the last 3 months.
I’ve been hypo unaware for at least 20 years now, which has often lead to me being admitted to hospital, having been found in a state of collapse. (I’ve actually lapsed into a comatose state on 3 occasions, and on two of those occasions my wife was informed that she should prepare herself for the worst.) Happily, I now use CGM (since March of 2020) which has caused my pump to alarm, informing me that my blood glucose level is below my prescribed limit.
Not usually aware until around 50 which is not happening very often since I have dexcom G6 and Tandem pump. Might go low if working long and hard or overestimated bolus.
I’m aware but ever so slightly, nothing like my diabetes infancy days. Thank God for the advancements made with CGM now all they need to do is improve on the adhesives being used.
I used to before I got the Medtronic 670G and have more time-in-range.
Yes I do. Even with Dexcom I still don’t feel my lows until I am in the 50s but Dexcom lets me know when I am trending downwards so I can treat it before it tanks into needing rescue glucagon. So I answered Sometimes.
I am aware of hypos, but the symptoms are so different now. And my G6 alerts me when it starts to slide downward.
I said No only because Dexcom alarms me. Without Dexcom, I would probably would have had to answer Yes.
I said other because I did have it, and it caused dozens of severe reactions over the years, but it resolved with use of CGM.
I don’t feel my lows, period. Thank goodness for my Dexcom. I’ve not needed glucagon since 2010.
I have CGM but still get some lows and when the CGM alerts me, I don’t feel low. If it is dropping really fast however, I will feel it. Sometimes the CGM is wrong in the low range. It will show in the 50-60’s and I will be in the 70-80’s when I fingerstick with Contour Next. If I am trying to determine whether to treat, I will test twice but Contour Next is always similar in the following test unless I am dropping fast.
Most of the time I feel my hypoglycemia during the day then check on my Medtronic cgm to verify. At night I’m often woke up more often by my pump with a hypo than feeling it.
It was because of my longstanding hypoglycemic unawareness that I was first able to get a CGM through my employer’s insurance. That started about 15 years after I was diagnosed. Some people say they no longer have it with a CGM, but that is not actually true. They still have it, but the CGM reminds them to check when their sugar is high or low.