58 Comments
Which of these symptoms of hypoglycemia do you frequently experience during a low? Please select all that apply.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
© 2023 T1D Exchange. All Rights Reserved.
Problem for me is all the symptoms of low are the same as lupus plus fibermoylagia and I have both. Thank goodness for the Dexcom warning me of my lows.
Frequently, I’ll have a cold nose.
For many years I did not have noticeable low feeling. The bottom line was I would have seizures.
I also feel a weight in my chest
This question reminds me of how much it is to live with T1D! 🙂 Oy vey.
I’ve been hypo unaware for many years. I assume it’s because I had so many lows for a period of several years.
I don’t let the symptoms get ahead of me, though – as soon as I feel that shakiness, I check my CGM and sure enough, I’m headed down. Then all the other symptoms come at once, and out come the peanut butter crackers and/or juice!
I no longer feel lows thus the reason for my CGM.
Ii just get sort of tired. Like I’ve run out of gas. I sit down, rest a minute, and then realize I must be low. But usually the cgm alarms first.
I frequently have tingling in my lips and also go into manic/panic/fight or flight mode – fun for all involved!
I selected ‘I do not experience any symptoms of hypoglycemia’ but that’s because I suffer with severe hypoglycaemia [hypoglycemia] unawareness.
Usually, the first symptoms I get is when I’m ‘coming round’ after someone has injected me with either a glucagon injection or has given me intravenous glucose. (Unfortunately, it’s been like this for more than 20 years now, whereas before I used to experience Shakiness, Hunger, Irritability or impatience, Sweating, chills, or claminess, Fatigue or weakness, Dizziness or feeling lightheaded, Confusion, Co-ordination [coordination] problems or clumsiness, Tingling or feeling numb … this was particularly the case when we first moved from U80 strength insulin to U100 strength insulin and when we moved from animal-derived insulins to analog insulins.
For the last few years, I have a fluorescent yellow light in the middle of my visual field. It is oval in shape, wider than it is high.
It is quite useful to have a visual alert like that.
I guess this is a subset of the contusion category: I cannot work with numbers when I am low.
I have a similar symptom, it starts with a spiky light then if low enough I see the full blown light that almost totally obscures my vision.
Like an after-image from glancing at the sun, yeah. I call that the “flashbulb effect,” and like you it hits me before anything else when I’ve got a really bad one coming on, and only happens when it’s dropping fast. When I see that I know I’m in trouble.
On only a few occasions with really low bg I’ve had my vision change to yellow too! It’s pretty scary as I know m extremely lo or dropping there.
I cannot work with numbers no matter what! LOL
Most of our blessings come in heavily disguised. Thus sayeth the hypoglycemic condition.
Usually, it comes in as an NDA, a brain non disclosure agreement. 🙅♂️
Anxiety. I suffer from anxiety and that has become my number one indicator that I’m low when I am not engaging with people . So if I’m watching tv, driving in the car alone, or sleeping(I wake and immediately start freaking out about something. It’s actually an early indicator which is good because I can react quickly and fix it. Confusion is number two followed by sweaty and clumsy.
I don’t always feel the symptoms checked and I do get hunger sometimes which I didn’t check. And sometimes I have no symptoms…
Worst one for me is loss of vision. Like a flashbulb after-image that gets worse instead of fading. Often occurs before feeling anything else, which tells me it’s a really bad one. “Don’t wait, stop whatever you’re doing and get sugar right now!” is what that one means. Then hunker down for the wave of other symptoms that are about to roll through. Fortunately it’s pretty rare, thanks to CGM, pumping, and more controllable insulin than in olden days, maybe one in a year. Used to be a lot more frequent back in the days of R/NPH MDI and finger-sticks.
Fortunately, I get to say these are mainly a thing of the past! Recently, if I get a low (which is rare), it only comes in the middle of the night. But thanks to the various responses on this site (related to low glucose alarm settings) I have moved my alarm trigger up sooner and can address it before it occurs. However, having switched over to the Omnipod 5 six months ago, I rarely get a low blood sugar condition.
1.5 years into diagnosis so I have nearly all of those symptoms. Which ones are present depends on my blood glucose level.
I notice subtle cognitive changes such as decreased responsiveness, difficulty processing information or hyper focusing on only one or two things. On rare occasions I still get hungry or shaky.
My symptoms were oscillating so I couldn’t tell when I was having a low, so I got a DexCom. I don’t have to rely on how I feel now.
I also become overly talkative!
Me too. And talking fast.
Yes, and I can’t Express my thoughts coherently.
I get a feeling in my gut that something is not right when my blood glucose is getting low.
I “clicked” most of these. Over the 25 years my threshold hasn’t changed, feel thses, and trying to get “near-normal” levels there’s definitely the risk of lo blood sugars. So to me it’s not “if” but when. I had a CGM several years ago but stopped to pay for care of my 16 year old pup. Had the worst episode 2 years ago (watched on a security as I collapsed and laid 6 hours with a black eye and bloody: that old dog frantic with heart disease frantic). Got it back several months later and will do every thing I can to keep one.
But several occasions I woke and my thought process was really odd, completely logical but delusional. While I shrug it off now, I still wonder what I’d do if I were 21 with what I know now: instead of 3 more years enlistment being released from the army. Mother’s death, both sister’s deaths, and as I woke thinking how I could protect them. Almost wish it was so but sipped the sweetened drink on my nightstand and realized I was 40 years older. Had several dreams when waking with low blood sugars as interesting.
Oh, yes, I forgot that one – – – crazy dreams when my blood sugar is low.
Yes! Have had some bizarre hypo dreams!
First thing I notice when dropping is cognitive changes, such as memory challenges, then coordination. The cognitive changes have been there for 52 T1D yrs and for some reason it’s never listed on symptoms, too bad it’s the easiest and first thing to show.
Thanks, same with me!!
Shakiness is usually my first symptom, followed closely by clumsiness. On a recent trip, the lady who was checking my passport handed me a chocolate covered granola bar while my friend got the candy out of my purse since my fingers forgot how to work.
I’m amazed at how low the percentages are for any one symptom. What a vote for individualism. And where is the symptom of hearing beeping from one’s CGM?
I checked a lot of boxes, but I don’t have all the symptoms all the time. It takes a pretty low BG before I feel anything, the lower it is, the more symptoms I get.
I said I don’t experience symptoms, but the honest answer is I don’t frequently experience symptoms (as asked in the qod). When I do experience symptoms it is usually feeling fatigue and/or weakness. Or I just feel “off”. Thankful for Dexcom and my DAD.
I checked off quite a few. But like you I just feel OFF !! 70 years T1D, I guess !!
I selected a few symptoms, but honestly, they don’t appear until I am very low-40s, which luckily doesn’t happen very often, and it’s usually at night after I’ve slept through the initial warnings. That’s why I am so dependent on my Dexcom and Tandem pump.
The symptoms I checked do not necessarily happen all with the same hypoglycemic event.
I also get what I call “foggy” brain but not confusion. And if my sugar is really low my vision changes to everything looking white.
Coming up on my 59th Diaversary I’ve experienced All of the Symptoms and a few more
I chose many of the symptoms listed but one that is not listed is the one has been mentioned several times in the comments. The visual of a while blob in the middle of my vision. I say “blob” because is never the same and is not round. Only happens when BG is 50 or lower.
With very few exceptions I’m now unaware of hypos. The CGM warns me that my bg level is dropping. If my field of vision suddenly dims and fills with either dark floating blobs or a central yellow blinding light, I know I need to immediately respond.
I have been hypo unaware most of the 41 year’s I’ve had T1D. My first clue I might be low is my D.A.D. pawing at me.
Flashes of light.
Unless it’s a severe low I have no systoms but if severe I get brain fog shakey and sometimes weakness
I get a weird feeling in my stomach that is not describable.
As others have said, I have felt quite a few. The other thing is it changes from time to time when I go low. Almost never the same.
Mine have changed over the years too.
Checked so MANY of them.. Then realize after reading all the replys, in 70 years T1D, and being almost 91 years OLD, I forgot so many more!! Its become part of living!!
I get very combative as well. I had a friend, who has passed on and he told me that he had taken on a whole fire department before only to send them all lunch the next day as an apology. It is not every time, sometimes I am the sweetest person in the world. I wish I had a crystal ball, anyone know which type of low blood sugar they will get?
My brother at 7 years old took on the fire and ambulance crew for the first time. Our Dad was an EMT at the time. It has happened several more time over the years, but now after 50 plus living T1D he knows when to eat before he gets that low.
Mine have changed over the years, but now my main symptom is an extremely uncomfortable feeling that I can’t wait to stop. Not exactly shaky, but I feel extremely uncomfortable. I don’t go very low anymore with a cgm so I very rarely have the severe symptoms of blurry vision, not thinking straight, massive sweating, or wobbliness that I used to have.
I’ve experienced all the listed symptoms with hypoglycemia except nausea. Depends on how low I am and how fast I’m falling. Rarely notice symptoms until I’m less 50 mg/dl. Occasionally sooner if I’m double arrows down.
Depends on how low I am how many of these I get. Mild hypo I just get hungry and tired. The lower I get I have impaired vision, more extreme fatigue, irritability, and cold sweats. I have had tingling lips and tongue in the past but not in recent years.
I do have one other symptom that is not listed. I get horny.
I get an odd feeling behind and underneath my eyes. Hard to describe. It feels like when your eyes are dilated and you can’t focus, but my vision is still ok during lows. I find I get irritable, but also very active…. seems like my brain works super-fast during lows, so I tend to try to complete more tasks during a low without stopping to treat it. Solving problems is easier and I am more efficient in the 60-80 range. Once below that, then I tend to be very irritable and get a tiny bit clumsier (not much though).
“Frequently,” it’s just sweating. Occasionally, when really low, I also get chills and hunger. A few times; confusion, shakiness, loss of coordination and afterwards, a headache, which seems to be related to using glucagon.