My husband a type 1 diabetic for 40 years and at the age of 79 has readings of 16 when going to sleep and it can fall as low a 3 or 4 in the morning. Sometimes it is even lower. We cannot think of how this comes about and wonder if anybody has this problem.
Could it be that he has very restless nights and uses up all that excess sugar with his tossing and turning which is why it's so low in the morning? I have sometimes gone to bed with high readings like your husband's and am usually surprised to see that I'm hypo when I wake up. I have to inject four times a day and my final injection at bedtime might be causing it to go lower than usual so I perhaps need to adjust the insulin but it could also be to do with how much exercise I've had during the day. Perhaps your husband is expending more energy in the daytime on certain days which catches up with him during the night and causes his blood sugar to drop so much. Does he have day when he's more energetic than others? I'm sorry if I'm not much help but this is all I could think of.
Thank you for taking the trouble to reply. We will certainly look to see if he is more active during the day,that might be it. Thanks again
To answer the question, we'd need to know what kind of insulin your husband is taking. Does he take a long acting insulin in the evening/night? I am a diabetic of 34 years & over those years I have learned to control the dosages of the insulin I take myself. To get really good control, you need to do many blood sugar checks over a long period of time. I do at least five a day & adjust my insulin accordingly.
Over the last 10 years or so, my doctor no longer sends me to a nurse or clinic unless i'm having problems. He said theres nothing they can improve. I just have my quarterly blood tests & eye exams, just to see how i'm doing.
And yes, i've had similar problems at both ends of the scale. He may need to adjust the amount of insulin or the time it is taken..