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Type 1 Diabetes Hypos. Why?

TygerChild

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I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in April, and am using a Libre which is technology that enables blood glucose levels to be measured via sensor and meter through interstitial fluid. Recently my blood glucose keeps going low, including last night two quite seriously low hypos while I was asleep. Since I am mainly having food that does not require Rapid insulin, and am using only Basal of 3.5 units a day, this is a strange thing, these hypos. My question to I Ching therefore is: What's happening with the insulin and low blood glucose levels?

Any interpretations by others very welcome.

I am finding it difficult to see how it relates to my question!


Your reading resulted in the following hexagrams:


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! align="center" ! 45
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! align="center" ! 2
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45.gif

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Hexagram 45, Gathering

45.gif


Key Questions

What is asked of you?
What are you investing in?

Oracle

'Gathering, creating success.
The king enters his temple.
Fruitful to see great people, creating success.
Constancy bears fruit.
Using great sacrificial animals: good fortune.
Fruitful to have a direction to go.'



The old character for 'Gathering' shows people gathered like grass, or perhaps gathered to bring in the harvest: they have a shared identity, and invest together for a purpose, looking for what will bear fruit. Sometimes this is an external gathering, sometimes an internal one – collecting yourself and integrating your many roles and strengths, getting yourself together. Many people, roles, energies and issues are concentrated in this single focal point.


The king enters his temple to connect his people with the ancestral spirits. This is a time to strengthen shared roots, and understand mundane daily activities as part of a larger story and identity that gives them meaning.


With this connection made, it is time to see great people. Originally this might have meant consulting with diviners, to ensure your offerings were made in harmony with the time and the spirits. Seeing great people (whether in the flesh or with your inner vision) gives you longer- term guidance to align your efforts with your purpose. Then a steady persistence will bear fruit. And you are making great efforts – and an act of faith – investing the best you have in this gathering. You need those good, deep roots, and clear-sighted guidance, and you need to know where you are going with it all.

Image

'Lake higher than the earth: Gathering.
A noble one sets aside weapons and tools, and warns against the unexpected.'


Sequence

Gathering follows from Hexagram 44, Coupling:
'They meet one another, then they assemble, and so Gathering follows. Gathering means assembling.'

Pair

Gathering forms a pair with Hexagram 46, Pushing Upward:
'Gathering means assembling, Pushing Upward means not coming back.'



Changing Lines

Line 4
'Great good fortune, no mistake.'

Line 5
'Gathering, there is a position – no mistake.
No trust at all.
From the source, ever-flowing constancy – regrets vanish.'


Hexagram 2, Earth

2.gif


Key Questions

How are you being guided?
How can you lend your strength?

Oracle

'Earth.
From the source, creating success.
The constancy of a mare bears fruit.
A noble one has a direction to go.
At first, confusion. Later, gains a master.
Fruitful in the southwest, gaining partners.
In the northeast, losing partners.
Peaceful constancy brings good fortune.'



Earth is first described in the same words as the Creative Force of Hexagram 1 because they are partners in the flow of creation. Creation unfolds from the original vital energy, creating success with an ongoing exchange between spirit and daily work, flowing through to fruition – in Earth, through the constancy of a mare.


The mare is strong, tireless and incomparably fast, and she is acutely sensitive to the subtlest cues. When you have a mare's constancy, you will be steadily loyal to the truth, and always alert and responsive to guidance.


The noble one has a direction to go: she is purposeful, she has a destination in mind, but this doesn't mean she has her route to it already mapped out. And so at first there is confusion: you set out like a pioneer, open to all the possibilities, and find them as many as scattered rice-grains. But later, since you have set yourself in motion, you can receive guidance – you 'gain a master'.


A master is someone who lights the way. You gain someone or something to be loyal to, where you can find fulfilment in service. Once you have this guiding principle (which may or may not be a person), you begin to follow signs as fluently as the mare.


The Zhou people sought out allies in the southwest before venturing into the northeast to face the Shang. There is a balance to be found between joining with like-minded people and following your own calling alone – but gaining allies comes first. Perhaps your individual sense of purpose emerges more strongly when you've learned to work responsively with others, like the mare running with the herd.


And when you can spread your senses out to roam southwest and northeast without limit, you will be peacefully at home in the whole earth.

Image

'Power of the land: Earth.
A noble one, with generous character, carries all the beings.'
 
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Freedda

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First, do you have some sense of this, of what the Yi is saying here? And second, just a note of caution to not rely too heavily on the Yi for medical advice, or in place of it.

Best, D.
 

Liselle

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I have no idea what the reading's telling you, but 45 and 2 seem like a good combination. A great collective effort combined with the ever-strong and endlessly supportive earth.

There might be some risk in asking "what is happening" about something technical - Yi might explain what is happening at a level you can't understand. Maybe your doctor could identify the great effort that's involved here, but maybe you can't. I don't know for sure that's how Yi answered, though.
 

TygerChild

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Thank you for your reply!

The only sense I can get is the idea of my body being one whole system that needs to work together, or to consult others to work on this issue of insulin/blood glucose which of course I am already doing.

I have done far too many readings to rely totally on the I ching in terms of diagnosis or treatment of serious conditions, do not fear that! Interpretations can be wildly out, that is for sure!

I have survived that nights hypos, but last night a similar thing happened, and fortunately I woke up just as the blood glucose was dipping very low, and fed myself with pear segments.
But it keeps happening.

Main message is that all is well to-date!

First, do you have some sense of this, of what the Yi is saying here? And second, just a note of caution to not rely too heavily on the Yi for medical advice, or in place of it.

Best, D.
 

Liselle

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Main message is that all is well to-date!
That doesn't seem like a good conclusion, since something weird is happening.

It was stupid of me to say I thought 45 and 2 seem like a good combination, if you're taking it to mean that everything's okay. Everything clearly isn't okay - you're having hypoglycemic incidents.

Could you call the doctor's office and tell them about it, and see what they suggest?
 

TygerChild

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hi Liselle,

Thank you for your concern and support.

I have phoned the hospital and spoken to a nurse yesterday and they simply said to reduce my basal insulin from 3.5 units to 3, which I have done.

Last night, although the dips, from the look of the graph almost touched my parameter which is 3.9 mmol. they were not quite hypos last night - not like the dips the night before.

TYPE1BLOODg18102019.png The nurse also said to ring back on Monday to see how things are going which I shall do. Hypos happen sometimes, and when they happen during sleep of course can be life threatening. Gps are generally not very expert at helping with this, so I am dependent mostly on the hospital to support and advise, and I don't think they can do much more at this point.

Wednesday night was worse, since the dips were shown in red, and clearly hypos. Last night they did not quite reach that category.

Wednesday: type1hypos.png

That doesn't seem like a good conclusion, since something weird is happening.

It was stupid of me to say I thought 45 and 2 seem like a good combination, if you're taking it to mean that everything's okay. Everything clearly isn't okay - you're having hypoglycemic incidents.

Could you call the doctor's office and tell them about it, and see what they suggest?
 
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TygerChild

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hi Liselle,

Thank you for your concern and support.

I have phoned the hospital and spoken to a nurse yesterday and they simply said to reduce my basal insulin from 3.5 units to 3, which I have done.

Last night, although the dips, from the look of the graph almost touched my parameter which is 3.9 mmol. they were not quite hypos last night - not like the dips the night before.

View attachment 2380 The nurse also said to ring back on Monday to see how things are going which I shall do. Hypos happen sometimes, and when they happen during sleep of course can be life threatening. Gps are generally not very expert at helping with this, so I am dependent mostly on the hospital to support and advise, and I don't think they can do much more at this point.

Wednesday night was worse, since the dips were shown in red, and clearly hypos. Last night they did not quite reach that category.

Wednesday: View attachment 2381
But...………..I think you can see why I could not make sense of the reading really....?
 

Liselle

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Oh good! Very glad this was relatively simple to fix. I hope it stays stable for you now. 🤞

Do you have any more ideas about the reading, in hindsight? The "words not trusted," for instance - any idea what that might've been about? Do you think Yi was describing the inner workings of your body, or the monitoring system? Or do you think it was addressing you, in a more accessible way?
 

TygerChild

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Oh good! Very glad this was relatively simple to fix. I hope it stays stable for you now. 🤞

Do you have any more ideas about the reading, in hindsight? The "words not trusted," for instance - any idea what that might've been about? Do you think Yi was describing the inner workings of your body, or the monitoring system? Or do you think it was addressing you, in a more accessible way?


Hi Liselle again, thank you for engaging with me about this.
I hadn't really looked at that phrase ' words not trusted'.....but I do think the Libre technology actually measures lower than the finger pricks. I have experimented with this and found twice that seemed to be the case, even taking into account the delay that Libre cannot avoid, given that it is measuring the blood glucose through interstitial fluid and not directly.

Another aspect to this is that I do not trust the emphasis currently placed on carbohydrates in the treatment of those with diabetes. Of course carbs need insulin. I have chosen to follow the ketogenic diet which means low carbs, (or some people choose no carbs), protein, and includes fats. I have been following this diet largely though not entirely strictly, for a number of months now, and I have to say it is SO much easier to regulate blood glucose that I think I now hold the record at the hospital for nearly 100 % within range! I monitor and document what goes on very carefully. But it is always scary when a hypo occurs, particularly when I am asleep and I am unaware of it happening and then can do nothing to control it.

So, basically, the words 'words not trusted' might refer to the conventionally established way of addressing diet for Type 1s ….keeping blood glucose levels down with insulin - the amount of insulin measured according to an agreed ratio.

Now insulin itself is a fat storage hormone - which goes some way to explain why people on a lot of insulin end up with high cholesterol levels and then needs drugs to lower cholesterol.

I use very little Novo rapid, which is the short term insulin for actual carbs eaten, and at the moment only the Levemir which is the basal, or background for the day insulin could be responsible for the low blood glucose readings. So the only thing that could be causing my hypos is if even that 3.5 or even the 3 units, is still TOO MUCH INSULIN!

Of course, the 'words not trusted' could simply mean that I don't trust that I will survive a night despite reassurances from at least one of the nurses at the hospital who simply said that cortisol will bring up the blood glucose if it drops during sleep.

It is clear to me that that does not always happen, or their would not be any casualties would there, and we know that there are....

If the going gets too scary I will simply set an alarm to go off at the sort of time hypos generally happen to me in the night.
 
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Liselle

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Thank you, Tyger. Those are good ideas, about "words not trusted."

I'm actually a bit surprised the monitor doesn't have a built-in alarm to wake you when this happens. I'm imagining a series of beeps...
 

TygerChild

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Thank you, Tyger. Those are good ideas, about "words not trusted."

I'm actually a bit surprised the monitor doesn't have a built-in alarm to wake you when this happens. I'm imagining a series of beeps...
Yes, Liselle, I keep thinking that too, but it doesn't. You'd think, given that is surely the most important thing about the technology, looking after safe blood glucose levels, that it would have been a priority idea??!!
That would be a tremendous help...!

Oh well, 'ours is not to question why'? andallthat?!
 

Liselle

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It might not do any harm to ask, when you have a chance. Maybe there's some good reason that neither of us can imagine.
 

TygerChild

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Yes. Well what I do know is that the way the graph on the software works, is that it does not get drawn up (as it were), until a reading is done, and then the lines are completed between the last reading and the present one. So the graph at night is not current, and only gets drawn up on waking. This means of course that the meter does not know what is happening until after the event!

This must mean therefore that the technology is insensitive to what is happening until the meter addresses it. So, as a consequence, the way it is made precludes any possibility of an alarm sounding when a person is going into a hypoglycaemic episode.

Unfortunately.

Yes, I will enquire. In fact I may write to the manufacturers to see if there are any developments afoot to deal with this problem.

I know that there is lots of research presently being done re. treatment of type 1 (and of course type 2) diabetes.

It might not do any harm to ask, when you have a chance. Maybe there's some good reason that neither of us can imagine.
 
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Freedda

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Hmm ... maybe that you need to be more practical and 'down to earth' in how you approach your blood sugar control, and this should take precedence over your personal happiness.

Also, that you need to pay more attention to how you self-monitor (and take responsibilty for) your blood sugar, and what you are eating, and how much activity you have. (And that perhaps on a daily basis, the Libre system might not be as good for this?)

And - setting the YI aside - if you are think that you are doing good job with your monitoring, and dosage, and food and activity, I'd suggest that you may need to speak with a medical professional about what's going on. There are so many factors to this.

Best, D.
 
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TygerChild

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Hmm ... maybe that you need to be more practical and 'down to earth' in how you approach your blood sugar control, and this should take precedence over your personal happiness.

Also, that you need to pay more attention to how you self-monitor (and take responsibilty for) your blood sugar, and what you are eating, and how much activity you have. (And that perhaps on a daily basis, the Libre system might not be as good for this?)

And - setting the YI aside - if you are think that you are doing good job with your monitoring, and dosage, and food and activity, I'd suggest that you may need to speak with a medical professional about what's going on. There are so many factors to this.

Best, D.


Well, thanks Freedda.

Interpreting this reading: Hex 45, lines 4 & 5 to hexagram 2, needs to be accomplished in context of the personal situation already described...

That is, that I am very conscientious and disciplined regarding my blood glucose levels ---and very responsible regarding working out insulin too when I need it. I also value, like everyone does, quality of life!

What I eat and the exercise I do are part of this.

The Libre is an amazing improvement on managing type 1, and so there is no way that is not the most helpful and do-able, approach presently available to me. for daily self-monitoring.

Also, as I said, I have already spoken to the diabetic nurse at the hospital, and of course that kind of consultation is on-going, with regular appointments, ---and in fact it is planned that I will ring the hospital again to update them on Monday,--- and to receive any pertinent advice, depending on how my blood glucose goes in the next few days.

Yes, it is a complex condition ----and not an easy illness to manage at all. It is said that I am rising to that challenge very well, despite the inevitable anxiety and depression that is accompanying the daily demands I now have to face.
 

Liselle

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I was about to post that I also don't know what Freedda based those accusations on. Maybe he'll come back and explain.
 

TygerChild

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Yes, thanks Liselle. I was a bit taken aback to say the least ----and can only assume this person did not read the thread!?
Freedda maybe doesn't realise you can't just make up a person's biography when interpreting I- Ching?!


I was about to post that I also don't know what Freedda based those accusations on. Maybe he'll come back and explain.
 

Trojina

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You are writing replies in the reply box of the person you quote so it's confusing and it looks like Liselle is writing or Freedda is writing when you are writing so you need leave the quote, go past the quote if you want it to be clear it is you who is speaking.
 

TygerChild

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You are writing replies in the reply box of the person you quote so it's confusing and it looks like Liselle is writing or Freedda is writing when you are writing so you need leave the quote, go past the quote if you want it to be clear it is you who is speaking.

Ah, like this? thank you Trojina!
 

Liselle

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One possible way to interpret the reading might be:

Great effort (45) and "endless support / strength of a mare" (2) as a framework or general map - and then the moving lines as the picture inside the frame, or the pins in the map, could be saying that you're already doing that and so great good fortune follows (line 4). Line 5 might mean that these problems will be able to be straightened out.

Or something like that. I'm not finding the right words. But I wonder if line 4 reflects your general approach, and line 5 reflects these hiccups and bumps in the road that have to be sorted out.


Ah - maybe "growing pains" is the phrase I was hunting for. You've been doing this for only a number of months, maybe it's normal to have to make adjustments. For all I know maybe it'll always need adjustments. Type I diabetes is a lot harder even than Type II, from what I understand (which is very little).
 

TygerChild

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One possible way to interpret the reading might be:

Great effort (45) and "endless support / strength of a mare" (2) as a framework or general map - and then the moving lines as the picture inside the frame, or the pins in the map, could be saying that you're already doing that and so great good fortune follows (line 4). Line 5 might mean that these problems will be able to be straightened out.

Or something like that. I'm not finding the right words. But I wonder if line 4 reflects your general approach, and line 5 reflects these hiccups and bumps in the road that have to be sorted out.


Ah - maybe "growing pains" is the phrase I was hunting for. You've been doing this for only a number of months, maybe it's normal to have to make adjustments. For all I know maybe it'll always need adjustments. Type I diabetes is a lot harder even than Type II, from what I understand (which is very little).

Thank you so much Liselle for your comments. That sounds encouraging, and from my own interpretation seems to fit. I am certainly doing my very best, have totally changed my diet and I am really engaging with the demands as much as I can. I am trying to approach this as a curiosity which helps me really to be more up-beat.
The body is truly an amazing thing, and despite the massive blow this illness diagnosis has been, I still have a lot to be grateful for in my life.
 
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Freedda

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I was about to post that I also don't know what Freedda based those accusations on. Maybe he'll come back and explain.
Freedda maybe doesn't realise you can't just make up a person's biography when interpreting I- Ching?!
I am sorry if anyone took what I said in a way I didn't intend: I did not mean to make 'accusations', nor make up anyone's personal biography - I made observations and suggestions, based on what I was seeing in the query and on my own experience with diabetes. That is far different. And I am not perfect, nor know-all and see-all, so if some of what I said doesn't apply, no one has to take it as the gospel.

And in case anyone missed it, I ended by saying, 'if you are think that you are doing good job .... ' Maybe I should have said, 'if you are doing a good job ... ' but in either case, I feel there may be more happening here than the Yi's answer can tell us (or at least more than we can understand) and I suggested you seek medical advice. That was not meant as an accusation; it was meant as common sense advice.

****

By way of an explanation: I was, in part, looking at the upper trigram moving (because of moving lines 4 and 5) from Lake (Joy) in the primary hexagram to Earth in the resulting hexagram. It made me think, if I were a doctor, what sort of 'down to earth', practical questions might I start with if a patient said they were having trouble controlling their diabetes?

So, I might ask: are you still taking your own blood sugar readings? Are you eating well? Are you getting enough sleep and exercise? Are you being careful with your insulin doses? And so on. These are questions that I think would go a long way in giving good advice or a correct diagnosis - hence to avoid mistakes (45.4), and to come from a position of trust (45.5).

So, again this was never meant as accusations, and I wasn't M.S.U.; nor did I mean to be making up someone's biography.

(The first question is based on what I read about the Libre system, where it was recommended that it not be thought of as a replacement for someone taking their own daily blood sugar level readings.)

Best, D.
 
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Liselle

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I suggested you seek medical advice. That was not meant as an accusation; it was meant as common sense advice.
Okay, I see what you're saying, thank you for replying...it's just that Tyger had already said she'd already done that, and gotten their advice, which had already helped.
I have phoned the hospital and spoken to a nurse yesterday and they simply said to reduce my basal insulin from 3.5 units to 3, which I have done.

Last night, although the dips, from the look of the graph almost touched my parameter which is 3.9 mmol. they were not quite hypos last night - not like the dips the night before.
[...]
The nurse also said to ring back on Monday to see how things are going which I shall do.

Also I do see now where you (Freedda) got the idea that being practical should have precedence over Tyger's happiness - from lake trigram changing to earth trigram, thanks for explaining. I guess in light of everything that had been said, I wonder if the trigrams mean something different in this case? "Happiness" is only one possibility for dui.

Reading a few 45 Image commentaries (Hilary, Bradford, Wilhelm), an option might be that "too much lake; more earth needed" (how Harmen might put it, I think) has to do with trying to keep the lake contained within the earth so it doesn't overflow. Not sure how to apply that to diabetes...are hypoglycemic incidents caused by an overflow of insulin? Kun seems to be used in 45 to signify the banks of earth that are (hopefully) containing the water. I think this reminds me of how the point of the monitoring (45 is partly about being watchful) is to keep Tyger's sugar level within set parameters, as shown on the graph - ?
 

TygerChild

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I am sorry if anyone took what I said in a way I didn't intend: I did not mean to make 'accusations', nor make up anyone's personal biography - I made observations and suggestions, based on what I was seeing in the query and on my own experience with diabetes. That is far different. And I am not perfect, nor know-all and see-all, so if some of what I said doesn't apply, no one has to take it as the gospel.

And in case anyone missed it, I ended by saying, 'if you are think that you are doing good job .... ' Maybe I should have said, 'if you are doing a good job ... ' but in either case, I feel there may be more happening here than the Yi's answer can tell us (or at least more than we can understand) and I suggested you seek medical advice. That was not meant as an accusation; it was meant as common sense advice.

****

By way of an explanation: I was, in part, looking at the upper trigram moving (because of moving lines 4 and 5) from Lake (Joy) in the primary hexagram to Earth in the resulting hexagram. It made me think, if I were a doctor, what sort of 'down to earth', practical questions might I start with if a patient said they were having trouble controlling their diabetes?

So, I might ask: are you still taking your own blood sugar readings? Are you eating well? Are you getting enough sleep and exercise? Are you being careful with your insulin doses? And so on. These are questions that I think would go a long way in giving good advice or a correct diagnosis - hence to avoid mistakes (45.4), and to come from a position of trust (45.5).

So, again this was never meant as accusations, and I wasn't M.S.U.; nor did I mean to be making up someone's biography.

(The first question is based on what I read about the Libre system, where it was recommended that it not be thought of as a replacement for someone taking their own daily blood sugar level readings.)

Best, D.

Ok,well thanks Freedda. I just experienced your comments as quite a wack of judgementalism….!... and it seemed like you had not taken on board the key points I had said about how I was managing my condition very actively, conscientiously and largely effectively..... and firther, having already done, and doing the things you were telling me perhaps I ought to do!

It really did seem that you had not read a word that had been said!
 

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