Low Blood Sugar While Sleeping? Sleep Sentry is Back!
David Mendosa says "this device, which you can wear on either your wrist or ankle as you sleep, sounds an alarm when it detects one of the signs of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)..... It will beep repeatedly if hypoglycemia causes your skin temperature to drop or your skin to perspire.......The Sleep Sentry will not work for everyone. Extensive testing indicates that users may experience some false positives or false negatives. "
Dr. Julio Santiago, professor of pediatrics at the Washington University in St. Louis, says that before you decide one way or the other, consider this:
“Patients with past episodes of severe hypoglycemia must decide if an 80% to 90% chance of a ‘true positive’ alarm is worth the inconvenience of an occasional (1 to 2 per month) ‘false positive’ alarm…There is no perfect device to eliminate the danger of severe hypoglycemia. Patients who take insulin and have a history of past episodes of severe hypoglycemia should be considered candidates for the Sleep Sentry. Patients without a history of severe nocturnal hypoglycemia may also benefit from the Sleep Sentry, depending on the personal inconvenience associated with false alarms.”
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What if you have frequent hot flashes due to menopause. Can this sentry tell the difference in the two different "sweats" and alarm you only for the insulin reactions?
The Sleep Sentry tracks the physiological changes that occur due to hypoglycemia which are "cold sweats". If other "problems" cause the same or similar symptoms, it would not be able to differentiate and the alarm would sound.
Therefore, the Sleep Sentry may not be a good idea for a menopausal patient but it's a very important device for kids with Type 1 diabetes as well as anyone else with diabetes who experiences "cold sweats" due to low blood sugars while sleeping.