August 20, 2009 - this is a day that changed my life. Despite doing everything I can to
effectively manage my diabetes and take appropriate safety precautions,
you can’t always predict or prevent bad things from happening. Here’s my
story about what happened, and what I’ve learned from the experience.
Take a look at my latest post over at The Diabetic’s Corner Booth.
I’m glad you are o.k. and no one was hurt. Car accidents are scary enough with out adding low blood sugars into the mess I had a pretty bad accident 2 years ago, luckily not caused by diabetes, but an 18 yr old who didn’t know a red light meant stop and he shouldn’t have been speeding during a tropical storm.lol.I can still relate to your story. I worry often about the possibility of going low behind the wheel.Luckily I’m still sensitive to my lows and can usually feel them when I hit 80. However the other day I went to the local park by myself to walk. I checked as soon as I parked my car to make sure in the hour since I had left my house, and stopped at the pharmacy that my BG hadn’t lowered too greatly. I was at 135. I lowered my basal rate since I decided I was going to try and do 2 laps around the lake( 1 lap is a mile). I put some hard candies in my meter bag, and my diabetic emergency card in my meter as well. I managed to get about a quarter of the way around when I felt light headed and decide I should check.Suddenly I was at 73. I ate some of the candies I had and waited 15 minutes .I had risen to 89.I figured I should try to walk back to my car where I had a bottle of Gatorade my boyfriend left in the car the night before.I knew it was old ,but would raise my BG better so that I could go to the gas station not even a mile up the road to get some better acting carbs in me. I managed to get back to my car ( I went back down to 70) Drank some Gatorade and finally managed to get to the gas station, but I worried the entire time I may drop and possibly pass out. I also worried about this because I am uninsured and can not afford to add to the 5000 dollars of medical debt I have already accumulated. It is scary to know you’ve done everything you should and to still have emergencies. I hope to get a CGM when I finally do get back on my mom’s insurance in October(thanks to medical reform) so that I can try and avoid these kind of situations in the future.I was kinda scared at the time too, because it’s been years since I’ve had a low incident with out someone being nearby. Any way it was a great blog.
Wow see this is why I fear getting behind the wheel. I get alot of lows and not my fault I check 5-6 times a day and eat my meals on time. The idea of me causing an accident that might kill someone I can’t I won’t put anyone in harms way. So I get around by NJ transit.
huh this is kinda unrelated ,but my grandfather drove for the NJ Transit for 45 years.lol.
Wow Michael…glad you are okay. Really scary. I drive my kids around everywhere and this is always in my mind. I test right before and sometimes while driving too. Isn’t it intersting with lows, there is always something to be learned from the experience so it doesn’t happen again??? Crazy how there is always a new situation.
WOW - Firstly, I’m pleased that you’re Ok. Driving has been a real Dilema for me, I choose to use public transprt in London as it is the quickest way about but I now may need to drive for my job and it really terrifies me.
CGMS: It is so unfair that this is not freely available to T1’s It would also help eliminate Dead in Bed syndrome and make the lives of T1 mums so much easier.
Insurance: I am sometime guilty of NHS Bashing but my god I am so gratful that I don’t need to worry about the expense of my conditions, I can’t imaging being under that kind of financial pressure