How did you go into a coma? Becayse ur sugar was to high? how high?
same here!
If you look in the discussions archive, you will see a post I wrote called My Coma. Itās the long story. But the short story is that I was depressed, bingeing on carbs, taking insulin, but not enough, and ended up with a BG of about 600, extremely dehydrated, in acute kidney failure, and almost dead. But thanks to loving friends who came looking for me, and got me to the hospital, here I am to bug everyone! 
Wow, Iām starting to feel lucky that I have neuropathy. Mine gives me a very high tolerance for discomfort, other than being diabetic I was the healthiest person at work. Never got a cold or flu, no headaches. Even going to the dentist is A-OK. Iām sorry for the state youāre in, Gary, and hope things will get better. In the meantime Iām just going to sit here in my little numb world and feel grateful.
It has been said that we donāt fully understand our freedom unless it is taken away. I wouldnāt want to spend a day in prison just visiting, much less living there as a permanent residence. It seems to me that if one is unfortunate enough to have a chronic illness, diabetes is the one to have. I live very well with diabetes and it does not, and will not, limit me. Diabetes is a very unique part of me. It does not, nor will it, define me.
Gary, I hope you get your mind around the fact that diabetes will not limit you in your ability to live. If you feel lousy 90 percent of the time, it could be that your control isnāt the best. I am no physician, but I do know that diabetes is all about acceptance and management. Both are easily accomplished. If you need help,. there are many resources out there to see that you get what you need. The first step is yours. Reach out for it, and accept what is given to you.
Be well.
Brian Wittman
Feeling lousy and experiencing swings in blood sugar does not equal bad control.
In another discussion I mentioned that my bg went up to 300 for no reason whatsoever. It had been normal all day, and I didnāt eat anything within the 3 hours before, and I had my basal on board. STILL it went up so high!
Anyway, I know very well how much blood sugar levels affect the ability to enjoy a movie.
During the last 2 months, Iāve experienced both: one time my bg was perfect (slightly dropping at first but easy to fix) and one time I started out somewhere ~100 and by the time I left the theater it was in the 200s. Again, I have no idea what exactly happened and got surprised by the number on my meter. But what I can tell is that I definitely felt that change. Towards the end of the movie I got to a point where I couldnāt really enjoy it anymore and struggled to follow the actionā¦ not an experience I feel the need to repeat.
What Iām saying: If you are sensitive to blood sugar swings, they actually can affect your ability to enjoy things.
The difficulty here is to find a way to get around that limitā¦ most of the time I can but Iām looking for answers/ideas myself so I canāt really help here.
...diabetes is all about acceptance and management. Both are easily accomplished.
Sorry, I have to disagree.
I agree with Jeska that for many, it is not so easily accomplished, but that doesnāt mean anyone should stop trying. I never had good control until I started limiting carbs, and increased my protein so as not to be hungry. At this point, I can usually stay under 140 - 160, while before I was usually well above 200 after meals. I STILL havenāt figured out the exercise part. So I found what works for me in one way at least, but YMMV ā everyone needs to find what works for them, and it may NOT be easy.
Just a thought here about the sensitivity.
We are learning through the Joslin Study that some T1 Medalists have a protective factor at work which seems to prevent complications. Could it be that this super-sensitivity is at work for those who do not have this factor.
My brother has had very high numbers for most of his 18 years with T2 and he seems to thrive. He has had no complications beyond prescription changes for his glasses. When I had high numbers for 2 months (much lower than my brotherās numbers) I felt so sick all the time that I thought I was going to have to quit my job. I developed neuropathy during the second month as the numbers continued to climb.
My brother could not understand why I was complaining so much about numbers that he considered to be okay and I canāt understand how he can tolerate the high numbers. My fear is that his body will just give out one day. Butā¦ who knows? ā¦ I could be wrong.
Soā¦ while we all share this disease, I donāt think we can possibly understand what someone else is going through unless we experience it ourselves.
Hereās hoping for that cure for you Gary!
Iāve also seen low vitamin B12 listed as a cause of some of the problems.
Also low thiamine listed as causing some of the kidney problems related to diabetes:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7796073.stm
Another thing to think about: Would you consider volunteering for the clinical trials of a type 1 treatment so new that the FDA hasnāt approved charging for it yet?
Although prisoners often volunteer for the early stages of clinical trials, very few clinical trials require you to be a prisoner. You might need a long trip at your own expense, though; this site has not mentioned just where yet.
This sensitivity thing is an interesting topic.
Sometimes itās very hard to understand and even harder to explain to someone whoās experiencing the exact opposite of what we are feeling.
Iāve met a girl whose A1C was 12+, she was in the 400s for long periods and didnāt feel bad at all. She was walking around, partying, talking. Iām lying in the corner if my blood sugar is 300, fortunately a rare case. And sometimes Iām too restless to sleep at 130.
At this time I was wondering how on earth one could get across to her that her numbers were way too high and that she really should get them under control while it didnāt bother her since she was feeling fine?
Now Iām wondering the same thing about Garyās case (and a bit about my own), though the other way around. How does one learn to cope with blood sugar swings (you cannot avoid completely) if you happen to be so sensitive to them? How do you learn to live with them and feel okay if your body doesnāt really let you feel alright?
I donāt know why you disagree with that statement, Jeska.
Sometimes accepting what the disease throws at you, or its challenges of management seems insurmountable. That is when we have to choose to do something, even if it is wrong. We try to face the issue with the tools that we have and see what happens. If nothing works, we learn what does not work on this particular occasion. That is using our knowledge and management skills as we know them. When something does or does not work, we learn that for the next time and something is accomplished.
Simply running away, wanting to be somewhere else, believing that whatever is too hard or feeling too lousy is not the answer. I once thought I could never count a carb because I am a mathmatic neophite. I was able to reach out to someone who can count carbs, and that person said to me: " It isnāt that hard. Here is how to do it." She showed me how and I have learned enough to estimate my proper insulin use, and I await my pump.
This whole thing is difficult when it is fought. I hate the phrase: Fight the disease We are far better off to stop fighting the disease and accept it for what it is; a chronic disease that can be managed. diabetes does not define me. It is a very unique part of me. We all have bad spots in our management. We are at our best when we overcome them and move on to bigger and happier things.
Charles Swindoll said it best:
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a companyā¦ a churchā¦ a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our pastā¦ we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitudeā¦ I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with youā¦ we are in charge of our attitudes.
Be well.
Brian Wittman
I was going to post that I agree with Jeska, but I will respond to you. I canāt explain her reasons why she stated what she said what she did, but I can explain mine.
I donāt have a problem with the acceptance part ā having diabetes is not something I can change so if I want to enjoy life, I need to accept it. The statement āBoth are easily accomplishedā is what I disagree with. Management is NOT easily accomplished. It might be for you, but it is not for everyone. I test my blood sugar 18 times a day and I donāt have a problem doing that. I know all the little formulas that should work, but that doesnāt mean that they will work. Just because something worked yesterday doesnāt mean it will work today. I can do the exact same thing 10 times and get 10 totally different results. I have gastroparesis, which is nerve damage to my stomach. What I ate for lunch today might digest tonight or it might not digest for 2 days. Maybe 1/10 will digest today, maybe half of it will. I eat the same food every day and I also eat easy to digest foods but there is absolutely no predicting when my food will digest. I literally make hour by hour decisions on what to do based on what my BS is doing. I can assure you, it is NOT easily accomplished!
I know someone that went to the Mayo Clinic and was told that she would never get an A1c below 7 with gastroparesis. I know that is not true, because I have done and I know a bunch of people here that have also done it with gastroparesis. To get that A1c, I have to put a lot of effort into doing it and it is hard work, not easy. Working hard is something I would encourage everyone to do because our lives literally hang in the balance, but I would never tell anyone that management is easily accomplished.
I think you are right Peetie. I had a T2 aunt that was diabetic for as long as I can remember. She died in 2000 at the age of 77. Up until a little over a year before she died, she never had a meter to test her BS. When they put her on Lantus once a day, they told her to test her BS in the morning. She was kind of bragging one day about her morning number and asked me what mine was. I asked her what her number was before lunch or dinner- she didnāt know because she hadnāt been told to check. The next time I stopped, she had checked and was surprised at how much it went up. I donāt know what her A1cs were all along, but I canāt imagine they were good ā she was always eating junk. You never had dinner at her house that she didnāt have at least 3 different deserts. She never had complications from diabetes and died from cancer.
Possibility. I know I never get sick with highs.
In fact, when I was 11 and diagnosed, the only reason my Mom suspected something was because I had pulled a finger nail and it wouldnt heal. Otherwise I was trotting around with I think something like a 700 bg.
My sister has been type I since 1948, last I heard (we lost touch) took two shots a day of 70/30 mix and hasnt been sick at all. No complications except retinopathy, same as me.
Obviously, this discussion is of great interest to me because I keep coming back to it and responding.
On the one hand, I guess I want to encourage Garyā¦but on the other hand I totally understand where he is coming from. (Not long ago, but before this discussion, I wrote a comment on Garyās page telling him I was greatfull he had the balls to say, well, the things he says.) And now I am really, really wondering, are some of us just super-ultra physically and mentally sensitive to this T1?
Donāt most of us agree that D, 1 or 2, is different for everyone. Isnāt that why this network is named āTuā Diabetes?
One reason I try to be positive on this network most of the time is because Iām sort-of trying to convince myself that I can handle this. That it hasnāt diminished me severely and completely turned my world upside downā¦
I have had this disease for 45 years, and I think it becomes harder to handle over time. I am from the dark ages of no meters, glass syringes, no A1c tests, etc. I think for decades I had constantly high bloodsugars and my body and my mind did not know what it was to feel fine or have normal readings. With tighter control and more options to try to maintain normal bloodsugars, now the constant fluctuations, is what my body and mind keep feeling that is off and the more frustrated I become, because now I know what normal feels like and anything other than normal, I donāt perform well.
I do get upset when people just tell me to suck it up, you have your pump, test your bloodsugar, what is so hard?
It is really hard to take when it comes from fellow diabetics, saying that is is a āpiece of cakeā
at :44 into it, they discuss regret. Then they get crazy. "It's better to regret something you have done than something you haven't". I think that it's important to try to beat it? Love the 50s nuke videos....
LOL@ āpiece of cakeā
ā¦but when your bloodsugar level directly affects/controls your attitude.