A perfect storm of sunny, hot day, dehydration and pump malfunction put me into my first episode of DKA this weekend. I have been Type 1 for almost 9 years and have never been that sick even when diagnosed. My body responded great to IV fluids and meds and was only in ICU overnight. However, when I woke up Sunday morning in the hospital, my mouth and throat were beyond painful and couldn't swallow anything more than water. Is this a typical side effect from the vomiting? It's been 3 days and I can't swallow anything other than liquids and yogurt. Just wondering if there are any at home treatments that I could try to speed the recovery period. Thanks to all!
DKA is a rough experience no matter the severity! Out of curiosity (I assume they did), did your hospital check your electrolyte levels and what not? There could definitely be some lingering inflammation because of the out of whack chemical levels in your body. On a personal opinion, I think this can be fairly normal, especially if your vomiting was severe. Think of all the stomach acid that tore up your poor esophagus :( Especially since after the first two times, there was probably just some stomach juices and no substantial particles to take the blunt of the acid. Coupled with dehydration, it's not wonder your in some pain :(
Take some time to relax and fully recover from this! I know when I went into DKA it took around 8 months to feel completely "normal" again. I would try drinking some moderately cool liquids or moderately warm liquids (depending on your preference of hot temperatures or cool temperatures) with a little bit of honey (I know! Not the best advice for a T1, but honey has some natural healing properties :P), Other than that, internal inflammation is pretty hard to treat with home remedies. Listen to your body, if things don't get better within the next 3-4 days, I would contact your PCP just incase. The inflammatory process of healing should only last about 7 days :)
Good luck, feel better, and take it easy for a while!
I was in dka last year and had sores on my tongue from dehydration. I didn't have what you're describing but I don't think I had as much vomiting as you did so it could be the acids etc. My tongue was still sore on and off for a few weeks after and I used otc remedies to help. I was in the icu for 4 days and had severe acidosis and complications. I would just eat the liquids and yogurts and keep well hydrated and don't eat any foods that have high acid content. You should also be following up soon with your endo- I went every 3 weeks at first. Maybe you can call them and ask what they think is causing this and what you can do. Maybe some warm salt water will help? That usually helps sooth sore throats as well as some pain killers like tylenol or a throat spray? It could be your electrolytes too. You really need to take it easy and let your body recover from this, it is a big deal. Hope you start feeling better soon :)
My DKA experience left me with a sore throat. Believe mine was from vomiting that went on for several days. I mistakenly thought I had a stomach flu (ha!) & had no idea I was diabetic. I was hospitalized for four days & the sore throat was gone when I was discharged. I also had the worst metallic taste in my mouth that took a while to go away, but no mouth pain. That was from out of whack electrolytes & I was given huge potassium pills daily. Good idea to check with your doctor to be sure you don't have something going on that be or not be related to DKA.
The hospital shouldn't have released you until your electrolytes were balanced. That's something they monitor carefully.
Glad to hear that your DKA was short lived!
It's a total nightmare, I'm at 6months and still in recovery.
I was on a liquid diet for well over a week after my hospital discharge, lots of home made soups have been on the menu, I also found milk and porridge were good.
I've always tried to have plenty of fruit, but until you're body is ready anything acidic is a no, I couldn't even manage joghurt. You could try milk joghurt ice or cubes to sooth.
Regards, ash
Out of curiosity when you went into DKA how long had it been since you had checked your blood sugar? What was your blood sugar when you went in? Hope you are feeling better, how scary!
Thanks for the suggestions! We actually do a lot of honey around here-we have honeybees and use it for everything. Much better today-actually drank a whole cup of coffee! Trying to do soft foods that fight inflammation and it seems to be working.
The only number that was still iffy but getting normal was my CO2. My body recovered quickly with the balances but it was the effects from the vomiting that ultimately is my issue. But getting better every day! Thanks for your reply!
Thank you for sharing your story and I hope that you too are on the mend. This experience was no joke for sure! Lots of yogurt and soft foods that fight inflammation have worked wonders over the past few days.
It was really interesting. When I checked before getting out into the sun so much, it was 178 and I gave myself a shot of Humalog. From there it just went straight up. The highest was 450 when I was admitted to the ER. I would check and would give insulin to correct but it wouldn't budge. My question to the doctor was which came first? The high blood sugars resulting in dehydration or vice versa. Had never considered that the dehydration would increase blood sugars and then when I did finally get sick my numbers would shoot up 100 points every time. Yes, I checked before and after getting sick on the side of the road on the 2 hour trip home :)
Another question. After this experience, did anyone feel, well, "off" as in just not quite as sharp? I'm having a really foggy morning and at work yesterday multi-tasking (which I'm really great at) put me into a tailspin emotionally!
I was in 9th grade at the time of my initial diagnosis after some pretty severe DKA.
I was in the hospital over a week after initial admission, the electrolyte IV's out, still recovering from DKA and undergoing daily "diabetes training" (as it existed in the 1970's, yes oranges featured prominently). My mom was with me in the room. The doc asked me the name of my school and my teachers. I correctly rattled off the name of my school and teachers, from back when I was in fifth grade. The doc knew I was wrong, and my mom looked at me with some concern, and they gently corrected me. I of course knew they were right but it was clear that I was not yet "fully recovered".
Sometimes DKA is accompanied by cerebral edema which can be an even more profound effect on brain function.
Glad you're better!
Defintely glad you are feeling better!
High BG and dehydration kinda feed each other. The BG number is just concentration of glucose in your blood measured in milligrams per deciliter. As you lose deciliters of water through dehydration, your BG concentration (mg glucose/dl water) will rise without ever having to affect the total amount of glucose in your blood either way.
As your blood becomes more concentrated, it starts to affect the osmotic movement of water into cells from blood. You end up dumping the water, glucose, and salts into your urine. This Hyperosmolar Syndrome generally accompanies DKA.
I can't begin to count the number of times I've had DKA...but it's been well over 15 times. I don't remember my mouth or throat ever being sore after any of the episodes, though when I have an episode it's usually accompanied by pancreatitis as well. And with the pancreatitis, I'm not allowed to eat or drink (not even water for days, sometimes weeks so my throat gets a rest.
Glad you're feeling better. :)
This is very very scary to me, I've only had diabetes for 3 years. Can DKA be completely prevented? I have a CGM and check my blood sugar several times a day.
I think you are doing what you are supposed to do. I know diabetics who've never fallen into this condition but as you can see by the post, it seems to be something that does happen. I've had Type 1 for 9 years and never considered that it would affect me. My philosophy for overall health is to fuel my body and make it strong so that when and if something does happen, then I can bounce back and not miss a beat.
Wow, what a hair-raising trip to the ICU!! I'm glad you escaped and are feeling better. I haven't run into DKA since DX in 1984 but I still remember how ghastly I felt.
One thing I use pretty regularly is this stuff called Nuun. I got into it through the local running store. It's a zero-carb electrolyte drink for rehydrating without carbs. It is *extremely* effective with hangovers and I suspect that it might help w/ post-DKA grogginess you are mentioning. It comes in big "pills" that fizz like Alkaseltzer which, perhaps ironically, makes it somewhat useless for running water bottles as it will fizz enough to blow out the seams! It might take a few days to get online but if you have a running store by you, they may have some. A lot of the stuff with electrolytes, e.g. Gatorade, the honey suggestion, is loaded with carbs and I'd probably avoid that. Some of the flavors also have light caffeine, which may help get some wind back in your sails.
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Dear all,
I am currently recovering from DKA as well. I went into the hospital last Saturday afternoon thinking I had the stomach flu ( I vomited from 5am-2pm). I had DKA and after the Zofran and IV I felt great again nauseas wise, but was in extreme pain. My chest, neck, face, and even back was extremely swollen. I blew up to the twice the size of my normal self. I was diagnosed with Subcutaneous Emphysema. When I vomited so much from the DKA I actually popped a bunch of air pocket in my lungs releasing air into my chest, neck, face and back. I finally starting to go back to normal, but when you touch me can feel all the crackling. This was a HUGE reality check because this was the most painful thing I have EVER been through in my life. Time to REALLY get my diabetes into check!!
Hope you are feeling better soon! 