Last night I experienced my first "real" low. What makes it real for me? All the tall tale signs and symptoms that I have been dreading for the past 12 days since diagnosis with Type 1 Diabetes. There were a few instances before, where I worried my sugar was low, but when I checked, it was in the range of 130-200 (still don't have it quite under control yet).
I was all geared up and ready to fall asleep, had just checked my sugar and was proud of my number 113, when I decided to get just a bit more reading in. Within 30 minutes, I began to feel clammy, adrenaline, numbness in my arms, rapid heart beats. I checked and my sugar had dropped by 40 in just under half an hour. I was nervous and scared. I had emotionally and mentally prepped myself for this happening (and many more to come), but somehow found myself slouched over, propping my head up with my hand, staring into space. The rational part of my brain was telling me to "get up, go downstairs, get your mom" and the other part of me just sat there. I ate 1/2 of a Lara bar (a raw foods fruit and nut bar) as well as a candy, and did come around within 30 minutes to 117.
The experience was exhausting. That short glimpse of time, and I felt like I had run a marathon. I conked out almost instantly afterward. Now, I have woken up sick (stomach virus) and am worried about experiencing the same thing again, as I figure out how to keep calories in my system.
those are very good numbers for just being diagnosed 12 days ago. Lows are tough - your mind can really freak out and cause you to over eat. you handled it well. sorry about the stomach flu can you take in calories from liquids? (i.e. soup/broth/gatorade) hope u feel better soon
Yeah, so far I have not had an issue with over eating (though I have heard that some people have this problem). I am doing my best to manage my numbers, having not even been seen by an endocrinologist yet. Just eating super healthy. I am able to manage some tea with honey right now to get some sugar in my system, but don't think I could keep down much else :(
Definitely go see an doc/endo as soon as you can and see if you can get to a class. and ask here but real world doctors/educators are probably the best bet. feel better
Everyone is right, lows are difficult to handle. And as a type 1 you will definitely have plenty of them to deal with. Seeing a diabetes educator is good advice and I'd say...just keep learning, the more knowledge, the better. When I'm low, I try to stay calm and focus on what needs to be done (intake sugar). Your head can get cloudy when really low so when you feel you might be low the best thing is to not hesitate. Hesitation never helps a situation. Just test and get sugar. It's not easy but, you will come to handle lows better over time. Hopefully you'll avoid a lot of them :) Good luck and ask your doc questions any time you have them. People here are always pretty willing to give their two cents, too :)
Man that takes me back to when I was first Dxed. Well, welcome to Daibetes and TuD. Sorry you had to join the party. =^)
Grab some tree top apple juice in the cans from the grocery store. If your dropping like that, forget eating something with fruits and nuts. Either go with glucose tabs or fruit juice. That will make you rise faster and feel better quicker. One of the treetop cans is 20 carbs and only 7oz. You can drink it down in about 15 seconds. I would keep one by the bed so that you dont need to go downstairs in the future. Make it easy to access. You might fallow that up with 10 carbs and some fat/protein to keep yourself level.
How are you feeling? Just being DXed is a super crazy experience. Please, try not to get to overwhelmed with this all. I would take Joes advice and try to sign up for a class of some nature. There should be something offered over at UofW. If your up for some reading have a look at "think like a pancreas," "Diabetic Solution," and "blood sugar 101." Those are all recommended on this forum often. Also, if anything comes up that you have questions about, please dont hesistate to start a thread in the forums. There is a ton of people that have had T1 for a long time (as well as newly DXed folks like yourself) that are always happy to lend an ear and some advice.
Thanks for the bits of advice. You are right Onesaint, I should keep some good old fashioned sugar on hand (and I do have glucose tablets), but as a health nut who stays away from sugar in general, this is has been a difficult change for me. I need to let go of some of my control issues with this one and accept the necessary dietary changes (even if it means ingesting that God forbidden 15 grams of sugar).
I heard that a lot of people who get sick deal with sugar highs, but interestingly, I was able to maintain a steady 96-120 for the past 30 hours, which I was proud of. I didn't take any extra insulin either, just my nightly dose of Lantus. I kept the sugar steady with a few sips of 7-Up throughout the day, and unsweetened coconut water-the only thing I could keep down
I am currently working on getting myself into a class and seeing a diabetes educator. As someone without insurance, it is difficult to find an endocrinologist that I can afford, but I have an appt next week. On my own, through research and self educating, I think I have done a pretty stellar job with this!
Hey I am a newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetic too! and man I hate lows, but if you want to ask anything or have any question I would love to help you. When I was going through all of the new stuff it helped me a lot to have people there to just talk to and ask questions even the dumb ones haha!
