I’ve tried to explain how I feel to my wife when my Bg’s get out of control…my words haven’t made it easier for her to understand… I know I feel miserable at best…and when they get too low, the world comes almost to a dead stop. It sometimes takes a full day for me to completely recover…how do you feel?
When my sugar goes to high or to low, I feel exhausted and sometimes it takes several days for my body to recover. When I have to explain to someone who has no idea I normally tell them that basically my body is shutting down as it needs time to recover, as that is what it is doing. I will sometimes sleep for almost 48 hours after a severe low or high.
Feels like you got hit by a truck sometimes. Just have her imagine herself at the time she has felt the most exhausted and mutliply it by 10 and she might get an idea on how you feel.
If my BG is really out of wack either way I feel like I have been hit by a truck and it takes several days to get over it.
My oldest daughter describes me as a woman with a very bad case of pms when my sugars are not in the normal range. I have had to apologize on several occasions because I am not a nice person when my sugars are out of wack. I am actually a nicer person pmsing than I am if my sugar levels are not in range. I am a “witch” when I pms.
Since being diagnosed with diabetes my dog has trained herself to not to allow me to be left alone in a room if my BG are extremely high or low. My dog usually runs to my oldest daughter tries to get her attention by barking like she needs to go out and she then runs back to me. This keeps going until we get the message that I need to test to see where my sugars are. There is nothing worse than a dog that has a very high pitched bark that will not stop no matter what.
I feel like the energizer bunny when the battery is drained . YOu can kimda feel the lofe going out of you and its a while to get the charge back up .
Cody,
Same truck has hit me several times too. You are exactly right, it’s as if your body has shut down and all batteries drained… and it’s time to recharge at natures pace…for high BG’s it sucks because you have to eat so it works against you too…eating pizza sucks fo BG level…but damn it’s good stuff!!! Thanks Cody
Okay, I forgot about having “DSA” Diabetes Sugar Attitude… where I get so aggrivated, agitated, and nothing seems to help and I realize… Oh, it’s my BG’s again… I’ll bet a good percentage of people in anger management classes have diabetes complications. I’ve gotten into a “rage” and asked myself what the hell was that about. To be honest no doctor has ever explained or warned me about it… Unicornzzz…you’ve stumbled upon something here about “DSA”
I’ve seen myself and friends go DSA and realize that it could be a sign of wacky BG’s. I wonder if the increase in diabetes is related to “SOME” anger management cases…
You’re right, I’ve seen my family look at me as if I’vE just flipped…least I’m honest… Thanks, Unicornzzz
For me, coming out of a low is like the worst hangover ever. It may take me a day to recuperate – and at least get back to being human. And oh boy, does it start in your stomach? Once it starts, there ain’t no stopping it! and then there are the highs – miserable. I get sweaty, feverish, headachy and yeppers, irritable. (DSA - I like the terminology. It fits)
Maybe you should just have your wife read these. 
Lots of descriptive phrases here
My wife understands to some degree. She has MS and deals with her own disability all day, so my problems pale by comparison. When my Bg’s are too high I feel horrible. I’ve had a viral infection this past week and it seems that nothing I do is working. My vision is off and I feel like I’ve been hit hard. I feel like doing absolutely nothing. It takes days to get back to normal. When I go hypo, I can’t think or make sense of the world. Overall, when my Bg’s are out of whack, I hate the whole experience of living.
When I’m high my mouth is dry and my muscles ache - especially my thighs. It is painful to even walk. I also feel sort of bloated and like there is sludge flowing through my body.
When I’m low it sometimes feels like the sidewalk is moving under me, like a treadmill, rather than me walking on it. Also generaly spaciness. And, blotches in front of my visual field. Sometimes I get the numbness around the mouth which takes hours to go away.
Last night I was at the grocery store after work and knew I was low. But, it was very cold here in Minnesota and I really wanted to get home. There was a whole football stadium of irrational voices yelling to me “oh heck, you can make it - just pay for the groceries and go”. And, one little rational voice in the upper bleachers screaming “don’t take the chance - test, treat, and wait until it comes back up.” Well, I tested (41), bought a big bottle of cherry coke and slugged it down but did not wait, even though the store has a nice seating area. Fortunately I made it home okay and am here to tell the story.
Lows don’t always feel the same each time. Sometimes it starts with a vague feeling like I am thinking in a loop that I can’t quite get out of. Post exercise lows often have me feeling OK, but thinking the lights are flickering, or there is a ceiling fan spinning that makes the light dim and brighten. And others start with that panicky, shaky, sweaty, out of control feeling of “I need to eat NOW”, which I absolutely HATE. The world has to stop so I can sit down and get some carbs in, which can be so frustrating. As I’m coming out of one, I often feel very cold, and sleepy. One low doesn’t tend to sap me for too long, but if I have a string of them, I can identify with the “hit by a truck” feeling.
Highs are, by comparison, not so bad. I mainly get thirsty and/or a bit fuzzy headed, tired (as in “get out of my way, I’m having a nap NOW”) and irritable. They can also impact my exercise performance leaving me more dead legged than normal.
I’m very afraid of the lows, and have a tendency to err on the side of running a bit high when I think there is a danger of it, or I have some important event where I need to have all my senses and thoughts working well. Probably part of the reason I have not as of yet passed out due to one. I can muddle through a high, but not a low.
Just realized this was posted as a Type 2 topic. I’m Type 1, using an insulin pump.
Kathy, those same irrational voices invade my head, as well as the rational one. Sometimes it’s just so hard to give ourselves permission to stop and take care of ourselves when we most need to. Glad you are OK.
Whew! Too close for comfort… it’s amazing you didn’t pass out…those are lights out numbers for me… I’ve often gotten low at stores and got a quick soda and paid for it after recovering. It sucks when I’m out having a good time and a low BG ruins the moment… After recovering I have had to get home to recover, leaving my shopping unfinished. I’ve started to pack glucose tabs and in a quick fix, if my brain is working through the fog I’ll get some sugar at the coffee counter …
Diabetes consumes our lives in so many ways. I understand how some get tired of it… but I’m glad you and many others keep fighting and contribute to others in this world.
When my sugars are high I know it.It’s usually because of the type of food I have eaten or if I was high before eating I know my chances are great of being high after a meal.I also get irritable.When I have a low I only know it if I am reading something and it doesn’t quite comprehend.I have hypoglycemia unawareness.I don’t consider it a disability as others have.I feel really priviledged when I read of what others have said about their disabilities.
Hello everyone. Perhaps this isn’t the appropriate thread to ask in, but for those of you using treatments that cause lows, how often do they happen? Once a week? Once a month? Once in a blue moon? I’m just curious because I’ve been told that I’ll have to go on insulin eventually, and I’m wondering what I can expect.
Brad,
Just depends on your body. I can have several in one day or go for months without one.
Cody
When I became a Diabetic they told me that eating at the same time (or close to it)everyday is important.Lows happen when you haven’t eaten enough food to cover the insulin or if you have had more activity than nornal you can have an insulin reaction.It is important to balance your insulin intake with your food intake.You probably will need to see a dietician if you haven’t already.You might want to consider an insulin pump if you have a tight schedule.I am going on one because I have hypoglycemia unawareness and I want more freedom to eat what I want.For me I get about 2 hypos a week.It all depends on the person.I can agree with Cody.Good luck.
I agree on the truck thing. That’s how I feel when my sugar has hit a bad low. I just feel like all around me are going at super speed and I’m in slow motion. As for my highs, I feel dead tired and can’t get going no matter
how hard I try. It is really hard for a non-diabetic to really understand how it feels or just what it does to you. I have tried to explain many times to my husband and kids. I know that it’s hard for them to understand, so I try
to be patient with them. As for the pizza…can’t live without it.
I agree with others here…I’m recovering today from two lows last night, one after the other (ugh). One weird thing sometimes happens when my BG is falling–for a split second I can feel the rush of adrenaline as my body responds to the drop. It’s almost like that moment in “Spiderman” when Peter realizes he doesn’t need his glasses anymore…I suddenly feel like I can do anything. No wonder people get addicted to the ‘rush’! Problem is, my burst of energy quickly goes south and I’m left feeling breathless and confused. Sometimes I can’t tell they’re happening anymore either. Last night all I could ‘feel’ was a sense of unease and finally did a test when I had trouble breathing.
I try to tell my husband about the peripheral sensations (dizziness, loss of central vision, numb/tingling tongue/lips), but I’m afraid I may scare him more than I educate him. He does know when something’s off, though.
Yes I tend to agree
“Low” - can start out like what I imagine PMS to be… then next person to ■■■■ me off gets whacked. It can also come on like an anxiety attack… a huge anxiety attack with shakes, sweat, and an adrenalin rush.
“High” is a sticky sore throat thickness like I am tired, or maybe getting the flu, for the thousanth %^#$# time.
It’s easier for most folks to “get” the high - no one will truly inderstand a low if they don’t take either insulin or a “kicker”.