Had a bad injury over the weekend... Early Saturday morning (12:30am) got up to relieve myself. Coming back to bed, I stepped over one of our labs, Duke, to get back in bed. He chose that moment to stand up, tripping me.
Did a header into the solid wood nightstand, hit right on my mouth, lower teeth punched a hole (yes, an actual hole, teeth are fine, thank goodness) about 1/2" long through right below my lower lip. I thought about keeping it for a novel way to drink through a straw, buy my wife objected to the permanent The Walking Dead zombie look, so we went to the ER.
Anyway, I'm all stitched up and recovering. However, my BG was absolutely whack for the next 48 hours. I just couldn't seem to control it. Highs up to 300, hypos, didn't seem to matter what I ate, or insulin taken. Even starving all morning on Sunday to get my friend Dawn Phenomena (man does she have nice curves!) under control.
Everything's fine now. But I'm really scratching my head about the weekend. I wasn't on any different meds (I took Augmentin, but have taken that many times before without any BG issues), wasn't sick, slept well, etc.
I've sprained my ankle and also survived a car crash but I don't remember blood sugar issues. Jen's comment about stress and inflammation does makes sense.
Sorry for your misfortune. I hope you heal well and quickly, too.
Duke was probably wondering what all the commotion was about?!!
YOU ARE SO FUNNY! wow, last year i broke a toe on my way back to bed in the dark, but you definitely beat me with ripping your face open. nice one, glad you are back on the mend.
I agree with others that basically your high BGs were the result of your body reacting to the stress.
Think about it, why does Dawn visit you in the first place, besides your manly good looks? It's to prepare you for the first hunt of the day, right? So when you are attacked by a canine in the middle of the night and injuries occur, Dawn thinks you are about to have a weekend party, and she shows up with her sister, Stressy.
I should have taken a picture (not foremost in my mind at the time :-)) With all the blood and the hole below my lip just to the left, I really looked the part.
BTW, Duke is very, very sorry. I can see it in his eyes :-)
they did a real careful job on the outer stitches, and the margins were a pretty clean cut (not ragged), so there should be very little if any scarring.
Very disappointed that you did not take any Walking Dead pics, but very happy you did not sustain a closed (or open) head injury involving that pancake-topped brain of yours. Agree with everyone above RE the probable cause of your wacky post-injury BGs. That multi-hormone release causes several beneficial responses in addition to the less-than-optimal (absolute crap) extreme BG roller coaster you experienced. Among other things, those hormones (endorphins mostly) blunt our response to pain, enabling us to keep walking that last 5 miles to a medical facility after a crocodile has bitten off half our hand. Some of those hormones cause a time-limited peripheral vasoconstriction to prevent us from bleeding out sooner than desired. The burst of adrenaline enables us to get up and move in order to escape further imminent danger/injury and seek help and results in sufficient cognitive focus that prevents most of us from imploding into a mass of helpless panic. All things considered, not a bad thing, but it sure can wreak havoc on keeping the BG curves smooth for a day or three.
Bottom line, I’m more than pleased to hear that you lived to tell us your tale and will continue to sustain us with your delightfully sick humor.
Stress hormones are also real "sticky." I've noticed that when very stressful events occur that get resolved within an hour or two so that everything is completely okay, my pulse and blood pressure will still stay elevated for the next 8 to 12 hours.
From Pharmacokinetics of Corticosteroids, the half-life of cortisol is 66-120 minutes, depending on the steroid load. So when you get stressed and the cortisol levels go up, it clears slower.
At the high end, a 2 hour half life can explain why that cold-sweat feeling sticks around so long after the stressor is resolved, as you point out, Jenny.
I really hate that lingering, sweating nervousness.
Hi Dave. Once upon a time we had a dozen Collies and Shelties–wall to wall dogs, night and day. Fortunately, neither my husband nor I had your experience. Now we have two Golden Retrievers, who sleep in unlocked crates in the kitchen. Still, falling over one is a definite possibility, so I’ll keep your experience in mind. I have to say, though, if I had a pancake on my head, I’d quickly be knocked over and stomped upon!
