It's happened again...this time was the most unusual. I could tell that I was getting low and my Dexcom was trending downward so I stopped into a place to get a burrito for lunch. I ate my food but before it had the chance to bring me back up I started shaking badly and sweating profusely. A man approached and asked if I was ok. As he was talking to me, I got up and attempted to my make way over to the soda machine to fill my cup with a sugary soda but it was too late... Next thing I remember paramedics, firemen etc... ugh. My threshold in going from low to seizure/passing out seems to have really decreased. I have a call in to my doc to figure out next steps...
Oh gosh Brian! Hope your doctor can figure it all out. Stay safe!
?? burrito ?? Bad choice to solve a coming ipo, don't you think ?
Sugar, get sugar as pure as you can.
Next thing is to understand why did it happen.
Were you near a bolus, or did you exercised ?
Are you under MDI or micro ? Lantus one shot, too much ?
I don't know you, that's why my questions.
Yours is a bad experience, but think everything ended well, keep on going.
Man Brian that really sucks (don't have to tell you that:)). I know the longer I have diabetes the more difficult it is once I start to feel low to know exactly how low I am and how serious the situation is. When I was younger I was more successful at feeling the low. Now once I have that low feeling I just stop and test, regardless what the Dexcom is saying. That's the only thing I can think of. Hope you get things figured out.
I really had no idea how bad my situation was. It just seemed like my BG was coming down and that I needed to eat lunch. Not like I was crashing. In fact, my Dexcom alarm at 50BG wasn't even reached before I was really in trouble. I've never gone from being seemingly ok one moment to a shaking violently, sweating and passing out the next... Not fun at all.
How scary! Glad you're ok & weren't alone when that happened. Being alone while incapacitated from a low is a fear of mine. Strange how bad lows can seem to come from nowhere.
I think the scariest part of this whole story is the third word... "again". Use your meter to figure out where your BG is, especially when on a downward trend. It takes time for the CGM to catch up. And like Garidan said, a burrito, although high-carb, may not be the best choice. Lots of fats and proteins make it slow-acting. Did you bolus for it?
But in the end, you're on the right track. You made it through this one, and your taking the steps to talk to your doc and find out what to do now. Hopefully, he or she can help you figure out how to treat lows, or upcoming lows, and then to figure out how to avoid them altogether.
I watched my husband over the last 28 years hav more and more unpredictable lows. I have always been his helper, as I make sure I am with him everywhere he goes, except for work, and I pray everyday that he gets through the day. What upsets me mostly is he doesnt think that I try hard enought to feed him when his sugar level is in the 20's or lower. He thinks I am too quick to give him glucacom. Trust me, he is unconcious when I give him glucacom. It is only in the last few years that I have even had glucacom. Prior to that I was using an eyedropper with sugar water, which would take up near 45 minutes for me to get him out of shock. All to prevent him from going to the hospital, which he hates to do. I usually will get a lecture some after he is awake, about giving him the shot. What do you think?
Just wanted to add that he has had diabetes for 51 years, (since age 3), and physcially he is in great shape. Just cant detect the lows like he did years ago.
Patty, I'd suggest you encourage your husband to get a CGM which can alert him to low/falling blood sugars. It sounds like he's really got hypoglycemic unawareness.
I haven't had glucagon in years, but it makes you feel like crap (nausea), so I see why he doesn't want it. But if he's in the state you're describing unconscious) than you have no other choice and you're doing the right thing. The best thing is for him to find a way not to drop that low to begin with.
20 or lower is .... way too lower.
It's a nice thing he is in great shape, but he is killing you with his (many?) lows.
Perhaps he doesn't feel lows because he is very often low (under 80)?
A CGM is a good thing, doing more stick is good, and having a higher BG target could give him back the feeling a low is coming, before getting a seizure.
He won't use moderm technology. His doctor agrees with him. Tells him he will do fine with multiple sticks and giving insulin adjustments as needed with nph and humolog. One bad example of a low was, he tested at 215 at 11:00PM, and I discovered he was 26 at 4:00AM. He only takes NPH in the morning, I am convinced that somehow there is some NPH stored in his body, that hits in the wee hours of the night. This is a very common occurance. His doctor gives me a hard time with Glucagom prescription, also advises my husband that I am using it too much. Then why doesnt he push my husband to use modern technological devices. I know there is not much I can do, because I have been told over the years, that this is HIS problem, not mine, and he doesnt like me to be too involved. But this has effected me and my daughters who are now 15 and 20. I was thinking I would video tape the episode when Bob is at a low of 25 or so, and show how difficult it is to give him food. He thinks I should be able to wake him enought to each. I am scared he will choke, because over the years I have tried things like chocolate syrup, frosting, the glucose tubes, they all make him gag,and then throw up, mostly because he tells me they taste gross, when he comes to. The only think I was able to do, with much physical force was give him sugar water through an eye dropper, a little at a time, so he would gag, but it take about 45 minutes. IN the early morning hours, using this method also involved and lot him make very loud angry noises, sometimes screeming, which would wake the kids, over the years. Very stressful for my family, living in a small house, and then the dog chimes in. As you can see I am releasing all of this information finally to someone who might care or understand, why I choose to use the Glucogom shots, now that has been available and covered by my insurance in the last few years. Even though is cost $25.00 for 2 shots, I try to keep 6 in my house at all times.
The video tape idea is good. You have to let your husband understand, and after that, change doctor: he is **@@!!
Are you sure your husband doesn't take more insulin than you know? It seems he corrected with humalog that 215 ... I don't think it can be NPH in the morning acting late.
50 years are a long time, but even if he is in good shape he has not a good control.
I understand it's hard to change your husband mind, that's way a video could be worth a 1000 words.
Does he know/talk with others type 1 ?
His brother who is 57 has had it since he is 13, for 44 yrs, His brother has always ran high sugars, they use the same doctor. His brother has had eye laser surgery's stents in his heart a few years ago, and recently a quadrupal bi-pass. During the surgery he had a stroke that he lost all of his perifial vision, and is medically not allowed to drive any more. The doctor told my husband at a recent visit about his brother a1c history. In the 10's and 11's for years. what kind of doctor doesnt' act on that. That is why his brother is in the shape he is in. My husbands A1c is the 6 1/2 to 7, which is not bad.
6 1/2 to 7 is not bad, but if you get it going from 20 to 200 it's not good: can lead to problems.
And if you weren't there when needed, your husband would be dead, with a good a1c but dead: did he ever say you "thank you"?
I see it happen to people I know, but I cannot understand how Bob can trust a doctor who did so bad with his brother.
He use to thank me more before the glugacon shots. I will try the video set up. I will ask him what he thinks I should feed him today, so I am ready when he goes into shock at 3 or 4AM on any given day. I have told him over the years that he is very sensative to anything put in his mouth when he is in shock. I will have everything ready, the camera, the food/sugar of his choice. I will also set a timer so he can see how long it takes. I will let you know how it goes.
If you can't convince him to try "modern technology" (which doesn't have to be a CGM... dumping NPH for Lantus would go a long way in helping fight lows... NPH is unpredictable and nasty; getting off of that was the best thing I ever did, even better than starting on the pump), perhaps your daughters can. It's hard for someone to see their children scared and feeling helpless, and it's also harder to say "no" to them.
I have heard a lot about lantus. Not sure why his doctor hasn't recommended that. It makes sense to me. I will try to convince the doctor and him to give it a try. I agree, that NPH is unpredictable. Thanks for you help.
Patty, a few years back I was using regular R and N for my control. I would have lows often usually several times a month. I didn't have the problems you husband does (I could eat food and not gag it was just getting me to eat). I finally got off R and N and onto Lantus. I have been on it for 2.5 years now and the lows, while not a thing of the past are certainly a lot less.
In fact I am up right now after correcting for being 45 and waiting to see if everything stablizes. First hypo of 2012. I onlt had two night time lows last year and none of them were so severe that I couldn't take care of them myself.
Good luck.
Now if I can only participate in, and be a part of my husbands office visits, and be able to offer this information. Thanks again. By the way, I have another concern. Bob was invited to go the a convention with his friend, in April. Worried about the lows. He won't prepare his friend for this, since he never discusses it. No one knows what we do with our "silent disease".