You’re very lucky. 500-1000 times would scare me witless. I’ve come close to a seizure once & was glad I wasn’t alone. Drowning in the tub also scares me. I tumbled down the stairs from being low, but thankfully didn’t break anything.
Sorry, know how it feels when people say just stop about something. It’s not that easy to just stop.
Well, if it makes you feel better (probably not), it’s fairly hard to drown in the tub. I’ve gotten really low in there several times. Once I breathed in water, but that automatically wakes you up (and it got me out of work for several days, and they just knew I had pneumonia). But usually I keep my head above water, and the worst consequences (still pretty bad) are flooding my apartment and destroying anything on the floor.
That’s good to know:) I detest lows. Hate the low feeling, hate how I can’t think, hate feeling helpless & out of it. Lows also make me feel depressed & weepy.
Those ghosts of those lows whispering they WILL come again…
Stuart
How bout FEAR 303 (Advanced Fear).
“It” is gonna happen again… WHEN is the sole question. How severe, how acute none can predict.
There are quite a few studies that show brain damage can occur from extreme hypoglycemia (hypoglycemia enough to cause coma).
Here is one example that cites other papers with such results as well (emphasis mine):
http://www.nature.com/jcbfm/journal/v20/n1/full/9590858a.html
Fortunately, brain injury from hypoglycemia occurs relatively infrequently in humans. Thus, among 1,307 patients experiencing drug-induced hypoglycemic coma, whereas 8% died, only 2% developed neurological sequelae (Selzer, 1989). The literature references only isolated cases of hypoglycemic encephalopathy, but large series are absent (Kalimo and Olsson, 1980; Auer et al., 1989), suggesting an infrequent occurrence of hypoglycemic brain damage. Even so, exposure to hypoglycemia should be avoided for several reasons. Infants experiencing hypoglycemia have an increased rate of impaired neurological development (Lucas et al., 1988; Rovet et al., 1987; Bergada et al., 1989). Young diabetic patients suffer a high death rate of 1/800/year due to hypoglycemic episodes (Borch-Johnson and Helweg-Larsen, 1993). Furthermore, the incidences of cerebral cortical atrophy and of cognitive declines are higher in type 1 diabetic patients who experience severe hypoglycemic episodes (Wredling et al., 1990; Deary et al., 1993; Perros et al., 1997). The finding that closely controlling the blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetic patients reduces microvascular complications (DCCT Research Group, 1993), though at the price of increasing the occurrence of severe hypoglycemic episodes (Deary et al., 1993; Lincoln et al., 1996), implies a difficult risk assessment that is predicated on knowledge of hypoglycemic brain injury mechanisms.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Very few reports are available on serial changes in the human brain after severe hypoglycemic injury. The aim of this study was to investigate sequential neuroradiological changes in brains of patients after hypoglycemic coma compared with those after cardiac arrest previously studied with the same methods.
METHODS:
We repeatedly studied CT scans and MR images obtained at 1.5 T in four vegetative patients after profound hypoglycemia associated with diabetes mellitus.
RESULTS:
In all patients, consecutive CT scans showed symmetrical, persistent low-density lesions with transient enhancement in the caudate and lenticular nuclei and transient enhancement in the cerebral cortex 7 to 14 days after onset. Serial MR images consistently revealed symmetrical lesions of persistent hyperintensity and hypointensity on T1- and T2-weighted images, respectively, in the caudate and lenticular nuclei, cerebral cortex, substantia nigra, and/or hippocampus from 8 days to 12 months after onset.
CONCLUSIONS:
Repeated MR images revealed specific lesions in the bilateral basal ganglia, cerebral cortex, substantia nigra, and hippocampus, which suggests the particular vulnerability of these areas to hypoglycemia in the human brain. We speculate that the localized lesions represent tissue degeneration, including some combination of selective neuronal death, proliferation of astrocytic glial cells, paramagnetic substance deposition, and/or lipid accumulation. The absence of localized hemorrhages on MR images in hypoglycemic encephalopathy is in marked contrast to the presence of regional minor hemorrhages in postischemic-anoxic encephalopathy.
My own conclusion, after reading a number of these papers, (I am not a physician), is that hypoglycemia is certainly not risk free and extreme fear of hyperglycemia to the extent of inducing frequent hypoglycemia can well cause more damage than what the person is trying to avoid, given A1C’s that are reasonable.
Anna, I’ve had several friends die of severe lows. Some had trouble with lows but were trying to prevent them and some died because a hard low came out of the blue. In other words, there wasn’t a pattern of them having severe lows.
Wish they were around to participate in this thread.
I agree with HPNpilot and appreciate the references. I used to come out of lows, even when my BG was 20 or less. But I have been on Metformin for the last two years (plus pump x 10 yrs) and the Metformin has wiped out my liver’s ability to put out glycogen during my lows. It takes my friend two hours now to bring me out of a severe low that I used to come back from more quickly or on my own. I plan to talk with my Endo in November about either reducing or stopping the Met for a while. I was put on it due to increasing TDD insulin and the Met has really helped that but I am concerned about the potential for a bad low when driving or being somewhere where no one knows what to do.
I wonder if Anna really understands the dangers she is courting with the low hypos. Her business, but I really don’t want to risk that kind of disaster. And yes, people can and do die from severe hypoglycemia. Not many, but how many do you need?
Hello Nell:
All perfectly valid concerns in my humble experience(s)… To answer your question directly, as long as its not you or me (i.e. dying), the choice is ours to make, right?!
Myself I am not nearly so clear that “others” will solve the problems if they encounter us “in trouble”? How many stand by and wait for help like sheep, when they could easily provide what is required? As for Anna, she raised the question… hopefully she’ll stay engaged in the discussions around it.
Given the choice to eliminate one or the other HIGHS (DKA) or LOWS completely from existence… which would you obliterate? Myself, I’d remove any/all lows with no hesitation of any kind myself. Highs are annoying, but much, much slower, therefore far easier to cope with. Dangerous sure, but not the room filled with agitated/hostile rattle snakes which lows imitate…
Merely my opinion, I could surely be mistaken…
I just wanted to drop by and say that people will help you, no matter what. Even if they don’t know what to do, they will call the hospital and ask them to help. I’ve been low at the grocery store, and people will ask me what I need; I’ve had a couple people go buy me juice/sodas, because I told them that’s what I needed, and they would stay with me until I was back to normal. (And these are just random people who saw me struggling. I haven’t gotten that low in a public place for about 6 months, but I do think you should know that people are usually very helpful if they can be.)