had a big scare yesterday, my hubby's uncle

[Christinety]

Hi all,
Haven't been around lately... but I had to share this with you. Yesterday we were at my husbands Aunt and uncles house. We are very close with them. Not only are they retired military (my hubby is in the military) but his uncle is type 1 diabetic. So they have been a major source of information and support ever since my husband was diagnosed with the big D.
Yesterday we were there to help replace the roof. There were three men working on the roof. My husbands uncle collapsed, and didn't appear to be breathing. My aunt got up there and I called 911. We thought he had a heart attack. After I got off the phone with 911 and we were sure he was breathing I took up his glucometer. He was at 51, just as the ambulance got there. So we gave him instant glucose, and did a stick 15 mintues later he was down to 41. So the EMT gave him a shot of glucose and they had to call the fire department to get him off the roof. They took him to the hospital, on the way there his heart rate started to drop as well as his glucose.
Thankfully he was stablized and his glucose went back up. The doctors said that he was so physically active his sugars started to go low, and then because of the heat it intensified the low, and that was probably why he didn't get the usual symptoms of a low.
Let me tell you I was quite scared. I wasn't sure he was going to make it at first. It sure taught me to make sure my husband has enough carbs readily available while he is working in the heat.

[Funnygrl]

That is so scary! I'm sorry that happened to your family.

I was at camp one time and one of the other staff members collapsed- also from too much work in the heat. The heat speeds up the insulin I guess.

[BriOnH]

It's so bizzare to me how sometimes you can be 51 and black out and other times you can be 25 and still function well.

Sorry to read about your uncle, but am glad he is ok. How long has he had type 1 diabetes for? At least if you get diabetes while in the military, they will pay you for life and you get medical for life. If you are going to get type 1 diabetes that is the place to get it.

[Christinety]

My uncle has had type 1 for 30 years... he was diagnosed at the age of 30. The weird part about it is that my aunt didn't even think of a low when it first happened, because he had just eaten macaroni salad, about a half hour before, so she figured there was no way he was low.
As far as the military goes it depends on the amount of time in service and if you are active duty or national guard, and the type of diabetes you have. My husband with an offical diagnoses of type 2 ( I think he's 1.5) was facing getting kicked out on medical discharge because he was on insulin. Now that he's off insulin and on oral meds only they are saying he will be able to stay in his full 20. We're still waiting to see exactly what they are going to do.

[KickStart101]

Good Heavens, your poor Uncle. And on
the roof of all places. Thank God he didn't
have a heart attack. Thank Goodness he
didn't fall off the roof.

I know what you mean about the sun's heat.
It seems to suck the sugar outta me also, even
if I'm just sun-tanning. I always make sure I've
had enough to eat and test before I do anything
outside for more than a half hour. I also take a
juice and something sweet out with me.

I'm Glad he's okay. :)

[xMenace]

It sure taught me to make sure my husband has enough carbs readily available while he is working in the heat.

In any situation like this where abnormal physical activity is involved, you need to stay ahead of the bg's. Take the extra carbs ahead of time and test regularly. It's no good having them with you in case you feel low because, as happenned, you may not feel it. It's much better to drift high than collapse while on top of a ladder or cutting wood on a table saw. I treat doing any working out in the hot sun as a red-alert situation.

[notme]

All I can say is YIKES. You know I get caught many times with lows right after eating. You just can't believe that after a meal that you can go low a few minutes later.

Thank goodness all is ok with your Uncle. Lesson learned!!! scary.

[shockme]

hi christinety!glad your uncle's ok now!up on the roof,of all places!coulda been alot worse...take care,trish

[andypoo]

I have another brother who works at Six Flags in St. Louis,Mo. And has type 1, He's an HVAC Technician so he works with all the water rides and has to keep them flowing. He has to climb the high water tower and make sure it's in working order. I get scared for him. I'm afraid he's going to have a low while he's up there. He takes meticulousl care of himself,but you know accidents happen. He works really hard and it's very taxing work and it gets windy and hot,cold, icy up there on that tower. Being a diabetic that type of job really can take it out of you quickly,so he carries something on him all the time.

[Gordonm]

Kind of sounds like he over bolused for his meal. For his BS to keep dropping that fast he must have had a decent amount of insulin working. I have worked in the heat many times and it does do weird things but I have always been able to bring myself back. Did the salad have a lot of fat in it? This will delay the carbs coming in. I always try to learn from my past experiences and try not to duplicate the bad scenes over again.

[grace girl]

So glad he's okay! I've learned the hard way that it's better to run a litte higher than normal when I'm working out in the heat...it really zaps me. Or, as they say down here, it's not the heat, it's the humidity!