Had a scare...

[zookeeper671]

Hello everyone~

I'm pretty new to diabetes, don't know anyone personally who has it (haven't attended any support groups due to my hectic schedule), and don't really get a chance to talk about it, so here I am.

Last night and this afternoon I experienced some severe hypos. I've been hypo in the past, but never like this, and it scared me. The hypo I experienced last night rendered me unconscious/unresponsive. Thanks to my dog for having to go to the bathroom at 2am and waking up my boyfriend, he noticed my condition and took care of the matter via glucagon injection. Once I awakened, he forced me to eat and stayed up with me for a few hours to make sure I was ok.

Surprisingly, that 2am hypo (which I have little memory of) didn't scare me as bad as the one I had the following afternoon. I was sitting in class, became suddenly very hot, then began to sweat so profusely that I became soaked. It happened so fast and I became so disconnected with my surroundings that I didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. All I could do was just sit there and stare into space. Thankfully my instructor, who is also a paramedic, realized I was in trouble. He poured glucose gel into my mouth and shortly later tested my bg level (was 51mg/dl). Is 51 on a reading really that low to cause such symptoms?

I've read that stress can cause a rise in bg level, but my main question is whether it can do the reverse? I've been under an incredible amount of stress lately, an exhausing work load (yet have been able to maintain decent levels), and throughout have been following doctors orders faithfully.

I'm so embarrassed about what happened this afternoon in class. I feel I should have been able to prevent the situation from getting that bad, yet when it happened I seemed to have lost control of my mind and body.

There really isn't any reason for this to have happened, and according to my doctor, it's just a part of the disease that I need to "get used to and learn to manage." That's a pretty scary statement to someone newly diagnosed.

Other than a couple of questions, there really isn't a point to this post other than a means for me to gab with others who might understand.

Thanks for listening,
Angie
(Humalog, HumulinU)

[am1977]

Angie,

Sorry to hear about your scare. I'm sure going through that was scary. I have never felt that way when I got low, and I never have become unconscious, but I can imagine how frightning that would be. Don't be embarrassed about it, it does happen to many people. I do have a question for you, do you experience hypoglycemic unawareness? I am assuming so, since you have glucogon.

I don't know what to advise to you, I would just suggest bringing food with you at all times to treat the lows and also to test more frequently. I think those two things are key when you are prone to lows.

Hope you are feeling better.

[DeusXM]

Yes, hate saying this but unfortunately 51 is certainly low enough to cause those symptoms, in fact anything below 72 is a cause for concern. The really horrible thing (and I hate having to be the one to break it to you) is that, since you are newly diagnosed, your blood sugars have been at an elevated level for some time which means you are actually going to be much more sensitive to lower blood sugar levels for a while. When I got diagnosed, if my bg ever went below 90 I was getting hypos.

The good news is that this won't last, after a few weeks your body will normalise itself, but for the meantime you are going to have to be careful. You're on a pretty good insulin system, the one I used to be on before they moved meto Lantus, so you've got quite a lot of flexibility.

As for stress, it will raise bg levels, but here's the thing. You say you've got a heavy workload, which means your brain is going to be steaming overtime, and that means it's going to need sugar. Mental exercise burns up sugar too, maybe not to the same extent as physical movement but it's still significant.

The best advice I can give you is to always carry glucose tablets with you at all times, and maybe get a Medi-Tag or something similar so in an emergency people will know that you have diabetes. Most importantly DO NOT BLAME YOURSELF. This is not your fault. The learning curve for diabetes is unfairly steep, but as long as you don't let your condition overwhelm your personality then you'll get there. Don't be embarressed. F*** what other people think, it's their **** problem, not yours, and if you spend your life worrying about what other people might think you'll never get anything done. This might sound really militant and aggressive, but trust me, it works.

On a more practical side, deconstruct your hypo. Look at how much insulin you took, how much you ate beforehand, any physical/mental activity you did. See if you can identify a cause, because then you'll feel more secure in your knowledge. Another tip I'd suggest is to try and remember how you felt just before the hypo. Maybe I'm lucky or something, but I usually get this feeling about five minutes before I go low. I can't really describe it, but I just suddenly realise I feel a bit 'off' and I'll chug down a few glucose tabs just to make sure. If in doubt, eat some sugar because in my opinion it's better to be slightly 'high' than have a hypo.

Good luck to you. Given the choice, none of us would have chosen to have diabetes, and I'm afraid there's no other option available yet other than having to put up with it. Much as you might not believe it though, you WILL get on top of this, and what's more, you'll be a better person for it too.

[Andrea]

Hi Angie,

I have been where you are. And indeed, it is a very scary place!

The only time i ever went that low while sleeping was just after i had graduated from university and was back living with my parents for a while. I had some friends from out of town staying overnight and my mum came into my room to ask what time they needed to get up to get on the road - and i was wide eyed and completely unresponsive. She managed to pour an 8oz glass of OJ down my throat without choking me (not a good idea to feed anything to someone who is unconscious!!), and by the time the paramedics arrived and tested my blood glucose level, it was 2.0 mmol/L or 36 mg/dl.

They didn't leave until the glucagon had taken effect and my blood sugar was back up above 70 mg/dl. A few hours later, my blood sugar had gone as high as 22 mmol/L (400mg/dl) so i took somthing tiny like 3 units of humalog and then took a nap (lows like that are exhausting!). I am surprised that i actually woke up from the nap because when i woke up and tested, i was at 1.9 mmol/L or 34 mg/dm!!!!

At that time i was on NPH and humalog and was doing ok other than that one incident. But a year later, i had switched to Ultralente and my world fell apart. I was contstantly low, especially for the 24 hours that followed any exercise - and i am a pretty active person, so it was all the time. I was trying to establish blood glucose patterns and thought maybe i should decrease my nighttime dose of U, but anytime i tried that, i would be sky-high all the next day.

One morning i got to work at 8:30 and promptly ate my lunch. I wasn't conscious of the fact that i was low, but apparently my body has certain instincts! It took me an hour and lots of confusion to get myself out of that one. I couldn't remember my computer password and when the help desk reset it, i was still low, so the next day i couldn't remember what i had changed it to! I also pledged $20 to a collegue who was doing some fundrasing and she had to show me my signature on the sheet for me to believe her that i had done it. I had no memory of it at all!

While i was taking the U, i found that my lows would come out of nowhere and knock me over quickly. Several mornings i woke up to my mum feeding me orange juice and although i never passed out, there are times when i just have memory holes. And during that time, since i was having so many lows, my body wasn't responding as usual and i didn't feel the symptoms at all. Make sure you test more often than you would otherwise if you are having more lows than usual.

Stress can wreak havoc with blood glucose levels. In general, it does raise blood sugar but somtimes it depends on the type of stress and different people react differently. That 2 am hypo probably scared your boyfriend more than it did you. I had the same thing. I didn't feel like it was my experience - i was unconscious. Although the headache for the rest of the day was certainly my experience.

You might want to see if there is any way to make your diabetes management take top spot on your priority list of stresses for a bit. I know how annoying it is to fit diabetes into the rest of your life, but once it is well controlled, it becomes easier to adapt to your life. Since you are also fairly newly diagnosed, you may find yourself in a honeymoon phase where you don't need very much insulin. So decreasing insulin doses might be necessary.

I am actually surprised you are on humulin U instead of Lantus. Is there are reason for that, or is that just what your doctor prescribed? I agree that it wasn't a very appropriate comment for him to tell you to "get used to it". You should also see if you could spend a couple of days in a diabetes education centre where you may be able to meet other people with type 1 diabetes and also have a chance to really learn about the disease and its managment. And i hope you have renewed that glucagon prescription already!

Anyway, welcome to the club! Take care of yourself - when in doubt: test test test, and always carry some glucose tablets or other form of fast acting sugar with you. I think i should have bought stock in McCain Jr Juices years ago with the number of them i have consumed in the last almost 7 years!

Andrea

[rzrbks]

What Andrea and DeusXM. Without a dooubt.

The extra glucose I carry with me are tablets that you can find in any drugstore, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, really just about any place. They are different flavored tablets (Orange, Watermelon, Raspberry, Strawberry) that come in a plastic tube that easily fits in your pocket. Also, all the same places carry bigger bottles of refills.

I have tubes in--my car, my briefcase, on my dresser at home, in the office, in my wife's car, and if we are going some place where we'll be walking around I carry a some in my pocket


"Extra Glucose, Never leave home without it!!!!!!"

[zookeeper671]

I haven't suffered another hypo since yesterday afternoon thankfully, yet I still feel totally wiped out. I'm sure the fact that I didn't sleep well last night isn't helping any. When I did finally fall asleep shortly afterward my boyfriend woke me up by checking my carotid pulse. He claims he doesn't remember doing it. I feel bad that I have a boyfriend who in his sleep feels the need to check whether or not I'm still living. Unappropriately I joked about this with him this morning. I tend to use humor as a means for coping. It's my best defense at the moment.

Andrea~ I've only been on the Humalog/HumulinU combo for the past week. My doc first started me out on Humalog and Humulin70/30 and after I requested Lantus as a replacement he put me on the U. I was doing ok on the combo until I had those hypos. Other than being very tired, thus far I seem to be back on track.

Dues~ I deconstructed my hypos as you suggested, and for the life of me I still can't figure out what I did differently other than go to bed a few hours later than I usually do. I chose to stay up pretty late because my bf had fallen asleep on the sofa after I let our ferrets out to romp. One of our ferrets crawled into the sofa for a snooze and I needed my bf to get up in order for me to remove the ferret. (Didn't want to wake up bf because he'd had a long day.) My late night snack was the same... breakfast was the same... the only real difference was the ferret delay.

am1977~ I'm not sure if I have hypo unawareness because usually when I get a bit low, I get sleepy and a little cranky and those are a couple of signs that tell me I need to get something to eat. What frightened me is that the hypo I experienced in the afternoon hit me so fast and hard that all I could do was sit staring off into space and sweat. Felt like my body was tied to the chair and I couldn't move. The hypo during the night I pretty much slept through and didn't experience any warning signs. My doc prescribed glucagon in case of emergency... I'm really glad he did. (He said anyone taking insulin should carry a kit with them.)

Best wishes to everyone today, and thanks again from the newbie for your support.

Angie

[zookeeper671]

rzrbks~ I'm a fan of glucose tabs as well. My instructor (paramedic) made sure I ate a few after squeezing some glucose gel into me. Do the tabs work better than orange juice? My bf tends to notice a hypo before I do, and he usually gets me a glass of oj. Should I be chomping on glucose tabs instead?

Best wishes,
Angie

[HeatherP]

Angie - it may be a personal thing, but I've always felt that juice ups my b/s faster than the tabs, with less rebound highs.

I've never lost consciousness, but I've had 6-7 severe hypos: confused, unresponsive, seizures/convulsions. It's very scary stuff. When I was on NPH (for 11 years) was when I had them (last year). All except for one was completely out of the blue, with no seeming reason. I'm now on Lantus, and except for one time when I wasn't paying attention ant took Humalog instead (10u) I haven't had any more lows like that. If your teacher fed you the glucose and then took your b/s after, the 51 may have been on the way up. I remember the first time it happened to me, I ck'd my b/s @ 10 a.m. is was 66 - low, but certainly not life threatening. So I drank some juice and somehow got real bad real fast. My husband called 911 and by the time the EMT's got there I was back up to 68.

Since you're new to diabetes, others are right when they say that your body is so used to being high, that even a reading considered "normal" will make your body think it's low. When I was first diagnosed I was in the 400's, so consequently when my sugars dropped down below 200 I felt low.

I think it's fair to expect and ambulance ride at least once w/ diabetes - yours just came pretty early - mine took 11 years. I don't know much about the U insulin, but ck on when/if it peaks - and even if the literature says it doesn't it might just for you personally. Lantus supposedly has no peaks, but I sometimes get lows @ 5 a.m. Try to keep careful watch over your b/s, maybe get up in the middle of the nite a few nites a week to see what it's doing.

It shouldn't become a regular thing - just be a little more careful and I'm sure you'll get the hang of it!

Take Care,
HeatherP

P.S. Kudos to your b/f - he did great!

[DeusXM]

Don't wish to sound harsh but orange juice is just plain useless if you're having a hypo. Most orange juice is UNSWEETENED so you're getting an absolutely minimal sugar hit. If you want to drink something then go for non-diet soft drinks, but to be honest you're best off with glucose tablets because it's pure glucose, discreet and fast. When you're having a hypo, don't pussy-foot around. You need sugar. Who cares if it makes you run a bit high? That's the whole point, as far as I'm concerned.

[HeatherP]

I'd have to respectfully disagree. I find processed sugars (such as that in soda and regular candy) takes too long to act. Like I said, for me, juice has always been the fastest. Maybe it's just a matter of individual biology, the same as insulin requirements and insulin to carb ratios.

[rzrbks]

Angie,

I have used OJ, Regular coke, frozen custard(very yummy, not worth a d@^^n for BG level though) and glucose tablets.

Personally I metabolize Coke faster than OJ, but I keep both on hand, office and home. I have a faster recovery with Coke, then comes OJ, then comes the tablets.

According to CDE, it's another one of those things where you have to find out what works best for you.

Again, according to CDE, liquids metabolize faster than solids---keep in mind that is a general "rule of thumb."

I'm afraid that you'll have to experiment--- :( with you as the guinea pig.


My father-in-law uses cookies:D. Sometimes I think he hits lows
on purpose;) .


The wonderful thing is it sounds like you have a great support system. That is vitally important while you are learning your way around this disease and find out what does/doesn't work for you.
Be patient and forgiving with yourself and you'll soon be giving us information.:thumbsup:

[lgvincent]

For what it's worth, I've found stress causes me to have problems with insulin shock.

[HeatherP]

Me, too! I've had times when it's gone either way.

[WiseWords]

Originally posted by zookeeper671
Hello everyone~
I'm pretty new to diabetes,
(haven't attended any support groups due to my hectic schedule),
and don't really get a chance to talk about it, so
here I am.

And, if you want to be able to say, "there you are",
you better arrange your hectic schedule to
allow time for some classes.
I have never understood how any
newly diagnosed diabetic, especially those on insulin,
could go about their business without proper and
complete instruction.
I was always in a situation where that was the norm,
and was amazed to find out that it is just
not so for everyone, as it should be.

Hate to sound redundant, but you are not going
to have a hectic schedule, or any schedule,
if you don't know what you are doing, or
keep getting severely low.
What if that happened while you were driving???

Originally posted by zookeeper671
Last night and this afternoon I experienced some severe hypos.
I've been hypo in the past, but never like this,
and it scared me. The hypo I experienced last night
rendered me unconscious/unresponsive.
Thanks to my dog for having to go to the bathroom at 2am
and waking up my boyfriend, he noticed my condition and
took care of the matter via glucagon injection....
So, is your dog diabetic also?
Most dogs sleep through the night !

Possible reason why it happened:
Don't know if this was the case,
but if not, it will be in the future.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again.
Sex = exercise that can make you low.
It has only recently been talked about,
but most diabetics learn it from experience.
(The sex part & getting low!)
In your case, if you were taking an amount of
insulin that worked for a typical day/night
activity/sleep schedule, and you got some
extra activity with your boyfriend,
that was why you got low !
Don't stop the activity. Just have a small
glass of OJ or other fruit drink, preferably
before, rather than after. Usually, about 4 oz.
will be sufficient if your BG is in a normal range.
Same for the sex. You know what you've got planned !

Instead of fruit juice, you might want to try
whipped cream and chocolate sauce. I'm sure
your boyfriend won't complain, but I'll let you
figure out what to do with it !
Just remember, it's all for your good health.


Other varied activity during the day,
from a hectic schedule, or not enough food,
or food with a different glycemic index
than what you are use to,
could be contributing factors to an unexpected low BG.

Originally posted by zookeeper671
Surprisingly, that 2am hypo (which I have little memory of)
didn't scare me as bad as the one I had the following afternoon.
I was sitting in class, became suddenly very hot, then began to sweat so profusely that I became soaked. It happened so fast and I became so disconnected with my surroundings that I didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. All I could do was just sit there and stare into space. Thankfully my instructor, who is also a paramedic, realized I was in trouble. He poured glucose gel into my mouth and shortly later tested my bg level (was 51mg/dl).
Is 51 on a reading really that low to cause such symptoms?

In a word, No.

But, the 51 was after you had the glucose.
51 is low, more than just a little bit.
Your BG, (Blood Glucose), came up to 51.
It didn't start there.
It was at least in the 40's, possibly in the mid-30's.
That is enough to cause the symptoms you described,
in some people.
I have hypoglycemic unawareness, meaning I get
no warning symptoms when I get low.
By the time I realize that I am not acting normally,
if I realize it, I may need help from others.
To avoid that, there is only one thing to do:
Test, test, test, and then, test some more !

You knew you were low, but it appeared to
come on so quickly that you were unable to help
yourself. Chances are, there were earlier
warning symptoms that you were unaware of,
or ignored because they did not seem obvious.
These could be such things as
feeling unusually stressed out, agitated,
or making a big-deal out of things that
you know are not really a big-deal.
Before those symptoms, most people will have
a distinct feeling of weakness, fatigue,
dizziness, confusion, disorientation, and then,
perspiration, shakiness, passing out,
often in that order. Not everyone gets all of
the possible warning symptoms.

Before or after sweating, the skin
may feel cold & clammy to others,
but you may not know it.

Some people have dilated pupils.
If you have a mirror with you, take a look,
when you are low, or ask someone else.

Because not everyone has every symptom,
you need to know all the symptoms, and then,
learn which ones you get.
If you had attended classes, you would have
learned this basic stuff, and received
booklets or pamphlets about recognizing the
symptoms of being low.

You can find this info on most of the
general websites about Diabetes.
You can do a search on Google for
thousands of results on just about any topic
related to diabetes. The most recent and
relevant results will be first.
When using Google, be very careful about
winding up on some of the weird-advice websites
about diabetes. This includes a multitude of
message boards.(Not this one.)
To get started use this link--->Diabetes (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Diabetes&btnG=Google+Search)
For general searches on anything, bookmark
or add this link to your Favorites--->Google (http://www.google.com/)

Originally posted by zookeeper671
I've read that stress can cause a rise in bg level, but my main question is whether it can do the reverse?

YES !

Originally posted by zookeeper671
I've been under an incredible amount of stress lately,
an exhausing work load (yet have been able to maintain decent levels), and throughout have been following doctors orders faithfully.

Testing before class would probably avoid
future embarrassment. I know that people
will say there is no reason to be embarrassed,
but try telling that to someone who went
through what you did.
Remember, that even if your BG is normal,
there is no point in going into class if it
is 70 or 75. Chances are, it will get lower
while you are sitting there.
Because you are not moving, you may not
realize when it is only slightly low.
By the time you are aware of it,
you either can't move, have great difficulty moving,
or are moving involuntarily.

I am personally against relieving stress with pills,
in spite of the popular TV ads.
You are better off to deal with the issues
from within, and be in total control of your own self.
Of course, that is sometimes easier said than done,
and there is nothing wrong with talking to a
professional counselor. Try to find one,
if necessary, who is willing to actually
listen & talk, without the pills.
As a new diabetic, you may be under more stress
than you realize, from this life changing condition.
Now, add that to your daily schedule !

Originally posted by zookeeper671
I'm so embarrassed about what happened this afternoon in class. I feel I should have been able to prevent the situation from getting that bad, yet when it happened I seemed to have lost control of my mind and body.

(See comments in above paragraphs.)

When you get real low, you can lose control.
It is not permanent, nor related to any mental illness.
The brain needs, among other things, two primary
ingredients in the blood, in order to function.
Sugar, in the form of glucose, and oxygen.
Just as a reduction in oxygen would cause you to
lose co-ordination and control, so will a
reduction in the blood sugar.
This was a common experience among test-pilots
in the early 1950's, regarding a loss of O2.
As soon as the oxygen level was restored,
they were okay. Most people can understand that,
but have trouble understanding that it is
much the same with the blood sugar.
Solution: Don't let it get that low.
(Classes might have helped in giving you
the needed tips. You do need to make time for them.)


The rest of this message is continued in PART 2

[WiseWords]

PART 2
Originally posted by zookeeper671
There really isn't any reason for this to have happened, and according to my doctor,
it's just a part of the disease that I need to "get used to and learn to manage."
That's a pretty scary statement to someone newly diagnosed.


Correct.

The main message, however,
was NOT "get used to it,"
but rather, "learn to manage."
(Do you think that classes might have helped
with the learning part?)

Originally posted by zookeeper671
Other than a couple of questions, there really isn't a point to this post other than a means for me to gab with others who might understand.
Thanks for listening,
Angie
__________________
T1 since Oct. 2003
Humalog/Humulin U


Oh, you're wrong on that one!
There is a big point to it.

The point is for you to learn what to do.
First thing, is learning to recognize
the earlier symptoms that are unique to you.
Then, you will be able to prevent the more serious lows.
You can avoid a BG that is so low that you
are unable to help yourself.
And you are hearing from
someone who knows.


There are some people who have a greater difficulty
telling when they are low than others do.
If you are one of those, then following a good schedule,
in terms of diet & activity will help,
along with testing whenever you are not sure.
Better to test too much than not enough,
but don't get paranoid about it.
If you are testing 10-15 times, or more, per day,
then you are over-testing.

For a new diabetic, once before each meal and at
bedtime, or before an evening snack,
is a good starting point.

Along with that, whenever you think you
might be low, or before anticipated exercise.
Later, and not too much later, testing after you eat
will let you know if you are getting too high
after a meal.

All results should be recorded,
as in written down on paper,
in a log-booklet, with the time & dates.
Then, if you have a pattern of lows or highs,
it will be readily apparent, and adjustments can be
made to diet and/or insulin.

All the computer log gizmos are nice toys,
but if the results stay in your meter's memory,
or go through a cable to your computer, and
bypass you, then you will never learn anything.
It is not enough to look at fancy display charts or graphs.

By writing down the results on paper,
you will learn what is happening and when.
Additional notes about any extra activity
will also be helpful.
For the first 3-4 weeks, I recommend also
keeping a daily log with the time and dates of
every piece of food that goes into your mouth.
That must include the weights or measurements
of each item. Get yourself a small scale,
and measuring cup.

By doing this, it will be easy to spot
the reasons for unexpected high or low
blood sugars, and allow you to make the needed corrections.

Lastly, RE: - your insulin -
You are on the right stuff and
don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
I also take Humulin U and Humalog,
along with Humulin R.

As soon as I saw your insulin types,
I knew why you were low in class.
You are taking the Humalog before each meal.
You took it at lunch, went to an afternoon class
and got low. Either it reached its peak
during class, or you were walking between classes
and the exercise along with the Humalog reaching
its peak, put you at a low point of normal.
Then, in class, with both insulins active,
you got low or lower.
Either take less Humalog, have a bigger lunch,
and/or have a snack before class.
Initially, test your BG before the next few classes.

With your schedule, is a late afternoon
snack a regular part of your diet?
Some people also need a mid-morning snack.

You will need to do some work
to avoid these severe lows in the future.
Learning to recognize when you first get low
is the main point. Testing is a part of that.

If you haven't been to Rick Mendosa's website,
that is a good place to start.
He is a professional writer and adventurer
who has diabetes. He has a lot of good info on
his site with good links to others:
ClickLink--->Advice for Newbies (http://www.mendosa.com/advice.htm)

[zookeeper671]

Classes would definitely be a wise move, that I'm aware of. My doctor mentioned that they exist, but also said that it wasn't urgent that I attend at this time since I see him once every two weeks for instruction. Even though I make a list of questions to bring with me to the appointment, I always come up with a few others later on that I didn't think of.

I have the day off today, thank goodness... a bit of time to relax and enjoy a movie with my bf. Tomorrow's schedule will be back to the usual routine, however: wake up at 5am, arrive at the fire station at 7am, run emergency calls all day (busy squad) until 11pm, arrive home after midnight. I need to work hard at maintaining any kind of eating routine. It's basically eat when you have the opportunity.

About my bg reading of 51mg/dl... I understand that it's a pretty low reading (have been instructed about hypoglycemia)... I just didn't realize it could produce such nasty symptoms. It's true that my reading was probably lower when the symptoms reached their peak, but at 51mg/dl I was still sweating profusely and fairly "out of it."

There's no end in sight to this learning process.

Best wishes and thanks for the advice and support,
Angie

[HeatherP]

Angie - get thee to a dietician! The dr's are not the best people to educate you about diabetes - it beats nothing, but the CDE is the best. Have a good day!

HeatherP

[lgvincent]

I've found orange juice to be very helpful when my blood sugar is low. It seems to work faster than soft drinks but it's usually hard to find away from home so if I don't have any glucose I'll just take whatever I can find.

[whlarsen]

Zookeeper, does'nt seem anyone brought this up so I will. My 10 year old daughter is diabetic and was diagnosed at age 5. She has had one episode of severe hypoglycemia, on vacation as a matter of fact. She was sleeping with her aunt in a motel, and had Starbursts for her snack prior to bedtime. She was also on Regular/NPH, two injections per day. We thought her aunt knew that she needed milk or ice cream prior to bed, but evidently not. Next thing we know is a call in the middle of the night, saying she is shaking. Her aunt was trying to put the cake icing we carry in her purse on her gums, because she had heard this worked. After the Glucagon injection, and a 911 call she recovered from the seizure. Called her doctor and he had said we responded correctly, but to be careful because Glucagon released stored sugar in the body, and people are suseptable to severe lows, until your body again stores the sugar. I believe this is done in the liver. Always be careful after a severe low to monitor your sugar. My daughter ALWAYS gets ice cream, milk, or bread prior to bed. This takes longer to break down, helping to stabilize night time glucose levels. We have only had one episode to deal with, and she is now on the pump. And we use fruit juice to counteract low sugars, either orange or boxed juice. Both are effective for her. We also do not go to support groups, but had training in the doctors office. We learned a lot from the literature the doctor gave us. We still do not go to support groups. We never felt the need as parents, and like you, schedules just do not permit. You should have been warned about the severe lows, and how a significant percentage of people will have another severe low after the first episode. Best of luck and will say a prayer for you.

[zookeeper671]

mhlarsen wrote:

"Glucagon released stored sugar in the body, and people are suseptable to severe lows, until your body again stores the sugar"

I'm glad to know this. Thank you. My doctor didn't explain to me (yet) about the possibility of a low following a low and the reason behind it (concerning the use of glucagon).

HeatherP~ I'd love to see a dietician. Need to find one. I could use the help when it comes to carb counting. Takes me forever at the moment. (Don't go anywhere without my calculator.)

I'm so glad to have found all of you!

Best wishes,
Angie