[Jon]

I just got back from the hospital a little while ago. My 11 year old son was feeling a little low, and we were just about to eat a late dinner. He had just taken some Humalog and NPH and was sitting down to eat. He started shaking and saying he felt really low and got up and walked into his room. He was giggling and acting goofy. I got him back to the table and he started eating. Then he let out a quick scream. I ran over to him, and he was still eating, but every minute or so he would let out a scream and his whole body would jerk violently. I tried to get him to drink some milk, and he wasn't responding to me, just staring straight ahead. I waved my hand in front of his eyes, and he wasn't seeing me. I tried snapping my fingers in front of his face, and still nothing. Then he just went limp and started to fall off the chair. I caught him and set him down on the floor. As you can probably imagine, I was just about in a state of panic because nothing like this has ever happened before. When I got him on the floor, he started convulsing. He was flopping all over the place. I grabbed the phone and called 911 and told them my son was diabetic and was having a seizure. She confirmed my address and said the paramedics were on their way. I grabbed the emergency glucagon kit and got the shot ready. Then I couldnt remember where he has to get that shot. I have gone over it a hundred times, but when it came down to actually doing it, I couldnt remember. I had to read the instructions while making sure he was still breathing. I finally got it figured out and pulled down the back of his pants and gave him a shot in the butt. He had stopped convulsing by that time, but was passed out and sounded like he was having a hard time breathing. The paramedics were there withing 5 minutes and my neighbor came over to see what happened. I stepped back and answered questions and let them do what they needed to do to him. He finally got to where he was semi-concious and we got him up into a chair. It took 3 paramedics to hold him while one stuck an IV needle in his arm because he didnt know what was going on and was fighting them. They said they wanted to take him to the hospital. I agreed and signed a paper and off they went. I took a minute to start breathing again, then got in my truck and started driving. It was all I could do to stay under the speed limit. When I got to the emergency room I walked up to the counter and gave them his name. They said he hadnt been checked in yet. Then I saw them wheeling him in the side door. Somehow I had beat them there. He had come to in the ambulance and was totally alert. He sat in the hospital bed for about 1 1/2 hours, hooked up to equipment, while we talked to nurses and doctors. They decided that the seizure was from the low blood glucose. I had checked when he was unconcious and it was 53. In the ambulance they had checked it at 245. In the hospital it had gone down to 215 and by the time I got him home it was 110. I couldn't get him to eat very much because his stomach hurt, and I got him a coke to try and drink, but he hasnt had much of that either. I just have to keep an eye on him the rest of the night. The doctor said to check his bg every two hours tonight, but I will probably do it more. I won't be getting any sleep tonight anyway. I may not ever sleep again after this.

I am glad this web site is here becasue it is almost 1:30 in the morning, and I had to tell somebody about this. I don't want to call and wake anybody up now because it is under control and no point in ruining anybody elses sleep tonight.

I think this is the most horrible experience I have ever been through. We are definately going to be more careful about taking insulin during low blood sugars from now on.

[Gina]

oh man,
im glad he is ok!!!

[Jon]

Just a follow up note. He is fine. Went to the doctor today and checked out normal His bg is a little high today. He doesn't remember anything about last night except feeling low, starting to eat, then waking up in the ambulance.

I am still shaking but I should be over it in 3 or 4 months

[teacher2000]

Jon,

I am so sorry. That must have been very scary and awful for you. I am terrified of something like that happening to my daughter. You did all the right things and kept your head. You should feel good about that. I hope I will be able to keep my head if I'm ever in that situation.

I am glad your son is doing okay. I wonder if puberty and hormonal changes had anything to do with triggering the seizure? My daughter's blood sugar has dropped as low as 45(OMG I was freaking out) and she didn't have a seizure(thank goodness!) She's 4.

Oh, I have been wondering how the school thing has been going for you and your son. Did you get anything resolved with them?

Hugs to you and your son. Take care.

Karen

[Jon]

I just talked to the doctors about the 504 plan when he had his clinic last Thursday. We decided that because the school year is almost over, that it would be best to hold off until after the summer. I have not had any problems with the school lately anyway. I am a little concerned because he wants to go on a week long field trip with the rest of the 5th graders next month. I want him to be able to go, but especially after his low bg the other night, I am worried about sending him. High school students are the councelors. There will be a nurse present, but I have to wonder how well he will be supervised, and if anybody would know what to do if something like that happened again. I gave them the info they needed on the medical form, but how can I trust a bunch of teenagers to handle a diabetic kid?

[Mick]

Jon--Your son's diabetes, and even his recent severe hypo, shouldn't prevent him from being able to enjoy this extended field trip, altho I DO appreciate your reluctance and worry about it. I would attempt to hook up with one of the chaperones prior to the trip, meet with one of them, and try to get someone kind of "assigned" to your son--a "special friend" or buddy sort of thing. Have that person identified, meet with them, have them meet your son--I know kids that age don't like being singled out as different, but this is a compromise he'll have to make--if he wants to go, he'll have to put up with some special attention, as in 24/7, especially under the circumstances. Make certain this 'buddy' understands full well the potential seriousness of hypos, recognizes the symptoms, knows how to treat them, and is willing to intervene, alert the nurse, etc. Also, in cases like this, I have tended to run sugars a bit higher for the time in question, and that has usually avoided any problems--I know we don't like to ever run high, but believe me, in the aftermath of a "911 hypo", better safe than sorry. Good luck, and remember, this stuff happens, and as long as we get more careful and learn from it, we can go on. 'Till the next crisis...

Michael, Type 1 since 1965, age 12

[Jon]

Thanks Mick! Thats good advice. His bg readings are all over the place. This afternoon he was over 500. I don't know what is causing this. He isn't eating any different, and the insulin hasn't changed. He doesn't seem to be sick or stressed, or anything else that can cause bg to go out of whack. This morning, he was at 68 when he woke up. Lower than usual, but again, nothing different with the insulin, meals, or anything else.

[teacher2000]

That makes sense about waiting on the 504 plan.

I can imagine you are a little tense about letting him go on the field trip, Mick gave you some good advice but I'd add making contact with the nurse also.

When did you last change his insulin viles? I find that if I even go over 30 days by one day my daughter's bs goes up. Plus, I would think that the low was a huge shock to his system and imagine that might account for some of the high bs. He also might sense your tension or anxiety over the recent scare and it might make him useasy. If my daughter gets upset her bs goes up also. Is he starting to go through puberty? I've read that the hormonal fluctuations can play havoc with blood sugar. I am just a beginner to all of this so I'm just throwing out some things I've been told and read. I don't know if it helps you at all.

Take care.

Karen

[Jon]

He is growing like a weed right now. He grew an inch and a half in a month.

[Mick]

Jon--the "growing like a weed" would very likely be IT, altho I agree that after a very severe hypo, control becomes a bit difficult for a few days to a week or so afterward. Insulin requirements are very related to body size--if he's growing, he may well require more insulin, but until he stabilizes on the other side of this growth spurt, you will likely find that his sugars are running pretty random. Often higher, then inexplicably lower, this roller coaster of highs and lows is a real challange to confront, and makes one frustrated that no matter what you do, nothing seems to work for long. It sucks, but that's the way it is. At least he's growing--I began puberty just before my diabetes was diagnosed, and it stunted my growth permanently. As long as you keep track of his sugars and stay in touch with his doctors, you'll make it through ok, but DO be prepared for the unexplainable lack of control that will continue for a while, and don't get too discouraged by it. And don't let your son take on any of the 'blame'--unless he's purposefully taking wrong doses, lying on his tests, or just plain eating wrong, then he didn't "do anything", and should be encouraged to keep trying dispite poor results, cuz these thing do just happen. Ugh, puberty is bad enough, but with diabetes--I shudder at my own memories of that time...

Good luck,
Michael

[shiva]

hello guyes
now a days lot of problems are taking place due to brain problems , actually tension is also affected due to this kind of problems, lot of ten sion might took place due to seizure, i have got sujested by a man who was also suffrinf these kind of problems, he sugested me adrug named
keppra medicine you can also try on it

[Cinnabon]

I hate to disagree w/ this Shiva. I had the same exact seizure and it was a severe low blood sugar, I dont think it was tension.

[Jon]

He had a seizure due to low blood sugar. It had nothing to do with epilepsy. Epilepsy drugs would not help him. Fortunately it only happened once.

[BriOnH]

Jon, I am sorry this happened to your son. When i was younger I would wake up very frequently in ambulances, er rooms, or my dad sitting on me to keep me still while i jerked around and had to get a glucagon shot in. Back then insulin was still pretty bad. What I just dont get though, and i posted it here before, is why some times I (and most others) can be fine at 34(heck i have been fine[fine = coherant] at 11 mg/dl, my endo didnt believe it so he drew blood for the lab at the same time, and lab results came back at 10 mg/dl!), just drink some sugar, and get to normal, then other times be at 45-55 and be siezing. Just boggles me.

Anyways, try to get him to do everything he can to prevent this. In my experience those sever reactions I got when i was younger, and finally my last one in 1994, while in the middle of no where in the sierras on the way to a NORBA mt bike race, with NO medical help 70 miles out in any driection. I siezed. That last one did it the most, but the others for sure contributed to my absolute hypoglycemicphobia(I wonder if this is in the DSM). To this day I get such bad bad anxiety that I am goin to go under and die, like that day in the sierras.

IMO siezing and going under are very traumatizing exeriences. At least for me. Now that I am slowly over coming that fear, and testing like 14x a day to make sure i wont go to low I no longer run my sugars high, like i have been since 94. been ten years of pretty bad control. Seening people here getting great A1c's has totally inspired me. I am working hard to getting to <6% a1c

Anyways sorry to ramble, and i am sure my grammer ans spelling suck here as i am running a fever and experienceing an awful flu. If anyone made it this far, and have had bad inssulin reactions do you feel kinda traumatized by them? Ever think about them a lot or flashback to them?

[drewgolden]

Originally Posted by Jon

I think this is the most horrible experience I have ever been through. We are definately going to be more careful about taking insulin during low blood sugars from now on.

I can safely say it's worse for those who have to watch. For those of us siezing; it's bad, but not as bad. I described it as if someone was throwing a switch on your brain on and off, and your whole body convulses with the switching. You know it's happening, in between the pulses. But you are operating at a significantly reduced mental capacity at that point.

Yes, it is a horrible experience.

And it is an unfortunate consequence of TIGHT control (averaging more low than high.)

So the tips are:

1.) I always make sure there are two big things of OJ in the fridge. My wife knows to get a glass of OJ at first signs of trouble.

2.) DON'T PANIC. DON'T BE TOO PUSHY! DON'T YELL! Diabetics with low blood sugar are operating at reduced mental capacity. So we do not reason as well. If you come at me shouting, even if you are trying to save my life, to me it comes off as hostility and I will become combatitive back!

3.) Suggest an OJ (or other tasty and sweet fruit juice! Yum! I can not resist OJ in a glass of nice crushed ice!) Suggest it, and leave it in front of him, and WALK AWAY for a little bit. It is normal to be embarassed about low blood sugar as well. If there is a table with family around, make the plesant suggestion, and give him space to drink it.

4.) (Assuming we are not sizuring, just acting low or fishey.) If the OJ is not a hit, suggest a blood test. TESTING is something that happens for me 5+ times a day. And I normally test by exception (humm, am I high or low? I am about to take a shot for dinner, how much to take?)

5.) During rational times, your diabetic should be trained to ALWAYS TEST BEFORE TAKING INSULIN. It sounds stupid, but lots of times you may FEEL HIGH but actually ARE LOW. So test before any shot every time.

I sizured about two weeks ago, strangely enough just before it was time to wake up anyway. My wife rushed off and got me a glass (in a plastic cup) of OJ and brought it into the bedroom and sat it on the floor. For some reason I always try (badly) to get up out of bed and end up on the floor. Cup or two of OJ, a few minutes to regain composure, and a quick shower and we're good to go.

Stressful? Yes.

Worse for you. But after 20 years I can safely say it's sure as heck better than cancer, or some other disease that has no treatment.

Do test alot. I can not emphasize testing. It has kept me around 6 for years, and it's easier than swollowing a pill or having an arm or leg sawed off.

And for the sizures, well, they do happen. When things are rolling along well then they are fewer. But I am convinced it's part of the tight control deal, the best we can do is overtest and make sure we eat right.

drew