[shiftzor]

Originally Posted by Jonathan_R

What? Reading to become informed is bad now? I can not self diagnose or self medicate. Even if I had an M.D. They have laws against these things. But see the problem is, I haven't been able to find a decent specialist, or doctor yet. By reading, then I become informed and can ask questions about things I wouldn't have before.

Please everyone, CALM DOWN!!!!

I don't expect anyone here to diagnose. Even if a diagnoses was done, I would trust it as far as I can throw it. I have seen my primary care doctor. I have an appointment for neuro and endo. So chill.

My insulin sensitivity seems to keep changing.

I know I am not going to fix this myself. Haven't any of you vented before? I feel that this is impossible. Hence the title of the thread. See, I've had asthma all my life, now I have diabetes, degenerative disk disease, and seizures.

Funny y'all keep saying 79 is far to high to be a glucose seizure, when the paramedics, my meter, and the doctors and nurses say that's what it is. I'll be sure to advise them that their wrong.

I also find it funny that you get on to me for posting such a topic cause you construe it for diagnostic help but then argue with professional medical opinion. You remind me that your not qualified to make diagnoses or to help in such matters, but then argue with several doctors over the past months. I could see one being wrong, but several?

I do think the cardiovascular system has a part in this. Which is why I want to check my blood pressure. It is not anxiety though. Blood draining from the brain, probable. Anxiety, no.

Reading to be informed is good. Venting is good. We are not attacking you, only trying to help with limited information. There is no law against self diagnosis or self medication, sure you can't write your own prescriptions but there are a lot of other things out there that don't need prescriptions.

As for glucose seizures, does it happen every time you low? 79mg/dl or 4.4mmol/L would be described as a mild hypo by most, what happens if you find yourself below 3.4mmol/L or 61mg/dl? If it only happens sometimes then I would suggest the cause might be something else but I don't know. Could the mild hypo be a side effect of the seizure rather than a cause?

More information on seizures.

This is also an interesting read.

[Tribbles]

Originally Posted by Jonathan_R

Funny y'all keep saying 79 is far to high to be a glucose seizure, when the paramedics, my meter, and the doctors and nurses say that's what it is. I'll be sure to advise them that their wrong.

If people had glucose seizures at 79 a lot of the nation would be out cold - it's within normal limits.

I do think the cardiovascular system has a part in this. Which is why I want to check my blood pressure. It is not anxiety though. Blood draining from the brain, probable. Anxiety, no.

Anxiety, conscious or unconscious, is a trigger for syncope. The usual path is you have a few bad lows then your body begins to anticipate the seizure and if you are susceptible you get a seizure.

[Jonathan_R]

Originally Posted by Tribbles

Anxiety, conscious or unconscious, is a trigger for syncope. The usual path is you have a few bad lows then your body begins to anticipate the seizure and if you are susceptible you get a seizure.

Unfortunately, that doesn't fit me.

I started tracking my emotional status, cause I wanted to see if there was a correlation similar to what you are suggesting. The problem is, it's completely subjective. I do have my family verify my emotional status though, to help lessen the subjectivity.

The other thing is, is that I keep having to change my insulin ratios based on my insulin sensitivity every month. In particular, arround the middle of the month. Which is when I was born.

I have confirmed that there is a correlation between seizures and the immune system. Since I'm type 1 diabetic, which has to do with the immune system, and my sensitivity to insulin keeps changing, it sounds like the common denominator is the immune system.

My seizures do not always happen when I'm low. So I know they are not related to hypoglycemia, exactly.

[Jonathan_R]

Well, I saw my neurologist on Wed the 4th of Nov 2009. Even though I have had seizures off and on since I was 12, she tried to pin it on the Diabetes.

Now I feel more frustrated than ever.

In other news, my primary care doc wants me to see a pharmacologist to see about tweaking my meds to get better BG results. I'm all for that.

I still have yet to see my endo. That's later this month.

I just feel that it's hopeless. That no matter what I do, it can't be gotten under control. That I'm doomed.

I even added stuff to my log to enhance my tracking. To see if a pattern could be found. Other than finding out that I tend to have hypotension and fluctuate to prehypertension, and finding that my pulse does infact speed up/get racy when I'm hypoglycemic, it really did not help much.

It was certainly more info than my primary care doctor could deal with. Here is what I was tracking.

Date
Time
Blood Sugar Levels
Food consumed
liquid consumed
Calories (estimate)
Protein
Fiber
Fat
Net Carbs (which is what I actually go off of)
Total carbs
Mood
Pain/Discomfort
Non-Diabetic Meds
Urinary output
Systolic
Diastolic
Pulse
Exercise
Calories burned
Lantus
Humalog
Injection location
Blood sugar difference
Difference in units
Notes



HbA1C (I take the average of my blood glucose levels and add 77.3, then divide by 35.6)

Humalog Ratio | every 25 over take 1 unit/every 20 carbs consumed take 1 unit

L=Lantus/H=Humalog

I need about 1 unit of Humalog for every 8 grams of carbohydrate. TDD=grams of carb covered by one unit of Humalog (500/63=7.9)

If lantus should be about 30-40% or LESS of the TOTAL daily dose of insulin, then my lantus levels should be around 55 to 60 units. Mostly inactive .25-.60 Moderately active .20-.50 Very active .15-.40. (83x.6=50)

Noticed that after breakfast my blood sugars spike considerably. This is probably cause the Lantus has worn off. Eat a lower carb breakfast, or break up the Lantus

As of July 23rd I spilt the lantus does 2/3rd for the day and 1/3 for night. This works out to 31 units for the day, and 17 for night

1% of A1c equates to a difference in mean glucose of 29 mg/dl.

every carb is aprox 2.34 mg/dL

[Rddoms]

I am very surprised that your Neurologist hasn't tried different meds with you yet! Your blood sugar fluctuations seem to be a trigger for your seizures, and that's why you don't always seize when you are hypoglycemic. I have a friend who is in the same situation as you, and they had him try many anti-epileptics before they found the one that worked. He is seizing once a year at most now.

If I were you, I would get to another neurologist. The biggest problem is your drug coverage for the seizures. If you aren't properly covered, the same stuff is going to happen (you're quite aware of this by now). Once your seizures are controlled, you will be able to take care of everything else more efficiently. I wish you the best, and hope you get this figured out!

[Moonglo]

Jonathan,

Sorry you're having such a hard time with this. I can only imagine how scary it must be to be having seizures and not know where they are coming from.

Keep us posted!

[Jonathan_R]

Originally Posted by Rddoms

I am very surprised that your Neurologist hasn't tried different meds with you yet! Your blood sugar fluctuations seem to be a trigger for your seizures, and that's why you don't always seize when you are hypoglycemic. I have a friend who is in the same situation as you, and they had him try many anti-epileptics before they found the one that worked. He is seizing once a year at most now.

If I were you, I would get to another neurologist. The biggest problem is your drug coverage for the seizures. If you aren't properly covered, the same stuff is going to happen (you're quite aware of this by now). Once your seizures are controlled, you will be able to take care of everything else more efficiently. I wish you the best, and hope you get this figured out!

Well, it was a first visit. Changing meds might be premature. Since the neurologist doesn't deal with diabetes, it's not right to ask her to try and control that. Well my BG seems to have exacerbated the seizures, to which my neurologist concurred. To my knowledge, I haven't seized since being on Depakote (mid August).

The problem is I am so brittle, that 1 unit either way can have disastrous results. My formula is (BG-120)/24 for the correction and (carbs/20) for what I eat. So if I change the correction formula by even 1, either I end up high, or I crash.

I was trying to calculate calories burned so I could convert it to carbs burned, but that's not so easy. The other day I walked 5 miles round trip. Over the next few days I found I had to change my correction formula to (BG-120)/28 and still was crashing. Hitting lows like 60, and spiking to 300 to 400.

It's absolutely infuriating.

[Rddoms]

I could imagine. I was unaware that it was your first Neuro appointment. Just based on your history, the BG fluctuations seem to be a trigger for your seizures. Hopefully, your neurologist and you can figure out where the seizures are coming from, and get them under control so that you can get your diabetes under better control.

Your previous posts in this thread show that you have a better understanding of your diabetes, better than most people. It is going to be a lot easier to control when your worries about seizing are addressed. After that, you and your diabetes doc will be able to adjust your insulin.

Are you on MDI or the pump? What insulin are you on? It seems that if you are using a rapid insulin and you have such a violent response to it, then you might benefit from a slower acting insulin, like regular human insulin. You have a very interesting case, and I hope you get it figured out!

[dbaratta]

Originally Posted by Jonathan_R

I generally try and keep what I eat to about 30 carbs, but if I drop delow 250, then I crash and seize. About a month or more ago, I had a grand mall seizure at Barnes and Nobles (BG was 79). I ended up with 6 staples in my head. After that I had a seizure at home with a BG of 44. Last week I was coming home and my BG dropped to 65 and seized.

.

If I were you, (only my opinion), I would get off the meds 100% until you see an endo. You sound like you are getting too much, are you on insulin?

[dbaratta]

Originally Posted by Tribbles

If people had glucose seizures at 79 a lot of the nation would be out cold - it's within normal limits.


.

So true, I have had readings in the 20's and was still able to walk to the kitchen for juice and never passed out.......

[Rddoms]

I have never seized, my lowest BG being read as LOW on the meter. I have blacked out, but that's a different story.

The OP has a seizure disorder, and when that is treated appropriately his lower BG's will be far less likely to trigger the seizures. That is the primary problem, and needs to be taken care of promptly. The second issue is the proper management of his diabetes, which will be safe and possible only after the first issue is resolved.

[Jonathan_R]

Originally Posted by dbaratta

If I were you, (only my opinion), I would get off the meds 100% until you see an endo. You sound like you are getting too much, are you on insulin?

On the meds or not, it doesn't matter. The only meds I am on, other than insulin are Depakote, Vicodin, Flexeril, and Pro-Air.

I can't live with out Pro-Air, so don't even go there. I have been with out the Vicodin and Flexeril. I was off of all that stuff for about a year. It made no impact on BG. The Depakote, man this is the first time I have been on Depakote in more than 15 years. So there is no way that Depakote is causing it.

I just eliminated all the meds except for insulin, for you.


I do have a seizure disorder. Have had it since I was 12, when I had my first. I can seize when sugars are normal or below normal. I to, have been at a BG of 33 and have not seized or blacked out. I have seized at 99. Having the seizures just makes the diabetes that much harder to work with, as I am more prone to seize when BG are low.

I am MDI. I wish I were on the pump. We are trying to get on the pump. Last time, about 3 years ago, my insurance denied it.

Your previous posts in this thread show that you have a better understanding of your diabetes, better than most people. It is going to be a lot easier to control when your worries about seizing are addressed. After that, you and your diabetes doc will be able to adjust your insulin.

When I found out I was diabetic, I started researching. I have read many things on the net, and read everything the various libraries here have to offer on neurology, endocrinology, neuro-endocrinology, and immunology. The only way I could learn more now, is to go to the ASU med school library. Studying is my way of dealing with things. It's my way of fighting back. Knowledge is power....well, I want to be armed with all I can.

[DanG]

Originally Posted by Jonathan_R

The only way I could learn more now, is to go to the ASU med school library. Studying is my way of dealing with things. It's my way of fighting back. Knowledge is power....well, I want to be armed with all I can.

If you want knowledge - broaden your horizons.
Medical jazz is just that - medical jazz. Stay away from the ASU library. That medical jazz can be a real trap - a trap to capture money from the plebes and in to the pockets of the pharma-medical-complex. That complex is real - broaden your horizons and do the search and learn that stuff. For instance, find the way of the native american of generations ago. They eat and live off the land - the land has much to offer that pharma cannot - because pharma has one objective - make dollars for their investors. Native american ways were developed to cope with the variations of life - no payment to investors. The seeds, barks, leaves, fruit all have stuffs that we are know nothing about these days. All we know is to run to the pharma and take their chemicals to make their investors money. Not just native americans - but past generations of europeans, and past generations of orientals - they lived, they died - amazing, just like we do, only they did it without big pharma. I would suspect that there is probably something from the land that would even serve your Pro-Air needs.

Okay - so, I'm ignorant - big pharma has my best interests in mind - they want to sell me life giving chemicals - sorry, big pharma - I'm wrong. I have a twisted sense of an economy that is thriving and well intentioned for its customers - we are sooo much better today than the neanderthals of yesteryear who did not have the magic of the chemical pharma of today. I'm ignorant.

[Jonathan_R]

Originally Posted by DanG

If you want knowledge - broaden your horizons.
Medical jazz is just that - medical jazz. Stay away from the ASU library. That medical jazz can be a real trap - a trap to capture money from the plebes and in to the pockets of the pharma-medical-complex. That complex is real - broaden your horizons and do the search and learn that stuff. For instance, find the way of the native american of generations ago. They eat and live off the land - the land has much to offer that pharma cannot - because pharma has one objective - make dollars for their investors. Native american ways were developed to cope with the variations of life - no payment to investors. The seeds, barks, leaves, fruit all have stuffs that we are know nothing about these days. All we know is to run to the pharma and take their chemicals to make their investors money. Not just native americans - but past generations of europeans, and past generations of orientals - they lived, they died - amazing, just like we do, only they did it without big pharma. I would suspect that there is probably something from the land that would even serve your Pro-Air needs.

Okay - so, I'm ignorant - big pharma has my best interests in mind - they want to sell me life giving chemicals - sorry, big pharma - I'm wrong. I have a twisted sense of an economy that is thriving and well intentioned for its customers - we are sooo much better today than the neanderthals of yesteryear who did not have the magic of the chemical pharma of today. I'm ignorant.

I agree with your views on pharmacies, but when I said ASU, I am talking, Arizona State University. Going to the library their and reading medical books. The internet does not give me access to the information I need. Nor do the public libraries.

I prefer the holistic approach. Unfortunately, I can't do just natural stuff. I am trying the glycemic load diet. Still gotta work out the kinks though.

When I first was diagnosed, I tried to do a holistic approach. Taking cinnamon, and several other herbs to help with my diabetes. It made it more unpredictable. At this point. I have to get my diabetes where it's predictable, before I go do that. I need to know, if I walk 2 miles, how much will my BG drop. What's the equivalent in carbs? If I take cinnamon, how much will it alter the absorption of insulin? Things like that.

[Rddoms]

I disagree Dan. Medical texts aren't written by big pharma, rather PhD's, MD's, DO's, etc. The texts are largely evidence based now, and the writers have a no conflicting interest policy.
Also, we are a lot better off that people of even 100 years ago. Our life expectancy has increased, our death due to microbial pathogens has markedly decreased, and we are able to treat many diseases that would be fatal otherwise. It is always amazing to me how people are so polarized on the issue of big pharma, and make sweeping statements that have only partial validity. The OP has multiple illnesses that can be treated pharmacologically, and I guarantee that grass roots and tree bark aren't going to do squat for him.

I do, however, agree that big pharma basically makes us grab our ankles and, well you can see where that is going.