Day 8: More talk about hypos

Victoria Cumbow's post about the JDRF ad I talked about last week made me want to talk about some of my own scary lows.

I had my first seizure when I was about 16, 6 years after my diagnosis. I was on a family vacation down the Jersey Shore and, I'll admit it, not doing much of anything to take care of myself. Because I wasn't giving my insulin properly, I felt immune to lows. I hadn't had one in months. But I guess the combination of being on vacation, sun, heat, and increased physical activity added up and that morning, instead of waking up and suiting up for the beach, I woke up strapped to a stretcher, being carried down the motel's outdoor stairs as my family and other guests looked on.

I don't have any memory, so the story comes from what I was told after. My best friend, whom I was sharing a bed with, woke up around dawn to me banging on the window next to the bed. She grumpily asked me what I was doing, then quickly realized that I wasn't messing around.

I was having a seizure.

She called her mother in the next room, who ran in to find me lying motionless, blood trickling out of my mouth. She thought I was dead. We would later discover that I had nearly chewed through my lip during the seizure.

I've had many lows, both serious and not, since then, but that one sticks in my head. It was the first time that I realized how thin the line between life and death can be for someone with diabetes.

I don't wear a CGM at this time for many reasons, but this technology is so, so important to make available. For the thousands of parents who will never have a restful night's sleep again. For those of us experiencing a bout of unexplained overnight lows (as I have) that will not go away no matter how we mess with our insulin ratios. For peace of mind.

For making is 1 in 20,000.

Day 7: Diabetes is Stupid and Ruins Things, A Story

I skipped Sunday. Whoops. But here's a story from Sunday!

We went to see Moneyball on Sunday. We decided to go to a small theater near our apartment. One of those old-timey, two-screen deals. I purposely underate in anticipation of hot buttery popcorn.

We arrived and ... no popcorn. Sadface. Major sadface. But we were there for the movie, not the popcorn (well, maybe half and half) so I'd have to suck it up and go without. We settled in and the movie started and not too far into it ... it started.

The jittery shakes, the wandering mind, the buzzing tongue, the sweats.

Low blood sugar. I fumbled through my purse for my meter, memory catching as my fingers closed around my smaller-than-usual meter case. Damn! I had forgotten to put a new vial of strips in. I didn't need a meter to confirm, though. 18 years made me no stranger to the feeling. 95% of the time, when a diabetic is low, they know. There's no mistaking the feeling. Mild panic setting in, I tried to calm myself, groping around for glucose tablets or candy, coming up empty. Of course.

At the bottom, I found a crushed package of peanut butter crackers and stealthily opened the crinkling plastic wrapper. Greedily shoving the disintegrating crackers into my mouth, I willed myself to relax, to focus on the movie. Eventually the feeling passed and I got caught up in the movie. Which was awesome, by the way.

When we got home, I tested and found myself 55 points below where I should have been. Just as I suspected.

Now, both of the issues in this scenario were totally preventable with a little preplanning. If I had immediately replaced the vial of strips when I finished it, instead of planning to do it when I finished eating. If I had put the gummy lifesavers in this purse instead of leaving them in another.

This is the essence of diabetes. Tiny things that can have huge consequences.

Side note: Halfway through this post I started to feel low and as such I have no idea if this post even makes sense. I apologize if it's disjointed. Just call it another diabetes lesson! :)

Day 2: Artificial Pancreas Project

Diabetes Awareness Day 2 and the JDRF isn't pulling any punches.

So many people suffer from hypoglycemic unawareness, whether it's a chronic thing or even just one time. It's a terrifying feeling to have no symptoms and be going about your day and then waking up in the back of an ambulance. I've had this experience several times and now target my blood sugars higher due to it. As the ad says, though, 1 in 20 wind up much, much worse.

Please read more and sign the petition here: http://advocacy.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=109568