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 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