Drunk without the Alcohol, Type 1 Diabetes and the Hypo

#DiabetesBlog #Hypoglycemia #DeGlucofied How does it feel ?

"Drunk without the Alcohol" by a #T1D

Sugar is not the cause of #Diabetes. Without sugar people with diabetes would be in serious trouble. #Sugar is treatment for #Hypoglycemia #Hypos, People with #Type1Diabetes and some people with #Type2Diabetes need sugar just like they need #Insulin to survive. Sugar to a #Diabetic is just as needed and just as important as our insulin is. 

De-glucofied ( my new word )  "What happens in the hypo stays in the hypo" 

Whenever I meet parents of children, not long diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, especially parents of young children one of the first questions they ask is, "what does a hypo or a low blood sugar feel like" of course they read the symptoms, but what it actually feels like is a whole other thing.

Sometimes children don't seem to have listened to what's been said to them, sometimes they just sleep for hours after a low, maybe have a tummy pain or upset tummy, they might be weepy, or feel a bit emotionally soft, seem confused, seem awkward, uncordidated  or can't remember. Well this is how I feel during a low, after a low, and sometimes for quite a while afterwards.

I woke up during one nights sleep and I knew straight away this wasn't good, I actually felt confused making my way to the kitchen and tried to maintain my balance while keeping the wall real close. 

Because I was more than a tad disorientated when I got to my meter I spilled the tub of test strips on the floor and they seemed to have taken flight. There's a visible flush going on, with a trickle of sweat running from my hairline, my clothes feel damp, o wait they are damp with sweat, and I know that someone is talking to me because their lips are moving, but Iv no idea what they're saying. I treated that low heavily, my reading was 2.3 and I slept deeply for hours after it.

Nobody can understand that "no mans land" that I am in when my blood sugar is low, except another person with diabetes who's had a low or hypo.

Totally deglucofied, and because of that, strangely unresponsive, and when I say unresponsive I don't mean unconscious.

One moment I am walking around, chatting and laughing, thinking things through, planning, working, or just cooking the dinner, when i slip silently into, not thinking and just doing. 

I go from walking with purpose and direction to walking and not knowing why or where Im going.

I go from chatting and laughing to seeing people around me chatting, i hear sounds but they don't make sense, it's like quite noise and my brain can't figure out where it's coming from. Afterwards when iv treated the low BG with glucose or sugar of some sort, I find people saying "remember I told you that" ? Mmm NO. Because "what happens in the hypo stays in the hypo" and does not get remembered.

For all the following reasons hypos or lows can be very frightening and bit dangerous.

It would be easy to fall and hurt myself. 

It would be easy to say or do something and have no recollection of it afterwards.

It's easy to put something down and not be able to find it.

It's easy to eat for survival and not measure, count or care about portion size or carb count.

It would be easy to walk out in front of a car when crossing a road, because judgment is gone.

if im walking there's a strange but not nice feeling of walking on air, like the ground beneath my feet just doesn't exist, impact as I walk is gone, tripping and falling would be so easy

Because all of these things are completely out of our control when our blood sugar drops too low and that's just one side of the coin.

The treatment (not treat ) is sugar / glucose in the form of a full sugar drink or lucozade, jelly beans, jelly babies, skittles, basically anything high in sugar or glucose.

It's important to remember that when you treat a headache, a hangover, or something else that's making you feel rotten, you don't just pop a pill and feel instantly better, the same applies to popping in the glucose for a hypo, it's not an instant "feel better" it takes time to come back to normal.

Treating a hypo in no different, yes we treat it, and get those blood sugar numbers back within range, but the "feel good" feeling dosent return instantly because there's an aftermath. The fact that you'v dropped low means it's effected all of your body and it takes quite a while for the sugar rush to reach everywhere and get us back on track. 

If your anything like me all of this is followed with a dreadfull headache, an upset tummy, and a feeling of exhaustion that leaves me fit for nothing but sleep.

It's actually worse than being very drunk, it's downright frightening. 

My Balance, sight, & sense of direction are all effected, 

Davina.

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