So the last few days have been pretty scary for me. Probably the scariest of my life so far. And scary not in the “holy $hit we’re going too fast and I’m gonna toss my cookies” scary or even Pennywise’s “Want a Balloon..They all FLOAT” scariness…this one here takes the cake.
So the other day my glycemic levels were uber high. I slept all day and didn’t take my ketone levels and didn’t go to the emergency. I took oodles of insulin and drank water and slept like a baby. Of course I found out only AFTER the fact that I could theoretically have and should have been testing my ketone levels. It’s a simple test you buy at the pharmacy where you pee on a stick then compare the color. I didn’t know these things existed. Really. Every time I had issues with ketones, the poor doctor would try to shove a big needle into my artery (unlike veins, the artery is uber hard and hurts like a bitch when trying to puncture it…so guess what my ketone-hating self thinks of when trying to find out if such ketones exist?…you got it people!!)
So before I continue, maybe it’s time you all knew what ketones and glycemic levels are…
The average normal person should have a glucose level of around 4.5 to 7.0 mmol/L. A diabetic will have glucose levels higher than 7. My goal is to keep them under 10, to which I have been about 95% successful.
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening complication in patients with diabetes mellitus. DKA is characterized by high blood sugar, acidosis, and high levels of ketone bodies.
So in layman terms, ketones aren’t good. They infest a diabetic’s blood supply like an infection and it hurts and it messes up your kidney functions. I’ve had DKA once, and I vowed never ever EVER again to go down that path.
However, the other day, my sugars were in the 20’s. I $hit you not. I purged my body with water water water and slept like only the ill can sleep…ALL DAY. I woke up the next day and felt incredibly refreshed but I knew I had to touch base with my doctor. Since he wasn’t in his office (I WISH I could have office hours like some of these specialists…seriously) I trekked my perfect feeling body to the emergency room. YUCK.
Now, I know people use the emergency room for EMERGENCIES. However, I feel like my hospital’s emergency room is a geriatric’s playground. Almost everyone smelt like moth balls and most of the patients seemed to remember WWII…and not just from the TV. So on that note, you can probably imagine how the staff feels. Except the doctor that saw me should maybe tone down his bedside mannerism. I’m not senile nor am I a hypochondriac. I finally take my doctor’s advice and come to the emergency when I’m not well and I get attitude. He looked like he DIDN’T believe me. Hmmm… He also seemed like the type of guy who, when being intimate with his better half, after she totally cums, he sits back and questions her like 10 times to make sure she’s not lying…”Honey, so you’re sure, right? When you grinded your hips into me at the 47 degree angle, that’s when it happened? Now wait…let’s get this straight…47 or 48 degree angle, dear, because I want to be sure”…yeah, that kind of prick. So after peeing in mini cups and pissing blood into vials, I was free for 2 hours to roam the hospital. I found out 3 hours later that I had a whopper of a bladder infection and I felt like slapping that self righteous noob in the face. However, it’s funny getting asked repeatly if it burns…”Miss…does IT BURN when you pee…no but DOES IT BBUURRNN…HOT yes?” HA
That was amusing but I was asleep during most of the scary parts so I don’t really remember.
Last night was a different story.
So I’m watching a movie with my boyfriend in bed. I feel like my sugar is a bit low so I pop 3 glucose tablets and pull out my gluco-meter. Then I blink and I’m looking at my shoes and I’m sitting on my couch in the living room. OK, so let’s try to put the facts together.
I went from being UNCLOTHED in bed watching a movie to being FULLY DRESSED with SHOES on, in my living room…and all I did was blink. OK, I did more than blink, but that’s the scary part.
My sugars were ridiculously low. When I look at my gluco-meter’s history, I cringe. 2.3. That would be great as a GPA. But for a living human’s glucose level? Hell’s no…with a cherry on top.
Let’s refer back to what I wrote earlier… The average normal person should have a glucose level of around 4.5 to 7.0 mmol/L.
2.3 is like half of 4.5. That’s really not good. And it stayed that low for about 20 minutes. During my 2.3 episode, I was here but not. According to my boyfriend, I was crying, fighting for control and just…well, not here. When my sugars came up to about 3.1, I was staring at my shoes and wondering how the hell I got on my couch with pants on. It felt like the absolute worst bad trip of my life. Imagine not being in control of what you’re doing for almost 20 minutes while your body is fighting to not go in a coma… There’s a name for it (there’s name for everything now a days and I love it!!)
Neuroglycopenia is a medical term that refers to a shortage of glucose (glycopenia) in the brain, usually due to hypoglycemia. Glycopenia affects the function of neurons, and alters brain function and behavior. Prolonged neuroglycopenia can result in permanent damage to the brain.
Hmm…I can think of several other things that might damage my brain…but we won’t go there right now. Looking at the symptoms of neuroglycopenia is a bit spooky because the list is so long and I’m wondering how long it will take me to experience all these symptoms.
- Abnormal mentation, impaired judgement
- Nonspecific dysphoria, anxiety, moodiness, depression, crying, fear of dying, suicidal thoughts
- Negativism, irritability, belligerence, combativeness, rage
- Personality change, emotional lability
- Fatigue, weakness, apathy, lethargy, daydreaming, sleep
- Confusion, amnesia, dizziness, delirium
- Staring, “glassy” look, blurred vision, double vision
- Automatic behavior
- Difficulty speaking, slurred speech
- Ataxia, incoordination, sometimes mistaken for “drunkenness“
- Focal or general motor deficit, paralysis, hemiparesis
- Paresthesia, headache
- Stupor, coma, abnormal breathing
- Generalized or focal seizures
So last night, I will list what I felt.
Nothing.
Which would place me at the “stupor” symptom?
However, according to my boyfriend, I was crying, anxious, personality change, emotional lability, confusion, staring, “glassy” look, automatic behavior, difficulty speaking, slurred speech, and incoordination. That’s quite a lot considering I’m still stuck in the nothing part. I remember briefly, almost like I was drowing, that I was trying to get my boyfriend to wait and that maybe in waiting my glucose levels would go up. I had no idea what exactly was going on. There was buzzing in my ears and again, I don’t know how I moved, talked or got dressed. I remember feeling paranoid at one point but I was just NOT THERE to feel much more than that.
Hmmm…so I think it’s suffice to say…I had a helluva scary night.
So in the time span of less than one week, I was at the hyper and hypo extremes of my disease. I feel like I deserve a medal. At the least my boyfriend does. When my sugars were back in the healthy zones, he looked scared and exhausted. But he was awesome 
For more info, use wiki or google but here’s some links to peruse…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_mellitus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperglycemia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetic_ketoacidosis
