The number wasn’t all that low, at least not for me. I’m fairly hypo-unaware, so I usually don’t feel a 61 at all. (In fact, I just did a finger stick before starting this post and saw a 65 and I feel just fine. Don’t worry, I’m snacking on a Clif Bar and should be back up in no time. /digression) The 61 on Sunday, however, was not the least bit fun. I was trying to get ready to go out for brunch (since we still don’t have a functioning kitchen) but this low was not having it. I felt completely terrified. I felt like any minute I was going to drop dead. It was the worst feeling in the world. I treated and then I treated a bit more. Then I curled up on my bed in the fetal position. I tried to be logical and tell myself I would be just fine, but my mind wouldn’t accept that fact. I finally called out the window to Pete, who was in the driveway installing new wiper blades on his car, and asked him to come inside and sit with me. I hate when diabetes makes me feel needy and weak. Of course, by the time he finished up with his car and got inside, I felt just fine and was doing my hair so we could go eat.
November is Diabetes Awareness Month. You should know that sometimes low blood sugars aren’t so bad. I treat and move on with my day. But sometimes, they feel completely terrifying. Sometimes they leave me curled up in a ball waiting to die. Luckily for me, lows like that are rare, but they happen. And nobody should live like this. We need a cure.
Yuck! I hate those. I don't get it, sometimes a 61 does feel worse than say a 40. That always makes me wonder after the fact how accurate the meter or test strip was I used when I feel absolutely awful like that but I'm not as low as the number says.
ReplyDeleteYep sometimes a not so low low will feel worse than a dangerous low. I think it has to do with how quickly I drop. A gradual drop is harder for me to detect but there are those times when it feels like my insulin finally kicks in and I come crashing down hard. Those are the worst.
ReplyDeleteMy husband says that too, and since he's been wearing a Dexcom he has some data to back up that theory, it's the angle of the slope that causes the horrible feeling. A precipitous drop feels awful, a slow gradual decline is not so bad.
DeleteJessi - good point! With the range in blood glucose values even in tests taken seconds apart, who knows if our numbers are right where the meter says they are. With a low (like the 36 I dropped to a few weeks back), that can make things even worse. I might have actually been at 56 (need food quick but I'm not panicking) or 26 (probably wouldn't have been awake to see the reading). I wish that strips and meters were always 100% accurate. Sure would make our lives a lot easier.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I think we can all identify with what you're saying. Those kind of lows are never easy. Glad everything turned out okay. Glad Pete was there to help.
ReplyDeleteI can absolutely tell the difference between the bad ones and the not so bad ones in both my daughter and my husband. There's definitely some kind of difference.
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