A frightening experience for me

[miguel81]

On Friday evening I sat down at 7.30pm to have my dinner and then watch Emmerdale at 8pm (we are an hour ahead of the UK).

I could not finish my dinner as it is so hot at the moment but I did eat all of the potatoes.

The next thing I knew was that it was 2am! I was wringing wet, even my slippers were soaked. I tried to get up from the sofa but I could not stand. My legs were not operating and neither were my arms and I was shaking like the veritable leaf.

I somehow knew that I needed sugar and so I got down on my hands and knees and tried to crawl into the kitchen, the chocolate has to be kept in the ?fridge as it is 40 degrees plus here at the moment. It?s only about 12 metres to the ?fridge but it took me half an hour. I ate the Spanish equivalents of a Mars bar and a Twix. I was also desperately thirsty and so I reached for a 2 litre bottle of Fanta but my arms started shaking again and most of it ended up over the floor and me. I was already soaked so it did not matter too much. After about half an hour I tried to stand but fell over onto my chest ? there was a dreadful shooting pain so I lay back down again and tried after about another half hour ? fell again.

Finally managed to get to bed about 4.30am but was very uncomfortable ? the pain in my chest was awful.

Here in the sticks we have no medical cover from 2pm on Friday until 9am on Monday. I could not call an ambulance because I do not have the ?800 it costs for a 2 way journey to and from the hospital. The hospital is less than 20km away! Only if a doctor calls the ambulance is it free.

Taxis don?t operate at these times.

I slept until 10am and my blood sugars were 22.7. I gave myself 4 units of Novorapid and 2 hours later they were down to 9.00.

I?ve never really experienced anything quite like this and it is a bit frightening.

Thought that I would share it and ask if anyone else has this kind of problem.

 

[megga]

Hi, you need fast acting carbs, jelly babies, i have lucozade sweets, get them down you to get you feeling better fast, then have chocolate. The carbs in chos works to slow to get you out of a hypo fast enough

 

[Aoife]

Sounds like a horrible hypo! Did you manage to check your glucose at all?

Chocolate is not the best thing to treat a hypo, the fat slows down the absorption of the glucose so it takes longer for the sugar to hit the blood stream. Can you leave a sugary drink (small bottle of coke/fanta) or some glucose tablets next to your bed to avoid having to try and get up to treat?

As for the morning result, thats from over treating the hypo (I think we've all done it!) It's very difficult to work out how much to have when your brain isn't working and you're feeling like you're going to pass out!

Hope you're feeling better now

 

[Northerner]

Hi Michael, very sorry to hear about your very frightening experience I do actually know how you felt, as I have had one very similar to this in the past, In my case I had injected for my meal but then fell asleep. I woke up just as you describe absolutely pouring with sweat and feeling very disorientated. I made my way to the kitchen where I had the idea that laying down on the cool lino floor would be a good thing to do. After I had lain there for a few moments it occurred to me that I needed sugar, so I forced myself to get up and get to my supply of jelly babies (I have them in every room, but it hadn't occurred to me to have some in my living room when I woke up!). After about 30 minutes I began to feel more normal, but it scared the life out of me and I am especially careful now as I live alone, so can only depend on myself.

I can only think that you must have had too much insulin, despite eating the potatoes, and possibly the food sent your levels high befre the insulin started peaking - this would make you drowsy, and then when your insulin peaked, your levels must have fallen very rapidly. Just a possibility.

Might I suggest that you get some better treatments for your lows? Whilst chocolate contains sugar, the fat in it will slow the absorption of the sugar and mean your levels will take longer to rise. I would suggest getting some jelly babies (or whatever is their equivalent in Spain!), or some full-sugar coke or other pop - these will work much quicker.

It's quite shocking that there is no medical cover at the weekends, and that an ambulance would cost so much! 😱

I hope that you never have to experience something so horrible again! Have you resolved the problem you were having with your pens?

 

[Northerner]

Seems we're all agreed about the chocolate! 😉

 

[miguel81]

Thank you all for your responses, I am most grateful.

How things change - when I was first diagnosed all I was told about was carbohydrates. No one ever told me, as I have learned from this website, about fat and proteins having an affect. 18 Years and you learn something new every day! I never got complacent but perhaps I was not savvy enough to keep up to date via the Internet.

Jelly babies - no such thing here, but I will get some full-sugar Coca Cola. My sister is visiting me in September so perhaps I will add jelly babies to the list of 'required' treats, along with back bacon, sausages and a pork pie!

I did not manage to check my BS as my brain wasn't working properly and I was really scared.

My village is very small and way out in the campo, and Spain is in the middle of a serious crisis. So many services have been curtailed or cancelled outright.

It is beginning to worry me now as I too live alone, apart from 2 rescued dogs, and as lovely as they are they ain't much good in a crisis!

My doctor and the pharmacist have told me that the cartridges of insulin for the pen you described are not available in Spain.

Apart from the chest pains I am feeling much better - can't get an appointment to see my doctor until next Wednesday by which time I probably won't need it!

Thanks again, am really grateful.

 

[pav]

Sounds like the hypo from hell, glad you have recovered from it. Must admit I have eaten some chocolate when gone low, never gave it a thought that the fat content would slow the sugar intake down.

Learnt something new again, normally have a stash of fruitella, fruit pastels or jelly babies to hand, though a nice piece of chilled chocolate did taste moreish.

 

[LeeLee]

Michael, is there any way you can get advice over the phone re: the chest pain? It may be nothing more serious than a bad case of indigestion, but on the other hand waiting until Weds could be a really bad idea, particularly in the heat you've been experiencing. If you could describe the nature of the pain to a healthcare professional, they would be able to advise you whether a taxi to the local hospital would be justified. I hope you feel better soon.

 

[Aoife]

Chest pain really shouldn't be ignored as if something sinister is going on then the sooner it gets treated the better. Sweating, cold and clammy skin, nausea and vomiting with chest pain can all be signs of heart attacks. Is it possible to get to a hospital or health centre to get checked out today?

If the pain gets worse or moves down you arm or jaw then you MUST get it checked

 

[miguel81]

Thank you both. Yes I'm sweating but it is now 42 degrees C, even the flies are sweating! I do not have cold and clammy skin, nausea or vomiting. The pain is from the 2 falls that I had, landing on my chest both times. We do not have the kind of NHS hotlines that you have, the only way that I could get checked out is to get to Ubeda hospital. I don't feel able to drive there and quite frankly I think that the pain is caused by bruising to the rib-cage. If I get any of the other symptoms you describe then. believe me, I will go to the hospital. Many, many thanks.

 

[Northerner]

Hope you are feeling much better soon Michael 🙂 Reminds me how lucky we are to have the NHS here. And a relatively mild climate! 😱

 

[jalapino]

Thank you both. Yes I'm sweating but it is now 42 degrees C, even the flies are sweating! I do not have cold and clammy skin, nausea or vomiting. The pain is from the 2 falls that I had, landing on my chest both times. We do not have the kind of NHS hotlines that you have, the only way that I could get checked out is to get to Ubeda hospital. I don't feel able to drive there and quite frankly I think that the pain is caused by bruising to the rib-cage. If I get any of the other symptoms you describe then. believe me, I will go to the hospital. Many, many thanks.

One thing you have taught us all in the uk we are very lucky to have instant help if we need it, i.e ambulance service when ever we need and hospitals with no cost!! I could not imagine how scary it was for you and hope you never have this happen ever to you again.

 

[miguel81]

Hope you are feeling much better soon Michael 🙂 Reminds me how lucky we are to have the NHS here. And a relatively mild climate! 😱

Yes although the NHS has its detractors and it knockers it is a wonderful institution. I am biased though as I worked in the NHS before ill health forced me to retire when I was 62.

It is now 7pm here and extremely hot. I am not normally a late person and usually go to bed at about 8.30 but now I am going to have a piece of cake and go to bed as I am very tired.

Thanks once again to you all.

 

[Cleo]

hi michael
sorry to hear about your awful experience. glad everything was 'ok' in the end. i'd def suggest that you ask your sister about getting some jelly babies from the uk and keep some next to your bed. I dont live alone but I do that as well.

also, do you have any idea why it happened? ie was it just a bad case of miscalculating the dose of insulin needed, or where you doing some strenuous exercise on Friday or even thursday? sorry not trying to pry or anything, just trying to help you figure why it happened to avoid it happening again ! 🙂🙂

C xx

 

[trophywench]

Urrgghh Michael, Not Nice.

Unfortunately, you may have cracked a rib or worse - my old man discovered when he was mid 50s that he just didn't bounce half as well as he used to!

I bruised my sternum once going up some steps, carrying something and I saved the something instead of me - and I got the equivalent of temporary pleurisy where my lungs and the tissue that surrounds them were inflamed and were sticking to the inside of my ribcage when I breathed. Awful pain, tears just flowed but no sobs.

Fortunately, it only lasted 2 or 3 days.

I hope you do feel better soon. Make that appointment - you can always ring and cancel it if you are better !

And don't eat chocolate or anything with much fat in it, soon after your full fat coke hypo treatment - anything like that we eat just before or after, slows the hypo remedy down!

If you can remember, try to swill the Coke round your mouth rather than just gulping it down - because glucose starts to work almost immediately by absorption through the inner surface of our cheeks. (I always think when I do it, oh well, hang it and never mind - I never wanted these teeth anyway, LOL )

 

[miguel81]

Cleo and Trophywench

Thank you. I know that I have been having trouble with my disposable Novorapid pens but that night there was no problem. Strenuous exercise is not on the cards. Apart from the diabetes I have severe osteo-arthritis in both legs below the knees and have to walk, very slowly, using crutches. I still take my dogs out 3 times a day and they are used to the slow walks. The only things that I did extra on that day was to keep climbing, slowly, up a ladder to fix a broken shelf in one of my kitchen cupboards, time consuming but not strenuous. I also did a bit of weeding and some washing - but not hard work.

I have learned more about chocolate in the last couple of days than ever before. I will take on board the swilling of the coke.

I went to bed at 7.30 last night and woke up at 8.30 this morning. The pain has now evolved into a dull ache and I only feel it if I cough or breath too deeply. Blood sugars this morning were an acceptable 4.2.

Thanks again

 

[trophywench]

Hee hee hee ! Weeding !

You will appreciate that being on insulin, and me pumping it, which exacerbates the effect, in that we generally have better control for more of the time than on other insulin regimes, we become hypo rather more readily than T2's on tablets.

Heat affects most people one way or the other - either sending it up or down ridiculously until we acclimatise, when the effect gradually starts to wear off. So you will be used to the usual heat where you are by now. But 42 is a bit much - but then, you are more or less in the hottest bit of Spain, aren't you? (I recall passing through/near Ubeda (and Jaen, Toledo and Mad-Rid) when many years ago, we drove back from my friends' house nr Almeria to the Santander ferry! Lovely area.)

So several days this week we've been attacking the garden which was quite overgrown owing to the 3 month holiday in April, May and June.- Pete was employing the fork and loosening it all and I was bending down to pick up the unearthed weeds and roots, gathering them in a bucket and lobbing them in the green bin, which is wheeled and so on all occasions, one step away. It was tedious rather than hard. And it's been pretty silly hot at times here too.

Hypo city, man.

Whatever you do (even getting some ice out of the freezer or having a P, Bob) in hotter than normal temperatures - does send you hypo.

I'm going to look for your previous posts now, to see what insulins you are on. Sounds like you need to edge your basal down a notch ......

 

[trophywench]

Right, Lantus.

Yup, how about knocking a unit off your dose?

And I have sent you a PM - when you come onto the site above the dark blue bar at the top of the page, on the right hand side, it will say

Welcome Michael ....
You last visited ....
Private messages: Unread 1

Click on Private messages, and voila.

 

[miguel81]

Everyone has been so kind and it is really appreciated. Turns out that I do have cracked ribs, pleurisy and heavy inflammation. All now being treated.

I did think that I had everything under control after all these years but my self-confidence has taken a severe knock. In the few days that I have been a member I have learned so much from this site. Jelly babies have been ordered and I will get them in September BUT it occurred to me whilst I was waiting to be treated that I had no idea whatsoever of what was about to happen. I had no trembling, no sweating and no flickering of my sight that usually precedes a hypo - so why would I reach for chocolate (or, as I now know better, jelly babies?). I was just waiting for my TV programme to come on and then - bazeenga!

Anyway, I am taking things easy, taking more time to relax and I now do a blood test before my evening meal.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[jalapino]

Everyone has been so kind and it is really appreciated. Turns out that I do have cracked ribs, pleurisy and heavy inflammation. All now being treated.

I did think that I had everything under control after all these years but my self-confidence has taken a severe knock. In the few days that I have been a member I have learned so much from this site. Jelly babies have been ordered and I will get them in September BUT it occurred to me whilst I was waiting to be treated that I had no idea whatsoever of what was about to happen. I had no trembling, no sweating and no flickering of my sight that usually precedes a hypo - so why would I reach for chocolate (or, as I now know better, jelly babies?). I was just waiting for my TV programme to come on and then - bazeenga!

Anyway, I am taking things easy, taking more time to relax and I now do a blood test before my evening meal.

Thanks again everyone.

Wow you have been through the wars!!!....glad your chilling out now....how come you have to wait so long for jelly babies?