Can anybody share personal experiences of severe hypoglycemia?
When I was younger, on a DIY mix of Humilin insulins, and going out more (and drinking alcohol):
I would sometimes think I was dreaming, and gradually come around and realise that in fact I wasn't, and was indeed sat somewhere unexpected, usual because my school friends had delivered me to matron (not normally post-pub trips, though I do recall them telling me that they had had to feed me some toothpaste before delivering me to matron after we popped to the pub after a rubgy match - I only recall waking up sat in the infirmary!)
I've had the unpleasant issue of waking up while very low and only one side of my body wanting to work, which was ok as I managed to drag myself out of bed (not much fun getting to the floor I recall) to my fridge (which I had in my room at school on account of being diabetic for insulin and OJ) and drank some OJ/had something to eat, then everything started working again. Iirc my BG after I'd regained sufficient movement/mental capacity to do anything was in the high 1s mmol/l.
When at uni I vividly recall needing to drag myself across my flat, as my legs were completely "jelly" and I couldn't stand up, I managed to pull myself up to the kitchen counter top and grab the sugar bowl by the kettle (for coffee) and then sit and consume until all was better. Same as above high 1s mmol/l.
I'd sometimes get poor muscle control and drop things (that is perhaps not the right word), often when walking back from having done some grocery shopping when at uni - I should have done something about my BG, and I have learned to do something early now, but then I was younger and always thought I'd be able to make it home, etc. What would happen is I'd be walking along quite happily (though feeling low, but wanting to get home) and would spontaneously open my hand and drop the shopping bag. This was obviously quite annoying, and uncontrollable, even when I concentrated very hard to not do it. I must have looked very odd. I should have taken some hypo treatments with me and eaten them (though this was before mini bags of skittles and dextrose tablets were and still are not all that nice, especially not if they've lived in your pocket for some time, they also have uncomfortable corners).
Last but not least, when low and once I'd realised I needed to deal with it, I would become singular in my goal of doing this. I'm never aggressive, but if someone prevented me from doing this they may see that as aggression or just rudeness. Often this defaulted to going home (from a bar/nightclub while at uni), rather than doing something faster like going to the bar and getting some OJ/Coke (mainly as getting served at a bar that was 8-deep was always a PITA and I knew I could be home in 20 minutes.) This was not actually a very good decision as I'd tend to run lower while walking home and probably should have asked someone to get me a drink, however I'm never really one to rely on other people for anything, and this behaviour certainly comes to the fore when low (when I was younger, I'm perhaps wiser now, or just don't run low very often).
OTOH perhaps this was simply a case of goal fixation, once I had an idea that was it. It takes some serious effort to think of options while low, so this is quite an easy trap to fall into. The same is probably true of my grocery shopping story above, I could have eaten something I'd bought, or stopped at a cafe or shop along the way home, but that would be diverging from the plan and requires extra mental capacity which is often not readily available when low. It is possible to overcome this with some mental discipline, though as I'm also an (decision) optimiser I have to forego this part of my approach to all things and take the first choice (e.g. somewhere selling something that contains sugar.) It's interesting, but once I realised this, it did make life easier once I'd told myself that this is what I would do and made it a habit.
Now that I'm older (and hopefully wiser) and have a CGM I don't tend to run low very often, and if I do I deal with it immediately (or head it off early) rather than hoping I can continue and make it wherever I was going. This is often because I'm on the bike and a long way from home so there is no way I'll make it back if I just keep going rather than treating it and/or because my children are with me so I'm unwilling to just wing it as I would when younger and it was only me I needed to worry about.
www.healthyplace.com
.0mmol which previously was 4%. It's a huge improvement but has required a lot of work:
