First really bad hypo

[stephknits]

Have had a terrible shock this weekend. I was working at the First Light Festival in Lowestoft, bringing my camera obscura. I went to change my pod on the Sat tea time and during the process my PDM (the handset part) failed. I rang the 24hr helpline and we poked various bits of it with a paper clip but no luck.
I was very lucky to have a spare PDM and set about going through all the set up procedures. Luckily I had the forethought to take photos of my various settings so it was not too complicated and I carried on with my day.
Next morning I woke to a lovely 5.3 and treated myself to a pastry for breakfast - festival food - and then got to work with my colleagues opening up the camera obscura on the beach. I suddenly felt a bit low and stopped to test. Half way through testing I knew things were really bad and I watched as my body started to convulse and I blacked out.
Ended up coming round in an ambulance and spending the afternoon in A&E. I terrified my lovely colleagues and have no idea what could have happened. I had at least one glucogen shot and a glucose drip for hours. I only took 4 units of insulin for my breakfast which was quite conservative as I knew I'd be standing around on the beach.
Am currently off the pump and at home and have lost all confidence. Am taking the handset into my hospital team tomorrow to see if I programmed anything wrongly.

 

[Matt Cycle]

Really sorry to hear this Steph. Sounds frightening and it's a big shock when these things happen. Glad your colleagues were there to help (even if you terrified them!) and you came through the other side. Yes, confidence is affected but hopefully the hospital can reassure you whether it is a programming error on the handset or not. If it's not, then in my experience, although rare, these things sometimes just happen. I've had a couple of bad ones needing paramedics including the driving one. Both affected my confidence but life takes over and you carry on. You'll get back into the diabetic swing of things.

 

[grovesy]

Sorry to hear this, hope they can help you get through this.

 

[stephknits]

Thanks Matt, very reassuring and great to hear you come out the other side. I guess before this I always had in the back of my mind that these things happen to other people. There's a fine line between being relaxed about it and getting on with your life, but also being prepared, although I don't think there was anything I could have done at the time. I was lucky that because I was at a festival, there was an ambulance and two paramedics about 30 m up the beach!
Yesterday I felt like a truck had hit me. Feeling better today, but still very tired and emotional. Haven't done anything on my own yet.

 

[Flower]

I'm so sorry you've had such a frightening hypo Steph. They really do knock the stuffing out of you physically and mentally and as Matt says sometimes- very infrequently- they can just sideswipe us and unsettle everything we rely on. I really hope that the hospital can reassure you about things and find out whether it was due to pump issues or not. Life will take over again bit by bit because it's all we can do. Thank goodness your colleagues and an ambulance were close by to help you. Wishing you well.

 

[Northerner]

I'm really sorry to hear this Steph Glad you weren't on your own and got medical help promptly 🙂 I've had one or two bizarre ones where the levels refuse to come up, but thankfully nothing where I couldn't still keep drinking juice etc. I hope they get to the bottom of it and it's just some rogue setting. Take care, I hope you feel much better very soon {{{HUGS}}}

 

[Ljc]

How frightening for you and your colleagues..Thank Heaven they were with you and that an Ambulance crew were close to hand and Thank Heaven you are ok if rather battered (((gentle hug)))

 

[stephknits]

. Life will take over again bit by bit because it's all we can

Thanks Flower, you are quite right,it is all we can do, am up at the hospital tomorrow and then back at work on Thursday, so edging back to normal.

 

[stephknits]

I'm really sorry to hear this Steph Glad you weren't on your own and got medical help promptly 🙂 I've had one or two bizarre ones where the levels refuse to come up, but thankfully nothing where I couldn't still keep drinking juice etc. I hope they get to the bottom of it and it's just some rogue setting. Take care, I hope you feel much better very soon {{{HUGS}}}

Thanks Northerner, the hug
much appreciated. Not one for feeling sorry for myself usually, but giving myself a break today

 

[stephknits]

How frightening for you and your colleagues..Thank Heaven they were with you and that an Ambulance crew were close to hand and Thank Heaven you are ok if rather battered (((gentle hug)))

Thanks Ljc, yes so lucky. Alternatives dont bare thinking about.

 

[Grannylorraine]

Sorry to hear this happened to you Stephknits, sounds very frightening, no wonder it has knocked your confidence. Hope up are feeling better today and little by little your confidence comes back

 

[Jodee]

So sorry this happened to you Steph. Just awful, but thankfully your colleagues were on the ball and phone for an ambulance. Hope you are soon fully recovered.

 

[Nicola1a]

Sorry you had such a fright, I hope you start feeling better soon x

 

[Thebearcametoo]

That sounds very traumatic. I’m so glad you got help so quickly. It will take time to get your confidence back and to recover both physically and emotionally.

 

[stephknits]

Thanks everyone for your understanding and kind words. It means so much knowing people get how I am feeling. Makes me feel less pathetic! This forum is fab

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

So sorry to read this @stephknits - those nasty lows really can shake you up. I’ve not had a blackout/unconscious one, but have certainly had ones where I’ve lost periods of time. It always took me a few weeks to regain my confidence afterwards. Hope you bounce back soon enough and regain your podding mojo

 

[Lucy Honeychurch]

So sorry to hear this, how terrifying for you. I hope you are feeling better and soon regain your confidence.

 

[Stitch147]

Sorry to hear this Steph. Hope you get your confidence back. X

 

[stephknits]

Took my PDM into hospital to check if I had programmed it correctly. All seems ok, so no mistakes there. Am sending off the pod to see if that went wrong. I expect I will never know really, but worth a check.

 

[Sprogladite]

How scary @stephknits I hope you are doing better now! Although terrifying, you have inspired me to take photos of the settings on my PDM - genius idea! x