Stupid mistake nearly cost me my life

[Jaylee]

Hi @andybee

Scary stuff indeed..

I remember the the first MDI pens I got looked exactly the same. The only way to tell em apart was removing the cap to check the contents..

Nowadays I have two completely different design pens by different manufacturers for basal & bolus..
But an easy mistake..!

 

[Juicyj]

Wow what a story - glad your ok now and thanks for sharing this, although please don't let it put you off camping, just remember to be more careful next time and really make sure you have exactly what you need on you at all times.

I've found holidays can be a nightmare as you tend to steer off the path slightly and also treat them as a 'holiday' so taking time off from being extra vigilant to your diabetes, i've just come back from one and am running high, just from eating foods I don't normally eat and drinking more than I would do normally, takes a while to get back to normal.

Again glad you shared this, it's a good reminder for us all

 

[iHs]

Andybee get yourself some tubes of glucogel and make sure that your wife keeps one in her bag. Glucogel (Hypostop, Dextrogel) is a life saver regarding hypoglycaemia that has gone to the point of not being able to talk or be coherent. Sensible administration of the gel in small amounts through gentle massaging of the lips, gums and cheek lining (buccal) enables the gel to be absorbed and very slowly and surely, the diabetic starts to regain the ability to be able to hear and mutter and can then be made to swallow some lucozade etc. With any luck.......there wont be any need for paramedic, glucagon jab or iv glucose drip. Even violent hypo diabetics eventually collapse so good old glucose gel is a winner!!!!! Thr best glucose gel container is Hypostop in a plastic bottle with long thin twist up nozzle. This enables the nozzle to be pushed into the mouth and small beads of gel squeezed out.
If your wife had been able to use glucose gel, your story would be different.

Take care of yourself........there's a first time for everything so once caught out, try to make sure it doesnt happen again.

 

[Dan Sumner]

Thanks for sharing, it makes me more determined to be extra careful especially as I love going camping.

Hope you're doing ok.

Dan


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[BaliRob]

You are to be commended for having the courage for personal deprecation which is a wonderful warning to others.

 

[andybee]

Andybee get yourself some tubes of glucogel and make sure that your wife keeps one in her bag. Glucogel (Hypostop, Dextrogel) is a life saver regarding hypoglycaemia that has gone to the point of not being able to talk or be coherent. Sensible administration of the gel in small amounts through gentle massaging of the lips, gums and cheek lining (buccal) enables the gel to be absorbed and very slowly and surely, the diabetic starts to regain the ability to be able to hear and mutter and can then be made to swallow some lucozade etc. With any luck.......there wont be any need for paramedic, glucagon jab or iv glucose drip. Even violent hypo diabetics eventually collapse so good old glucose gel is a winner!!!!! Thr best glucose gel container is Hypostop in a plastic bottle with long thin twist up nozzle. This enables the nozzle to be pushed into the mouth and small beads of gel squeezed out.
If your wife had been able to use glucose gel, your story would be different.

Take care of yourself........there's a first time for everything so once caught out, try to make sure it doesnt happen again.

Thanks, seems like good advice

 

[andybee]

Thanks all for your comments

We can all see from peoples experiences that some disaster planning is required! Thought that I had this type 1 thing nailed; hope that it hasn't got too many new surprises for me.........

I'm absolutely A OK now in myself; it's not knocked my confidence in being able to manage our condition though I will always be more careful when injecting and I hope that others will learn from and avoid my stupid mistake.

Probably the worst outcome is the effect that it has had on my kids. Its subtle but my 9 year daughter now 'mothers me', checking that I've got all my kit with me, have I checked my sugars?, just generally involved in my condition. Previously it was just Dad has diabetes and needs to be careful about what he eats, take some injections and test his sugars regularly. I'm going on a wild camping trip with my son in a couple of weeks. On our last trip, having been diagnosed 4 months previously I had quite a few lows having underestimated the carb replacement for hiking with a full backpack compared to without. No drama, I got to stuff my face with loads of stuff that I don't normally eat. A couple of weeks ago he was running around a remote camp site trying to find anyone with a mobile phone connection to call an ambulance while his Dad was lying in the mud convulsing. I know that he is going to feel in some way responsible for me while we are away. Whilst I'm fine now, the effects will certainly live on.

 

[iHs]

Enjoy the camp trip with yr son. Remember the glucogel or dextrogel just in case and carry some sweets that dont melt in yr pockets to keep yrself going with all the activity. Wont really hurt if you make yr bg levels go a tiny bit higher for the camp trip.

 

[Carine Allen]

Hope you are feeling better now, and another advice always check the use by date on the glucagon injections.Thank you for sharing your experience

 

[loliver1]

I have always had glucogel in my bag for if I have a really bad hypo but have never used it - realised the other day it must have gone out of date but it doesn't have expiry date on bottle - only on the box

 

[kazC]

As many others have said, I did the same thing pre-bed around a year ago. First time in 30 years I'd needed Glucagon.

Hubby did well at 4am. However, he's 6"2, and packs 18 stone behind him, so I obviously hadn't made it clear that he really didn't need to stab me in the leg as though he was re-creating that scene from Pulp Fiction!!!

Joking aside (and sore leg for a week) he did the business.

Scary stuff. Glad you're ok.

 

[Spicey245]

How scary!!! Hope you're okay now? I've had diabetes since I was 13 years old (Type 1) and thankfully have never done this but no somebody who has. Thankfully he realised what he'd done straight away and proceeded to eat half the food in his kitchen cupboards!! I don't think he slept well that night for fear of going into a coma bless him!! I never keep my bolus insulin by the bed just in case I do this! It's an easy mistake to make, especially if you're using refillable pens (I use the disposable pens now - much easier to keep track!).

I had a massive hypo a couple of years ago and scared myself silly (I drank almost half a 2ltr bottle of fatty coke to recover from it) which was my own stupid fault as I just gave myself way too much bolus for what I'd eaten. These things can happen from time to time. I always have Dextrogel and a Glugacon pen at home and at work now too. Also carry sweets and Dextrogel in my bag at all times. And as someone else said, check the use by date on them too!!

 

[lizdeluz]

Thanks all for your comments

We can all see from peoples experiences that some disaster planning is required! Thought that I had this type 1 thing nailed; hope that it hasn't got too many new surprises for me.........

I'm absolutely A OK now in myself; it's not knocked my confidence in being able to manage our condition though I will always be more careful when injecting and I hope that others will learn from and avoid my stupid mistake.

Probably the worst outcome is the effect that it has had on my kids. Its subtle but my 9 year daughter now 'mothers me', checking that I've got all my kit with me, have I checked my sugars?, just generally involved in my condition. Previously it was just Dad has diabetes and needs to be careful about what he eats, take some injections and test his sugars regularly. I'm going on a wild camping trip with my son in a couple of weeks. On our last trip, having been diagnosed 4 months previously I had quite a few lows having underestimated the carb replacement for hiking with a full backpack compared to without. No drama, I got to stuff my face with loads of stuff that I don't normally eat. A couple of weeks ago he was running around a remote camp site trying to find anyone with a mobile phone connection to call an ambulance while his Dad was lying in the mud convulsing. I know that he is going to feel in some way responsible for me while we are away. Whilst I'm fine now, the effects will certainly live on.

I know what you mean about the subtle effects on family. My daughter doesn't take no for an answer. I believe a typical feature of someone going hypo is to deny that you're going hypo? She's a hospital pharmacist and used to talking to doolally patients, I suppose, so she is very good at spotting my incipient hypos and ensuring that I recover. It worries me sometimes that my diabetes has an emotional effect on significant others, but what can you do except what you are doing? - trying all the time to control diabetes rather than let it control you. That means living life to the full, so enjoy the wild camping trip. It's a new craze: my son does it, but he hasn't asked me along yet!
I

 

[Scouser58]

Hello to all, I have just read all the posts regarding mix ups, and forgetful actions with the very important injections, I offer up a prayer that all who have been to this place have come out of this terrible moment in safety and have now made changes, ttfn

 

[andybee]

Hello to all, I have just read all the posts regarding mix ups, and forgetful actions with the very important injections, I offer up a prayer that all who have been to this place have come out of this terrible moment in safety and have now made changes, ttfn

Wise words Scouser. Am not a praying man but share your thoughts and really hope that folks that have never considered this danger will be wise before the event. I REALLY HOPE THAT EVERYONE READING THIS THREAD WILL LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE. PLEASE DON'T LET IT BE YOU. YOU MAY NOT BE LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE TYPING THIS NOW AND RANTING OVER THE CARE THAT YOU NEED TO TAKE WITH YOUR MEDS.

 

[Spiker]

It has also happened to me - once. Luckily I was at home and I realised right away, not asleep or away camping. My girlfriend went straight to the late night shop and came back with a carrier bag of sweets for me to eat in order to work off the 36u of NovoRapid I had injected by mistake. I managed to get enough on board without vomiting, again luckier than many of the stories retold here.

The take away action for me was that from then on I always had the bolus and basal I insulins in totally different pens with different look, feel and sound.

Andy thanks for sharing this. Your wife is amazing, and so are you for posting this warning. I really feel for you about the change in your children's attitudes. That is something I fear greatly, that they would become afraid for me. Very tough to deal with mate.

 

[coco44]

Hi Andybee so glad things turned out ok, but sorry you had such a scary experience. I was diagnosed as a Type 1 3 and half years ago at age 55 by way of an emergency admission to A & E with Ketoacidosis which I thought would be the scariest thing I would experience being a diabetic, however 2 weeks ago I was proved wrong when I had the worst hypo ever. I had tested just before my evening meal as I do every night. My reading was 5.1 so everything normal and pleasing. My control is usually pretty good. Next thing I knew my husband was pulling me up out of the chair and telling me to test. He had discovered that I had completely blacked out and was unresponsive. I tried to insist on doing a test with my insulin pen I was that confused. Eventually he managed to re test for me and my reading was 1.9! This was just 15 mins after my reading of 5.1. I cannot explain this sudden drop. Lucozade & glucogen brought me back successfully. This experience has really shaken my confidence and I am reluctant to leave the house. I have gained lots of knowledge from this forum and it has helped me no end since diagnosis, but one thing I do not understand is why is it on waking in the morning lots of us appear to experience the Dawn Phenomenon whereby the liver kicks out glucose to set us up for the day if our sugars are low. Why does the liver not do this in the above circumstances to save us having hypos? I'm obviously missing an important point, Thanks Coco

 

[type1harley]

I've made stupid mistakes too...

 

[Heathenlass]

Good point, @coco44 .

Perhaps the following should go into the thread " What stupid things have people said
. "

Said by a DN ( not a DSN) who told me " I don't know much about Type 1"

" Don't worry about hypos, your liver kicks out glucose when you get too low and your blood glucose will rise again eventually "

I actually made a complaint about that one.

Signy

 

[Spiker]

The DN maybe meant "don't worry, a hypo won't kill you, because (etc)". I remember them telling me that.

Mostly true, unless you're driving at the time. ;-)