Stupid mistake nearly cost me my life

[andybee]

I hesitate before writing this warning story as I can't believe that anyone could be quite as stupid as me; but the outcome was very nearly so bad here goes anyway.....

I am in my mid 40's and have been type 1 for just over 18 months. I generally have good control and good awareness when I am going low (usually kicks in around 3.9 - 3.7). I use 30 units of Levemir split 15 in the morning and 15 in the evening and carb count for my NovoRapid with meals.

On a recent camping trip with the family I had a hypo that hit me like a freight train. From the initial feelings of going low to complete lack of consciousness and a siezure took less than 5 minutes. We were on a very remote site and I barely made it back to the tent on my hands and knees to get assistance from my wife. She gave me 3 glucose tabs but the train kept on coming; I lost consciousness, threw up the glucose and has a seizure with my pulse around 40. Fortunately for me my wife is a doctor and she did chest compressions and chewed up glucose tabs to rub on my gums (my teeth were clenched tight shut) for the 20-30 minutes that it took for a paramedic to arrive with an iv line and some glucagel.

Following another glucgel shot during the 1 hour trip to hostpital and 2 more iv doses, my sugars finally stabalised at about 8 mmol 5 hours after breakfast.

I had taken 5 units of Rapid that morning to cover breakfast; what I obviously did was to take 15 more units of Rapid instead of Levemir ! I had given myself 4 times the correct dose.

So the reason for writing this post it to share with you what I have learnt from what has been an extremely emotional experience for myself and my family.

• I will always wear my diabetic alert necklace. I had stopped wearing it because I believed that my control was so good that it was inconceivable that anyone could find me in state where I couldn't communicate but events have proved that for a cause that I had never considered I was only 2 minutes away.
• I will get hold of some glucagel and carry it as part of my kit. Glucose tabs just don't cut it for such a massive hypo
• I have a new routine for preparing my basal dose injection so that this can never happen again even when I am out of my routine/familiar surroundings

 

[dawnmc]

Scary stuff, thank god for a calm wife.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Blimey, frightening. Glad your wife knew exactly what to do.

 

[fatgirl1965]

Wow- such an easy mistake that any one of us could make, glad you're ok now

 

[Kat100]

Goodness that is very frightening ....hope you are feeling better now ...
Your wife must of been very scarred ....but good to know she was with you ...
Just goes to show that you don't know what is going to,happen ....
I am a type 2 but take hypos as a serious possibility for anyone ...
So,glad you are ok...
Thank you for sharing your experience ....it does make you think it really does....
Best wishes ...kat

 

[robert72]

That happened to me once - put a Humalog cart in my Lantus pen by mistake and innocently took 20u Humalog before going out. 40 minutes later a massive hypo appeared out of nowhere. I was on the edge of fitting but managed to self treat with a couple packets of fruit pastilles I had on me, although the staff in Boots (where I was at the time) also chipped in with some (free) Ribena when I explained what was happening.

Good job your wife was with you. Glad you were OK in the end.

 

[noblehead]

A scary experience for you and thank goodness your wife was around to help, when at home make sure you have a Glucagon Injection Kit in your fridge just in case this ever happens again.

 

[mo53]

Wow what a scary experince. Glad you were looked after by yiur wife.

 

[Riri]

So so scary. A real reminder to us all that we always have to be prepared and should never just 'wing it' in the hope everything will be ok. Obviously this was a mistake which can happen to anyone but again just reinforces how important it is to have glucose readily available. Thank god you weren't alone when this happened.

 

[Heathenlass]

I hesitate before writing this warning story as I can't believe that anyone could be quite as stupid as me; but the outcome was very nearly so bad here goes anyway.....

I am in my mid 40's and have been type 1 for just over 18 months. I generally have good control and good awareness when I am going low (usually kicks in around 3.9 - 3.7). I use 30 units of Levemir split 15 in the morning and 15 in the evening and carb count for my NovoRapid with meals.

On a recent camping trip with the family I had a hypo that hit me like a freight train. From the initial feelings of going low to complete lack of consciousness and a siezure took less than 5 minutes. We were on a very remote site and I barely made it back to the tent on my hands and knees to get assistance from my wife. She gave me 3 glucose tabs but the train kept on coming; I lost consciousness, threw up the glucose and has a seizure with my pulse around 40. Fortunately for me my wife is a doctor and she did chest compressions and chewed up glucose tabs to rub on my gums (my teeth were clenched tight shut) for the 20-30 minutes that it took for a paramedic to arrive with an iv line and some glucagel.

Following another glucgel shot during the 1 hour trip to hostpital and 2 more iv doses, my sugars finally stabalised at about 8 mmol 5 hours after breakfast.

I had taken 5 units of Rapid that morning to cover breakfast; what I obviously did was to take 15 more units of Rapid instead of Levemir ! I had given myself 4 times the correct dose.

So the reason for writing this post it to share with you what I have learnt from what has been an extremely emotional experience for myself and my family.

• I will always wear my diabetic alert necklace. I had stopped wearing it because I believed that my control was so good that it was inconceivable that anyone could find me in state where I couldn't communicate but events have proved that for a cause that I had never considered I was only 2 minutes away.
• I will get hold of some glucagel and carry it as part of my kit. Glucose tabs just don't cut it for such a massive hypo
• I have a new routine for preparing my basal dose injection so that this can never happen again even when I am out of my routine/familiar surroundings

So glad that you are OK .

It's a mistake most of us have done at some time or the other , outside of a familiar routine and environment I've done this myself, also while camping , also while camping hypo'ed in the night and couldn't see to find my hypo kit that had been kicked to the side of the tent in the dark .
I've made the decision to no longer go camping, as it obviously doesn't agree with me !

Signy

 

[lizdeluz]

[QUOTE="andybee, post: 614525, member: 55950"

• I have a new routine for preparing my basal dose injection so that this can never happen again even when I am out of my routine/familiar surroundings

[/QUOTE]

Just wondering how you have changed your basal routine to avoid an accidental massive bolus injection?
It' s easy to see how a mistake like this can happen, thank you for sharing it, forewarned is forearmed.

 

[Abigaildemunnik]

See it's good you wrote it, cause turns out your not stupid just human, like all of us. If we go on holidays (we like to go remote) my dn prescribes a glucagon set for injection to keep with us, I've never needed to use this, but your story makes me happy I take the effort to bring it
PS my stupid thing this summer was jumping into a lake whilst still wearing my insulin pump, only human ;-)

 

[andybee]

See it's good you wrote it, cause turns out your not stupid just human, like all of us. If we go on holidays (we like to go remote) my dn prescribes a glucagon set for injection to keep with us, I've never needed to use this, but your story makes me happy I take the effort to bring it
PS my stupid thing this summer was jumping into a lake whilst still wearing my insulin pump, only human ;-)

Thanks man; I do feel much better for having shared this, if there is one person who subsequently thinks about how even they can be a fool then its worth it. Seems like a lot of us can be idiots at least once. Thinking that I may even follow this up a little; is it the norm for folks to have a glucogen emergency kit? should it be?... has it proved crucial to anyone?

 

[noblehead]

Thinking that I may even follow this up a little; is it the norm for folks to have a glucogen emergency kit? should it be?... has it proved crucial to anyone?

Never had to use one but it's something that you should have on stand-by, your example above is a prime example why a Glucagon Injection Kit can be a life-saver. Your gp will add one to your prescription if you ask them.

 

[andybee]

[QUOTE="andybee, post: 614525, member: 55950"

• I have a new routine for preparing my basal dose injection so that this can never happen again even when I am out of my routine/familiar surroundings

Just wondering how you have changed your basal routine to avoid an accidental massive bolus injection?
It' s easy to see how a mistake like this can happen, thank you for sharing it, forewarned is forearmed.[/QUOTE]

I'm open to suggestions but here is how I am handling things from now on.

At home i keep all my kit in a mini chest of drawers. When I take my Levemir in the morning I put the pen back on the drawer. When I take it in the evening I put the pen on top of the drawers. That way I get a visual reminder if I have taken it or not. ie if its still on the top during the day then I forgot to take it in the morning, if its in the drawer when I go to bed then I forgot to take it in the evening. I have always considered this a sufficient control.

It never occurred to me that I could make the mistake of giving myself my basal dose with the bolus pen and in my regular home surroundings I probably never would. I do travel quite a lot as work in the events industry and there are many hotel nights, crazy hours and a general complete lack of routine. Its taken a near catastrophic experience for me to consider how a simple routine change can keep me safe.

Its not rocket science. I just screw on the needle to both pens in the morning and both pens in the evening. I therefore can't reuse/double dose the bolus pen; once the needle has gone I know its done and will look to the other. simple!

Do I do this on a daily basis now? YES I really did nearly die last week

Hope that you can understand this

 

[Omnipod]

I had a similar experience. I injected humalog instead of levemir before bed. I live alone and my blood sugar kept crashing. I hypo'd for over 2 hours and eventually i just couldnt take in anymore glucose. Luckily i was just able to administer a glucagon shot before the ambulance arrived. That hypo knocked my confidence and it took me about 2 years to get over it. My brain registered a certain fear and then when I did hypo, the panic was so bad that I over treated myself everytime. Ever since that day, I always carry a full lucozade in my bag with a tube of glucose tabs and a small bottle of gluco juice.
I am sorry to hear of your experience andybee. I know how frightening it is because you know what is going on yet you cannot do anything about it while having a seizure.

 

[fatgirl1965]

I had a similar experience. I injected humalog instead of levemir before bed. I live alone and my blood sugar kept crashing. I hypo'd for over 2 hours and eventually i just couldnt take in anymore glucose. Luckily i was just able to administer a glucagon shot before the ambulance arrived. That hypo knocked my confidence and it took me about 2 years to get over it. My brain registered a certain fear and then when I did hypo, the panic was so bad that I over treated myself everytime. Ever since that day, I always carry a full lucozade in my bag with a tube of glucose tabs and a small bottle of gluco juice.
I am sorry to hear of your experience andybee. I know how frightening it is because you know what is going on yet you cannot do anything about it while having a seizure.

Hi omnipod, totally relate to that fear of hypos after a bad one. I had a similar experience a few years ago, my mistake was I took my quick acting novorapid instead of my Lantus before bedtime - my partner found me fitting in bed and called the ambulance. I came to in hospital, wrapped in a hypothermia sheet,unable to communicate with anyone. For years after I was still paranoid about going to sleep and would set my alarm clock to wake me up 2 hours later just so I could check my blood sugars and same as you I over treated every time I was low. It's scary how 1 bad hypo can have such a long lasting effect

 

[lizdeluz]

Just wondering how you have changed your basal routine to avoid an accidental massive bolus injection?
It' s easy to see how a mistake like this can happen, thank you for sharing it, forewarned is forearmed.

Its not rocket science. I just screw on the needle to both pens in the morning and both pens in the evening. I therefore can't reuse/double dose the bolus pen; once the needle has gone I know its done and will look to the other. simple!

Do I do this on a daily basis now? YES I really did nearly die last week

Hope that you can understand this[/QUOTE]

Thank you for explaining, your post has made me review in more detail the steps I take when I inject.

 

[andybee]

I had a similar experience. I injected humalog instead of levemir before bed. I live alone and my blood sugar kept crashing. I hypo'd for over 2 hours and eventually i just couldnt take in anymore glucose. Luckily i was just able to administer a glucagon shot before the ambulance arrived. That hypo knocked my confidence and it took me about 2 years to get over it. My brain registered a certain fear and then when I did hypo, the panic was so bad that I over treated myself everytime. Ever since that day, I always carry a full lucozade in my bag with a tube of glucose tabs and a small bottle of gluco juice.
I am sorry to hear of your experience andybee. I know how frightening it is because you know what is going on yet you cannot do anything about it while having a seizure.

Jees thats my new worst fear; I don't think I would have regained consciousness had I made this same mistake at night. If you look at the response to this thread u will see that we are not alone in making the exact same mistake. I don't know how I would have handled a similar situation had I been alone; in my specific situation it was so quick; I made it back to my wife at the tent & she came out with 3 chocolate minstrels. I ate them immediately and said no not these I need glucose.. she came back with 3 glucose tabs which I ate but 30 seconds later I fell into a comma and vomited them up .. My wife had the savvy to chew up some glucose tabs and rub the resultant spit on the gums of my clenched tight theeth; whilst carrying out chest compressions......for 20-30 mins before the paramedic arrived and got an iv line in.

GP's get a hell of a slating on this forum (but that's another story). In my case given the absence of a glucogen kit, her reactions saved my life. no doubt.... shes a keeper but I now believe that all type 1's should have an emergency glucagen kit.

Thanks for sharing your experience... I completely understand and relate to how it knocked your confidence. I'm determined to turn this into a positive experience by a) getting hold of a glucogen kit b) making sure that other type 1's have one

 

[Omnipod]

and another word of advice..... always check the use by date on the glucagon injections. I always keep 1 in my fridge at home and 1 at work. They expire pretty quick. I have the expiry dates in my outlook and a week before they expire, I have a reminder to replace them.
Once I needed to use it and realised that it had expired. I did use it nevertheless as it was my only option at the time.

These are easy mistakes to make so I guess the best way to avoid is to take the needles off each time you inject and to a screw a new needle on when you need insulin and to ensure you use 2 x different pens. When I was on MDI, Id keep my tressiba (long acting) in the fridge so that I never made that mistake again.

I must also say that after this happens once..... you will ALWAYS be aware when injecting again.

I also believe that all type 1 diabetics who live alone should have a panic alarm. Id be so much more happier and at ease if I had one.