1st seizure

[Stu9876]

Hi Stu,

Welcome to:the forum.

I use Lantus too.. probably for 25 years? Glargine brand name change. So longer use since the late 1980s...
it can be flakey. “Lantus twice?” OK? I’m still hypo aware. But have doubted whether I took my dose. (It can be too routine.)
Take mine around 10. But any hypos at 2 or 5? Sound about consistently right if they happen for me..

Ride it out..? SORN your motor. & wait. You may find you could have your privilege to drive back, if no other “events” on the stuff..?

My wife will drive both cars to keep them ticking over.

I'm determined there will be no more events. Where I previously had little fear of hypos, they are now the enemy!

 

[Jaylee]

My wife will drive both cars to keep them ticking over.

I'm determined there will be no more events. Where I previously had little fear of hypos, they are now the enemy!

I have known of a colleague with night seizures of a non diabetic get his licence back. His wife drove him for a while.
He had a form of epilepsy..

Take heart.

 

[JAT1]

It can happen if you hit a capillary when injecting, you can hit one without noticing, or it can cause a drop of blood or a bruise appearing after injecting. If some of the Lantus hits the bloodstream it will act as a ridiculously quick acting insulin. It happened to me once and it's the reason I switched to a different long acting.

It's not only Lantus which can do this, it's any insulin Glargine, nowadays there are different varieties of it. There are other long acting insulins too though.

Of course, if you accidentally double dosed, this could easily be the cause of your low as well!

Thank goodness you posted this. I had never heard of it before. Very useful information because I do sometimes hit capillaries.

 

[Antje77]

Thank goodness you posted this. I had never heard of it before. Very useful information because I do sometimes hit capillaries.

It's only an issue with insulin Glargine (Lantus, (A)Basaglar, Toujeo. Not other insulins. And most people on those insulins never have an issue.

 

[Fairygodmother]

I changed from Lantus to Levemir, @Stu9876, after a few years of using Lantus with few issues, when my interaction with Lantus seemed to change. Horrendous early hours lows led to frequent requests for more glucagon.
I echo the suggestion that you get in touch with the DVLA, and if you can show them, via a GP or Consultant, that it was a nighttime hypo, that you have been free of seizures since, that extreme hypos and seizures can go hand in hand, then the future may be rosy.
In the meantime, much sympathy, for the current highs as well as the seizure. I hope the reason for your raised white blood cell count is resolved too.

 

[Stu9876]

Just a little update. Called dvla medical advice line (not a 5 min job) and spoke to a nice lady.

Explained exactly what happened and have been told to stop driving for 6 months.

Still ****, but it's better than a year, and at least I'll not be standing at bus stops through the worst of winter.

Thanks everyone for the kind words, and I'm sure I'll have plenty questions about the libre when I get it!

 

[Omnipod]

Hi,

This is my 1st post here...

T1 for 27 years. Generally OK, well controlled, no drama. Until Friday that is.

My wife was awoken to me having a seizure at 2am. I have no memory of it at all, or anything for the next 12 hours. Pretty sure I'd taken my lantus twice. I have always had good hypo awareness, and even had a low yesterday which was like every other that I've had. The worst bit is I've just found out I can't drive now.

This will have a huge impact on my life and feels so unfair. Has anyone any experience on this and is there any chance of arguing my case?

I'm still sore, both physically and emotionally and struggling to process it tbh.

Thanks

Stu

Why can you not drive? As far as the DVLA are concerned, a night time hypo should not be counted AND you would have to have 2 x hypos requiring assistance in a 12 month period.
I been type 1 for 22 years. Only ever had 1 hypo which required assistance. My drivers licence needed renewal about two weeks following this episode. I declared it and still got awarded my licence.

 

[Omnipod]

It can happen if you hit a capillary when injecting, you can hit one without noticing, or it can cause a drop of blood or a bruise appearing after injecting. If some of the Lantus hits the bloodstream it will act as a ridiculously quick acting insulin. It happened to me once and it's the reason I switched to a different long acting.

It's not only Lantus which can do this, it's any insulin Glargine, nowadays there are different varieties of it. There are other long acting insulins too though.

Of course, if you accidentally double dosed, this could easily be the cause of your low as well!

What size needles do you use to hit a capillary? Insulin only needs to be injected under the skin. I use the shortest needle. 4mm

 

[Omnipod]

@Stu9876
Speak to your consultant and ask to change from Lantus to Tressiba. Tressiba is peak less, absorbed much slower and you only take it once a day - usually in the morning.
Reduce your needle size to 4mm so you never hit a capillary as these are generally 3-5mm below the skin where there is no fat.
Inject into fattier areas and pinch up the skin when injecting.
I keep my Tressiba in the fridge as I only inject once per day and that also helps me not to take it twice.
I also keep my pens separated as I once took my fast acting thinking it was background so I took a large dose that was lethal. Luckily I realised as soon as I removed the pen after injecting. I rang an ambulance and was put on a glucose drip to avoid a bad hypo.

Regarding your drivers, I would definitely take this up with the DVLA. Read the DVLA / Gov guidelines below:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/diabetes-mellitus-assessing-fitness-to-drive#insulin-treated-diabetes

1 x severe hypo should not constitute you having to revoke you drivers for 6 months. Diabetes UK gave me a ton of advice when I had my hypo / seizure.
I have excellent hypo awareness. When I had my seizure, I was aware I was hypo but for some reason my BG kept dropping. My Libre read 3.4 but I guess it was way lower.
I had just started on Metformin and even though people say metformin does not lower your BG, it definitely did for me and my consultant failed to tell me that I should lower my insulin when using Metformin.

Sometimes the body also just changes. Im going through a period now where I cannot take more than 4 units of insulin. If I do, I hypo within 2/3 hours. As a result Im struggling with highs but as soon as I take more insulin, I come crashing down.
Sometimes we just need to start over or change insulins. Previously, I could take 6-8 units. I dont know what has changed. Trying to get an appointment with my consultant is a nightmare. They still seem to only offer a phone appointment months down the line.