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Diabetic coma - hypo

Alex94

Alex94

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Just wondering what it's like when you fall into a hypoglycaemic coma? Touch wood I've never had to deal with this but just curious to what it's like.
 
Thankfully hasn't happened for many years but when I was switched from animal to human insulin had it a few times :(. Would go to bed as normal then wake up in A&E, then I'd develop a DKA reaction, worse one was unconscious for 3 days, woke up in ICU - obviously felt unwell and had 3 days of my life missing. TBH being told by my parents what happened to me during those 3 days Im glad I have no memory of it.
 
OMG Don't even want to think about it :nailbiting: I'm alone So If it happens... :dead:
 
Unfortunately I have more of these than I would care to remember. Generally you just come around feeling awful with either paramedics standing around the bed or a very worried partner. Often you will have a foul taste in your mouth from someone trying to get you to eat things and the bed clothes will be soaked n sweat. I often go into a state of shock after them as well where I will begin to shiver and go stone cold.
The worst things about these for me though are the fact that I will occasionally have some semi lucid moments where I may wake up but am unable to comprehend or rationalise what is happening. They are very hard to accurately describe but it is like having extremely brief hallucinations which are terrifying because you know that something is badly wrong but are utterly unable to understand what the problem or solution is. They are not hallucinations in the way that you see things that aren't there but more like a series of sounds or noises that just come and go. Very disturbing.
Hopefully you won't ever have one but unfortunately there aren't many type 1's that escape them.
 
I haven't had one yet, but I have come close.

I get the sweats and the DKA, The first time I didn't know what was happening and I assumed I just had a stomach bug, after 3 days I finally called a doctor who got me to the ER.

I have also had the hallucination like feelings during a hypo a few times, but I was a bit more lucid that Auckland describes and able to take some action.
 
Im very lucky and havent experienced one of these , does sound awful in what auckland canary had to experience and very worrying .
 
The moment before you go unconscious is very similar to the moment before a general anaesthetic kicks in, you know it's too late to avoid at that point. It is a very scary situation, similar to Auckland Canary I have had reality flashes like a silent movie where I'm unable to move or communicate. Coming round after a severe hypo is surreal, you have a period of time missing from your life and are usually somewhere else such as in hospital, in an ambulance, or on the floor with people around you.

Hopefully you won't ever have to experience one, it really does show how difficult and dangerous diabetes can sometimes be.
 
Hi i haue been in that situation in 2000. This happened in November not long after i came out of hospital in there for two weeks after having baby who was premature. Luckily my partner was staying with me. Baby was crying for a feed and i didnt wake. Partner tried to get a response from me but couldnt. He rang paramedics, i came round after treatment to two strange voices and then saw these strange people in my bedroom i was bewildered and very scared and kept saying is my baby alright is she alright. A very frightening time, it took me a few days to take it all in and thankfully baby was fine. I knew nothing about it no warning or feeling hypo when i went to bed. Partner said my eyes were open and he thought i was
gone. Still so vivid today :-( RRB
 
Must admit I've been fortunate enough to avoid such incidents, but reading your all your experiences does drive home the seriousness of type 1 diabetes :(
 
I want to stress to any new or recently diagnosed Type 1's that these descriptions are severe hypos, they are not common occurrences and the majority of hypos with blood sugars in the 3's and 2's are self treatable with glucose without ever experiencing these extremes.
 
I've had two episodes like this, both just after diagnosis. At first, the hypo shakes turn into involuntary muscle spasms. Then, what felt like electric shocks in my brain, before I felt my senses being turned off; my hearing went and then I was unconscious. When you wake up, it's like you're in a dream before you eventually come round. Then I had sudden bursts of emotion and cried my eyes out. Whilst I was unconscious, I fitted, cracked the back of my head open on the concrete of the train station foyer, broke my jaw and cracked 2 ribs.

Pretty bloody horrendous! Worst bit was the hypo anxiety I had for years after; terrified of having another bad one. Ten years later, I still hate having them.
 
I loose consciousness after supposedly lying down to take a nap, and next thing I now Im awakening in an ocean of sugar & sweat. All in like 3-4 hours. Become very aggressive causing myself bruises and even biting my tongue. But I imagine if it were a true, by definition, coma; wouldnt be able to recover at all. If you test often it is unlikely to hapen, but u can always ask ur endo about this. Remember that ur liver also always keeps a percentage of glucose 'just in case', but be prepared: those glucotabs they say are ok and in case ur recently diagnosed, glucagon is a must as well any bracelet stating ure type 1 :)
 
I was in a diabetic coma, i didn't have any of the very low hypo symptoms. This happened to me only once probably because of the events that took place weeks before. Also I was breastfeeding and this lowers
blood sugars. Thank goodness it was an isolated episode as my body and mind had been through alot of trauma.
I wouldnt like anyone (partners and parents) to go through that experience. Please take care :-}
 
A bit like SamJB. Had one severe hypo in work some 4 years ago and ended up falling off my chair in work and falling on the floor fitting. Came round in about 20 mins after paramedics were called. I was telling them it was handy that they happened to be there!! Went to hosp and was sent home after about 3 hours. Felt rough and sleepy for a couple of days after. I'm terrified of all hypos now and it's major panic time for me if I see blood sugars fall below 3.5. It really did knock my confidence and I was severely affected mentally for quite a few months afterwards.
 
Auckland Canary said:
Unfortunately I have more of these than I would care to remember. Generally you just come around feeling awful with either paramedics standing around the bed or a very worried partner. Often you will have a foul taste in your mouth from someone trying to get you to eat things and the bed clothes will be soaked n sweat. I often go into a state of shock after them as well where I will begin to shiver and go stone cold.
The worst things about these for me though are the fact that I will occasionally have some semi lucid moments where I may wake up but am unable to comprehend or rationalise what is happening. They are very hard to accurately describe but it is like having extremely brief hallucinations which are terrifying because you know that something is badly wrong but are utterly unable to understand what the problem or solution is. They are not hallucinations in the way that you see things that aren't there but more like a series of sounds or noises that just come and go. Very disturbing.
Hopefully you won't ever have one but unfortunately there aren't many type 1's that escape them.
Click to expand...
Only ever had one bad one but it was exactly as how you described, the only difference being that when I came round, the paramedics had wrapped me in a hypothermia blanket because I was shivering so hard. It felt like my brain had recovered before my body as I seemed to be able to think fairly straight but unable to communicate any of my thoughts. Even now, when I have relatively mild hypos, I always have a period of hot, drenching sweats followed by the freezing cold shivers.
 
I've liked your post Sam and AucklandCanary for the fact you're able to give accounts. Obviously I don't like the fact that you had to go through that to begin with(!).

I've been out cold with ketoacidosis when I was in my late teens. I'd missed my long acting insulin and was found the other side of the weekend and taken to hospital. No recollection of what it felt like. I don't think it was different to falling sleep in my case and have no memories of anything during the period of being passed out. I woke up fairly groggy wondering why I was in hospital with a drip next to me. It took me a while to realise that I also had a tube going up into my bladder :bag:

Thankfully I've never gone through DKA since. I've been unconscious with hypos a number of times. Again thankfully not in recent years. No bones broken from fitting but I have had all manner of grazes, bruises cut lips and have bitten off the sides of my tongue more than once.

Looking for the silver lining, I guess the unpleasantness serves as a fairly good incentive not to run too high or low.

Ed
 
couldnt have put it better myself. thats happened to me several times. paramedics and about 12 of my family!!! makes you feel embarrassed, shocked, emotional. horrible horrible feeling
 
Told the paramedic lady I loved her when I came around to find her shaving my chest to put a monitor on! Lol! The wife was there but think she was so traumatised/glad I had regained consciousness that I got away with it!!! Kids next day were annoyed as I had kicked their wooden table to pieces fitting - amazing the strength of the human body!
 
The only thing I remember was slowly coming round and waking up to three paramedics round my bed...clothes drenched in sweat, freezing cold and a line of glucose in my arm. My ex partner found me fitting in bed before I eventually lost consciousness. I hope you don't have to experience it!!!
 
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