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I Fainted! *NOT* hypo

BlueGreen

BlueGreen

Member
Christmas Eve - I upped my insulin from 10 to 12 units, because I wanted to have some desert (small portion of cheesecake and a few bites of carrot cake) and to test the strategy for Christmas Day (when I planned to eat both stuffing & dessert). Worth noting that (a) the actual dinner itself was low-carb, (b) this was the first actual sugary thing I'd touched since diagnosis 3 months ago and (c) I've not yet had a hypo incident.

A few hours later I went to midnight mass. Probably tempting fate for an atheist such as myself to go, but what can I say? I was feeling Christmasy and wanted to sing some carols.

It was getting close the communion part, when I started feeling nauseous. Thought I was about to throw up, but decided I could probably make it until folks got up for communion and I would slip outside. But all of a sudden my vision started getting blurry, sounds closed in, and I felt dreadful. Next thing I knew, I was rolling on my back in the aisle and about 100 concerned people were staring down at me. I managed to get back up. Sat for a couple of minutes, and then walked (staggered?) up the aisle and outside to get some air.

After a few minutes I felt a bit better and started walking home (about 15-20 minutes). Got in around 1am, washed my hands and immediately took my blood sugar levels. I was 6.9 -- High for 1am, to be sure, but given the dessert earlier probably not unexpected. It certainly wasn't hypo nor was I hyper. I went straight to sleep and tested myself again around 8am. I was 4.8 - Not bad, and something of a vindication for the up my insulin for Christmas dinner strategy. Or it would have been, had it not been for the whole FAINTING IN PUBLIC business!

So... any theories? Was it that my body was just so unused to simple sugars that it threw a hissy fit? Did god smite me for my hypocisy? Or was it... something else?
 
Was it only when you went home you tested? Without a result at time of incident hard to say. From what you described sounds like symptoms I used to get when dropping dangerously low, in the 2s not nice. If that was the case your liver managed to release some glucose to help out, if thats not the case would see your doc and discuss.

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Yep, tested when I got home. 20 minutes after the incident. I suppose it's possible that my numbers could have jumped that high during the walk home but it sounds odd. Hmmm.
 
Yep, they definatley can, but not always. Good job they did this time. Next time you get anything like that feeling test (always carry kit) and if low treat with fast acting (always carry something sugary too)

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I would have to agree with Brett, if you are using insulin you should always carry your test meter with you all the time and test as soon as you feel anything unusual. I see you are taking Humulin I which is a long acting insulin so it may well have caused your bg levels to drop and if that happened your liver would almost certainly have released its glycogen stores which would have raised your levels up again.

You mention that you walked home afterwards so I assume that you walked there in the first place which could well have contributed to your possible hypo condition. A long acting insulin should as I understand it be taken just before bed not before a 15/20 minute walk.

Search Google for AGuidetoStartingHumulinI.pdf which you may find useful as it gives all the information about your insulin and how it works and how it might affect you, below is a profile picture taken from the pdf file showing how the insulin works over its 24 hour life. I used to use a similar long acting insulin to help keep my bg levels down overnight as well as a short acting insulin taken before meals to combat the more immediate effects of eating but any exercise even gentle walking can cause sudden unexpected drops in bg levels.

Humulin I Profile.jpg


It may be that had you taken your insulin after you returned home before you went to bed you may have avoided this incident.

Wishing you the seasons greetings and a happy and hypo free new year.
 
Sid Bonkers said:
It may be that had you taken your insulin after you returned home before you went to bed you may have avoided this incident.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I've been taking my shot approx 30 mins before my evening meals. So usually 6 for 6:30pm, so that it would have a chance to kick in while I was digesting my main meal. I actually do a lot of walking during a week. More so in summer, rather less now in winter and since diagnosis. But even so, 13km walks several times a week are not uncommon, and when I first got my kit, I did a lot of testing and never found much of impact. A brisk 2 hour walk might drop things by a point or two, but that was it.

It just seems so strange to me that after probably having my single highest carb night since diagnosis, and over 6 hours after taking my insulin, my numbers could suddenly drop lower than they've ever been and then 20 minutes later jump straight back up again. All because of a 2 unit increase in my dose and a leisurely evening stroll?

Oh well, time to read that PDF. Thanks so much for your help, both of you.

The mysteries of the human body, Ugh.
 
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