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Medical emergency

Jim-C

Jim-C

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
As the title suggests I had a scare 4 days ago, I was at A&E for a terrible migraine on the right side of my head, I was waiting with everyone else and it was as you can imagine very busy. I suddenly felt a head rush and it stopped me in my tracks. I felt weird like I was confused and then that’s where my memory stopped, I came around and I was on my back staring up at the ceiling on a bed and a banging headache. Turns out I had a seizure that lasted for about 2 minutes, I was so scared and confused for the first few minutes until I was able to calm down and the doctors and a nice nurse were explaining what happened.

Other than the headache I had no other symptoms but mentioned I was type 2 diabetic and they quickly tested my blood sugars which to my surprise were 24.2. I still to this day can’t explain why they were that high as I hadn’t eaten a lot that day and had taken all my medication, I even can recognise when my sugars are too high as I’ve gotten used to that feeling over the years.

Regardless I had never had a seizure before and didn’t think high blood sugars could cause such a thing, the doctors I was talking to said fluctuating blood sugars can sometimes lead to diabetic seizures. However they said blood sugars alone aren’t usually the main cause and often other things are to blame and the sugar levels can just make things worse. I had just had a seizure so they ordered me a CT scan which all came back normal which just confused things even more, they kept me in for 2 days and monitored my blood sugars which actually started coming down only a few hours after the seizure and stayed between 4 and 7 every time they tested it. A few neurological tests were done and I had full control over my limbs and no weakness thankfully.

They discharged me and I’m still now worried it will happen again and am now checking my blood sugars constantly. My GP is reviewing my medication and will probably change or increase it, I should mention 10 minutes after I came round my headache also disappeared and I had no other symptoms so I have no clue what happened. The reason I’m posting this is because maybe it was to do with my diabetes and blood sugars or maybe not, I’d love to hear if this has happened to anyone else.
 
I don’t have any experience of this directly (and I’m not medically qualified), but wearing a libre I know any stress raises my blood sugar. Having a seizure causes extreme stress on your body…..so I wonder if it was the seizure which caused the high blood sugar rather than the other way round.

Would it be possible for you to get a libre to use for two weeks to try and ease your worry? Also I assume you have been given advice on driving.
 
Lakeslover said:
I don’t have any experience of this directly (and I’m not medically qualified), but wearing a libre I know any stress raises my blood sugar. Having a seizure causes extreme stress on your body…..so I wonder if it was the seizure which caused the high blood sugar rather than the other way round.

Would it be possible for you to get a libre to use for two weeks to try and ease your worry? Also I assume you have been given advice on driving.
Click to expand...

I’ll be honest and just looked up what a libre is after just reading your message, definitely is something I want now I know about it
 
Jim-C said:
I’ll be honest and just looked up what a libre is after just reading your message, definitely is something I want now I know about it
Click to expand...
CgMs like Libre are not perfect but they are incredibly useful when you understand their limitations and have a finger pricker on hand to double check highs, lows and anything that seems “off”.
The Libre has a 2 week free trial available from their website. Provided you have a not too old smart phone with Bluetooth and NFC, it is worthwhile applying for the trial and giving it a go to see what you can learn … and check it “suits” you.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My non diabetic husband had one fit out of the blue years ago, head scan was fine, no direct cause was ever found. It was put down to a combination of circumstances, he had a chest infection, was on antibiotics, had just stopped taking a long term med for an unrelated condition and was performing some intricate art work on a light box.
It might be worth checking with your Drs and DVLA if you need to declare this, my husband had to and had to relinquish his driving licence for a while.
He’s no had another fit since.
I second what others have said about using a Libre, I’ve learnt loads since I’ve worn one.
 
KennyA said:
I've just had a quick scan of the Bilous and Donnelly text book "Handbook of Diabetes". No mention whatsoever of epilepsy or seizures, whether related to diabetes or not.
Click to expand...

According to this article that is incorrect, scroll down to where it says:

”Abnormal glucose levels, whether too high or too low, can cause seizures. The problem is especially pertinent to individuals with diabetes, whose blood glucose levels can fluctuate widely over the course of a day, as a result of intercurrent illness, variations in insulin levels, or other metabolic factors.”

Hyperglycemia Lowers Seizure Threshold - PMC

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 
Rachox said:
According to this article that is incorrect, scroll down to where it says:

”Abnormal glucose levels, whether too high or too low, can cause seizures. The problem is especially pertinent to individuals with diabetes, whose blood glucose levels can fluctuate widely over the course of a day, as a result of intercurrent illness, variations in insulin levels, or other metabolic factors.”

Hyperglycemia Lowers Seizure Threshold - PMC

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Click to expand...
There's still nothing about epilepsy or seizures in the current NHS textbook, though.
 
It's listed as a (rare) side effect of empagliflozin here?

But I should stress that that doesn't mean that empagliflozin caused it in your case. Seizures can also be caused by severe hypoglycemia (I've had one of these) but hard to see how that could be the case here unless you went high after a low??? (Seems unlikely to me but I am not a doctor).
 
Jim-C said:
As the title suggests I had a scare 4 days ago, I was at A&E for a terrible migraine on the right side of my head, I was waiting with everyone else and it was as you can imagine very busy. I suddenly felt a head rush and it stopped me in my tracks. I felt weird like I was confused and then that’s where my memory stopped, I came around and I was on my back staring up at the ceiling on a bed and a banging headache. Turns out I had a seizure that lasted for about 2 minutes, I was so scared and confused for the first few minutes until I was able to calm down and the doctors and a nice nurse were explaining what happened.

Other than the headache I had no other symptoms but mentioned I was type 2 diabetic and they quickly tested my blood sugars which to my surprise were 24.2. I still to this day can’t explain why they were that high as I hadn’t eaten a lot that day and had taken all my medication, I even can recognise when my sugars are too high as I’ve gotten used to that feeling over the years.

Regardless I had never had a seizure before and didn’t think high blood sugars could cause such a thing, the doctors I was talking to said fluctuating blood sugars can sometimes lead to diabetic seizures. However they said blood sugars alone aren’t usually the main cause and often other things are to blame and the sugar levels can just make things worse. I had just had a seizure so they ordered me a CT scan which all came back normal which just confused things even more, they kept me in for 2 days and monitored my blood sugars which actually started coming down only a few hours after the seizure and stayed between 4 and 7 every time they tested it. A few neurological tests were done and I had full control over my limbs and no weakness thankfully.

They discharged me and I’m still now worried it will happen again and am now checking my blood sugars constantly. My GP is reviewing my medication and will probably change or increase it, I should mention 10 minutes after I came round my headache also disappeared and I had no other symptoms so I have no clue what happened. The reason I’m posting this is because maybe it was to do with my diabetes and blood sugars or maybe not, I’d love to hear if this has happened to anyone else.
Click to expand...
Hi Jim, just to give you my experience... about 2008 , I was staying in Italy,I had an apartment there and I was there winter time for 3 months..I was at a party,had just arrived so not even had a drink... for no reason just passed out twice in the space of 15 minutes...no lead up, no pain etc..I am an was then type 2 Meds controlled... anyway spent night in hospital doing very thorough tests and also following afternoon.. could find no explanation save my blood sugars were a little high,I think about 15... Did scans and heart checks...I wasn't very diligent in those days with my diabetes..anyway on return to UK had thorough examination and heart etc...nothing...up until current time nothing like this ever again.. plenty of other issues with diabetes but never like that...I should add I'm now currently living in Thailand and within 3 months sticking to a low carb diet and vigorous exercise regime my readings are normal daily and that's without medication so there's hope for us all.. good luck hope you find an answer but don't worry too much..I never did find out but I haven't felt fitter in 25 years
 
Jim-C said:
As the title suggests I had a scare 4 days ago, I was at A&E for a terrible migraine on the right side of my head, I was waiting with everyone else and it was as you can imagine very busy. I suddenly felt a head rush and it stopped me in my tracks. I felt weird like I was confused and then that’s where my memory stopped, I came around and I was on my back staring up at the ceiling on a bed and a banging headache. Turns out I had a seizure that lasted for about 2 minutes, I was so scared and confused for the first few minutes until I was able to calm down and the doctors and a nice nurse were explaining what happened.

Other than the headache I had no other symptoms but mentioned I was type 2 diabetic and they quickly tested my blood sugars which to my surprise were 24.2. I still to this day can’t explain why they were that high as I hadn’t eaten a lot that day and had taken all my medication, I even can recognise when my sugars are too high as I’ve gotten used to that feeling over the years.

Regardless I had never had a seizure before and didn’t think high blood sugars could cause such a thing, the doctors I was talking to said fluctuating blood sugars can sometimes lead to diabetic seizures. However they said blood sugars alone aren’t usually the main cause and often other things are to blame and the sugar levels can just make things worse. I had just had a seizure so they ordered me a CT scan which all came back normal which just confused things even more, they kept me in for 2 days and monitored my blood sugars which actually started coming down only a few hours after the seizure and stayed between 4 and 7 every time they tested it. A few neurological tests were done and I had full control over my limbs and no weakness thankfully.

They discharged me and I’m still now worried it will happen again and am now checking my blood sugars constantly. My GP is reviewing my medication and will probably change or increase it, I should mention 10 minutes after I came round my headache also disappeared and I had no other symptoms so I have no clue what happened. The reason I’m posting this is because maybe it was to do with my diabetes and blood sugars or maybe not, I’d love to hear if this has happened to anyone else.
Click to expand...
Further to my post Jim, lakeslover makes a valid point,I remember now that I was under a lot of stress at that time so something worth bearing in mind.
 
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