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Severe hypo or seizure ?

Brodiebear

Well-Known Member
Messages
45
Location
Telford
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diabeties
We were queuing for about an hout in the evening outside a chipshop, saturday night so was quite warm and once inside another queue in the heat. We were just about to get served whem i told my wife i didnt feel to good (when this has happened before - hypo - i have had about 25 minutes to get some jelly babies or something similar) this time though within 10 seconds i couldnt talk, my hands were gripped onto the counter and started shaking. My hearing started to go and i couldnt make anything out with my eyes.
All i can remember next is a can of coke been forced into my mouth and down my neck. With someone saying "its all right darling, your doing great, you will be alright, it was close but your doing fine"

Apparently my wife had shouted out he's diabetic while running out to get my jelly babies from the car, in the meantime another customer, lady, had shouted get him a can of coke and the bloke tried to put it in my hand, luckily she took it off him knowing i couldnt move and tilted.my head back and just poured the coke in. Some of which went all down my shirt.

By the time the can was empty i started to regain my vision and full hearing. The staff got me a chair and after 5 minutes i was right as rain. The lady who helped has a son who is diabetic and he has crashed like that a few times before. Apparently i wouldnt have been able to swallow the jelly babies and if i couldnt swallow the coke at least it would be on my gums and in my mouth so my body would have absorbed the sugar.

So a very bad hypo or classed as a seizure?
 
Sounds like a severe hypo. From your profile I can't tell what your meds are, but you really might want to change things around a little. Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm a big diet advocate. But even if I wasn't, there's two things that worry me: You were at a chip shop. That's practically all high carb content, stuff that'll make you spike, for which you need medication that can make you go hypo. And you went severely hypo.... Then you're over-medicating, I'm guessing, because that doesn't happen out of nowhere. I'm not saying you absolutely have to follow in my keto footsteps, but maybe a little less carbs would also mean a reduction in the medication that makes you hypo now? Less spikes, fewer meds, no dips, you know? Do you have a diabetes team, someone who can come up with dietary advice (that doesn't suck)? Pople who can guide you in this?

In any case, it sounds horribly scary, and I hope you're feeling better now. Fingers crossed it never ever happens again!
Hugs,
Jo

PS: just in case... https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/
 
I agree that it wasn't a seizure. The moral of the tale is 'Don't leave your fast-acting sugar in the car.' You always need something in a pocket or bag in my opinion. You also need to work out why this happened to avoid the possibility of the situation happening again. Was your meal late ? Had you been exercising all morning ? What did you have for breakfast ?
 
First off i like looking at Ferrari's but i am not ever going to buy one, likewise to assume i was going to have a high carbohydrate meal because i was in a chipshop is a bit presumptuous!
I had exercised heavy in the morning 30 lengths in the health centre pool. More than i have everdone, a lot of walking in windermere in the heat. And like i said a long queue at the shop.

Cooked breakfast, light lunch and a coffee in the afternoon

Yep lots of lessons learned, will keep some gels on me or with my wife from now on. Been diabetic for 5 years and thats the first and hopefully last one of those i ever have. Xx
 
Hello, without telling us what medication you are on or testing your BG, it is difficult to state whether you had a hypo or not. You'd hypo if you're on insulin or something similar to lower your BG levels, other than that maybe you should get it checked out. I heard reactive hypoglycemia is another condition. However maybe you need to go back to the doctors to get everything reevaluated so it doesn't happen again. I hope you're feeling better now.
 
Brodiebear said:
First off i like looking at Ferrari's but i am not ever going to buy one, likewise to assume i was going to have a high carbohydrate meal because i was in a chipshop is a bit presumptuous!
Click to expand...

I agree. I often go to my local chippy for a nice chunk of fish
 
Hi i was fine virtually within 5 minutes of the whole thing happening. So quite bizzare, but i will call my doctors. I cant see where you can add your medication but i am on
Metformin, gliclizide and dapagliflozin . Which has really helped in bringing my bg levels down as well as going to the gym 3 times a week and cycling in the evenings.

The one massive no-no was i had left my testkit at home, so a severe handslap for that one
 
Brodiebear said:
The one massive no-no was i had left my testkit at home, so a severe handslap for that one
Click to expand...
It happens. We’re humans, not machines (well, I’m a bit machine ) - it’s easy to forget this stuff. I suspect you won’t forget any glucose or test stuff for a while after a scare like that
 
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I agree with @JoKalsbeek , you might need another talk with your GP to consider reducing medication so it doesn't happen again. This is to adjust the summer heat, your exercise and your meals. I forget my insulin sometimes, so I result in having to eat minimal carb things so no need to blame yourself.
 
...I said I was concerned, not 100% definite, so brought it up to make sure. But okay, yeah, whatever.

Some days I can't do anything right.

 
Brodiebear said:
We were queuing for about an hout in the evening outside a chipshop, saturday night so was quite warm and once inside another queue in the heat.
Click to expand...

An hour? All that queuing and no chips? I hope their other consumables were worth the wait!

I'm type II myself and fortunately have only ever had a hypo once and that was when I used to take Gliclazide (metformin only these days). I had done a lot of gardening during the day, took Gliclazide and then didn't eat. My trusty BG meter showed 2.4 so definitely a hypo (technically anything less than 4). What was your BG at that time and what meds do you take?

If you're taking anything that makes you produce more insulin or you are taking insulin, care is needed when exercising and not eating. Glad you're OK.
 
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