It's been awhile since I was scared. Really scared.
But I was last week.
We spent the last week in Florida! It was wonderful! We really need the sun and the pool and the beach to recharge our souls. I grew up going to Florida so it's just a part of who I am. I miss it when I'm not there and feel a NEED to get back there as often as possible!
It appears that Sweets has also inherited the Florida gene. She LOVES it there. She asks to go all the time. She's happy as a clam when she's there. She's my little beach baby!
We especially enjoyed swimming and the beach this year as it was our first trip with the pod! It was so wonderful to be able to just let her swim and not worry about unhooking or keeping sand out of the pump. She just DID.
SO NICE.
Of course, even though without the pump attached she always went super high when swimming - we found that swimming tends to drop her like a rock! So we were working to reduce her basal rates and determine if and when she needed free carbs to hold her bg steady.
I can only assume that this played into the scary low that she had while there. I really have no explanation for what happened.
Wednesday night, she went to bed with a bg steady at 113.
She said she felt low. We tested. She was 120.
We should have listened to her.
She'd had a snack and been bolused for it. J and I went thru everything again later and we know we counted everything right. We even took swimming into consideration.
But...
Practically as soon as she fell asleep, she beeped low.
We had just tested her less than 10 minutes earlier.
But when I tested her again, she was 50something. Double arrows down.
So I woke her up and fed her some smarties.
Smarties always work. And they always work FAST. She didn't like it. She cried. She fussed about being tired. But she ate them.
But then Dex beeped again. FOUR beeps. Under 50. I tested and she was 43.
More smarties. More keeping her awake.
She was lucid. She was talking and she knew what was going on.
But her blood sugar was NOT coming up.
The pattern continued -- test, bg in the 40's or 50's, give smarties, wait.... repeat.
On and on and on....
Long story (not so) short... It took about an hour and a half total. 10 packs of Smarties. And one juice.
But she finally came up slightly over 100.
I was scared. J was scared.
At one point my Mom came into our room to see what was going on. She sat on the bed with us and rubbed Sweetpea's back. She was scared, too.
I had the glucagon out. It was sitting right there. I was ready to use it.
And it just kept going through my head... when? When should I do it?
Had she dropped any lower, I would have done it. After our experience last year, I won't ever hesitate to use the glucagon again. But still.... you don't WANT to have to use it.
It's almost like I'm getting USED to these scares. They still make me want to puke. And they still stress me out beyond belief.
But I'm learning to just keep going. I'm learning to put that fear into a box and put it high up on a shelf and just keep moving forward.
Just another night in the life...
The only difference was that this time it really affected Sweets. THIS time, she remembered it. And this time, it scared her, too. But we'll save that for another post...
Oh my! I feel your pain! I dread the day we had to bust out the glucagon. My sweet pea has gotten down to 49 but the juice has always worked. How scary that you had to work at it for over an hour and a half! Yay for the continuous glucometer. Sounds like you are doing a fabulous job! Thank you for your blog! I'm new to all this with my 22 month old and don't know anyone who could even try to relate.
ReplyDeleteMy best advice is to not fear the glucagon. It's there to help. It can't kill you. So if you think you need it- use it. Don't hesitate!
DeleteThat being said, many, many people never need it! Here's praying you never do!! ((hugs))!!
We just had our first really scary low last weekend. Jamie had a soccer game that morning and after her bath that night (with her pump off for a good 30 min) she was 177. She had a small ice cream which was bolused for and 45 min later she said she was "floppy" (her term for low) I was surprised she could go low that fast but when we tested she was 26! I couldn't believe she dropped 150 points in that short of time. Very scary!!
ReplyDeleteHi, Hallie~
ReplyDeleteThat is so scary! I had a similar situation that really scared me on vacation as well. She was running high with the different food, and not going down despite boluses and exercise. So, I gave an aggressive lunch bolus, then we went for a walk on the beach. She started to crash while having 4.0 units in her! I just kept feeding her juice boxes and squeezable applesauce the entire time she was on the beach...following her around pushing food into her mouth! It was definitely an anxious time.
I also wonder at what point you're supposed to use the glucagon? We've used it once and I was told to use it if she was seizing or not conscious. But, if the child is awake, I wonder at what point should we utilize it?
Hugs to you Mama...you're doing a great job. Hugs to sweets also!
Thanks! I was thinking of doing a mini- gluc - one unit per year of age. I know that can a savior especially during stomach flu lows when the child can't keep food down. I wouldnt give the whole thing unless she was unconscious or seizing. But the good thing about the gluc is that it can't hurt you. It might make you throw up- but... I'd take that over seizures and such. Its just scary. Definitely an anxious time waiting on it to come up! I'm sorry you've experienced that, too. I'm so ready for a cure!!
ReplyDeleteLove you, Hals!! I miss reading your posts. I'm so sorry about Sweets low ---- I love the fear in the box though. What a great analogy. We can't live in fear but we know it's always right there . . . in that box. XOXXO
ReplyDeleteoh my goodness! i just want to hug your entire family right now!
ReplyDeletelows like that are so scary, no matter how old you are. and i'm sorry you guys had to go through it. but you made it through, and that's what counts.
if i could talk to sweets, i would tell her that it's ok to be scared. lows are scary. but she, and you, can do this! <3
Swimming has scary effects on maddisons blood sugar too :(. Exactly why we have a love hate relationship with summer in Az! They really need to make mini glucagon pens for times like this!
ReplyDeleteReading this made me cry. I have been there many times with my girls. We move on until the next near death experience. My little one goes very low like that when she is ill, and I've had to use the glucagon for her. Your story is just too real for me.
ReplyDeleteI was told about the mini-gluc injection in February when my daughter was vomiting & low. I didn't have to use it then but I did last month when she had BGs of 56-63 (checked with different meters) & with only .15u IOB. Dex had 50double arrows down I got mini-gluc ready. She refused to eat/drink, she was saying crazy things, her head was floppy, I didn't know if she was falling asleep since it was late or passing out, and she kept spitting the Cake-Mate out of her mouth. She was acting more like how Dex was trending rather than her BG. Dex said low, I decided to just do the mini-gluc injection. I was so afraid of it but I did it. After about 45mins. her BG was 71, she asked for a Capri Sun. I was so relieved.... Phew she started coming around again. It even took us 3hrs. to get her above 100. I don't know what was going on with her. I wouldn't have given mini-glucagon for a BG of 60 but under her not wanting to eat/drink circumstances I did. The only side effect was she threw up an hour after. I will never be terrified of it again I will only see it as life saving.
ReplyDeleteAfter almost 40 years of Type I, I can say that the aftereffects of exercise cause lows that we are often not expecting. Exercise is SO good for our diabetic bodies, BUT we have to be careful about these lows (or, in the case of all your Moms of Type I's - your children's lows.)
ReplyDeleteSomething that works for our daughter when she's having a stubborn low is to not give juice/candy after a second low. Instead we give her 1/2 c. of full-sugar, not fat-free yogurt, ice cream, or pudding. Our first endo shared this trick with us after our daughter had 3 lows in a row and we had no idea how to fix her BG. So if my daughter's BG is low at the 11 PM check, I usually give her yogurt instead of juice. I find that this works well for her.
ReplyDeleteHi. My name is elizabeth payne. A friend of molly. My daughter has type 1 diabetes also. She is 7 and has had it since she was 4. I remember that day like it was yesterday. We always give fruit snacks. I would love to get a pump. But her doc said she was to young. And we should wait. I guess u can have alot of lows with it. The lowest she's ever been was 34. But fruit snacks made her go up fast. I hate lows very scary. Never had to use the gluicon pen. Thank goodness!
ReplyDelete