My 3 Monsters: What a Day!

Recent Posts

2.06.2012

What a Day!

Phew - What a crazy morning this was!  As many of you know, my middle monster, Ri, has had type 1 diabetes since he was 5.  We've been really lucky -- he has his blood sugar highs and lows, but no real extreme reactions.  No seizures, no nothin',  He's been easy to care for all these years.  Lately he's been waking up low in the morning.  Like seriously low.  As a point of reference, his "normal" range is 90 - 140.  He's been waking up around 40.  But he acts completely normal, gets some juice right away, and he's fine.  This morning was different. 

I woke him up at the usual time, but he just looked at me like he didn't know me.  Like he was looking through me or something.  It freaked me out a little to look in my kid's eyes and not see him looking back at me.  I tried to get him up and moving, but he just sat there.  This kid is a morning person.  He usually gets right up on his own so this was really weird.  I ran downstairs and got his meter and checked him.  41.  I tried to get him to come downstairs and have some juice.  I begged him to talk to me.  He just sat there.  Out of the blue, he would burst out sobbing and then quit again as quickly as he had begun.  Finally I lured him out of bed and downstairs and got him a juice box.  He wouldn't drink it.  He was staggering and stumbling around like he was drunk.  At one point I thought he was starting to come out of it and he said he would drink the juice if I would leave him alone.  Then he took the juice box from me, squeezed it, spraying juice all over the living room, and ran back upstairs.

We have a medicine called Glucagon we can inject to bring up his blood sugar if he is unable to take anything else, but it is a last resort type of thing.  I grabbed the Glucagon just in case and followed him upstairs.  He was finally talking to me - kind of - in between his sobbing spurts, but he wasn't making any sense.  He kept saying, "It's not coming!"  and "Leave it alone!  Just leave my blood sugar!"  So weird.  Finally, I could tell he was starting to come out of it when he asked me how I knew he was low.  I told him I had checked him.  He cried, "Well, check me again!"  So I did.  He was 38.  "Why didn't you tell me?!"  he demanded.  Huh? Really?!

I was relieved that he finally drank some juice and started getting ready for school.  I was downstairs wiping up the juice that had been sprayed all over the living room when he came downstairs again.  He was completely apologetic at this point -- back to his sweet, normal self.  He kind of thought he was dreaming all of that. 

His blood sugar leveled out and he went off to school.  But I haven't stopped thinking about it all day.  Some parents of diabetic children deal with stuff like that - or much worse - on a daily basis.  Children with diabetes {or any chronic condition, really}are so much stronger than most of their peers.  They carry a burden that most people will never understand.  Not that they don't live completely happy and fulfilled lives.  They do.  They look and act just like all of their friends, sometimes they just have to work harder for it.  And, not that I'm complaining, but their moms never stop worrying about them.  I pray we never have a repeat of this morning.  That was a little scary.  Days like today make me really grateful for the health of my children.  We are so very blessed! 

7 comments:

  1. Scary! I've been around when my SIL is really low and it's crazy scary. She also acts drunk and gets a little mean. I'm glad you were able to get him to take the juice. It's amazing what a little sugar can do! What has his endocrinologist said about the consistent morning lows?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ooooh Amy...you can call me ANYTIME you're worried...I've been type 1 since I was 12...I've been in comas (short ones) and unconscious, I have been so low I've been sent to the hospital...delirious, didn't know anyone or who I was and I have had those moments where I yell saying "leave me alone, or I'm not checking my sugars, they're FINE" I have even had episodes that I don't remember. When I am back to normal, I don't even know it happened. its awful...I am so glad he snapped out of it! :) It can be scary. My Dr has me wake up once a night to check my BS's. Maybe if he wakes up around 2 or 3am...the lows can be prevented. Also, if you can't get him to drink/eat put sugar in his mouth between his lip and his teeth....it absorbs fast and helps. If you ever need anything or have questions...CALL! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a scary experience! I'm so glad he is doing better. I, for one, was not prepared for the worry that comes with motherhood!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my word! I worry about that sweet little guy. I know nothing - and I mean absolutely nothing - about this type of thing, but would getting him up in the middle of the night to drink a juice box help? Again, I know nothing and maybe that is the worst thing to do. I just know that my grandpa sets and alarm and keeps on of those juicy-juice tiny boxes by his bed and drinks that at like 3-4am.
    Sure hope this is a one time thing! Saying a little prayer for you. It's just as hard (if not harder) on the mom!

    ReplyDelete
  5. "Children with diabetes {or any chronic condition, really}are so much stronger than most of their peers. They carry a burden that most people will never understand...their moms never stop worrying about them. "

    Amen sister, AMEN!! You said this so well. My daughter was born with a heart defect almost a year ago. This last year has been such a bumpy road and we've dealt with open heart surgery and a handful of other hospitalizations. she's doing really well right and will celebrate her first birthday this Friday (!!). You're so right when you say kids with chronic health problems are stronger than their peers. These kids are amazing children who I firmly believe are blessed with the tools they need to slug through the challenges they face. And even knowing all that, mama will always worry. :) I hope your little man's blood sugar issues get under control. It's scary to deal with something like that.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My son was diagnosed Type 1 at 22 months. He's now 10. Reading your post was like reading from my journal. Everyday is an adventure. We never know what the dreaded meter will read. Since he's been on his pump his "lows" are few and far between. Some of my scariest Mom moments have been squirting syrup down his throat when he's have a seizure because of a low blood sugar. Scary times. My husband and I have both told him we would take this disease from him in a second if we could. I'm so very grateful for modern medicine.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Glad to hear he is doing OK. These episodes are scary and knowing blood sugar like I do - 38 is a very scary number. My mom has low sugar episodes periodically. We have had to call 911 on her before for low sugar. It's scary when they lose the ability to reason - I can't imagine facing it in a child. We keep little tubes of gel frosting (the type you buy premade to write a name on a cake) on hand for my mom. Even if she is not all together with it, we can squirt it in her mouth and she will swallow it. Having the Glucogon must be a comfort as well. It's a testament to how good you are doing with his care that you have not had a lot of these episodes. Good luck, dear! Love ya!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving a comment. I try to respond to every one, even if it takes me a little while!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...