Im diabetic and have just come round from a hypo 2 hours ago surrounded by paramedics + its getting me down...

this happens to me every now and again and i feel sorry 4 my wife and kids having to put up with it, i was supposed to get up at 6am for work but my wife couldnt wake me and phoned for an ambulance ,it was very frightening being surrounded by strangers and not knowing what was going on, anyway they got my sugar levels up eventualy and wanted me to go to the hospital for a check up but i refused as i hate hospitals, my wife is very annoyed with me for putting her through this yet again and i feel guilty for the embaressment and stress ive caused her and my children,ive missed my last day at work b4 the christmas holidays because of this,this illness is ruining my life and that of my family and its depressing me, are any of you diabetic or living with an insulin dependant diabetic, can you tell me how it effects your lives and if you too feel embaressed as i do when these hypo attacks happen? thanks

my wife has been an insulin dependent diabetic since she was 12 and has had more hypos than i care to remember ,some bad some not so bad .she usually has them in her sleep like the one you had and i usually have to call the paramedics out,she used to have a glucagon injection but the doctor said at 拢35 each he can just give them away ,but he does'nt mind me calling an ambulance at hundreds of pounds a time .wheres the logic?she has had hypos at awkward times too,like when i played football ,had hypo pitch side had to go help trouble was i was goal keeper ,my team mates were not impressed.she also gets violent at times as she comes out of the hypo. myself and my daughter have been punched while helping her ,she also tried to grab a knife once but i got there before her ,she threw a drink in my friends face while tring to help her aswell.if we are in the street people will look at her like shes drunk or something.i don,t get embarressed i get angry because they jump to conclusions.she had a hypo while we were camping last year ,trouble was we had no idea where we were we only had the name of the site ,no road name no post code but somehow the paramedics found us , so she woke up in a little a55ed tent with 3 paramedics round her.she also realised she was having more night time hypos if she had been drinking alcohol then doing her night time needle,so now if shes had a coupleof bacardis she does'nt do her last needle,things have also been better since her insulin was changed she is now on the novopen.she also refuses to go to hospital as all they do is give you tea and toast check your bloods then send you home.i admit i sometimes do get angry with her because when i try to help she fights and struggles and wont drink lucozade or anything thats where the glucose pen comes in handy ,a quick stab and its all over .dont feel to bad about it mate im sure your wife knows you dont do it on purpose and she loves you really ,have a good christmas and be lucky

are you taking your medication properly? my husband is pill-controlled but he doesnt take his meds properly. you owe it to your family to take the best care of yourself that you can. dont let the hypo get you down - learn from it and try to protect yourself a bit better from now on.

My mother, also a Type I diabetic..has had this problem since I can remember. She was diagnosed a little over a year ago with Megaloblastic anemia, and ever since they started her on treatments for it, her insulin just seemed to "work more efficiently" (for lack of a better phrase), and I've actually lost count of how many times I've had to call 911. Her hypos don't happen gradually, but rather in a sort of free-fall. Once she gets below 35 or 40, its nearly impossible for me to get her to take in any glucose gel and she gets combative against my efforts. I don't fault her for any of this, and though it IS stressfull for me to have to go through this with her..I do it out of love and would rather call 911 then lose her.

Don't feel embarrassed. Your body's needs change from day to day, hour to hour..so its nearly impossible to be 100% with your injected units and food intake. Things happen. You didn't mention what types of insulin you take, or whether or not you use a pump.

For example, my mother is on Humilin N (long-acting) and Humulin R. She injects 40 units of the N around 9am each day, and takes the R for "coverage" during the day as needed. There is no hard-fast rule for the number of units you should take, and it may just take a little bit of tweeking to get the right dose.

If my mom has taken her coverage insulin too close to the time in which she took the regular insulin, her insulin reactions happen much more often (an overlap happens). This is also true of the times that she doesn't eat nearly as much as she THINKS she's eaten at a meal.

If you'd like, please email me. I'd be happy to be part of your support group.

Gosh guy Im not really sure what to tell you. I've seen a lot of diabetics, my grandfather was a diabetic so was my other grandfather (mum and dad sides). What I can tell you is that the frustrattion family members feel isnt necessarily aimed at you but at how you may be dealing with your illness. Constantly refusing transport and not going to see the doctor may m ake them feel as if you dont want to get better. Im not trying to pick on you but just calling it like i see it. Also, on a more clinical note: most hypoglycemic attacks are caused because of too high an insulin dosage. DO NOT lower your dosage without consulting your doctor. Insulin is a powerful hormone and if you mess with it yourself you could cause the reverse (hyperglycemia). You should go see your physician so that you can learn how to better manage the disease and not let the disease call the shots (no pun intended). Hope you feel better.

If you let it get you down, it WILL get you down. Best thing to do is fight it with knowledge. I can only imagine what it's like because I'm not insulin dependent and I've never had a hypo episode. Having pulled myself out of depression with a little trick called cognitive therapy, I would recommend using that to overcome the guilt and embarrassment by doing everything possible to prevent it from happening in the future.

Without knowing which type you are, I can't even begin to make suggestions on how to attack this situation. I can tell you that I'm a 5+ year type two who was confronted with ever decreasing effectiveness of Metformin to the point where I was faced with either sulfonylureas or insulin. I decided to embark on a serious campaign to learn all I could and fight the disease. I have now been off the Metformin for a week (except for one little goof) with a 14 day average fasting of 91mg/dl. My point is, find out what you're doing to cause the hypos and fix it.

What you are experiencing is perfectly normal.

If IS scary to regain consciousness from an insulin reaction and not have a clue as to what happened to you. Things just don't compute. It has only happened to me once and I can remember waking up in the hospital, on a spine board, with 2 IVs, a cervical collar around my neck and an oxyen mask on my face. I had fallen and the EMTs were afraid of a neck or head injury.

The doctors in the ER told me what happened and I remember that I started crying...I had never felt so frightened and out of control. I was told that my blood sugar was undetectable. The hospital was a short drive away from where I had been and the EMTs got me there before I regained consciousness.

I don't feel embarassed. I do not defend myself for having a disease. I do stay in good control so that I can keep these episodes to a minimum. My family is prepared and they know what to do. Of course, it can cause some stress but they don't get annoyed. They know it can happen.

You and your wife both need to realize that there are times in a diabetic's life where help is needed. I suggest that you find a diabetic support group (often at area hospitals) so you and your wife can hear the stories of other diabetics who have gone through similar situations. Talking with other diabetics and their families can really help.

You are not alone out there. You need to find that support and safety net. Your family needs some diabetes education. Of course, the stress of the holidays is not helping any but that will be over soon. Just take some time to relax and get yourself together. Take comfort in the fact that your wife DID get you help when you needed it so it's obvious she cares.

One final point...there are a lot of diseases that can take your life...diabetes can take OVER your life...whether or not you let it is entirely up to you. Good luck and happy holidays.

EMT
type 1, insulin pump

I just found out I am pre diabetic thank god I have a wonderfull husband I just went through a period of sleeping 3 days straight it is horrible to say the least and I dont know if this is caused by low or high blood sugar but I finnally broke down and went to the doctor so I quess I will find out more.its like living nightmare I want to go back to work so badly I feel horrible because my husband has to pull the whole load. good luck to you

Ask your Doc about a pump:

http://www.roche.com/prod_diag_ac-sma.ht...

You have nothing to feel guilty about.
Some people don't understand that even if you are doing everything perfectly, you can still get very low and pass out- especially if you have had this disease for a long time.
You may want to check every three - four hours to see how you are doing.
Your wife promised to love you in sickness and in health.So, why doesn't she learn how to use glucagon ?
If she needed physical help every now and then, I'm sure you'd gratefully do it.
Maybe you can both go to a support group together?
Less than 100 years ago, diabetes was a death sentence.Science is working but this all takes time.We can now hold jobs,have children and live to adulthood.We can be in the Military or be Miss America.We can eat any food on this planet in moderation.We have a choice of insulin's and we have glucose meters. All this is a major improvement over life with diabetes 100 years ago.
Be grateful not embarrassed.

I am diabetic, and when I developed Bell's Palsy last year, I kept getting hypos. I had never had one before, and haven't, touch wood, had one lately.
I would usually get them in the morning when I was due to wake up. Later in the day, I could foretell them, and take preventative measures. It was very difficult for my husband. If he could manage to get sugar or Lucozade down me it would be OK, but when I was unconcious this wasn't possible, as I couldn't swallow. My husband got that he was blaming me for self-neglect, even though I was doing everything I could to keep hypo-free.
My answer was to ask my doctor for a glucose injection that we keep in the fridge. This is a lot easier on the carer, and will bring you round in 5-10 minutes. You then need a snack of carbohydrate asap (I keep a supply of tinned rice puddings on hand). When I come round it takes me a few minutes to be functional, but then I am OK, if feeling a bit tired and very cold. With the injection on hand, there should be no need to call an ambulance or go to hospital. That only happened to me the first time, when we didn't know what was wrong. Repeated hypos should be mentioned to your diabetic healthcare team, though. You can probably go to work after a hypo (I used to), but you may be a bit late, because of the time it takes to recover.

I'm a type 1 diabetic and have been for the last 16 years. I really feel for you and your situation and have been there myself. Fortunately I have a very understanding husband, however, if I have a hypo during the day which will happen with most diabetics at some point, I can control it quite quickly. The problem I suffered from 3-4 times a week for 2 and a half years was hypos during the night when I wouldn't wake up and that would then lead to unconsciousness. It was awful I've split my head open falling out of bed and several similar problems. The only thing to do is speak with your specialist as they can recommend the best way of stopping this from happening. They recommended I take my blood levels before I went to bed and if they were any lower than 6 to have some carbos, they also told me I need to take my last insulin injection earlier. You don't have to go into hospital for these changes (I hate them too!!!) but it will take a little while to find the right balance for your lifestyle.


Unsure of what your wife would think but she could go along to see the Dr with you as they can give advise to partners on how to deal with hypos without calling ambulances, which does save on the embarrassment.
Wish you all the best and hope this helps

Yeah I have been there fto bring many people back around. It sucks don't it? Yeah don't sweat it man. S H I T happens.

Your wife is annoyed with you for putting her through this !!!! Does she think you like having hypos, and do it on purpose, doe s she even comprehend what a hypo is like. She should show you some compassion.

You my friend should not be feeling like this, you are diabetic, hypos happen, its not something we choose!! This has happened to me a few times, it's not nice waking up to a room full of strangers trying to force food and drink into your mouth.

Speak to your consultant, maybe they can change your insulin, I had mine changed to Humalog & Lantus, both given via pens, they are great, remember to check your blood before you go to bed and to have a little bit of supper.

I've been diabetic since i was 15, it was hard as a teen to get used to it all, but i soon learned that I control it and not the other way round. Speak to your consultant, have a nice Xmas, and take care.

ive been diabetic for twenty four years and when you go hypo you become very confused and not getting in an ambulance is very common in this condition. your control over going hypo is very limited and feeling guilty is just another after effect from going hypo the best thing you can do is try to eat something extra directly before bed dont have a sweet drink as this runs through your body a lot faster but a piece of toast or chocolate will keep you going throughout the night ive had many hypos in the past without known cause or reason and ive felt everything you are describing but you have nothing to feel guilty about as you cannot control this situation 100% at anytime as for your wife the best way to deal with you when your going hypo is quietly she should not try to talk to you nor should she tell you to eat anything she should just get a cup of milk with sugar in it and give it to you saying nothing cause when people talk to a person who is going hypo they just confuse them and when hypo your reactions to the simplest statement causes confusion for your self at a time when you cannot think straight enough to reply without maybe acting daft or even violently . you are not in control of yourself or your reactions until your blood sugar has returned to normal and then for about half an hour afterwards. as for your wife being annoyed with you that i dont understand as you have an illness which she should try to understand a bit better you are not to blame for a hypo unless you wilfully refuse to eat du to confusion prior to a hypo and if that is the case your wife should be helping you rather than blaming you if seriously depressed over the situation speak to your gp as they can offer help and advice about this. i hope i have been of some assistance and if you have anymore questions please ask me directly anytime

Would highly advise looking into getting a pump. Check out Animas-avoid Medtronic. :)