31

For anyone who has diabetes, the sensation of really low blood sugars are memorable. Low blood sugars are, for the most part, directly related to too much insulin. Most of the time, I get low blood sugars when I have guessed about how much insulin to give myself or I over-estimate how much insulin I actually need for a given meal. Low blood sugars can also be attributed to exercise, a change in hormones, a need for a change in insulin doses, among many other things.

Usually my Continuous Glucose Monitor alerts me when my blood sugar gets as low as 80 and again if it reaches 55 or lower. Once the number reads anything less than 40, it beeps pretty loud and clear and flashes the word "LOW" in all capitols. Unfortunately I have gotten so used to the monitor beeping at night since I usually run anywhere between 70 and 90 during the night, that I must have slept through several alarms.

Around 12:30 I woke up and felt disoriented, more so than just the normal "I just woke up" feeling. To me, it feels like the world is wobbling around me and about 90% of the time I am coherent enough to realize I need to check my blood sugar with a finger stick and get sugar fast. Just as I reached my meter I sensed something was really wrong. I was sweating from head to toe, had a hunger for anything and everything, and I had a really hard time keeping my hands from shaking long enough to prick my finger to get an accurate reading. Within 5 seconds I saw the number on the screen ... 31.

At the sight of this horrendous and scary low something (I don't know if it was adrenaline or fear or just a fight for survival) kicked in. I was coherent enough to get to a glucose drink, pull off the cap, and gulp it down in one sip. By this time, my husband was awake and apparently I was having a hard time remembering who he was for a few seconds. I lay down in the floor and just waited ... waited to feel better. I asked for an ice pack for the heat that was rushing through my body, I held my chest hoping that the pounding would stop, and munched on saltine crackers to cure my intense hunger. Never leaving my side, Pearce was the perfection of support. He is a rock, calm and as helpful as can be in times like this.

This whole "episode" probably happened within a matter of 10 minutes. Thank goodness for fast acting glucose drinks, if not solely for the peace of mind that I didn't have to experience the symptoms of such a scary low for too long. The other miracle here was the lack of anxiety that I used to feel about low blood sugars. A year ago something like this, or even the thought of this, would have undoubtedly triggered a panic attack. Last night I was calm and confident that I was in control, I was not going to die, and I had all the support I needed.