I'm back on the blogging air after a frightening and surprising trip to the ER last Friday afternoon. And the moral of the story is to always eat your breakfast!Ever since highschool I've suffered from minor hypoglycemia. I know that sounds fancy and complicated but it really just means that my blood sugar is testy. If I don't eat regular meals my blood sugar goes low and I get shaky and sweaty. Usually these symptoms go away when I eat. But Friday was a different story.
I had forgotten to eat breakfast (a common occurrence these days now that I'm busy caring for two little ones) on Friday morning but instead had a few cups of coffee. No big deal. I started to get the hungry shakes around noon so I ate a good healthy lunch. Still felt shaky and nauseous. I got sick but I felt better. Matt headed out with Chloe to go pick up his folks at the airport and I stayed home with Clive and hoped to nap off the sickies. No such luck!
Instead, I got sick a few more times and the dizziness and headache got worse. I started to feel numbness travel up my right arm and my jaw. What was that?!? That got me scared! I called Matt crying and realized that he was still an hour away from home. So I rang up my trusty friend, Melinda. She's a mom of 6 and has seen absolutely everything so I knew she could handle me. :) Five minutes with me and she called the ambulance! By that time I was in bad shape and couldn't even answer questions. !!!
An IV, potassium pills, more vomiting and a nap at the hospital put me right again. I was weak and dehydrated but I felt much better. I had suffered a serious drop in blood sugar. Thankfully, I was able to go home Friday night and the remedy is simple - eat! Never again will I take my blood sugar issue lightly. My family has taken great care of me; they are making sure I get plenty of rest and checking on my eating habits.
Thank the Lord for His protection of me! Things could have easily been much worse. I feel so silly to have caused such trouble and I praise God for His patience and care.
Whew! I certainly am glad that unpleasant experience is over! Do any of you struggle with hypoglycemia?
11 comments:
Oh that was scary, I'm glad you're OK! I love cereal so much that I never forget breakfast. I get crabby if I'm hungry, but not sick like you do.
Wow - what a scary time! Vince is hypoglycemic, so I definitely know the routine. I always try to keep snacks with me (first it was for Vince, now it's mainly for Eli, but it works! ha!) He had a drop when we were picking out Eli's pictures last week, and he got to the point of almost eating all of Eli's goldfish and couldn't concentrate on pictures (so I ended up getting more poses!). It's definitely something to keep an eye on and it's something I've learned to deal with. What a scary time, but so glad you had a friend nearby and God was watching over you!!!
Wow, how scary. No trouble with my blood sugar, thankfully. So glad you're okay. Praise God for friends!
I'm so glad that you're okay. I'm so glad you had a friend to call on instead of having to wait for Matt to get home.
I've had to deal with hypoglycemia since junior high. I usually only have problems if I substitute coffee for breakfast (like your situation). I've never had a reaction as bad as yours and after hearing your story I am definitely going to be more careful to make sure I eat.
WHEW! How scary! I suspect that I have a mild case, but it's entirely self diagnosed and so I'm sure unreliable. :-) I get shaky and weak and sometimes black out if it's been too long since I have eaten, or if I eat too many carbs and not enough protein.
I have to say that I did have more frequent reactions when caffeine was a daily part of my life, especially coffee on an empty stomach. Since I've cut most of it out, I've noticed fewer shaky episodes. But maybe that is just because it's easier for me to stay hydrated when I'm not drinking caffeine (which is supposedly a diuretic)
I DO still use caffeine, but mostly now in conjunction with Tylenol for a headache or in cases of severe exhaustion - and I make sure to drink plenty of water in those cases, too.
Glad you're feeling better now!
Speaking of breakfast, I'd better get going on that! ;-) Thanks for the reminder!!
Alicia - I'm so sorry to hear about your experience! I don't have the same problem but my dad does & he had exactly the same thing happen to him a couple of times before they decided that was what was truly wrong. Has anyone told you the coorelation between caffeine & blood sugar? I was curious b/c you said you had coffee that morning. Caffeine can cause your pancreas to secrete larger amounts of insulin & therefore lower your sugar even more. My dad's doc took him off caffeine completely & he has done much better since. Just maybe something to think about. Take care of yourself please ;-)
I have the same thing, though I don't think mine is THAT testy. I usually can fix it by eating-perhaps I just haven't let it get as far as you did! EAT, girl! Glad you are okay!
Oh my! I'm glad that you are okay! I get shaky when I'm hungry but nothing like your experience. What a blessing to have a good neighbor take the bull by the horns and get you to the hospital. Take care of yourself - your little people need you:).
I m so glad that you are ok!! That must have been so scary for you and thank goodness for friends!!!
Oh Alicia! I've got the other problem with blood sugar where it gets too high , but I've had it go low too. Not fun! Even tonight I was feeling really weak and wondering why when Sierra said she was hungry. Ding - the bell went off in my head that we hadn't eaten lunch and it was now supper time. It is a scary thing! So glad you were able to get help from your friend! I know they sell glucose tablets that look like tums if you wanted to get some to have in your purse in case it happens again. Or there is the old fashioned standby of drinking orange juice or coke to raise it quickly. Just a thought :).
oh my alicia, praise the Lord you are ok. that is tough too when your husband is not nearbye. wow. you sure went through it. no, i don't struggle with hypoglycemia, but i am guilty of skipping breakfast and going strait to the coffee. i am going to work on that.
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