"It's just Diabetes, no big deal!"
This is something that people have said to me and other parents of children with type 1 diabetes.
Here is what I have to say to these people..
Here is what I have to say to these people..
Type 1 diabetes is a VERY BIG deal
"normal" blood sugar is 4-6 mmols, below is a graph showing Cara's blood sugar numbers for yesterday. High and low blood sugars are a big deal.
Seizures, loss of consciences, death is a big deal.
Heart attacks, blindness, stokes, amputations, never damage, kidney damage is a big deal.
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THIS IS A VERY BIG DEAL
Last night was a very big deal, it was one of the scariest nights of my life. We are in a very intensive process of making some major changes in Cara's type 1 diabetes care. Times of insulin as well as amounts of insulin are being changed and this is a very dangerous time for Cara. Unsure of what all these changes are going to do within her body our diabetic clinic generously gave us the use of a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) for 6 days. This monitor constantly records Cara's blood sugar numbers (to see and read more about our CGM click HERE and HERE or HERE) We are able to view blood sugar graphs on it's screen as well as downloaded on the computer.
Last night we saw something that stopped my husband and myself dead in our tracks. At 9:00pm we check Cara's blood sugar and it was 18 mmols, we gave her a smaller snack then normal, 10 grams of carbs because her BG was high and we did not want to skyrocket her through out the night (this is one of the problems that we are trying to avoid with all the changes). We proceeded to head downstairs and watch a few of our DVRed shows. By 12:00am it was bedtime for us and another blood sugar check for Cara, she was 12 mmols...which is not too bad. However with a quick peak at the CGM we noticed something had gone very wrong with Cara's blood sugar around 10:30-11:00pm. Alarms were going off and we were watching t.v., alarms were going off and she was passed out sleeping, alarms were going off because Cara's blood sugar was very quickly crashing from about 10:30 until it bottomed out at 2.1 mmols, the lowest she has every been. With no help in sight and Cara possibly very close to losing consciousness, having a seizure or worse yet death...her wonderful liver seemed to have stepped in and released a life saving dose of sugar. By 12:00am, blood sugar check time Cara's blood sugar was back up to 12 mmols.
It was a very scary experience, we could not believe our eyes and even more worrisome we would have had NO IDEA that it even happened if we did not have that CGM. All that went through my head last night was Dead in Bed Syndrome
...and for all those whom have lost their love ones to dead in bed syndrome my heart and deepest sympathies goes out to you.
10 comments:
Thats SO scary. I'm sorry that stupid people tell you that D is no big deal. I'm sure they would change their minds if they had to deal with it every moment of the day!
How did you get the super cute writing on your blog? its so awesome. It looks amazing! :)
That is very frightening!! How great that her body stepped in to take over. We started using a baby monitor with Ellie's CGM so that way, if it alarms, we usually hear it (there have been a few times when we have been dead asleep and it takes the alarms going off a few times to wake me up). We have one receiver downstairs in the family room and one in our bedroom. Good luck through your transition period. And you are very right... diabetes IS a BIG deal!
Rachel, I changed it through the blogger template advanced design feature on blogger dashboard...super easy. I had a cuter one on before but it was acting kinda funny so I had to change it. Thanks
Lisa, after last night we placed baby moderators all over the house so we will not miss another peep:) thanks for the tip!!
Oh Nicole ! So scary!! Thank god for her liver is right! Usually Justices is delayed so he never comes up on his own in time. You had an angel there last night.
And youre right it IS a big deal!
How scary, and yes... a HUGE deal! We still use a baby monitor for Elise, and place the receiver practically on top of it!
Nicole...that sounds so scary. I am so glad that Cara is okay. You just motivated me to go out and buy a baby monitor for Adam's CGM too. (((hugs)))
Crap!! That's so scary!! I really hate diabetes!!
Oh and I have many people who think t1 isn't a big deal!! So frustrating huh??
We had the same experience the first time we tried out the CGM. IT is what has convinced me that for young children the unexplained highs might actually be rebound highs...at least in our case they almost are everytime.
I'm glad you guys were able to figure this one out. Keep up the hard work :)
I am so sorry you had to experiance this scarey low.. I often wonder what is going on is Joshua's little body that I cant see.. it is so scarey!! Sending big hugs to you!!
OMGoodness the font over here and your "look" is so cute! LOVE IT.
I hate when people don't understand the gravity of the situation that our children and we deal with day-in and out. It is by far one of the biggest reasons I started blogging in the first place.
Love you, Love Cara...so glad that you had the CGM and that Mr. Liver chipped in some glucose support.
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