"I feeel soooooooo terrrrrrrrrrrible."I could tell he was low by the way the "e's", the "o's", and the "r's" were drawn out and by the tone and pitch of his voice. It was 1:28am. Joe was stumbling into my room and climbing on top of me as I woke to his entrance. I released myself from the heap of Joe and hurried to his room to grab the glucometer.
He was moaning, saying it was a "bad one".
He was 50. The low was treated. Afterwards, Joe did not want to leave my bed. "My body won't work". I offered to carry him back to his bed, but the thought of that made him just groan and roll-over. He was on my side of the bed. I retreated to the guest room. Another alarm was set for 2am. Another alarm was set to ensure his blood sugar was in a safe range.
When he woke the following morning...
"That was a bad one mom; not a normal low. I don't get them often. But when I do ... I feel like I am a 20-something. That was what I call a double low."
I questioned, "A double low?"
"Yep, that is what I call those. I have only had a couple, but they are the really terrible, awful ones."
A day-in-the-life of understanding diabetes through my son's perspective.
19 comments:
A double low - I'll have to add that to my d-vocab list.
I totally understand what Joe means...those few "Double Lows" have been rough ones. They are the few that have made me feel like I might just lose conciousness. Going to have to borrow Joe's term. Very glad he's okay and that he felt it and went to you for help. xoxo
So awesome that he can articulate that so well to you. Boo for the double low.
Poor guy. I am content that he feels them though. We have had a couple of 32 and 42 and she never felt a thing. Ugh.
Poor kiddo :( Weird how sometimes low just feels low, but other times you feel like you are really clinging to life. I hate that! ((HUGS)) to Joe!
Wow, so well captured..that opening paragraph with a "heap of Joe." Double low...a child can express things in such simple but accurate terms...
Amazing that he woke up and felt it! It's times like this that I DOUBLE hate diabetes. Hope Joe is bouncing back today. Love you guys!
Those really do feel awful. :(
It's weird how lows can feel different. Elise can be 42, with no symptoms, just laughing and playing. Other times she's 65 and screaming. I wish I could understand why some feel worse than others.
Love the new term Joe has coined though!
Good one Joe :) I love it (and I hate it)
We too can see how lows affect our sugar babie differently. Hope one day he can express it as colorfully as Joe does! Could Joe be any more fly in what I call birdman hands and that fohawk is simply awesome...love it!
Yuck! Double-low... A new dTerm of Enderement! I've had a few scary "low" readings on my meter and hypo unawareness
I think Joe should write up a Dvocabulary list for kids. He is always so descriptive and "exactly!" as Ellie says when I tell her the things Joe describes.
Boo. I hate the lows that are 50 but feel like 20. Hate.
It is always interesting to me when those 'not so lows' can actually feel way worse. Bean hasn't had that happen, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Maybe it's kinda like those lows that take her by surprise in reverse! ;)
A double low is double sad. :( Glad he has a mama to take such great care of him!
Those must be what TJ has before he raids the entire pantry at 3am..nutella left smeared on the counter, banana peels empty, rolls of smarties half consumed, milk empty...and of course several bloody test strips. I'll have to add "double low" to our d vocab :)
Poor guy! I'm glad you and he caught it. My guess is that he was much lower than the 50 showing on the glucometer. Lobbying for a safer insulin or some way to supply the missing glucagon, I think is second in importance to the cure. Insulin was discovered in the 20s and the newer insulins are still unsafe, too volatile. These kids can't live a normal existance, only a semblance of normal. Smartinsulin, purchased by Merck, was the only advance I have heard of in this regard. We need an end to this, regardless of whether a cure is found shortly.
Yup yup. Sometimes the number on the meter doesn't really capture the feeling of a low. I've had 30s that felt like 80s. That's a good low (I guess . . . ) And I've had 70s that felt like 20s. I'm gonna call those Double Lows from now on too.
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