BEEP BEEP BEEP!! Insistent noise, drowned out only slightly by the sound of two toddlers dunking basketballs on each other in the living room. “Do you have any juice?” My friend reaches into her fridge and pulls out a 1/4 full carton of lemonade. “Would this work?” She and I know one another, but we’re fledgling friends. Still in that…
The alarm went off. I couldn’t shake the sleep from my body. This morning, I swept the empty carcasses of two juice boxes off the bedside table, a reminder of what must have happened last night. I looked at my CGM graph and saw a line with the shape of a teaspoon etched into it around 2.30 am, where I…
Seven Versions of One Low Blood Sugar
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial Support, Real Life Diabetes, RelationshipsSCENARIO: A blood sugar of 53 mg/dL caused me to wake up at 2 am, drink a juice box, and stay awake until 2.30 am waiting for my blood sugar to rise. DESCRIBING TO MY FRIEND: “Yeah, sometimes diabetes is a thing at night. I had a low last night that woke me up around 2 am, but that’s why…
I read a post on Facebook this morning about a mom who spent a few hours by her kid’s bedside, monitoring a low blood sugar and keeping the snacks at the ready. I thought about my own mom, who carried the bulk of the diabetes burden so that I didn’t have to, and how life felt normal because she made…
Even the best laid plans can go awry when hypos creep in before the meal is served. Glucose tabs … the most unappealing appetizer. You might also like: The Art of the Pre-Bolus. Endless Lows. Dealing with Overnight Low Blood Sugars. Mommy’s Little Pack Mule.
BEEP BEEP BEEP 2 am Low alarm. Where am I? Hotel. Hotel room in Kansas City. Damp. Damp with sweat. My long sleeve shirt stuck to the inside of my elbows, ironed by panic. BEEP BEEP BEEP Kansas City. That’s where I am. Why am I beeping? 51 mg/dL. That red circle with the down arrow attached to it. Asking…
“Do you mind ringing out this orange juice first?” I asked the lady who was working the cash register. “No problem,” and she went bip with the scanner against the bottle’s bar code while my Dexcom screamed BEEP BEEP BEEP! from my phone. I opened the bottle and downed the majority of it in one, open-throated gulp. My son, strapped into…
The low alarm goes off and my arm snakes out from underneath the covers in slow motion, a serpent in search of snacks. The jar of glucose tabs sits on my bedside table, most often collecting dust but on this night, it’s an essential item. I flip open the lid and count out four tabs, piling them on the side…
We don’t drink juice “for fun” in our house; it’s only for low blood sugars, considered almost as medicinal as the insulin hiding out in the butter compartment of our fridge. So when I came home with these juice boxes unintentionally, I was pissed. 35% less sugar? That’s exactly what I don’t want! Useless juice. I’m bringing it back and swapping it…
(to the tune of the Beatles Help!) Help! I need some sugar Help! I’ll take any sugar. Help! You know I need a snack Heeeelp! When I was younger, so much younger than today I made my insulin and that was that each day But now these days are gone and my islets are uncured Now I find I need a…
Diabetes Blog Week prompt for Monday: Diabetes can sometimes seem to play by a rulebook that makes no sense, tossing out unexpected challenges at random. What are your best tips for being prepared when the unexpected happens? Or, take this topic another way and tell us about some good things diabetes has brought into your, or your loved one’s, life…