Making the low go.

Day 2: What helps me get back to "normal" when my blood glucose level is too low?

It's never good when hubbie and I are having a conversation/discussion/mini-argument and he'll throw in, "Maybe you should test.  You're not thinking straight."  It drives me crazy.  Even if he's right.  It's like asking a girl if it's "that time of the month" because she's being irrational.  You wanna scream at the person.  So I go and test and if I'm not fine then I'll announce the number and he'll graciously bring me a cup of OJ and I'll take it from him and continue with my point.  As the sugar kicks in I start seeing straight again. He has a point.  Wow.  What's great is that he doesn't use that against me.  Although he'll ask again the next time I'm being completely off, he is usually right.  He knows me inside and out - he can tell when I am off better than anyone. 

I always carry DEX4 tabs (huge, fat glucose"coins") in my purse.  They do the job but they taste like chalk sometimes.  Pop and juice is good too but they don't taste good either since usually my taste buds are completely out of whack when I'm low. 

My favorite is to take advantage of the low and have something that is usually "sorta" off-limits.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I don't have many things that are off-limits now-a-days.  That's not good.  I gotta re-evaluate this.  Anyone feel like yelling at me?  Feel free.  I need some sense knocked into me.  For goodness sake, I'm pregnant and diabetic.  Or rather, I'm diabetic and pregnant (in that order)!  I don't get to have whatever I want because I'm pregnant.  Grow some self-control, Rebeca!  (maybe that will do it... for today.)

My scariest low episode was when we flew down to Florida.  We went to bed around midnight the night before and woke up in a panic around 3:30 because we slept in.  So we frantically ran around the house and packed the last minute things and threw it all in the car.  Woke up the sleeping 1 year-old and in his white-too-big-pj-onesie and plopped him in his car seat.  Raced across town to meet our friends who we were driving to the airport with and their annoyed parents who were also flying down with us.  So we were exhausted, rushed, embarrassed and unprepared.  I thought I was doing well, but the craziness of getting to the airport must have really messed up my sugars.  Our flight was at 6:30 and we grabbed some breakfast sandwiches as we raced down to our gate.  Noah was fully awake and wanting to crawl around.  I did not yet have a chance to even change his diaper so it was all soggy and full.  That onesie was really long on him and as he crawled around he really looked like Maggie from The Simpsons. 

Anyways, his diaper overflowed just as they called out last boarding call.  We had no choice but to get on the plane just like that.  I thankfully had stocked him diaper bag with more diapers and wipes the night before but I couldn't decide on the outfit for the plane or his "back-up" outfit so I left it for the morning.  Since we slept in, there was no outfit for the plane (unless you count his Maggie outfit) and there was certainly no back up outfit.  We were a mess.  Our friends' parents were still annoyed and although we were trying to make light of the situation it was not a good start.  Never mind the diabetic that hasn't slept, was running around the house, is stressed beyond belief and on top of it all feels like a failed mom. 

I held Noah in my lap, pee stained onesie, full diaper and all.  Finally once we were in the air I went to the minuscule washroom, changed him and I really don't remember how I dealt with the onesie situation.  I may have just dealt with it.  There was no other option.  I would have purchased a $50 "outfit" from their on-flight magazine but no such luck.  Once we landed in Orlando we got our luggage and rented a car. It was crazy hectic still.  It just didn't stop.  We started hunting for a McDonald's on our way to our hotel and Noah fell asleep in the car seat.  I was starting to feel exhausted and slightly weird.  I opted to stay in the car with Noah while everyone went in to eat in the McDonald's.  Suddenly, as I sat there waiting for hubbie to bring out my order I could feel something really weird happen to my face.  I was twitching.  TWITCHING!  Uncontrollably. I got out my iPhone and tried to text hubbie to tell him to rush out to me now!  I couldn't really properly text.  I must have sent something that sounded desperate because he rushed out with an orange juice and looked at me strangely as my face slowly stopped doing the ugly twitch.  It was so weird. 

Later my endo. explained that my sugar was dropping so fast that my nervous system must have gotten some sort of mixed signals.  It has never happened since.  And I pray it never will again.  It was completely involuntary and I couldn't control it.  So weird.  (Just imagine the cop in Dumb & Dumber when we takes a swig of the beer bottle that is filled with urine - that face!  That's what my face was doing! LOL.)

More common symptoms are sweaty and shaky and a feeling like I'm acting like Beavis.  Eeeeee.  Fists clenched and all.  If I ever wake up in the night and I'm wide awake in seconds ( like literally sitting up and looking around) my shirt is usually soaked and I know I have a low.  I'm not very good at keeping the night stand stocked (something I've been reading in the blogs that most other T1 diabetics do) so I have to stagger to the kitchen to eat the fridge.  I know I should just have some juice but usually I end up having some bread with Nutella and milk or cake or honey on toast with butter.  I am hungry on top of it all.  Once I can think straight I get sleepy again and I walk back to the bedroom where I change my pjs to a dry set and climb back into bed.  That usually happens if I am not wearing a sensor. 

I love having those sensors on but I hate paying for them.  If anyone has any tips on how to have them covered on Canadian soil I would appreciate it!  I know some US insurance companies cover them but Canadian ones, none that I know of. 

But Insurance Company woes are for a different post! I won't open that can of worms. Not today.