That's right and it sounds very simple to resolve; add glucose. Thanks for stopping by my Dad Talk on hypos. If only hypos were so straightforward!
Yesterday, I noticed a Twitter thread by the wonderful Laura Marston. Here it is; What's your lowest blood sugar ever recorded? - Some of those numbers are terrifying and completely alien, that's because I've never been awake or aware of a BG under 2 mmol/l. I've no desire to experience that kind of low, either. Anything under 3 feels absolutely horrendous to me.
While idly awaiting a non-diabetes appointment, my mind wandered to the instances of my very low BG events and the hypos, the near misses and the actual bodily harm they've caused me. Another Tweet happened and if you haven't already read it then I encourage you to check out Have you ever injured yourself during a hypo - Wow! Some of those stories are incredible and beyond the fascination, very distressing.
Today, I'm still pondering my own hypos and the injuries. I'm also thinking about the knock-on effects to others who have witnessed me hitting the deck.
My family have certainly witnessed my moderate lows and, when I was younger, severe hypos. I tend to have a seizure when I collapse from a hypo. I've never witnessed another human being have a seizure. I've seen many things on TV and the Internet but nothing like that in my day to day life. The idea of seeing another person in such a distressed state leaves me with a knot in my stomach so, I wonder how everybody who has witnessed my hypo events has felt.
I wrote about one of my first severe hypos at secondary school, a little while ago. I was playing Badminton and I knew I was having a hypo. I had the strong "feels" in those days but because I was expertly hiding my T1D I decided to ignore the hypo. I collapsed, smashed my head on the ground, had a seizure and swallowed my tongue. That was witnessed by around 60 children, around the ages of 11 and 12. Once I'd returned to school, many of those children (my friends) came to see how I was but also to express how upsetting it was to see me in that condition. Only now, as an adult and a parent of children a little older than that age, can I fully grasp the horror for the youngsters who stood and watched what was happening to me. They saw the ambulance come and go with no idea how I was or if I was alive. I like to think that modern day schooling is a little more understanding of the trauma witnessed by children.
Fast forward around 7 years and my worst ever hypo happened. I've written about it and spoken about it many times. The first on the scene of that event were the police. They found me having a seizure behind the wheel of my car, foot planted on the accelerator and engine on, smoke billowing from the exhaust, me covered in blood (tongue bite) and sweat. I don't know how far I was from meeting my maker but that hypo took a very long time to recover from. The police, who likely see horrible things a lot, got me an ambulance and I never heard from them again. I do know that bystanders witnessed that scene, commuters and children on their way to school. I wonder how that affected them and their day, if they ever think of that young guy in his car and whatever happened to him.
Life and the media throw trauma at us all the time. I imagine that many of you have felt extremely distressed by the events of the pandemic. Some may have witnessed the trauma of Covid at very close quarters with loved ones falling unwell or dying. It's difficult to avoid ALL trauma, perhaps impossible but I do think that we can minimise the trauma of severe hypos, both for ourselves as the sufferers and for others who witness them happening.
How?!
Technology is the answer. You probably already guessed that I was going there because of my continuous noise over access to Diabetes tech. Those CGM alerts, the better management through pump therapy and (of course) combining the two through Looping are all proven to reduce incidents in the red zones (hyper as well as hypo) in many. Less severe incidents mean less trauma for everybody and it also means less strain on the health service to treat the injuries from hypos and long term complications from hypers.
I eagerly await the Spring in the UK. I'm eager for the better conditions, not just for the weather but for those living with T1D and access to the technology we NEED to manage this condition effectively while being allowed to live a life less burdensome. Access, it seems, will likely reduce the traumas of those around us too. It really is a win/win.
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