My names Brittney, I'm fourteen and have a seven year old diabetic brother. He's had diabetes since he was four. Now, he had a regular seizure when he was two because some food got stuck in his airway, but thankfully we were parked right next to our doctor's office when it happened. Unfortunately I was the one in the backseat with him, and the first one to see what was happening. It was very very traumatizing.
So what exactly is a diabetic seizure? What happens? And why does it happen?
~Brittney
Post Edited (britt90) : 9/6/2005 5:25:36 PM (GMT-6)
Hi Brittney,
I've been diabetic since I was three years old and I'm twenty nine now, so I guess I may have had experiences with diabetes similar to the ones your brother has had or may have in the future.
Is he a type 1 or type 2 diabetic? I am type 1, and your brother probably is too.
A diabetic seizure is usually caused by what we call a "low", also known as "hypoglycemia" or "hypo" for short, which means: low sugar levels in your blood. This can happen on diabetics. The solution when it happens is to eat something sweet, like cookies or even candy.
Now, when you say seizure, you're probably thinking of some severe kind of seizure, like an epileptic one, one where you're body makes strange movements and you might not even be fully conscious. MandiAnn can correct me if not all epileptic seizures are like that...
But this isn't necessarily so with a diabetic seizure. As I've told you I'm 29 years old now and diabetic since I was three, and I never had one of those! Well, except maybe when I became diabetic and they took me to the hospital in a near coma - they found me lying unconscious in the floor. Your brother's past that phase now! I mean, I assume he is taking his medication and doing his normal everyday life.
I have had "lows" in the past, but they never got me to such a seizure. My symptoms were more like: bluring vision, mild shaking, weakness, diziness and loss of concentration and sometimes headaches. This loss of concentration, diziness and weakness can though be considered a diabetic seizure. This kind of seizure may not be so traumatic on who's watching, but it is still dangerous for the diabetic.
And, although I never had the kind of seizures like epileptics do, I do know a diabetic friend that got them with "hypos".
So a serious diabetic seizure may never EVER happen to your brother. But to help preventing it, there are two things your brother should do:
1. He should learn to recongize the early symptoms he gets when he gets an "hypo". For most people I know that includes the sense of weakness and the bluring vision. If you're brother's seven know, I guess he already had enough "hypos" to know what his symptoms for one are. As soon as he gets them, he should take action: check his sugar levels and eat something if needed - sometimes a piece of bread might do it, but if it's a strong hypo, he should get something sweeter like a sweet cookie, a piece of chocolate or something like that.
2. Always cary some candy or even sugar cubes with him, for an emergency. You know, something sweet he can carry with him on his pocket. This is in case he gets the symptoms of an "hypo" and he's somewhere where he can't get something to eat immediately - he can then have that candy or whatever to get him through until he gets somewhere he can eat and relax.
As to what you can do, I think MandiAnn gave you good advices in the event of an epileptic-like diabetic seizure.
On other cases of diabetic seizures, get your brother to eat something if he can. Or give him a glass of water with sugar.
If he cannot swallow, which can happen even if he's not moving uncontrolably, like he passed out or he's to weak, he should be taken to hospital immediately.
But I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. As long as you're brother is under control, can recognize his symptoms and has some sugar or candy on him, nothing serious should happen.
dmcT1 ~ Born 1976, Type I diabetic since 1979.
I've been diabetic since I was three years old and I'm twenty nine now, so I guess I may have had experiences with diabetes similar to the ones your brother has had or may have in the future.
Is he a type 1 or type 2 diabetic? I am type 1, and your brother probably is too.
A diabetic seizure is usually caused by what we call a "low", also known as "hypoglycemia" or "hypo" for short, which means: low sugar levels in your blood. This can happen on diabetics. The solution when it happens is to eat something sweet, like cookies or even candy.
Now, when you say seizure, you're probably thinking of some severe kind of seizure, like an epileptic one, one where you're body makes strange movements and you might not even be fully conscious. MandiAnn can correct me if not all epileptic seizures are like that...
But this isn't necessarily so with a diabetic seizure. As I've told you I'm 29 years old now and diabetic since I was three, and I never had one of those! Well, except maybe when I became diabetic and they took me to the hospital in a near coma - they found me lying unconscious in the floor. Your brother's past that phase now! I mean, I assume he is taking his medication and doing his normal everyday life.
I have had "lows" in the past, but they never got me to such a seizure. My symptoms were more like: bluring vision, mild shaking, weakness, diziness and loss of concentration and sometimes headaches. This loss of concentration, diziness and weakness can though be considered a diabetic seizure. This kind of seizure may not be so traumatic on who's watching, but it is still dangerous for the diabetic.
And, although I never had the kind of seizures like epileptics do, I do know a diabetic friend that got them with "hypos".
So a serious diabetic seizure may never EVER happen to your brother. But to help preventing it, there are two things your brother should do:
1. He should learn to recongize the early symptoms he gets when he gets an "hypo". For most people I know that includes the sense of weakness and the bluring vision. If you're brother's seven know, I guess he already had enough "hypos" to know what his symptoms for one are. As soon as he gets them, he should take action: check his sugar levels and eat something if needed - sometimes a piece of bread might do it, but if it's a strong hypo, he should get something sweeter like a sweet cookie, a piece of chocolate or something like that.
2. Always cary some candy or even sugar cubes with him, for an emergency. You know, something sweet he can carry with him on his pocket. This is in case he gets the symptoms of an "hypo" and he's somewhere where he can't get something to eat immediately - he can then have that candy or whatever to get him through until he gets somewhere he can eat and relax.
As to what you can do, I think MandiAnn gave you good advices in the event of an epileptic-like diabetic seizure.
On other cases of diabetic seizures, get your brother to eat something if he can. Or give him a glass of water with sugar.
If he cannot swallow, which can happen even if he's not moving uncontrolably, like he passed out or he's to weak, he should be taken to hospital immediately.
But I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. As long as you're brother is under control, can recognize his symptoms and has some sugar or candy on him, nothing serious should happen.
dmcT1 ~ Born 1976, Type I diabetic since 1979.
Mensagem Editada (dmcT1) : 9/7/2005 3:30:03 PM (GMT-6)
dmcT1 = Thanks so much for sharing. Since you have lived with diabetes for such a long time, I was wondering if you would also share with us whether or not you have any diabetic complications yet? You are a very brave person and I admire you a lot because of the length of time you have been challenged by diabetes. Thanks again for sharing. Sincerely, Searchin'
Hi Searchin',
Thank you very much for your so kind words. They really have moved me!
I started a new topic to give you (kind of) an answer, introducing myself. So as not to go too offtopic here...
Cheers
dmcT1 ~ Born 1976, Type I diabetic since 1979.
Thank you very much for your so kind words. They really have moved me!
I started a new topic to give you (kind of) an answer, introducing myself. So as not to go too offtopic here...
Cheers
dmcT1 ~ Born 1976, Type I diabetic since 1979.
Mensagem Editada (dmcT1) : 9/7/2005 10:09:42 PM (GMT-6)
Hello my name is Gerry a 54 year old type 2 diabetis for over thirty years. Last Saturday my blood sugur went to 57 and my son woke me up. He gave me Apple juice and suger went to 85. He noticed that there was bood in my mouth dry blood and asked to examine. It seems that Iy tongue and it swelled quite a bit. The next day it got worse with swelling so I went to hospital. I had a chest e-ray, Cat Scan and EEG done on me. One theory was that I had a segere but in all of my time as diabetic never had this. My sugar has even been lower than 57 but never this. The chest x-ray was normal and and also Cat Scan. Still have not gotten results back from EEG test. But my question is this. can these tests show if I did have a seigure or not or would it show anything out of the ordenly ob the EEG ? i CAN BE REACHED AT CAPTAIN_LIGHTHOUSE at YAHOO.COM If anyone can help me ith this. I take a medication for my neuropathy in legs Gavapaten which is also used for seigures and link to this medication causing this. Was in hospital for three days and no other problems happened while I was patrint 
Thanks for your Help,
Gerry Fitzpatrick
Gerry,
I fixed your email to protect it from the spam harvesters. Humans can read it but they can't.
Jeannie
Thanks for your Help,
Gerry Fitzpatrick
Gerry,
I fixed your email to protect it from the spam harvesters. Humans can read it but they can't.
Jeannie
Post Edited By Moderator (Jeannie143) : 5/3/2006 11:27:21 AM (GMT-6)
Brittney....
I am not sure about your brother... but I am now in my 40's and have in the past year had 4 seizures.... one of which I ended up totalling a truck. I have noticed a trend in my seizures it has been when I have not eaten a lot of sugar. I alway's have candy and eat it on a heavy basis... this past seizure I totally lost consiousness and when taken out by ambulance for 3 of my 4 seizures.. it has been when I have not eaten steady foods and kept candy with me. Myself have just returned from an mri... have had x-ray's and etc... still they have not given me a solution as to why these started just over the past year... I hope that your brother is okay.. and they medicate him properly... the medicine they have me on temporarily.. seems to help.. but I notice my co-workers like I usually carry some candy around... and they have lately been making sure if I didn't bring some they make sure to give me some.. and it does seem to help... I wish you the best.
danbond
I am not sure about your brother... but I am now in my 40's and have in the past year had 4 seizures.... one of which I ended up totalling a truck. I have noticed a trend in my seizures it has been when I have not eaten a lot of sugar. I alway's have candy and eat it on a heavy basis... this past seizure I totally lost consiousness and when taken out by ambulance for 3 of my 4 seizures.. it has been when I have not eaten steady foods and kept candy with me. Myself have just returned from an mri... have had x-ray's and etc... still they have not given me a solution as to why these started just over the past year... I hope that your brother is okay.. and they medicate him properly... the medicine they have me on temporarily.. seems to help.. but I notice my co-workers like I usually carry some candy around... and they have lately been making sure if I didn't bring some they make sure to give me some.. and it does seem to help... I wish you the best.
danbond
I am diabetic and have had seizures on occasion. I try to prevent them ... but sometimes life just gets in the way of being a diabetic.
Usually I get them at work when stress is just too much and my blood sugar takes a dive ... mine usually range from staring into oblivion...slow muscle rigidness in the back of my neck causing my head to go back...to feeling like I just can't stay awake ... all of the seizures come with the notion that "I'm alright" ... even though I'm not answering questions correctly etc ...
There are times when I have had a seizure at the grocery store ... crowds make me stressed for some reason and by the time I'm at the checkout my head is acting like it is trying to reach backwards and have a conversation with my behind...humor helps LOL.
Below is all the information that I could google on diabetic seizures. Understand this...most diabetics are in denial ... espsecially when we are in our "throws" ... so when we get that way ... ignore that we say we are ok and give us sugar and lead us to a chair to sit down ... don't ask us questions just give us demands like...sit...drink your juice ... be still...nothing else really works...at least not for me.
A seizure occurs as a result of a burst of simultaneous, contradictory signals from brain cells. There are many causes of seizures including head trauma, fever, illness. Hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) and hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) both can cause seizure, convulsion, coma, and even death.
During a seizure a person is unaware of their surroundings even if they may seem alert on some level. If the seizure is a result of low blood glucose (hypoglycemia) do not attempt to feed the person who can easily choke on food and drink. Instead, give a shot of glucagon and call 911 if necessary.
Generalized seizures can have any of the following characteristics:
- Can, but do not always causes violent convulsions
- Muscles may twitch, jerk, or slowly become rigid (clonic seizures)
- Loss of muscle tone (tonic seizures)
- Can affect involuntary body movement and function (clonic seizures)
- Alter sensation, awareness or behavior
- May involve numbness in part(s) of the body
- Result in brief loss of memory
- Manifest as detecting a strange odor (when there is none), seeing flashes of light, or sometimes feel like a panic attack
- Can last a few seconds or result in a continuous seizure that does not stop without medical intervention
There are more than 20 types of seizures classified into groups including motor, sensory, autonomic, emotional or cognitive seizures. Many seizures have unknown causes and not all seizures result in actual convulsions.
Grand mal seizure (or, tonic seizure)
A person having a grand mal seizure may cry out, lose consciousness and fall to the ground, and convulse. Grand mal seizures are what most people are familiar with as they tend to occur with violent convulsions during some epileptic seizures.
Complex partial seizure
A person having a complex partial seizure may appear confused or dazed and will not be able to respond to questions or direction. Some people have seizures that are not noticeable to others and the only clue that a person is having an absence (petit mal) seizure is rapid blinking or a few seconds of staring into space.
What is a convulsion?
A convulsion is an abnormal violent and involuntary contraction or series of contractions of the muscles. Seizures resulting in convulsion can be violent enough to cause injury to the body including head trauma, bone fractures, or broken teeth. Recorded seizures have been violently enough that people have bitten off part of their tongue, and in some cases, died from head trauma. If a person is having a convulsion form low blood glucose immediately give glucagon and call 911.
Convulsions and Seizures from Nighttime Hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia can occur at anytime during the night, most typically around 3 a.m. Undetected nighttime hypoglycemia can lead to seizures and convulsions but it is important to remember that not all seizures result in convulsions. Two indications that a person has had a severe nighttime episode of hypoglycemia (whether or not seizures were involved) include waking with a high fasting blood glucose level (Somogyi, or Rebound Effect) and morning headache, and being drenched in sweat.
See our section on preventing hypoglycemia for more information about nighttime hypoglycemia causes, how to recognize it, identify the cause, and what to do about it.
I've been with my bf for 11 years and he's been a diabetic for 15. Over the last 3 years he started having seizures. Usually when his sugars are low (twice when they were normal) and always when he's asleep or just after waking. He has suffered a stroke but recovered fully because of one severe seizure. He is a type 1 diabetic with 4 injections of insulin a day. He checks his blood regularly 4 times a day too.
My problem is he has no idea when he is low. No idea of when a hypo is coming and no patience for me when I try to tell him he is low.
Last night he had another seizure at 3am and when I finally managed to take his sugars it was as low as 1.2 (We're Irish and measure from 1 - 10) He wont go to the doc today and didnt even take the day off work to relax after it even though he looked like death this morning. How do I convince him he;s not immortal and seizures are serious whether they are hypos or not?
My problem is he has no idea when he is low. No idea of when a hypo is coming and no patience for me when I try to tell him he is low.
Last night he had another seizure at 3am and when I finally managed to take his sugars it was as low as 1.2 (We're Irish and measure from 1 - 10) He wont go to the doc today and didnt even take the day off work to relax after it even though he looked like death this morning. How do I convince him he;s not immortal and seizures are serious whether they are hypos or not?
If he is having seizures that often you may want to convince him that it's time for another med/food plan evaluation. Our metabolism changes as we age and everything needs to be re-calibrated every now and then. If you can speak of it as a tune up it may help. He could own the fastest, sleekest car in the land, but if he never got the oil changed, or had the plugs replaced eventually it would run rough and maybe breakdown.
In the past, going to the doctor has lead to bad news so it's a bit difficult for him to face that. But the truth is there have been gigantic strides in diabetes knowledge and education in the last few years and it's possible that he could benefit from a new food plan and different insulin. I wish you all the best with this...
I think we have a type 1 from Scotland named fergusc that may be able to communicate better with your boy friend than I can. He's really on top of it.
~ Jeannie, Forum Moderator/Diabetes & Fibromyalgia
~Please remember that 50% of all doctors graduated in the bottom half of their class! Yours may be one of them...
==================
"People are like stained glass windows: They sparkle and shine when the sun's out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light within."
- Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
In the past, going to the doctor has lead to bad news so it's a bit difficult for him to face that. But the truth is there have been gigantic strides in diabetes knowledge and education in the last few years and it's possible that he could benefit from a new food plan and different insulin. I wish you all the best with this...
I think we have a type 1 from Scotland named fergusc that may be able to communicate better with your boy friend than I can. He's really on top of it.
~ Jeannie, Forum Moderator/Diabetes & Fibromyalgia
~Please remember that 50% of all doctors graduated in the bottom half of their class! Yours may be one of them...
==================
"People are like stained glass windows: They sparkle and shine when the sun's out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light within."
- Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
Hi, I'm only 15 but have been a type 1 diabetic for two years now. I've only had one seizure, and I was still conscious. My little brother was freaked out because we were at home alone. He tried to open the door because he could hear my legs thumping on the groung due to convulsions and inject the glucagon into me but I refused to let go of the door. I was scared to death that he was going to inject me for no reason and kill me by making my blood sugar go high, because I sincerely thought I was okay. I still thought I was okay when I lost my bladder control even. The seizure stopped after like five to ten minutes when my mom finally got home. I tested my blood sugar and it was at 37mg/dl. I never was injected with the glucagon but I did drink some juice after. And my head hurt so badly for the next few days because my seizure happened on a tile floor.
I don't know what kind of seizure that was but the problem was fixed with lowering my long-term insuln amounts.
Skinfull said...
I've been with my bf for 11 years and he's been a diabetic for 15. Over the last 3 years he started having seizures. Usually when his sugars are low (twice when they were normal) and always when he's asleep or just after waking. He has suffered a stroke but recovered fully because of one severe seizure. He is a type 1 diabetic with 4 injections of insulin a day. He checks his blood regularly 4 times a day too.
My problem is he has no idea when he is low. No idea of when a hypo is coming and no patience for me when I try to tell him he is low.
Last night he had another seizure at 3am and when I finally managed to take his sugars it was as low as 1.2 (We're Irish and measure from 1 - 10) He wont go to the doc today and didnt even take the day off work to relax after it even though he looked like death this morning. How do I convince him he;s not immortal and seizures are serious whether they are hypos or not?
I've been with my bf for 11 years and he's been a diabetic for 15. Over the last 3 years he started having seizures. Usually when his sugars are low (twice when they were normal) and always when he's asleep or just after waking. He has suffered a stroke but recovered fully because of one severe seizure. He is a type 1 diabetic with 4 injections of insulin a day. He checks his blood regularly 4 times a day too.
My problem is he has no idea when he is low. No idea of when a hypo is coming and no patience for me when I try to tell him he is low.
Last night he had another seizure at 3am and when I finally managed to take his sugars it was as low as 1.2 (We're Irish and measure from 1 - 10) He wont go to the doc today and didnt even take the day off work to relax after it even though he looked like death this morning. How do I convince him he;s not immortal and seizures are serious whether they are hypos or not?
I can identify exactly what you are talking about...I have been Type 1 since 1983 and am now 35. I have those lows, most often they occur at night, but on a daily basis when I was pregnant with my son in '96.
During pregnancy, I lost the feeling of a low bs and had to be babysat 24/7 from week 9 through 2 months post delivery. I had passed out and seized in the car, grocery shopping, in the waiting room of my OBGyn office, at several fast food restaurants, many times at home and on Christmas day... By the time I was low, it was too late for me to do anything about it but if someone told me I'm low and need to eat, I turned into a rebellious two year old. My then-hubby decided at that point that it was better to just let me pass out (this advice came from my Diabetes clinic) and give me the Glucagon shot than for me to fight him, kicking and screaming and pulling hair, to get me just to have a drink of juice. This is a very normal reaction when a person cannot think rationally. My best advice for you as the S/O is to just get him a snack and say nothing...he will feel like you are just taking care of him without telling him what to do. That always worked for us and never made me feel rebelious. Even now, if I am irritable, my mother will ask me if I need to eat and my first reactions is, I'm fine - stop telling me to eat, even thought she is probably right... LOL
However, when the sugars are up to normal agin, it's time to move on with your day...I never missed a day of work either, it's just part of our lives and it must go on.
In '99 I had inadvertantly injected my insulin too close to a blood vessel, along with a test of 4.5, and my habit of not eating until I get to work. 30 mins later, when I got to work, all I could formulate to my co-worker was "There's something wrong with you"...Jokingly, she says back to me "No, there's something wrong with YOU."...I could only nod to indicate that she was right on the mark and sat down to laugh at the precariousness of my situation. They tried to feed me but all my non-rational brain activity was screaming at me that I am not allowed to drink regular Coke! Finally, they called an ambulance as I passed out and started to seize with a bs of 0.8 (yes, you read that correctly). when I got to the hosp, my left arm started to float and I realized I couldn't see out of my left eye. I was terrified and tried to call for help but I had lost my ability to formulate words. They were in my head but I could not speak them out loud. I was able to speak after about a week and still my vocabulary recall sometimes fails me. An MRI confirmed that I did indeed have a stroke due to a lack of glucose in the brain.
Good luck and take care!
JM&Y
I have a daughter that blacked out and then, was unconscious but appeared to be swimming sideways. (Her head was wedged between the wall and the leg of our dining room table.) I saw her stiffen and fall to the left from the kitchen. When I heard the loud thud of her unconscious body hitting the ground I began to run to her. However, I froze for a half second when she began the swimming motion. Something clicked in my head (years of first aid classes) and I thought "she is having a siezure". I ran up to her all prepared to move the table away and that's when she became conscious again and was asking me how she got on the ground. She went through a series of tests. Blood work was drawn, but none fasting. Then, she was sent for an epilepsy brain wave test. Then, to the neurologist for a brain CT scan. Finally, a tilt table test was done to see if she had vasovagal syncope. The tilt test proved that she did have vasovagal syncope, but I've been studying up on this and have discovered that one of the causes of vasovagal syncope is diabetes. My daughter feels better after juice and will often pour straight sugar into a cup and eat it. Is it possible that she is diabetic and the non fasting blood test didn't show it? In the three years afterwards she has blacked out 3-4 more times and had weekly near black out events where she gets light headed, has headaches, feels whooshey, hears ringing in her ears, feels rapid heart beat, sometimes gets nausous etc. etc. etc. Do you think I should ask the doctor for a fasting blood test even if the act of giving the blood might cause her to black out? Does it sound like she is diabetic to anyone out there or am I just being a nervous Nelly Mommie?
Hi Mom, you have every right to be concerned. Losing consciousness can be deadly in some situations. I'd get back to her doctor asap and have more tests. I have no idea if it could be diabetes. If it's really low blood sugar, then some blood tests would be able to indicate that. A random blood test might not tell you anything. If someone could test her blood sugar at the time of the incident, that would be helpful but I wouldn't want to wait. And maybe more neurological tests are in order? Good luck and let us know what you do.
Lanie
forum moderator - diabetes
diabetes controlled so far by low/no carb diet and exercise; no meds
Thanks LanieG, I have made an appointment with her doc.
My adult son has spina bifida, with a history of seizures since he was 2 (now fairly controlled with meds). We have noticed in the past 5 years that his seizures are sometimes different than before, and often occur when he has not eaten within the past 4 hrs. They occur without warning, except sometimes an extreme headache. If we can get food into him, we can sometimes ward it off, but often there is not enough time. The seizures are different than his earlier ones, in that, although he can't verbally respond, he can often respond with a hand squeeze or eye blink. He often reports he can hear us during the episode, but we sound like we are in a tunnel or far away....he can not see us. The neurologist does not believe it is sugar related, but that is not what we see. He tries to have a pack of pb crackers with him at all times, but sometimes forgets. And sometimes he just doesn;t have enough warning to eat them. He has had some fasting (not 5 hr) blood tests, but they all come back negative. Any thoughts?
I want to apologize in advance for ressurecting an old thread, but I feel I have something important to add to this one.
I was just diagnosed with Diabetes II. I've been suffering from what I believe to mal petit diabetic related seizures for over 6 months now. My new medicines seem to contribute to this happening more frequently. Cutting all the way back on Glimepiride down to 0 mg now. (I thought I'd try blood testing and just going a week or two without it.) I only seem to need GP at this point when I binge on food, which I've been trying to convince myself and my body that I really don't need to do that at all. That a little bit is enough, and should be. But am staying on my metformin. Doc will probably have a cow and a basket of kittens over this.
Good news, I've cut my black outs down to twice a week, before when I was on 4 mg GP it was as high as 8x/daily with regular activity, 2 mg GP/day still means blacking out as often as 4x/week and I can't afford that as a med student taking hard classes now.
My worst blackouts always after them I test now, (I didn't know to test before, and would simply find a couch and sleep it off, my liver would go oh hey, low blood sugar, let me fix that for you.) then I would waken and feel super-refreshed after 3 hrs nap.
But sometimes I blackout for the strangest reasons, and nothing I've read so far has given me any sense of it, nor has my doctor been able to give me a clear answer. I hope that by posting my experience someone can help me, or perhaps this will help someone else.
After blackout I test, as I have stated before, sometimes I have a lesser blackout, less severe and that always gives me a reading of 250 or so right after...
Why am I blacking out sometimes it's low in the 70's and 90's, and sometimes it's 250?!
Like I said, my only monitoring tool is a glucose monitor, I try to test exactly 15 minutes after I recover from a blackout to get the most accurate reading for what my approximate blood sugar was right at the time of the blackout. For those who wonder why the wait, this is because sugar in the blood has a lag time of 30 minutes to fully circulate and change, therefore, catch it mid-cycle gives a more accurate pic.
I've at this time, distinguished 3 different blackout types.
Type I, (petit mal, Sugar Crashing Down) fall asleep, get slapped, wake up for 5 seconds, fall asleep, get slapped, but can't stay awake for anything. Can't find the coherance of thoughts for any action, other than try to wake up and promptly fall asleep again. Co-Worker buddies don't enjoy slapping me to wake me up because it's a high over-turn at our place and they feel out of place among the newcomers.
Cycle repeats until blackout ends on it's own.
Type II, (petit mal, Sugar Crashing Up) fall asleep, get slapped, can stay awake but know where I am and very disoriented, blurry vision, hard to concentrate, difficulty doing anything, I'm acting like a drunk with overly exaggerated motions when I move about or try to do anything other than sit.
Type III (petit mal, Sugar Stable) fall asleep, wake up, see rainbowed halos, strange writings, squiggles, glowing mono colored pictures covering my vision. Colors in my vision appear to streak and blur as if smudged in Adobe Photoshop. Feel sleepy after but waken with one terrrible headache.
between those three happening nearly daily it just makes for an interesting month all around. Another thing I've noticed is that if I get one type then I repeatedly get that type all day I never see the other 2 occur. It's like the three types take turns playing with my mind. But interspersed between times of switching from type 1 to type 2 to type 3 and back I experience perfectly normal days where none of this blurry crap or falling asleep happens at all.
I'm a little worried about cutting glimepiride all together because I still come up with numbers of 300 from time to time and so I take 1 pill every so often to bring it back down. I'm a little bit worried about the side-effects of not taking it steadily.
I suspect I may have early stage glaucoma as well, not good, I know. I've been trying to control the sugars and hope the symptoms will go away.
I was just diagnosed with Diabetes II. I've been suffering from what I believe to mal petit diabetic related seizures for over 6 months now. My new medicines seem to contribute to this happening more frequently. Cutting all the way back on Glimepiride down to 0 mg now. (I thought I'd try blood testing and just going a week or two without it.) I only seem to need GP at this point when I binge on food, which I've been trying to convince myself and my body that I really don't need to do that at all. That a little bit is enough, and should be. But am staying on my metformin. Doc will probably have a cow and a basket of kittens over this.
Good news, I've cut my black outs down to twice a week, before when I was on 4 mg GP it was as high as 8x/daily with regular activity, 2 mg GP/day still means blacking out as often as 4x/week and I can't afford that as a med student taking hard classes now.
My worst blackouts always after them I test now, (I didn't know to test before, and would simply find a couch and sleep it off, my liver would go oh hey, low blood sugar, let me fix that for you.) then I would waken and feel super-refreshed after 3 hrs nap.
But sometimes I blackout for the strangest reasons, and nothing I've read so far has given me any sense of it, nor has my doctor been able to give me a clear answer. I hope that by posting my experience someone can help me, or perhaps this will help someone else.
After blackout I test, as I have stated before, sometimes I have a lesser blackout, less severe and that always gives me a reading of 250 or so right after...
Why am I blacking out sometimes it's low in the 70's and 90's, and sometimes it's 250?!
Like I said, my only monitoring tool is a glucose monitor, I try to test exactly 15 minutes after I recover from a blackout to get the most accurate reading for what my approximate blood sugar was right at the time of the blackout. For those who wonder why the wait, this is because sugar in the blood has a lag time of 30 minutes to fully circulate and change, therefore, catch it mid-cycle gives a more accurate pic.
I've at this time, distinguished 3 different blackout types.
Type I, (petit mal, Sugar Crashing Down) fall asleep, get slapped, wake up for 5 seconds, fall asleep, get slapped, but can't stay awake for anything. Can't find the coherance of thoughts for any action, other than try to wake up and promptly fall asleep again. Co-Worker buddies don't enjoy slapping me to wake me up because it's a high over-turn at our place and they feel out of place among the newcomers.
Cycle repeats until blackout ends on it's own.
Type II, (petit mal, Sugar Crashing Up) fall asleep, get slapped, can stay awake but know where I am and very disoriented, blurry vision, hard to concentrate, difficulty doing anything, I'm acting like a drunk with overly exaggerated motions when I move about or try to do anything other than sit.
Type III (petit mal, Sugar Stable) fall asleep, wake up, see rainbowed halos, strange writings, squiggles, glowing mono colored pictures covering my vision. Colors in my vision appear to streak and blur as if smudged in Adobe Photoshop. Feel sleepy after but waken with one terrrible headache.
between those three happening nearly daily it just makes for an interesting month all around. Another thing I've noticed is that if I get one type then I repeatedly get that type all day I never see the other 2 occur. It's like the three types take turns playing with my mind. But interspersed between times of switching from type 1 to type 2 to type 3 and back I experience perfectly normal days where none of this blurry crap or falling asleep happens at all.
I'm a little worried about cutting glimepiride all together because I still come up with numbers of 300 from time to time and so I take 1 pill every so often to bring it back down. I'm a little bit worried about the side-effects of not taking it steadily.
I suspect I may have early stage glaucoma as well, not good, I know. I've been trying to control the sugars and hope the symptoms will go away.
I don't think you should be diagnosing yourself. If all of this is happening to you, you need to see a doctor and be evaluated or re-evaluated by an endocrinologist. And I think the sooner the better.
Lanie
diabetes moderator
diabetes type 2 controlled so far by diet and exercise
very low carb way of eating
Lanie
diabetes moderator
diabetes type 2 controlled so far by diet and exercise
very low carb way of eating
I agree with Lanie on this one see your doctor, I have been type 1 Diabetic now for 40 years before that I was Epileptic and was controlled by medication, I have this problem with term of seizure being applied to a Diabetic reaction to me it doesn't seem right, I haven't read all the posts on this thread too long, but too me there is something else going on than just your Diabetes......sorry just my rant..... 
Diagnosed 1972
Using the Onetouch Ping pump
Heart Attack Oct 6 2011, 3 stent inserted, Heart Attack Feb 13, 2012 Barbados, Blocked stent, new stent inserted March 7, A1C now is 7.0 coming down, Cholesteral total 2.6, Blood pressure good
Age 56
Diagnosed 1972
Using the Onetouch Ping pump
Heart Attack Oct 6 2011, 3 stent inserted, Heart Attack Feb 13, 2012 Barbados, Blocked stent, new stent inserted March 7, A1C now is 7.0 coming down, Cholesteral total 2.6, Blood pressure good
Age 56
I agree with the getting to doc. ASAP sounds like more going on then you even began to think. I hope you have already seen a doctor ..... By the way I played with pills too I didn't need them that much. Well let's see stroke 4/3-4/2009. That didn't get through to my thick stubborn head... So then we go on to 4/9/2010 first go to hospital just don't feel right got all I remember saying i am definitely sick this time and then must of passed out !!!! Was told they put me in failure in respiration said a different or turn around anyway next morning as family came to visit I had heart attack /died got me back had many other serious things wrong . DONT THINK YOU NEED THE MEDS DON'T KID YOURSELF........ By the they also cause so sick put me in a coma for almost three weeks, my mom said there was 18 tubes going to me all over body, breathing andfeeding tube too during this time I knew nothing and still don't know all of what was the matter with me...
WASNT I SMART??????????
WASNT I SMART??????????
Hi, my name is Jen. My father is diabetic. Last night, my mother called me downstairs and when I got there, my father was sitting in his favorite chair, staring straight ahead, unresponsive to my mother and me, and twitching slightly. His hands were freezing and he could not talk. When we spoke he was able to turn his head and eyes to look at us, but could not respond. He began to cry. He finally came out of it, but it really made me nervous. My mother is a nurse and I have had CPR/First Aid training, but neither of us had ever heard of this happening before. Somebody explain, please?