Tuesday 12 June 2012

Oh So High

Last week I experienced my first time being real people sick with diabetes.  Well, doesn't that just throw a whole new spin on things!  It started on the Wednesday.  My sugars were high in the morning and I could not figure it out.  By the afternoon I felt pretty crappy.  Starting to ache all over and occasionally getting the chills.  That night I volunteered for a corporate challenge event and by the time I got home I really felt like garbage.  I had not eaten much all day however my sugars were sky high and I was feeling the effects.  

Being the stubborn goat that I am I got up Thursday morning and went to work.  By noon I had no choice but to go home sick and surrender.  Despite bolusing small amounts of insulin throughout the day, my sugars remained high and I felt like utter garbage.  It was hard by this time to distinguish what was coming from being sick and what was from the high sugars.  My head was pounding, I was sweaty, shaky, weak, nauseous, ached all over and felt exhausted.  I had a fever and did my best to keep hydrated.  I was also extremely frustrated with the high sugars, always feel such disappointment in myself.  I slept most of the day away, woke up for a bit, continued to fight the high sugars and headed back to bed.  Although I did sleep I was very restless and having a lot of dreams, some bordering on nightmares.  Sometime early morning I woke up and the room was spinning. I knew I was going to be sick.  Spent the next hour or so being sick and feeling worse by the minute.  Needless to say when my alarm went off for work I called in sick and stayed in bed.  My sugars that morning were 19 and climbing.  Took more insulin and laid around all day trying to fight the flu and the blood sugars.  I tested for ketones and it read that I had moderate keytones.  Shit!  I called the diabetic nurse and she told me to keep monitoring the keytones and if they went to moderate/high to get myself to the hospital.  On her advice I doubled my fluid intake and hoped things would improve.

Finally by Friday evening I started to feel much better and my sugars started to drop into the low teens.  I was able to eat real food and the aches and fever went away.  By Saturday morning I felt pretty much back to my old self and no longer had any ketones.  My sugars stayed on the higher side of the next couple of days, but were much more manageable.  I am very glad that I was not sick for long as it was becoming difficult to manage.  So frustrating to see all those high readings despite the insulin injected.  Yet another thing that diabetes makes so much harder!!

1 comment:

  1. BRUTAL!
    wow.. that's a really bad sucky sick.
    I never really know what to do on sick days. Like you, after awhile I can't tell if it's the ketones and high BGs or the real people sick that is making me feel so awful.
    You handled that like a pro, kudos to you. Hope you don't have to experience that again for a long time.

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