The Lowest Of The Lows

Last night, I hit a new low.

Let me start by saying that I was running a little low yesterday. To combat this, I did my favorite low-killing activity: I ate a piece of carrot cake. Then, for some reason, I was desperate for something salty to go with sweet, and I ate some potato chips.

Hence, when I got home from work, my sugar was 128--which I knew was going to happen from the pig-out junk-food love fest. Because I knew carbs were out of the question for dinner, I ate a big salad with tuna, olives, a little shredded cheese, etc. It couldn't have had more than 1/2 carb unit all together. I ate that around 7:00.

At 9:15, I checked my blood and my sugar was 115. I was headed to bed to read, and I figured since I was on the downswing, I should eat something to prevent going low in the middle of the night. So I ate a Fiber One bar, 28g carbs--almost two full carb units. I gave myself my Lantus insulin shot--the usual dosage--and went to bed.

So there I am, reading a book in bed. About 45 minutes later, I start to feel weird. I thought at first it was just my arm, which had fallen asleep (pins and needles), but then I realized it was more. I don't often feel low sugar symptoms--a little crankiness, a little confusion--but nothing more. And I rarely dip below 65, usually no lower than 70. But I knew something was wrong. I felt shaky, weak--like I was going to pass out. I paused a few seconds, to see if maybe my salad dressing had expired and I was experiencing pre-nausea. But I knew that wasn't it.

I've been keeping a blood kit on my nightstand, but for some reason, it got moved last week. So I stumbled down the stairs, clutching the wall, and grabbed my blood kit on the kitchen countertop and tested my finger. 50. 50. 50. Holy shit. I grabbed the package of juice boxes from the cabinet, grabbed one and sank to the floor, sucking through my little straw. I waited a couple minutes and still felt very close to passing out, so I sucked another one down. I waited five minutes and could feel myself getting a little steadier. I grabbed a NutriGrain bar and a granola bar from the pantry and headed upstairs, bringing my blood kit with me.

I ate the food and tested again. 72. I was rising, but I was still worried. I set my alarm for 45 minutes later so I could check my sugar again and lightly fell asleep. When the alarm went off, I was 152. I didn't even freak out over the high number. 1) It was only 45 minutes after I downed 5 carb units, and 2) I was just so glad I wasn't going to dive-bomb for the rest of the night I didn't care how high I was.

I skipped my workout this morning--that low number just completely drained me. When I woke up and tested at 7:00am, I was 111. I got ready and came to work, grabbing a muffin at the shop downstairs.

Now, sitting at my desk, I'm 93, having only drinken a glass of milk. It may be a low day today, which I why I bought the muffin--they usually keep me going.

One of the great mysteries of diabetes still to be explained:
115
ate 2 carb units
45 minutes later: 50

As always, more to come...