Candy Saves

Going low is part of the diabetes experience. My first low blood sugar happened in Mexico while on vacation. I don't remember much except explaining how I felt to my Uncle who had type 1 and him explaining what I needed to do. The funny thing about a low is that you become someone you're not...or at least a person you don't recognize. You make bad choices, you have no limits, you make no sense. There is something weird about having a low blood sugar, like being drunk, but having absolutely no fun.

Yesterday I had an awful low blood sugar. The lowest I have ever been in my life.  1.4 mmol/L and for my American friends that's 25 mg/dl.   A few quick thoughts went through my head during this low, "OH SHIT" and "I LOVE CANDY"  As I ate my twizzlers I grew this deep love for it.  It was like I was falling in love. See, what low does to the mind?   I honestly, just started to appreciate the makeup of candy and how it can actually save my life.    I believe I even thought about writing to the candy company to let them know they saved my life, you know all the important things that were rushing through my head as my blood sugar plummeted.

I got some weird sensations that I haven't had before and I can only assume it's because I have never dipped into the 1's.  My body was growing numb, first it was my butt, then my hands. It was like they weren't even there.  After that I started to get a weird tingly in my mouth, I actually thought that maybe I was having an allergic reaction.   I hadn't washed my hands yet from after work, and I had been playing at the park and on the grass. But after talking to another t1, it seems that she also gets that sensation when really low.

It felt like it took me an hour to settle after that low.  I felt disoriented and like I was being rushed around, yet moving still.  I text my boyfriend to let him know that I had just experienced my lowest low, and he made sure that I was okay. Living alone, it's up to me to save me, that is why I love my CGM, which I had just taken off the night previous.  

Eventually my sugar came back up, and I was able to continue on with my day, already missing half my 'break' in my day and having to head back to work.  Finding the balance of managing diabetes is hard, there is a scale and it's hard not to teeter on one side or another.

Kayla