I am totally confused at this point.. Ds15 has missed a TON of school this year. Dr finally decided he has hypoglycemia.. It always drops down in the 30s after he exercises in the mornings during athletics.. Getting to the point that he will black out.. Not completely pass out.. Just out of it for a few seconds.. enough to warrant a call to me to come pick him up almost daily.. Thought it was under control but it's acting up again. He's been out of school the past week for Thanksgiving break and we have had NO problems at all. Went camping with friends last night and when he walked in his color didn't look right.. I shook off the urge to over mother him and left it alone.. He started complaining of a headache so had him check his sugar and it was THREE HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE!!!!! Say WHAT????? I don't know what to think about all this.. Finally got his refurral to the endocrinologist JANUARY 28th!!! Took a month to get that one! So don't understand.. How can he be hypoglycemic but have a blood sugar of 329??? Makes NO sense!
How soon after eating did he have that high? It's normal for blood sugars to go up in response to food..... as long as they come back down. You guys measure blood sugars with a different standard (of numbers) than we do so it's a bit confusing to me when you use those numbers. (Gives me something new to learn on my days off next week) Because I'm not 100% familiar with the numbers you're using (other than to know they're not right) all I can suggest is that he eat smaller meals more frequently (as is recommended for any diabetic). Choose whole grains over white when ever possible, add protein into it to keep them stable. Kiwi is an EXCELLENT choice so eat (stabilizes blood sugars).
It was several hours after he ate that it was that high.. He checked it as soon as he came home and it was in the 90's. And what he ate was mostly all protein. Fried eggs, one small slice of bacon,and 2 pieces of toast with butter.. I try to keep him with high protein snacks and foods because that's what I read helps with the hypoglycemia... The doctors left us with NOTHING to go on and I had to research to find how to deal with it.. I don't want him to feel handicapped by this, but I'm considering getting him out of athletics until we can get this sorted out.. I feel like this could be dangerous for his health.. When I pick him up he is usually pale with slurred speech and shaking.. I'm on the brink of pulling him back out because this concerns me.. I feel like I have no control over him and his health.. It takes him several hours to get back to normal.. Vomiting and dizzy with headaches.. And there's NO way he can sit in a classroom feeling like that. I was told that he has to leave any snack or even candy in the office. That he has to come there if he feels like he's having an episode.. Problem is that he is blacking out,and can hardly walk.. I don't see that as a good way to handle this.. I don't know what to do.. The doctor we are using here blew it off and said that it wasn't anything to worry about.. REALLY???? He can go into a coma!! And I read that LOW blood sugar causes brain damage if not controlled quickly.. Then TWO months to get into a specialist! REALLY????? GRRRR!
Did not know that. Interesting. Well, like most things our 'normal' numbers it's changed over the years. What I was taught as normal in nursing school in the 90s was considered high when hubby was diagnosed type1 8 years ago. My hubby was diagnosed with hypoglycemia about a year before his bs shot up to almost 900 and he was diagnosed with type1. Of course he was in icu for a week with that bs. Normal fasting bs is 70-100 (some say 90) Low is below 60 with below 40 needing to seek medical attention. People without diabeties should have a normal bs 1-2 hours afterxa meal. What is normal for each person will vary slightly. Ive seen several people go into commas with bs of 300-400 hubby was still awake & alert at a bs of over 800... His sugar may have been high & low in the past but hes only noticed the low symptoms. He need some blood work & urine tests to see what's going on. Hes well within the age range for type1 to show itself. Until his appointment I'd keep a journal with his bs levels, carb intake count & exercise log. Also have him write any symptoms he has that might help him get to know his body-dizziness, headache, weakness, thirst, excessive urination, shakiness, vision changes etc http://www.jdrf.org/ is a great resource.
I know you mentioned that the docs seem to be blowing things off but is there anyway you can get a note for your son to have snacks or something on his person (in his backpack, school bag, or pockets) and then you can get a 504 drawn up covering the medical needs for school. You can have it stated in there that your son needs to have access to food and/or juice (glucose tablets??) or whatever necessary right away and not have to go to the office. Someone at that school should be using some common sense in this area. You should be able to get any info you need on a 504 from the guidance counselor and/or school nurse. If you do get a 504 written up (I highly recommend you do this) you must be very specific in the wants and needs for your son. Anything from what must be done when he blacks out and when he starts to stabilize (i.e. someone must walk with him to school nurse/office, no stairs, some to administer whatever he needs to get the levels under control, etc.). These details are especially important if he has no warning to an oncoming episode. Even if he can feel it coming it can happen while he is walking to office. UGH!!!! I am frustrated for you and your son!! Hope this helps!! If I can I answer any questions for you surely try. Please feel free to ask!! Good luck!
A1C test Have you tried taking an A1C test? This is a test that checks the average blood sugar over about a 2-3 month period. Until you can get in to see a specialist, you can purchase one at Wal-Mart (a common one available at Wal-Mart or other drugstores is Bayer A1CNow Self-Check) for about $30. I went through a period of wildly fluctuating blood sugars with my daughter, now 5. It's frustrating and scary to not know what's going on; I'm sorry you have to wait so long to get in to see a specialist. A pediatric endocrinologist (if that's the specialist you're seeing) will probably administer an A1C test along with other tests -- taking it now may shed some light on what's going on, particularly if it's elevated (check the box for information on levels in the "normal" vs. "elevated" ranges). Keeping a log of food intake and associated blood sugars is also helpful, particularly if you administer the tests consistently 2 hours after food intake. This will at least give you a good history to share with the specialist. I pray that you get some insight soon. I will keep you in my thoughts -- hugs to you!
There are 2 "types" of diabetes. type 1. The body for some reason has an immune responce to the protiens on the cell surfaces of the cells that produce insulin. In this case the immune system attacks and destroys these cells. They are in the Islets of Langerhans within the pancreas. Type 2. THis is caused by the body either producing less insulin, or not using it properly, or a combination of both. WIth this type, the body is resistant to the insulin. Often, the presence of body fat, lack of activity or dietary issues can exagerate the situation. Insulin is basically a hormone message to the body's cells to take the sugar up from the blood stream and use or store it. It is like a key to a lock on the cells doors. With type 2 it is ignored to an extent, causing blood sugar to be higher that it should. At some point throughout the day and expecially during the night upon waking and in the morning upon waking, the liver dumps gloucose into the blood stream. Some times these dumps are too great causing blood sugar to be high even though there has not been a recent meal. Sometimes these things are not correctly balanced leaving people with hypo or hyper blood glucose levels. I think that as others have pointed out, it would be a good idea to have your son eat more smaller meals through the day. It is important that all meals have a balance to some extent between carb, protien and fat calories. A bowl of oatmeal, or toast, or ceareal and juice for example is not a great breakfast in this case. A bagel with cheese and v8 or tomato juice, or an egg mcmuffin with milk would be better. Eggs, or bacon and toast with juice or milk is better balanced between the three. When you eat, you end up with an increase in blood sugar, and under normal circumstances, your body will release insulin in responce. Some times the dump of insulin is so great, that it reduces the blood sugar too much creating low blood sugar. Balancing the food types out, helps prevent the massive dumping of insulin and keeps the blood sugar from being as much of a roller coaster between high and low. The A1C will give your Dr. a big picture of what has been going on over the last 3.6months. If your son has had alot of high glucose periods over that time the score will be higher. I hope you get an answer. Trust your instincts between now and then and if needed get your son to the ER if needed.
Once again, I was called to the school to pick him up.. I was already there bringing snacks.. Called me as I was walking into the building.. Thought we could get his sugar up and he could stay, but every single time this happens it knocks him down for the day.. Even when his bloodsugar went back up to normal he was throwing up.. We have a doctor's appointment for 1 tomorrow.. Trying a new doctor so hopefully this time we can get a solid diagnosis and get some guidance on how to handle the situation...
Normal range here is 4-6 mmol/L High is anything above 7 (the higher the number the worse the symptoms are). Low is anything below 4 (and it's a HORRIBLE feeling) A low blood sugar IS more dangerous than a high blood sugar. Usually if you're dropping, the drop happens fast. Though I'm stable I still carry the little container of glucose tablets with me where ever I go because I never know when I'm going to have a low (and I have those more than I have highs). Here, they're not overly expensive (I think $3 for the little bottle). They probably goudge you for them in the US (Lifesavers are just as effective). I really hope you can find a doctor who will address this like yesterday.
I'm hypoglycemic and I watch what I eat in response to how I feel(meaning I sneak sometimes if I think I can get away with it. Eggs are great protein, I eat raisin bran with walnuts on it also, but raisins tend to be high in sugar so it depends on how I feel that day. Wheat thins are a good snack. I try to stay away from anything white - noodles, bread, etc.. I feel much better eating anything whole grain. It does take some discipline but it's not hard and you don't feel like you are being deprived. There are plenty of good foods that you can eat.
This is sorta odd, but wondering if anyone that checks bs has ever noticed their blood being really thick or a weird color almost like an orange instead of red??
Thick orange blood indicates in some cases, hyperlipidemia, which is way too much fat in the blood. this can be high triglycerides. Such can be a sign of uncontrolled blood sugar issues. Excess blood sugar is turned into triglycerides by the liver or something like that. High triglycerides can also be from, heavy alcohol useage, or simply a genitic variable that causes too much tryglyceride production. This orage blood should be looked into.
Some times peole with very high triglycerides can have a rash break out. Wanted to add, that if the blood is bright orange, not a murky sludgy orange, check to see if you were looking at it under a coil flourecent bulb or some other fancy engergy saving light. I think that such could cause an orange light to reflect instead of the regular red.
