After it’s done, and I’ve either completely blown it out of the water with a panic driven overeating session, or I’ve been able to stand my ground and treat with only as much carbs needed to get back to target, I feel downright tired. I mean, literally run over. Like, Mack Truck style.
The adrenaline flow has been cut off – the emergency is over. Time to slow things down, back to normal.
There is a literal wave of exhaustion that rushes over me. I can feel it as it envelopes me in tiredness. Crashing back down to the “non-adrenalined” state of normalcy. I just want to curl up and go to sleep. Or at least not be pressed into doing anything.
To a certain point, the degree to which I feel wiped out is proportionate to how bad the low was. When I say that though, I don’t mean what the number was, or the test result, but rather the symptoms of the low. Have you ever noticed that even though the actual blood sugar value is not that low, the symptoms just kick your ass? Like a 64 might feel worse than a 46? It’s not consistent though – it must depend on the scenario somehow. Maybe it has to do with how fast you are dropping.
Anyway – that’s the second thing I hate about low blood sugars.
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Scott: I hate the post low feelings – I can’t imagine how it feels to be run over by a Mack truck – but that is how I feel when I recover from most lows in the 20’s and 30’s… After a low of that magnitude – I want to take a two or three hour nap…
The part I hate the worst though is the emotions that go along with disease… The guilty feelings, the feelings of shame, remorse, anger, ‘how did I let this happen’, and the ever famous ‘WHY ME???’…
my little girl has had type 1 for 5 years. actually yesterday was the “anniversary” of the diagnosis. worst day in my life. anyway we got a dexcom a week ago.
i love it. when we go to sleep, i know dexcom is watching over my child, ready to beep of it detects a low.
peace, out
ps: http://www.st911.com
My son always feasts after a low…and I’ve never suggested he just eat 15 grams of carbs. Too many adults have told me that they need to eat until they feel better.
Tonight he wanted to go to karate class at 6:30. He planned early and tested bg and ate and took less insulin all in preparation to be strong for class. Moments before we left to go, he checked bg and it was in the 60s and his plans came to a crashing halt because he knew there was simply not enough time to get bg up high enough to really have the strenous workout he planned to have tonight…so he treated the low and stayed home, disappointed again by diabetes.
All I can do is listen and love him for expressing how he feels. He said he’ll go Thursday and Friday instead. I hope he’ll be able to do so.
Not all of the crash is physical, lots of emotions surround this blasted diabetes. You who live with it are exceptional because you continue to plug away and enjoy life. We who love you are here to listen and lend a shoulder to lean on.
Melissa, I also get really, really cold when I have a severe low usually in the 20’s or 30’s. I rarely hear anyone else say they have this symptom. It is like I am freezing on the inside of my body. It can be 80 degrees outside and I get under a pile of blankets, but I cannot get warm. Does anyone else experience this?
Scott, even though I don’t experience that starving feeling anymore when having a low because of my hypoglycemia unawareness, I do remember what it was like when I did. I agree with others who say you need to stay out of the kitchen. It is amazing how much food someone with type 1 can consume in a few minutes when in that state of mind.
i am still recovering from yesterdays ordeal. I think i was hit by the Mack truck and was dragging behind it for a few miles!
“Like, Mack Truck style” YES that is how I feel. In a twisted, sadistic type of way it is nice to know that other people also experience these horrible side affects of lows. I also get really, really cold. It often seems like I feel worse after a low in the 60’s than say in the 40’s…
That post low crash is horrible!!! Poor DH just doesn’t get it. Wants to get right back to what we were doing and I’m just completely wiped, as if I’d just run a marathon.
And its soo true how some reactions just don’t seem to match the #.