"good" morning.

 

This morning I was awakened by a crushing low blood sugar. A slow drift from a dream to awareness, a sudden realization that something was definitely off. As I became a little more conscious I recognized the tell tale sparkles in my vision even with my eyes closed. Then more quickly, I became aware of my head pounding, a headache probably brought on by being low for a while before I was awake. I grabbed for the gummy bears I keep by my bedside, always a quick fix to bring my blood sugars up when needed. I jammed a handful into my mouth and sank back into the warm sheets, still semi-conscious, still disoriented from the low. I lay there and waited for the wooziness to subside, hoping that I would be able to get a little more rest before the morning officially began. But then I noticed the soft light of early dawn slipping through the blinds, telling me that I'd have to get up soon anyway, so I just lay there and waited to feel a little better. Once the immediate symptoms subsided I checked my pump and saw that it was just turning 6:00, close enough to my normal time for getting up. So I did. My head still throbbing, my stomach a bit upset from the sudden blast of sugar. This made me sad today for some reason. I'm not sure why since I've experienced the same thing so many times before. But there you have it. Today was just a little harder somehow. 

Comments

[amylia grace]

i had a strikingly similar experience this morning and the sadness clung to me all day, as well.

[Jane Kokernak]

Perhaps the emotion, sadness, had a physiological basis and not just a psychological one. I have trouble reminding myself of that -- my feelings often seem to be either a sign of mental "weather," and not physical health. But, of course, emotions have their roots in our bodies! Low spirits may be connected to such a dramatic low blood sugar.

I'm sympathetic -- I've been having morning lows myself lately. I want to bound out of bed, facing the day with energy and optimism, but I'm stuck for a while, drained and recuperating.

And maybe it makes us sad, too, because this struggle is unknown to others, who haven't felt what we have. Your photo and your description of vision changes convey the effects of a hypo well -- maybe this kind of writing and blogging helps educate others to the inner dramas of diabetes.

A short post, but a great one! Thanks.

[Bernard Farrell]

Sometimes I think an early morning low or high sets the whole day off. It's hard to get up and greet the day when your blood sugar levels are badly off.

I must say, I like the idea of gummy bears MUCH better than the smarties that I use. They're hard to open when I'm low and the wrappers make a lot of noise.

[whimsy2]

At any point did you check your BGs to see how low it was and later, how high the gummy bears got you?