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Diabetes - Juvenile Community
This patient support community is for questions related to juvenile diabetes including celiac disease, depression, diabetic complications, hyperglycemia / diabetic keto-acidosis, hypoglycemia, islet cell transplantation, nutritional issues, parenting a diabetic child, pregnancy, pump therapy, school issues, and teens with diabetes.
dizzy, weakness in limbs, nausea, hard to breathe, juvenile diabetic
by 66merlin, Jan 11, 2008 12:00AM
Today in a store, I suddenly became very nausious, very light headed (like i was in another world and everything around me got real quiet and distorted) got weakness in my limbs, and pounding in my chest. I held on tight to the shopping cart to hold me up. The whole thing lasted about 5 minutes I think. That was 3 hours ago, and I still have tightness in my chest. My blood sugar was 106 about 15 minutes after the incindent when I got home. I have juvenile diabetes for 33 years. I am 41. Scared the heck out of me. Any ideas on what it could have been?
Doctor's Answer
by Forum-vol-cmb, Jan 11, 2008 12:00AM
That sounds like a low-blood sugar. You didn't say if you took some glucose when that happened to you.
I have felt like that a few times in my life when my blood sugar has gone pretty low. I have been diabetic for 27 years and usually do not get lows like that.
Or just a thought, do you think it could have been a panic attack? I have never had one myself--but maybe you could research that. Are you under a lot of stress? I would maybe try and think exactly what you ate before the incident and what was happening before the episode happened maybe that will bring you some insight to why it happened.
I have felt like that a few times in my life when my blood sugar has gone pretty low. I have been diabetic for 27 years and usually do not get lows like that.
Or just a thought, do you think it could have been a panic attack? I have never had one myself--but maybe you could research that. Are you under a lot of stress? I would maybe try and think exactly what you ate before the incident and what was happening before the episode happened maybe that will bring you some insight to why it happened.
Post Comment
No it wasn't low blood sugar. It was very scary. My blood sugar about 10 minutes after the episode was 114. I had nothing to eat after the episode. Yeah, my sugar has gone pretty low sometimes. Sometimes in the 30's, but THAT hasn't happened in years...Thank God. As for a panic attack---maybe. I am on medication for manic depression and panic attacks. For many years. At least 10. But it could have been that. Although, for whatever reason, I don't think so. It felt kind of like an out of body experience. If the panic attacks are going to come back.....I just hope not. Thanks for replying.
Another possibility... you don't say when this happened, or how long after a meal, but it is also possible that your insulin worked too quickly while digesting some food, and brought you too low briefly while the food was following the insulin. I have had this happen before, and you feel pretty awful until the food digests to catch up with the insulin. I find that timing sometimes is as important as dosage when it comes to insulin.
So those are just two other physical possibilities that I thought I would throw into the suggestion bowl. I hope it was just a low that resolved itself and not panic attacks recurring.
Thanks. I hadn't eaten since early that day, the episode happened at around 5-6:00 pm. But that is a normal day for me. :( I know--not good. The more I thought about the panic attack possibility, the more I think that is what it was. I haven't had one in many many years, but yeah--I think that is what it was. It just really scared the heck outta me cause I am on medication for that. Thanks everybody--this is a great site and I am very glad I found it--Sometimes I have questions.