Hypoglycemia

[cackie849]

My 28 year old son has had Type I since he was 15 yrs old.  Those first fiew years went quite smoothly.  Then he got the pump and went off to college.  I think he may have started a little rebellion at this point.  He started guessing at his BS and would give too much insulin.... anyway,  he now has hypoglycemic unawareness.  It happens a lot during the night.  He s doing a lot better about taking his BS more often but he is possibly still approximating the carb counts ( I think that may be where he is messing up occasionally).  He also has seizures with the lows, not every time.  I have to call the ambulance about once a month or once every 6 weeks.  I have another son who lives two hours away and now has a baby.  I feel like I cannot go there because I need to be here for my son Zack 28.  He is back in school,  he has lots of friends and they all know about him.  None of us can understand why this happens so often.  If I go to fuss at him about taking better control, he gets very defensive and starts to feel very bad about himself, saying He does not do it intentionally.  I want to know if other diabetics have to have someone living with them in case of the hypo's and will he ever be able to live on his own.  He does not want me to feel like I have to babysit him.  but if I dont I could lose him.  Is anyone out there been through this.  Plese help me.  

[Zoelula]

I don't know too much about diabetic seizures but I had thought they occur primarily with lows. This would be something to ask the doctor. The websites aren't for (live) support groups they are for online information and support. You would have to ask locally through a doc or endo for live support groups. I'll send you the websites by message as I'm asked not to post other message boards here.

[cackie849]

Thanks so much for your info.  I feel like you truly understand what I am talking about. My son has also said many times that he would rather die with a low than live with the complications of too many highs.  I think when he was first diagnosed, they preached that so much that the has a huge fear of the highs.  When I try to talk to him about better control, he just gets more depressed and defensive.  I gues all that is normal, right.  I would like that website about the support groups.  
Also have you ever heard of having a seizure and then the BS registers 130 after the seizure.  No one was here with him the other day when this happened and when my daughter in law came in she took his BS and it was 130.  He was talking but was very sore muscles and a headache, so we assumed it was a seizure because he had not been ansxering the phone.  Also after this one he was very confused for 5 or 6 hours.  I was two hours away and was frantic.  

[Zoelula]

I was diagnosed Type 1 (1.5) much later in life but I have spoken with many young diabetics and unfortunately, this rebellion stage is not uncommon. After being forced from a young age to be so disciplined they miss the freedom that their peers have and then stop for a time managing their diabetes as they should. You really can't make your son control his diabetes even though I know how hard this must be for you. One thing that might help is if he could connect to other diabetics his age. You might want to check locally for a support group for young Type 1's. Or he can join an online forum. Send me a message if you want the name of a website. Obviously there are more risks for those of us who live alone, but if our diabetes is well managed we shouldn't be subject to drastic lows. Also, I want to let you know that hypoglycemic unawareness is caused by having frequent lows. Once the frequency of those lows is reduced the awareness returns. But all of this depends on your son's willingness to put in the effort to manage his diabetes. Hopefully he will become more willing soon; he's got to be tired of all the consequences of not doing so.