Yesterday I experienced one of those situations that, if you have diabetes, you will probably understand perfectly.
I had met a friend for dinner.Before dinner I had a physical therapy session to continue recovering from a calf injury I suffered three weeks ago.It was a distal elongation that kept me on crutches for two weeks and practically without doing any type of exercise or sport.
I left work and walked to the clinic.Between the walk and the recovery exercises (almost all strength exercises), after 30 minutes I was already fully lowering my glucose.The kind that you notice coming clearly.
A few glucose pills, wait a few minutes... and solved.Well, solved in quotes, because there is always that strange feeling in the body after hypoglycemia.
Dinner was about 30 km from home, so I went by motorbike on the highway.Very hot, quite windy... and although it may not seem like it, it also involves a little physical effort.
As soon as I arrived at the restaurant I began to notice the symptoms again.I looked at the sensor... another down arrow.
Second hypoglycemia of the afternoon.This time several cookies and some more glucose pills fell to help us get back on track.And here the fun part began... or not.
As some of you know, I wear a YpsoPump insulin pump.Before leaving home I had already seen that the insulin cartridge was almost empty, so, as a precaution, I put a new cartridge in my backpack to change it when the time came.
Well, that moment came as soon as we sat down at the table.The cell phone started ringing with the alarm indicating that the insulin had run out.
I thought: "Nothing happens, I change the cartridge and we continue."
I opened the backpack... took out the replacement... and found the cartridge completely broken.
The insulin was scattered inside the bag.Something like this had never happened to me.I imagine that, among the things he had in the backpack, some put pressure on it and ended up breaking it.
And there came that moment of blockage that I'm sure many of you know."What do I do now?"
For a moment I thought about canceling dinner and going straight home.But while I was trying to decide what to do, all the glucose I had taken to overcome the second hypoglycemia began to take effect... with no insulin available to correct.
220 mg/dl...
250mg/dl...
275mg/dl...
And the head starts to go too fast.Not because a glucose level of 300 mg/dl for a while is an emergency, but because you know you can't do anything to stop it.
I explained the situation to the person I had arranged to meet.And here came what surprised me most of the whole night.Without particularly knowing diabetes, he reacted with enormous calm.
He told me that we could go to a pharmacy to get a replacement, or even that there was absolutely nothing wrong if I preferred to go home for another cartridge and resume dinner later.
There were no strange faces.
There was no rush.
There was no typical "well, you'll get over it."
He just tried to help and make me feel comfortable.
In the end I decided to go home and get another cartridge.
And honestly, until I had a new one in my hands and the pump working again, that feeling of overwhelm, stress and even a little anxiety didn't go away.
I think those of us who live with diabetes know that many times it is not just glucose.It is the feeling of losing control of a situation that we normally have very little control over.
Luckily, everything remained an anecdote and dinner could continue.
Of course... since yesterday it is clear to me that, in addition to the spare cartridge, I will probably start carrying two, and better protected ones.
Has something similar ever happened to you?
Have you had a breakdown with the pump, a mistake or any unforeseen event that made you think: "Now I really have a problem"?
I would like to read your experiences.Many times sharing these situations helps others to be better prepared when we have to experience something similar.
Greetings,
