Sounds like you’re very skilled!
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Wow. This is me to a T.
I also become fixated on finishing what I’m doing before I treat my low. If I’m working at my desk I’ll think, “I’ll just finish this chapter, it won’t take long, then I’ll go treat.” If I’m doing yard work I’ll think, “I’ll just finish this digging, it won’t take long, then I can clean off the tools and put them away and go inside and treat.”
If I have a serious low in the night, I’ve been known to imagine myself getting out of bed, walking to the kitchen, eating something, and returning to bed. If asked, I will say yes, I treated.
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My specific meaning is that, unlike some of the FU members, if you ask me at some random time “What’s your BG?” I generally won’t have any idea. At all. I know what certain specific feelings mean if I have them, but usually I don’t have any of them, so I have no idea where my BG is. There are people who have learned to inventory themselves at any time for a host of subtle indications to get a good estimate of BG, and I consider them to be skilled in a way that I am not. Eric refers to those who have the skill as “BG Ninjas.” Instead of using The Force, I just use the CGM and am satisfied with that.
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I do this, too.
I also get very weepy when I’m low. Even after, while coming up, anything little thing sets me off.
i am not always aware of my lows. but, most of the time, when i get down to my low 50s, i start to see sparks of light in front of my eyes and my vision becomes very distorted; i cant even read my meter; i need my husbands help. i can also get a bit shaky in my 50s. but i become much more sensitive when i get below 50. i start sweating, shaking, cant see clearly, feeling frightened and uncomfortable. often it takes about an hour to start to feel recovered, when in fact my BG is perfect much sooner than that after treating.
for my highs, i get leg cramps and feel like i have the flu (if i stay high for any significant length of time) i get nauseated and need to vomit, even when there is nothing in my tummy, if i am over 400 (very very very rare for me after all of these years) and i become very easily frustrated and obstinant and generally unpleasant to be around 
.
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When low I get the visual sensation that I have stared at the sun then looked away leaving a dark spot in my central vision, My tongue and lips get numb. A general state of confusion with an intense desire to seek treatment comes over me. I know what is wrong and treating it becomes my only focus.
When high I get the sensation that I am watching my life from afar, a little slow to react with the world sometimes happening in a kind of freeze frame effect.
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i agree with you 100%. and not only does this apply to surgeons, but many of us who are very active. sometimes, bg changes for me can be dramatic and seemingly come out of nowhere. i am not on a cgm, but i do check about 20+ times a day. as i choose to live life on the low side, i often dont feel a low until i am in my 50s…however, if i am crashing quickly, i can definitely feel it.then i just stop and do a finger stick. (what choice to i have at that point?)
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With my job, I aim to both keep my blood sugar as stable as possible (hence my primary motivation to follow a low-carb diet) AND to take all precautions necessary so that I don’t experience lows (hence setting my alerts to perhaps 5.5 mmol/L, even though that also happens to be my pump’s correction target). Any time I go even mildly low or significantly high, my cognition, attention, coordination, and reflexes may all be affected. These things could present safety risks in my field, and if that means I run at 6.5 mmol/L for an hour or two instead of 5.5 mmol/L because of a false alert, well then, so be it.
I certainly hope any professional treating or working with me takes the same precautions with their diabetes to ensure that they are in range and have plenty of warning if they are at risk of leaving that range.
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Excellent Thread! Books and the internet list some basic symptoms of high and low, but some of these I needed to discover for myself:
Lows:
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Getting “chatty” - sometimes with a mild low (60’s or so) I tend to ramble in a conversation, not picking up on cues very well.
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Inappropriate Humor I might make inappropriate comments in social settings, etc. This seems to be in the 50s to 60s, blood sugar wise. (These usually trigger a “Mike, you’re low!” response from my better half).
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Lack of energy/willpower: “why is this task so hard…” or “I’ll never be able to finish this task” typically with BG from about 55 to 70 mg/dL
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slow completion of tasks tasks which are routine take much more time than usual. I think related to the one above
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barstool effect: ever notice when you’ve drank too much in a certain setting (on a barstool, for instance) when you leave the room to go to the bathroom, you realize you’ve had too much to drink. The change of setting seems to make the brain realize the change in inebriation. It is similar for me with a low, sometimes: I go into the house from the outdoors, and my brain says, “hey, something isn’t right here…”
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vision problems: my vision is not quite right, similar to tunnel vision described by another user, probably when BG drops below about 60
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tingling sensation in tongue/mouth - this one happens with BG in the 50s, typically. This tends to persist for a while after low BG is corrected
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messed up sense of taste - I’d guess this occurs in the 50’s and below. I’d say sweet tastes are disturbed the most
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Confusion, Cognitive Problems, Sweats - BG in 30s or 40s, typically.
Highs:
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Headache
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Muscle aches/slight cramps,etc
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These two scare me especially because when he’s in school, these could be HUGE issues affecting Liam’s performance. Definitely something we have to plan carefully for.
You definitely need to be aware of these, but your school plan will include provisions to test his bg before tests or important assignments, and be able postpone them until such time as his bg is normalized (as defined in your plan).
In the last two years my son has postponed one test because of bg. It happens. If the school handles things well, then this is no big deal. If not, well that is where parents come in to play.
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And they can keep low treatments (candy) and such, right? I know some schools have a problem with kids having/eating candy during class/tests or anytime during school really.
@ClaudnDaye, i think for y’all you should start talking to other parents who have kids with T1 in your school district, to see what pitfalls there are. Then about a year before school starts, you should be planning his care plan carefully to account for these situations.
You can specify in their docs that low treatments be kept in the classroom and that Liam never has to leave the classroom to treat a low (which would be dangerous, IMO)
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Yes, our plan is very explicit, he is to have access to all of his tech including his phone at all times (even during tests), as well as low treatments. In fact when he was in middle school, in addition to his bag we had a Gallon ziplock of low treats (juice boxes, fruit snacks, and peanut butter crackers) in every classroom, and the teacher let us know when it was getting low.
He is also allowed to test his bg at any time, step away from class at any time (unless he is low, then he needs a mate with him), treat etc.
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do you think you will be putting Liam in school next year? We have plans for Samson to attend public school. A little bit dreading it, as we’ve pretty much figured out the care plan at his current school.
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Parents of T1D’s know way more about this than I do, but one of my friends who has a T1D daughter in elementary school makes up a treatment pencil box for each teacher’s classroom each year. It includes a bottle of water for highs, Airheads (their method of choice for lows), an instruction sheet for the teacher, and maybe a few other things.
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We’re still actively debating public school -vs- home school. There are pros and cons to each method. We’re just trying to come to the right conclusion for us. He doesn’t go to school next year…because of where his birthday falls (Dec), he’s too young to attend this year, so he’ll be attending the year after next.
but he’s older than Samson I thought? Samson turned 4 in April – he starts kindergarten in 2019. Liam can’t start till 2020?
The good news with the December birthday is he will be a little older than the average kid, which will make him a beast on the sports field.
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He’s December 30, 2013. The cutoff here is the end of Sep/early Oct for the ages. He won’t be 5 until Dec. Samson is 8 months older it sounds like?