Symptoms of a low

This afternoon, about 15 minutes before the end of the workday. I was low. I knew the symptoms and walked myself to the cafeteria to get the necessary bottle of Naked Orange Juice. As I tried to walk back to my office chugging juice and giggling to myself about how awful it would be to barf the orange juice all over the lobby tile that our wonderful housekeeping staff had just mopped, I realized rationalized that low symptoms would be the perfect blog topic.

I've discussed previously (as a part of Diabetes Blog week) how I prefer to treat a low. But I am often asked how I know that I am low. The truth is the symptoms vary.

When Mr. Harer and I first started dating, lows were preceded by horrible sweating, shakiness and the sudden unquenchable urge for a diet coke. Now, especially since the CGMS has allowed me tighter control over my numbers, the low symptoms are very different, that is when I actually have symptoms. Tighter control means more hypo unawareness.

Lows make me feel nauseous and sick, but not like the swishy, perfect storm in my tummy kind of nausea more like bile creeping into my throat nausea. Pleasant, right? I know this may be TMI for my non-diabetic readers, but for some odd reason I still feel the need to put it out there for the world to know.

So here it is, for whatever it's worth. When I go low I feel; sweaty, sticky, sick, slow, silly, shaky, irritable, nauseous, confused, crabby, uncomfortable, incapable, in a fog, dizzy, drowsy, demented, delirious and down right wrong.

It is no wonder that low blood sugars often leave me worn out.

As I sit here typing away the sensor is whining at me that again I am dropping below the target zone and I need to go eat some tabs or something. I guess that is all for now.