Something to help me feel happy during a tough time.

L

legion681

Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
424
A couple of days ago, I was able to order one of my holy grail knives, a Spyderco Masaad Ayoob. I should receive it today, if USPS is on time.

This will be a special knife for me, not only because it's one of the 2 Spyderco knives that I dreamed of having (the other one being the Yojimbo 2...I am waiting for that one!), but because it's the first knife I got since something quite nasty happened to me.

Last Memorial Day, after a week of feeling ill with flu like symptoms, my brain, for a lack of better words, just simply "switched off".
My first memory after that was being aware that I was in a hospital room. That was 3 days later.
What happened was that, unbeknownst to me, I had developed Diabetes. My blood sugar rose to 918 (normal range ought to be 70-110, I have been told that above 800 means it's basically a given that any person would go into a coma. For whatever reason, I didn't), my blood ph levels were at 6.8 (normal ought to be 7.4, under 7.0 there is a concrete risk of dieing, under 6.8 death is almost a certainty as human body cells die under 6.8) and I had lost 40 pounds of weight in ONE WEEK due to extreme dehydration.
The reasons why I am still alive are my wife who very quickly called an ambulance, the EMTs that worked on me and doctors and nurses at my local hospital. Everyone was outstanding.

All in all, now that the dust settled and everything is under control, I am just happy to be alive. Posting in Bladeforums, the favorite forums of my most beloved hobby (knives and knives collecting) feels so good.

I wish everyone a great day and happy 4th of July. I know mine will be spectacular! :)
 
Last edited:
Happy 4th to you legion, happy to hear you're on the mend and enjoy your new knife :thumbup:
 
I have never gone that high but just wait until you do the equivalent in LOW blood sugar: irritable, nervous, nauseous, dizzy, vision clouding over ... no ossifer i'm not drunk really!

You are a very lucky man, finding out by waking up in this world. Anything I can do to help explain the complications, let me know. I've been diabetic since 1990.
 
Thanks Esav,

I'll take you up on your offer in case I need some explanation about that. Thanks a lot!

Yep, I am wary about getting low blood sugar levels. That's actually close to where I have been hovering these days. For the past two weeks I have been
in between 77 and 103 (I test 4 times a day) and knowing that the level where you are supposed to involve doctors is 70 or under makes me a bit nervous.
I always carry my meter, strips, lancing device + lancets AND glucose tablets in case that would happen, but so far I never had to take glucose.
Have you ever been under 70 yourself?
 
Shoot man, if I had a scare like that I woulda ordered TWO Spydercos. :P

Seriously though, glad your still with us, and good luck with managing your condition.
 
Glad you are doing better and are alive to tell the tale. Congratulations on being a survivor. Best wishes for you and hope you continue to improve.
Nice knife score too BTW :)
 
I had a couple of incidents where I nearly went down from low blood sugar, both times in hospitals, under the care of technicians, not physicians. (When the physicians found out, they went ballistic on them.)

Once I was running around New York, and on the way home, I was so low, I was shaking, I couldn't even go into a cafeteria for food, I couldn't talk. I had glucose tablets and honey with me. Two minutes later, I was smiling again.

You need a good diabetes resource, not just any doctor, many of whom go by the book, not having much of a feel for the condition. 70 to 110 sounds good, but in the normal course of a busy life, that is way too narrow a reading. Focus on the first reading in the morning, and don't worry as long as its around 120, and at least under 150. Eventually, you will relax enough to take 2 or even one reading a day, breakfast and before dinner (to see how much you can afford to eat).
 
Hi Legion! Enjoy your new Spydie! I'm no doctor, but I prescribe yet another Spydie... better double the dosage, just to be sure! :)

Cheers, fella! Glad to hear you're doing ok!
 
timberweasel said:
Hi Legion! Enjoy your new Spydie! I'm no doctor, but I prescribe yet another Spydie... better double the dosage, just to be sure! :)

Cheers, fella! Glad to hear you're doing ok!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I got my Masaad Ayoob today and I love it. I already carried it tonight and it will be the top knife in my rotation for a long while (can't wait for the Yojimbo 2.
That will probably be my #1 knife). I love what you prescribed me, you could be my "knife" doctor! Eheheh :D :)
 
Esav Benyamin said:
I had a couple of incidents where I nearly went down from low blood sugar, both times in hospitals, under the care of technicians, not physicians. (When the physicians found out, they went ballistic on them.)

Once I was running around New York, and on the way home, I was so low, I was shaking, I couldn't even go into a cafeteria for food, I couldn't talk. I had glucose tablets and honey with me. Two minutes later, I was smiling again.

You need a good diabetes resource, not just any doctor, many of whom go by the book, not having much of a feel for the condition. 70 to 110 sounds good, but in the normal course of a busy life, that is way too narrow a reading. Focus on the first reading in the morning, and don't worry as long as its around 120, and at least under 150. Eventually, you will relax enough to take 2 or even one reading a day, breakfast and before dinner (to see how much you can afford to eat).
Click to expand...

Holy s**t, they let you got so low in a HOSPITAL? Unreal, totally unreal. That's the place where you are supposed to be safe! :(

Yeah, I always have glucose with me EVERY time I am out the door. Also, in my house I keep it in most rooms (ya know, I prefer being overly cautious rather than sorry...) and in various forms (tablets or liquid).

Let me ask you a quick question Esav...Do you always carry your insulin + syringes (or insulin pen) with you when you go out? You know, the diabetic nurse at the hospital told me to do so at all times, but seen that I inject at breakfast + dinner + bedtime, unless I am out for dinner somewhere, I really don't need my insulin pen outside of my home, so it seems kind of overkill to me.
Never mind that I am a bit freaked out at the idea that insulin needs to be within 36-86 degrees at all times and being out in summer with hot weather makes me a bit paranoid about carrying insulin around (even though I bought one of those carrying pouches that use a cold pack to keep the insulin in its range for 12 hours...). What's your suggestion with this? Do you really think I should carry
insulin around at all times like that nurse told me to?

Re. blood levels, I seem not to be moving much really. What seems to be a bit strange is that I eat very well (of course not going above the maximum allowed of 210 grams of carbs a day that it's my daily carb limit, as per doctor's instructions. But otherwise I eat more like a bear than a butterfly...) and yet I am always in double digits. I find it hard to go above 100. On top of that, this happens with minimal amounts of insulin: I inject 6 units of Humalog at breakfast and 6 at dinner, at night I inject 10 units of Lantus (and this not all nights. My endocrinologist told me to "try skipping it some times". So I do Lantus 3 days in a row and skip the 4th. So far, in those days without Lantus, in the morning my blood sugar is basically the same as it is when I do inject with Lantus...). I don't know what to make of this...It's truly puzzling to me.
PS: I forgot, I also take Metformin, 500 mg twice a day (breakfast and dinner). Seen that it's confirmed I got type 2 (I got a letter today from my endocrinologist saying that my C-Peptide test confirmed this. In his word he said that my pancreas "is producing a good deal of insulin". I hope Metformin is helping with my body absorbing it, as it's one of the two things that Metformin is supposed to do).
 
Last edited:
You aren't as seriously diabetic as I am, you mostly need to monitor your blood sugar. Fortunately, you don't need much insulin. I take much more, 50 units of Lantus, but only once a day, in the morning.

I personally cannot believe they are having you carry insulin and inject so frequently. I think it's dangerous to have. What if you faint from hypoglycemia and some medic sees your insulin and thinks, he's diabetic, he needs insulin! A lot of doctors even do not understand diabetes.

I have been on different regimens. I had been on Metformin, which worked great, I could control blood sugar very well with it, but they took me off it to reduce blood acidity, and I spiraled badly out of control for about a month.
 
Best wishes for your good health.

Hospitals are horrible places.
Hopefully you can stay out of them and be safe at home.

No disrespect meant for Surgeons, Doctors, Nurses and all related hospital staff
 
Mike V said:
Best wishes for your good health.

Hospitals are horrible places.
Hopefully you can stay out of them and be safe at home.

No disrespect meant for Surgeons, Doctors, Nurses and all related hospital staff
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike for the best wishes!
 
Esav Benyamin said:
You aren't as seriously diabetic as I am, you mostly need to monitor your blood sugar. Fortunately, you don't need much insulin. I take much more, 50 units of Lantus, but only once a day, in the morning.

I personally cannot believe they are having you carry insulin and inject so frequently. I think it's dangerous to have. What if you faint from hypoglycemia and some medic sees your insulin and thinks, he's diabetic, he needs insulin! A lot of doctors even do not understand diabetes.

I have been on different regimens. I had been on Metformin, which worked great, I could control blood sugar very well with it, but they took me off it to reduce blood acidity, and I spiraled badly out of control for about a month.
Click to expand...

What diabetes type do you have, Esav? I am type 2, confirmed.

50 units of Lantus...yep, that's a decent amount, as far as my (relatively) limited knowledge can tell me. Is it the only insulin you take in a day? Have you ever had to take the fast acting type, like Humalog?
Now I am wondering why do I need to take two different types of insulin...Maybe I would do better with no Humalog, but a higher level of Lantus...maybe not 50 units, but 20-25 per day. My levels are so stable that I really wonder if I need to take the fast acting type.

They actually told me to carry insulin, but so far I have done it ONLY if I was to eat out for dinner. The only diabetes related stuff that I carry are a pouch containing meter, strips, lancets + lancing device, alcohol swabs and a tube of glucose tablets. I hope, for the scenario you described, that a doctor would check my blood glucose levels before injecting me with insulin. I mean, it should be the first thing to do with a diabetic that is unconscious.

Holy crap, Metformin gave you problems re. blood acidity? How low (from 7.4) did your blood ph get? I mean, I discovered that under 7.0 you have real high health risk and under 6.8 you are as good as gone...

Talking about meters, is there one you like better, one you may want to suggest? I started out in the hospital with the Ultra Touch 2, but that was quickly shot down because my (semi-crappy) health insurance doesn't cover the ultra touch strips. I then went to the Accu Chek Aviva (my insurance covers the majority of the strips cost) and I am still with it and pretty happy (a good added bonus is that the lancing device is the best). I have been doing some research and on paper the Bayer Contour seems to be the best, but I still need to check the cost of the strips and how much, if any, my insurance covers.
What's the meter you use / like better?

Thanks again for all the help, Esav
 
I've been using the One Touch Ultra with no problems. Any lancing device is fine by me -- until the spring gives out! Lacking one, I could do what the nurses in the hospital did and just tap a fingertip with a lancet. I'm Type II, onset at 46 years of age.

Since you are so stable, I suggest you stay with doctor's instructions for now. You will get to the point when you've learned more about what's available, and then you can discuss what simpler regimen might work.

I hope, for the scenario you described, that a doctor would check my blood glucose levels before injecting me with insulin. I mean, it should be the first thing to do with a diabetic that is unconscious.
Click to expand...

Trust no one.
 
legion,
Enjoy your new knife. Actually enjoy everything, you know better than most: the life can be too short. Just be careful.

legion, Esav, and Seanifred,

Best wishes for your good health.
 
Hey Brother I can certainly relate to what you're going through. I haven't had any serious health challenges like you've just recently experienced but I have had a truly nighmarish scenerio in the past 18 months. I lost my job, home and ended up sleeping in my pickup truck for a couple of months. But thanks be to 2 special friends and GOD almighty I'm now on my way back upward and at a pretty fast pace I might add. >> And you will be too I am fully confident of it. No matter what has gotten you down there is always hope and help.

Knowing the problem in many cases is half of solving it and it certainly appears like you've gotten the upper hand on the situation. I am fully confident you will make a fully recovery and keep your health problem under full control.

Brother you have my prayers and I hope you are able to land both Spyders for your "ever growing" collection of USERS and "collectible Spyders".

The road of life always has a few potholes along the way but when you are able to go through them as diligently as you have and still have an upbeat spirit I have no doubt that you will much wiser and have more tenacity than ever.

I too love the Ayoob model brother and I have 2 of the originals in PE & SE and I hope you are able to land both as well. GOD Bless and GOD-Speed to you and yours brother!!
 
Esav Benyamin said:
I've been using the One Touch Ultra with no problems. Any lancing device is fine by me -- until the spring gives out! Lacking one, I could do what the nurses in the hospital did and just tap a fingertip with a lancet. I'm Type II, onset at 46 years of age.

Since you are so stable, I suggest you stay with doctor's instructions for now. You will get to the point when you've learned more about what's available, and then you can discuss what simpler regimen might work.



Trust no one.
Click to expand...

My type 2 struck me at 43. Actually roughly 3 weeks after my birthday, what a "great" present...

Yep, doing fine now. Kinda worried for the future as diabetes is a degenerative disease and in my family there's a long history of amputations, kidney failures, fatal heart attacks. But they weren't really taking care of themselves, they'd indulge in all sorts of foods that are not good for diabetes. I walk a straight line, as straight as a laser beam.

Well, good luck Esav, thanks for all the info.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top