A Hallowe'en Diagnosis

Come in, come in, my little one, the spell has taken hold!
For though the sweat drips from your brow, it seems your flesh is cold…
And sickness grips your stomach such that nothing there remains,
Your blood and urine honey sweet, and acid fills your veins!

But fear ye not, my little one, a poultice I will make
To stop the shaking of your limbs and thirst you cannot slake!
So lie down on the feathered bench whilst I prepare the charm
And soon the anguish in your mind will be replaced with calm!

Before I act to make you well, a contract you must sign,
And whilst you hold to all its rules the spell remains benign!
But should you stray but for a day, then havoc will you reap,
And it may be that demons come to take you in your sleep!

So take this spike to pierce your flesh, should e’er you wish to eat,
If you would save your eyes and heart, and long retain your feet!
The juices in this vial serve to pacify your food
Without it, live a hellish life, with foul and blackened mood!

You must perform the ritual till dawns the far off day
The curse is lifted from your kind, and only then you may
Tear up the contract, cast away the sharp and bloodied spike,
Then go out to the restaurant and order what you like!

Diet Drink Awareness Campaign

Someone on the diabetes support forum expressed their anger at being sold full-sugar coke in a pub despite asking for the ‘diet’ version. Now, this may seem like an unfortunate, but not particularly dangerous thing to do. In the majority of cases, that’s probably true, if a person is merely trying to reduce calories. But if you have diabetes then there is a real risk that it could cause serious harm, or at the very least make the person feel very unwell. Full-sugar coke is the kind of drink you might reach for if your blood glucose levels were particularly low (hypoglycaemia) and you needed an instant boost, for the sugar hits your system almost instantly.

However, imagine the scenario where a person with diabetes has been feeling under the weather. Illness – even a mild cold or cough – can cause blood sugar levels to rise, and as they rise the body will feel the need to flush the excess sugar out of the system, making the person dehydrated and thirsty. Let’s say this person then tries to quench that thirst with a drink from a pub or fast-food restaurant – and they are given the wrong kind, whether mistakenly, or as some sort of ‘joke’. Their already high levels will almost instantly go stratospheric and place them in extreme danger of a life-threatening condition called DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis). This can lead to hospitalisation, possible coma and even death. Not so ‘funny’ now then?

Numerous tales have now arisen about this happening, so it is not a rare occurrence. Whilst it may often be a mistake, there have also emerged tales of how staff have deliberately switched the hoses on the drink dispensers so the full sugar version is dispensed from the ‘diet’ tap. We need to raise awareness of the dangers of this practice so it can be treated with the gravity it deserves. To this end, we have started a Facebook group ‘The Diet Drink Awareness Campaign’, so anyone reading this please join and lend your support. One member of the forum has approached the agent of Dom Littlewood (of BBC ‘The One Show’ fame). Dom has Type 1 diabetes himself so hopefully he will feel this is an issue he would like to help with. Watch this space!



‘Here’s a laugh – let’s see their face,
Those fussy patrons of this place!’
‘It must be diet’ – where’s the harm?
How could sugar cause alarm?
It’s just a prank, a jolly jape,
It’s hardly murder, theft or rape!

No, that’s not true you stupid man!
There’s every chance that sugar can
Make diabetics very ill
And even a risk that it could kill,
You’ve never heard of DKA?
I’ll just explain it if I may…

Imagine someone who is cursed
With sickness and a raging thirst –
Their levels are already high,
Your ‘joke’ will send them through the sky!
And poisons build up in their blood
Since they don’t know your drink’s no good.

This isn’t just some petty fad,
A vanity that sugar’s bad,
But represents a threat to life
As deadly as a gun or knife!
So find another form of ‘joke’
That can’t cause harm to innocent folk!

When is a stomach bug not a stomach bug?

When it’s diabetic ketoacidosis of course! I was just browsing through my old emails when I came across this one that I sent out to my friends who had been asking after me. Interesting for me to read this from the perspective of 18 months experience of dealing with diabetes, so I thought I would include it in my blog:

When is a stomach bug not a stomach bug?

When it’s diabetic ketoacidosis of course! After losing 17 pounds in just over two days, I thought it prudent to seek the help of healthcare professionals, and a jolly good job I did too as I discovered that you don’t just ‘get better’ from this condition as it’s potentially more lethal than a stella/Stolichnaya cocktail with krepkaya chaser. Boy, I’ve never felt so ill! The good news was that I had my appetite back within 24 hours and regained the weight I’d lost (through ‘gross dehydration’) within 3 days. The bad news was that I had a heart attack and found out that I’m Type 1 diabetic and will be ‘shooting up’ for the rest of my life or until they find a cure…

There is more good news though. I had an angiogram after the heart attack (which was not dramatic at all – very minor, and I didn’t know I’d had it!), and this showed that I have a very healthy heart and am positively encouraged to continue with my running. Plus, thanks to the diabetes, I’ll have to make sure I have a very healthy diet from now on if I’m to avoid the possible complications, but that’s no bad thing. I’ve been surprised to learn that I can eat anything a non-diabetic can eat – no special requirements, just low-fat, low-sugar etc. – what you should all be eating!

It seems like I was in there for months, with so many tests and procedures etc. I literally lost count on the number of attempted piercings I received. But I’m happy to say that I was quite overwhelmed by the superlative quality of care I got from every level – doctors, nurses, the ladies who make the tea – they were all absolutely brilliant and it’s quite humbling to see how hard they work, in 12 hour shifts, for considerably less than ooh, I don’t know – people in the financial services sector?

Anyway, I’m back home now and trying to get used to the scary machines I have to use! Thanks to everyone for their good wishes. In truth, I probably haven’t felt this healthy for months!
Think I might have to give the Beer Festival a miss this weekend though…
Cheers.
Alan

The Ketone Cops

There are two main types of diabetes – Type 1 and Type 2. Type 2 is something that normally develops slowly, and is largely due to ‘insulin resistance’. This is where the person is still producing their own insulin, quite possibly in large amounts, but the person’s body is not able to use it efficiently. Type 1 tends to be far more dramatic in its development, as it is caused by the failure of the beta cells in the pancreas to produce insulin, and this total lack of insulin can lead to a life-threatening condition called Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA). With no insulin available, the cells in the body are unable to use the glucose in the blood and will turn to using the energy stored in fat instead. A by-product of this process are something called ‘ketones’, which can alter the ph value of the blood and turn it acidic.

In order to process the ketones you need insulin, and since this is absent then the ketones will build up to dangerous levels. Ketones are produced in non-diabetic people through a process called ‘ketosis’, and this is the basis for diets such as Atkins, which ‘force’ the body to use fat stores by depriving it of carbohydrates, resulting in weight loss – however, non-diabetics are able to process these ‘starvation’ ketones as they have a healthy supply of insulin.

I was admitted to hospital with DKA when my pancreas failed. I lost 17 pounds in weight in three days and could not eat or drink without being sick, although I was going to the toilet regularly, despite not being able to hold any liquids down. This was because my body was trying to flush the ketones out through my urine. My breath smelt of pear drops, or acetone, as this was another way that my body was trying to expel the ketones, and caused rapid breathing. I was exhausted because my cells were not getting any energy, and the glucose levels were building higher and higher all the time.

Thankfully, I called the emergency services and after some tests in hospital it was confirmed that I had diabetes. My blood sugar was at 37 – normally it would not go above 7 in a non-diabetic person. Immediately, I was placed on an insulin drip, and within 24 hours I no longer felt sick, had boundless energy and a ravenous appetite! I learned an awful lot about the workings of the human body that week and in the weeks and months that followed. I never want to experience DKA again – it is the worst I have ever felt in my life! The one danger that remains is that, should I get ill, with flu for example, my insulin requirement will increase. I would need to increase my doses in order to prevent ketones from developing, and this is an uncertain science. For this reason, people with diabetes need to take very special care when they get ill, and regularly check for ketones using either urine or blood ketone testing strips.


Send officers quickly, there’s been a calamity!
I’m beginning to think that I’m losing my sanity!
I’ve lost so much weight that I’m light as a feather,
And I’m sweating profusely, though it’s hardly hot weather!

I keep throwing up, with an insatiable thirst –
Do you know what it is? You can tell me the worst!
I haven’t stopped p’ing from dawn until dusk,
And soon I’ll be looking like an old dried out husk!

My breath smells of pear drops – that acetone smell,
Oh please come and help me, you can tell I’m not well!
I’m panting and wheezing and my heart’s fit to burst,
I feel helpless and dizzy and wretched and cursed!

Don’t worry, stay with us, for help’s on its way!
We’re thinking that maybe you have DKA…
We’ll get you some insulin and you’ll be right as rain,
And tell you how to make sure it won’t happen again.

If your blood sugar’s high and your insulin’s low,
It’s likely that ketones will soon start to show.
You need to be vigilant – keep them on the hop,
And we’ll make you an honorary Ketone Cop!