OH my how awful for you. Get a second ID band stating you are allergic to carbohydrates. I also have fainting due to low blood pressure. HA I worked in the cemetery for 11 years. Tended to freak people when I was down on the ground writing information from the stones to add to the new mapping project I did and as I stood up I would tip over like Timber. I forget the name for it but when your legs are bent over like kneeling then lean back on your heels will also get me every time. Be careful.

Just thought of some thing Carry a fat bomb with you.

shadesofidaho wrote: »

Thinking some thing with peanut butter and coconut oil as long as it is not too hot out side or in the areas you spend most of your time in. Or maybe a dry protein drink. I used to take some protein powder in a plastic jar. It bailed me out many times when hubby was so sick and i was waiting around hospitals for him. You could always just carry a packet of it with you. I mixed mine in ice and water. There always seems to be ice machines some where in facilities or just cold water. There might even be some packets of something that can be dumped into bottled water that is good for you and not just a sugar straw. Even a protein bar. Not always the best option but better then m & m's.

i agree . like a no sugar bliss ball, loads of coconut butter, oil , cocoa powder and ground almonds, dessicated coconut and stevia and it might soften a tad without refrigeration, but will still do the trick.

shadesofidaho wrote: »

OH my how awful for you. Get a second ID band stating you are allergic to carbohydrates. I also have fainting due to low blood pressure. HA I worked in the cemetery for 11 years. Tended to freak people when I was down on the ground writing information from the stones to add to the new mapping project I did and as I stood up I would tip over like Timber. I forget the name for it but when your legs are bent over like kneeling then lean back on your heels will also get me every time. Be careful.

Sounds like orthostatic hypotension, often related to dehydration.

I'm curious... Did they check your sugar? They should have had a glucose monitor. The other thing to consider is that if you're breath is giving off ketones, it's entirely possible someone thought you were diabetic.

Either way, they should have checked your bracelet and called medical command if there was ANY doubt.

SyntonicGarden wrote: »

Yeah, I figured as much with the ketone breath, which is why I asked about the glucometer check. I can somewhat see the jump from that and low sugar to "OH MY GOD! DIABETIC EMERRRRRRGENCY!!" sort of... Kind of...

From an EMS perspective, if you were even remotely combative (especially about not wanting to eat the candy or go to the hospital), that completed the trifecta for the "obvious textbook diabetic in crisis." The bracelet and the fact that you gave them your patient history really should've been big enough clues though.

Kind of weird that they didn't reach for the oral glucose. Not sure where you live, but in PA, it's protocol for EMTs as well as medics. Its ingredients are known and it has minimal allergens. There are usually two tubes on our trucks.

Peanut M&Ms? What the heck kind of allergen roulette is THAT? So glad you didn't have a reaction.

Definitely sounds like a training issue. Hopefully, they get the training they need to be better practitioners.

I'm not picking on you. just want to point out a little more. Pretty much, the only way a type 2 diabetic can go low enough to faint is if they are on insulin. Pills can do it, but you would have to like water fast for a day and then take the pills. All they had to do if she is awake, is ask her is she is taking insulin. If she ain't, there's little chance that she could go low. Type 2 diabetics have trouble keeping their blood sugar levels from going high.

Now on the other hand, if she was Hypoglycemic (the opposite of Diabetics), now you've got something. Yes, you would want to give her candy or sugar, only if she exhibits low blood sugar. I have overtaken my insulin probably 80 to 100 times and went low. I live alone. So I have been risking it sometimes. Here is what happens when you go low:

If you are awake:
Mildly low: 60-70: You'll start seeing spots
Low: 40-60: More spots, dizziness
Pretty low: 30 - 40: You'll start sweating now matter how cold it is. Brain fog. More dizziness
Really low: 20-30 all of the above but worse.

The lowest I have been is 19. I think you have to go lower than 20 (for most people, I was just lucky) to faint.

If you are asleep (most of mine occur at this time, because I would take too much before bedtime and not have eaten recent enough):
You'll start sweating, then 100% of the time you will wake up. It wakes you up.
After sitting up on the edge of the bed, your mind is so screwed up, that you have to try with all your might to tell yourself to eat sugar. If none is next to the bed, I would really struggle to get to the kitchen. You stagger like a drunk. After eating some sugary substance, I go back to bed and in 15 minutes I am back to sleep like nothing happened.

If you are awake and you start to see spots, you can usually get to some sugar fast enough before the sweating occurs. Although it is really bad if it also hot outside.

Now, if someone fainted and revived, the difference between a really low glucose level and her condition, would be if she had severe "brain fog". I don't know if her condition gives her slurry speech of not. In other words, going low glucose has more side effects than just fainting as I detailed above. YMMV.

I hope this helps,

Dan the Man from Michigan

You do know that you can refuse medical treatment? Why didn't you just stick up for yourself, show them your ID or threaten to call a lawyer?

Don't blame them for the M&Ms. It's just one pack, not a big deal, but in the end no one forced them down your throat but you.