Tummy Trouble

If only my daughter would throw up before I bolus.  This one wasn't as bad as the stomach bug that hit half an hour after Christmas dinner, but still left us scrambling to undo a lunch bolus for 50 carbs. 

It may seem strange to a non-diabetes family to realize that as I was holding hair back and wiping tears, I was already scheming what I had in the pantry or fridge that my child could eat.  Under most normal circumstances, one would avoid feeding anything to someone who had just thrown up.  Maybe in an hour or two you'd offer a sip of ginger ale or tea. 

For my child, however, once she was upright on the sofa, she had regular coke and a straw in front of her.  The every 15 minute blood sugar testing began. 

150.  Good...a little wiggle  room.
97.  Not bad, have a sip. 
84.  Still ok...just keep sipping slowly, sweetie. 
68.  Hmmm...do you think you could get down some smarties? 
52.  OK...guess it's time to go for broke, hon.  Drink at least half the soda.
80.  An improvement! 
75.  I think the real sugar blue jello is ready...want some? 
134.  Finally!

She finished a 20 oz. coke, half a cup of blue jello and a role of smarties in the first 2 hours after throwing up.  That combination alone, without a stomach bug, would make me throw up, but she held out until later that evening when things had stabilized.

For the Christmas episode, we ended up mini-dosing glucagon as suggested by our endocrinologist and as described here on the Children With Diabetes website.  That bug was much more severe, and she could keep absolutely nothing down.  It was extremely effective and saved us an ER visit. 

Stomach bugs are tough enough diabetes-wise with their concurrent dehydration, ketones and change in meal patterns.  Let's hope the next one starts right before breakfast.

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