my worst nightmare.. my toddler is in the hospital via ambulance

alwayscurious

New member
[i posted an update]

i’m such a mess right now. my 14 month doesnt sleep great as he usually goes to bed at 9 ut wakes up then doesn’t sleep until around 10/11pm. he hasn’t been sick or anything lately may i add. but anyway he last night but at 11:30 in the afternoon he still wasn’t awake which i thought was strange (he sleeps with his dad while i go drop off and collect my 4 year old from school). i checked on him and he was incredibly sweaty and tacky. i took his top off and he wasn’t waking up which i was like okay that’s strange. i proper attempted to wake him up and he barely did. when i finally woke him, i sat him up and he just.. flopped. granted he was still half asleep at this point to be fair as i didint give him a chance but he was just not holding himself up and was falling back asleep while sitting. after a few minutes he became a bit sturdier but he couldn’t stay awake. i was rubbing his sternum, tickling his feet, pinching his earlobe and actually holding his eyelids open and while he was concious and did wake up to some degree, i couldn’t really stop him from going back to sleep. he was like a couch potato slumped sitting up on the bed and i tried to keep him awake. he had no rash, no mottled skin, equal reacting pupils, no fever but he was tacky, his resps were fine and his heart rate was too, no vomiting and had a wet nappy earlier that morning around 8am. he didint want his breakfast at 8am.

So within the 10 minutes that i noticed he was like this, I rang the ambulance because the floppiness is what worried me as i initially thought sepsis or something. I perhaps could have waited to go to the ER but I didint want to drive him myself because a) i would probably crash and b) i didint want him going back to sleep. i also just didint want to wait any longer my gut was telling me something was wrong because i’ve never seen him like this. paramedics came and he was more alert at this point and could sit up on his own but he didint want to (he would just throw himself back or forward and try sleep again). he had normal reactions to light but wasn’t interested in anything when he usually would be as he’s usually bubbly and is fascinated by things.

i’m the ambulance, his blood sugar was 1.5 which i know is incredibly low. his blood pressure was low too and his temp was (as my husband told me) 34 something. i accepted at this point that he had sepsis. when we got into the room, they hooked him up to a glucose drip and took his bloods, temp & bp. the bloods were going up very slowly and wouldn’t seem to get past 3.4 so he was given fast acting glucose and now it’s at 6.

so at present, hes improving a lot. he was waving on the phone to his brother, smiling and has rosy cheeks which i haven’t seen all day so far. i couldnt get him to smile at all since this morning. the nurse has checked his urine output and his blood levels are now 8 and he’s taken a bottle and had 3 yogurts. his blood pressure has risen and his temp is 36. he’s much more alert and interactive (he can sit up himself, he’s easier to arouse from sleep, he doesn’t just sit there like a lump not caring he’s actually more interactive now). he’s still not himself at all though.. he’s more irritable and he’s still tired. the doctor said he’s concerned of some underlying issue that prevents his body from using stored glucose efficiently as his levels shouldn’t drop so much just from sleeping and wants to keep him over the weekend to monitor. he said the bloods are going to different countries so will take a few weeks which is so strange to me but he said for now he recommends waking up after a few hours while he’s asleep and give him a bottle. he’s given him an antibiotic drip in the other foot (he’s still on the glucose & fluid drip on a rate of 22 hours) just in case of sepsis ( i freaked hearing this word) but said it’s highly unlikely. i’m assuming that this was a hypoglycemic episode but i don’t know why. i’m happy his numbers are rising, he’s more alert and he’s eating but i’m still an emotional mess. i don’t even know how i’m supposed to sleep without watching him like a hawk all night. i’m also worried i was maybe overreacting by calling an ambulance because maybe this is just viral or something, but my gut told me something was wrong.

any support would be appreciated
 
@alwayscurious Oh my goodness, you’ve been through the ringer. I haven’t experienced anything like this, but sending hugs and support and calm. You are such a great mom - you did exactly what you needed to do for your son, and didn’t hesitate to get him the urgent help he needed. Hang in there. Hugs.
 
@alwayscurious Type 1 diabetes? They have continuous blood glucose monitors that can track numbers from your phone. You can get an alarm if they drop below certain threshold.

Edit: might not be diabetes as hyperglycemia is more of the symptom seen before diagnosis. Still, a cbgm might be useful to prevent oncoming low blood sugars.
 
@victorinchrist thanks i’ll look into it! we asked the doctor if it could be diabetes and he said no because that presents with hyperglycemia usually rather than hypoglycemia. he sounded stumped on what it is at the minute i think he just needs to wait for the bloods to come back and go from there. he said something must be going on where his levels drop while he’s asleep but doesn’t know why. i also don’t know if maybe he does have a viral infection which could exaggerate this
 
@alwayscurious I have non-diabetic hypoglycemia in my family that did result in a hospitalization for my sister (I've never been hospitalized for it). We have never had a reaction as strong as what you described, and it would be very unusual for us to have a reaction like this when waking up in the morning. Our reactions are not caused by hunger, it's caused by the order in which we digest sugars vs other non-sugars, mostly, as well as the kinds of sugars we eat. So one of the worst episodes I have had is by having a low-calorie lunch followed by a very sweet cookie about 2 hours later. If he only ate sugar/low fat/low fiber foods the day before, I could see this happening.
 
@strange1 I’ve had similar episodes but have never seen a doctor about it. For example, I had a very small protein heavy breakfast a couple hours before the gestational diabetes screen and 30 min after I drank the glucola I passed out. May I ask more about what you have? What causes issues?
 
@psalm9one When I was younger I would get really shaky (hand tremors) and have trouble speaking. I would also have very low inhibitions and behave like I was drunk. I once got arrested during a hypoglycemic episode. As I got older I noticed more of a migraine response.

My hypoglycemia may be endometriosis related, as it started in puberty and has gotten much better after I've had kids. I used to have very strong GI reactions to it, at least, which is indicative of endometrosis.

Nowadays, my hypoglycemia (and my mother's, who is post-menopause) primarily manifests as being hangry in a particularly annoying way - we get very easily confused before dinner. We also need to eat a higher amount of fats and low glycemic index/high fiber foods than most. I.e. eat like a diabetic. As long as we do that we're fine.
 
@alwayscurious It sounds like you did everything right! I’m so sorry for how scary that was. I am not a doctor but am diabetic and reactive hypoglycemia is definitely a sign in adults, but of course the doctor is an expert. I just wanted to share because my immediate thought was also type 1 diabetes. I use a cgm and it’s very helpful.
 
@alwayscurious Hi! My son had something called hyperinsulinism when he was born, which is basically severe hypoglycemia. He grew out of it by 4 months but it might be worth asking the doctor about if they notice continued low blood sugar.
 
@alwayscurious What!? My husband is type 1 diabetic and hypoglycemia is absolutely a thing. He will get super cold, not able to wake up, and eventually he will have a seizure. Low blood sugar is super dangerous for him, even more than high.

*edit: he gets it from not eating enough and if he takes too much insulin.
 
@rayne49 Yes but this is a baby, if it's a new diagnosis of diabetes its likely Type 1. And hyperglycemia and DKA are typically how it initially manifests. Hypoglycemic episodes can happen once insulin is initiated. Remember in Diabetes, especially type 1, that the body no longer is producing insulin, so the likelihood of a low blood sugar episode is not as common until diagnosed.
 
@crazyeyesdark I think you may have responded to the wrong comment. Absolutely in agreement with you; I actually told the OP how my husband l, when his manifested at 6, these were his almost exact symptoms! Down to the low body temp and inability to wake up.
 
@rayne49 that’s strange i’ll definitely say it to him tomorrow i think. this has never happened before though would it not be a common thing if it was diabetes? hopefully the blood results indicate diabetes if that’s what it is anyway.
 
@alwayscurious So diabetes sometimes has an onset point. My husband never had an issue until one day he just basically didn’t wake up. He was 6 when he was diagnosed. Sometimes it can even start at adulthood.
 
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