Diabetic Ketoacidosis

On May 29th, 2013, I was a senior in college, preparing to graduate and marry the love of my life. My focus was on passing finals, finishing my work week, moving, and my final plans for our wedding. I worked forty hours a week and had spent the previous year dieting and exercising to fit my dream wedding dress. I made sure to drink lots of water and stay hydrated. My hard work seemed successful; I lost seventy-five pounds. I had never felt more beautiful. I had never made healthy choices so easily or felt so motivated. But, in reality, my body was starving. None of the glucose my body processed made it into my cells, remaining in my blood.

I believed I peed more because I drank a lot of water, was intolerant of some foods explaining my stomach pain, and even dismissed my extreme exhaustion as senior burn-out. I blamed dry weather and dorm conditions for my ashy skin. If I noticed something draining my quality of life, I had an excuse. Finally, I blew through clothes, pursuing second-hand clothing at least once a week because mine no longer fit. I stumbled through finals week and graduation in a mental fog, not earning the grades I knew I could, but it was enough to pass. I returned home for a week before my wedding, finalizing my wedding plans and celebrating graduation.

In the week between, I did not exercise or watch my food as diligently as I had. Not in the home stretch. There was no way I would gain enough weight in a week to make a difference. The night before the wedding, my friends threw a bachelorette party. We ate whatever we wanted, drank milkshakes, and drank alcohol. We celebrated. On the day of the wedding, I began feeling worse. Getting ready, I barely ate or drank anything, not wanting to use the bathroom in my beautiful but unaccommodating dress. Then, before walking down the aisle, I felt like I could not breathe. My blood struggled to process and distribute oxygen.

Dismissing it as nerves, though I had never been so sure about marrying someone, I married him. The day was a blur; I don’t remember much of the reception. But, according to the photos, it looked like we had fun. Soon after, we left for our honeymoon, traveling almost eight hours to a cabin for a week. There, I continued to eat poorly and neglected exercise. I spent the whole time struggling to stay hydrated. Then, before returning home, I began noticing my urine appeared the color of dark tea or coffee. I could not believe it, not after all I had done to remain healthy. I began to suspect I was a type 2 diabetic like my parents.

On the way home, we ate more fast food, and when we came to our new apartment, we ate a quick dinner of canned stew before bed. The following day, I was miserable. I was so tired. Making the snap decision that morning to stay home from my husband’s family reunion, I let him go on his own. I woke up late in the morning and crawled to the bathroom before vomiting. I could not stop shaking. All my slow mind could think to do, was call my mom.

My husband was away at a family reunion out of town. My parents lived over an hour away. According to her, I stayed on the phone the entire time, though I do not remember it. When they arrived, the light was too bright. I couldn’t breathe or concentrate. She had me drink half a bottle of magnesium sulfate and an entire bottle of electrolyte water. After sitting with me for a while, attempting to calm me, my parents realized something worse was wrong. They took me to the ER.

While checking in, I could not calm down or concentrate. Finally, one of the nurses told mom I was severely dehydrated, struggling to give me an IV and medication to calm me down. Both together did not work. They tested my blood sugar; the meter read 650 mmol/dl. I spent three days in the ICU, practically unconscious, on saline, glucose, and insulin drip. I had suffered from something called Diabetic Ketoacidosis, diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at 23. In hindsight, the signs are apparent: thirst, increased urination, unintended weight loss, irritability, fatigue, and blurred vision. I have had to relearn how to eat, exercise, and live from that point on. Yet, here I am, almost nine years later, still alive.

Please, don’t ignore the symptoms. If you or anyone you know exhibits these symptoms, or some combination of them, seek medical help. But unfortunately, the mortifying reality of this disease is that most people who experience it are children. Their parents discover it after their episode of Ketoacidosis.

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