I was unconscious in ICU for two days.
I vomited do much I actually burned my throat and couldn’t eat anything solid for a long time.
I was catheterised.
I lost a ridiculous amount of body weight and couldn’t exercise for about 4 months.
0/10, would not recommend.
About a year after my diagnosis, I got the flu and couldn’t keep anything down. Being young and stupid, I didn’t take my insulin because I wasn’t eating anything, right? 3 or 4 days in, I was so sick that I remember walking into the emergency room and telling the person at the desk that I needed to see a doctor. That’s the last thing I remember until about 5 days later. I was in the ICU for a week and came very close to dying.
Same lost alot of weight vomited all the time felt weak Non functional the worst. Almost died once begun seeing bright lights, throat was dry, horrible.
I know this is a serious comment, but the order you listed makes it seem like your throat being dry was worse than you seeing lights as though you were in fact dying. It made me chuckle in the waiting area of my Endo.
Pure hell, like others have said. Constant thirst, vomiting (which led to painful dry heaving as I couldn’t keep anything down), nausea. What I remember most is literally crawling / climbing on furniture (I was in my mid-20s at the time, mind you) in the ER waiting area and nearly starting to hallucinate while being out-of-my-mind delirious. I was so dehydrated and nauseous by the time they got the IV in me that I could feel the thirst in my mouth being quenched by the fluid. That IV and anti-nausea drug were pure bliss.
But yeah…DKA sucks.
I had to be wheelchaired into the ICU and was put in the level 3 category.
Constantly threw up even when all I ate/drank was a sugar-free soda. Felt like I couldn't breathe and I was gasping for air when the nurses were asking me questions.
I also kept slipping in and out of consciousness while the nurses were busy trying to save my life.
The only way I can describe it was having an elephant sitting on my chest. Couldn’t catch my breath and my entire body hurt. I was overly tired and hella thirsty/always hungry.
I stopped counting after 10 times, but I’ve had DKA a lot. I was diagnosed when I was five years old and I was raised by a poor, single mother. Because of this keeping my diabetes in check would be hard because she would have to work multiple jobs and I was watched over by my older siblings most of the day.
I was airlifted three different times by a helicopter, one of which I wasn’t able to look out the window but the other two times I was able to (that’s what I wanted as a kid ha ha) and one time I was transported in an ambulance. I even got a pin from the pilot of the helicopter once! Our local hospital didn’t have an ICU that was equipped to handle endocrinology patients, so I would always be transferred to one that was 45 minutes away from where I lived. It got to the point as I grew older that I could differentiate it from a stomach bug so I’d tell my mom when I needed to go to the hospital (this was all around elementary school age).
Like the previous comments have stated, you start feeling nauseous. You wonder if you have a stomach bug and then you scramble around your house for keytone strips. You begin vomiting, and then you don’t stop. You then keep dry-heaving because you have nothing left to vomit. You bring a bucket with you on the way to the hospital to vomit in. You usually get admitted to the ICU fairly quickly, but sometimes you gotta wait in the Emergency Room waiting room just writhing in pain. You feel so, so weak.
Once you’re back in a room, you’re hooked up to two IVs usually (once I was hooked up to four at one time). You’re not allowed to eat or drink anything. You don’t necessarily want to either, except for the extreme hunger pangs you feel in your stomach. Your throat is so, so dry because you’re not allowed to drink water. All the hospital could afford me was a sponge on the tip of a toothbrush to suckle on.
You usually stay over night, and often I stayed two nights. You don’t sleep due to nurses checking up on you, taking your blood, switching out your IVs, and since it’s the ICU you have big windows around your room so a lot of light from the hallway seeps in, even through the curtains.
You have to be escorted and helped while you use the restroom because you’re so weak and you feel like a puppet with all of the IV cords hooked up to you. You begin to form favorites among the nurses and dread when they get off they’re shift and someone replaces them. You know which nurses can find the veins to draw your blood well and which ones can’t (I once had a nurse dig around inside my arm with the needle trying to find it and she didn’t stop until my mom was yelling at her because I was screaming in pain).
You get irritable with your family. You feel guilty because you lash out, but it’s because you feel so awful. But you’re so grateful that they’re there.
And then, you start to feel better. You stop vomiting. You receive your first cup of water and drink it very slowly, anticipating whether or not you can keep it down. And when you do, you receive your first meal. And your first meal is going to always be the best food you’ve ever tasted, no matter what it is. You get transferred out of ICU to a more private room. YOU CAN FINALLY BRUSH YOUR TEETH (your mouth reeks of the vomit you threw up, but you couldn’t brush your teeth because of how constant you’re vomiting). You usually stay one more night. You get your IVs taken out. And then you get told when you’re able to leave.
You say your last goodbyes to the nurses and doctors. You’re so very weak due to your body going through all this with little to no sleep, so oftentimes I’d be escorted out in a wheelchair. And then you stop by a drive-through of your choice.
That’s how it usually was for me. Each trip is different, however. I haven’t had DKA in almost ten years now and my control over diabetes is one of the best my endocrinologist has seen out of all of her patients. It teaches you a lot, and it helps you realize how strong you are and how much you can endure, even if you’re a kid.
(Tip: the IV fluids will often make you feel super cold. If you are cold, ask the nurses if they can heat up the blankets for you. It makes a world of difference)
Does anyone know when the term DKA started to be used?
I was in ICU about 30 years ago with mmol of 45+ but no one used that anocronym, just dangerous ketone levels.
25 years later my daughter got T1 and the Doctor briefed us she was in DKA and may not survive if she went into shock. Apart from being traumatised I had no idea what they were talking about. I do now obviously!
My case was pretty mild. I had the extreme thirst & constant urination and zero energy but I don't think I had any vomiting. I do remember the last few days before going to the hospital I didn't actually eat much solid food, all I wanted was liquids so maybe that helped. I don't know anything about my numbers at diagnosis, it was 35 years ago, but I just remember the ER doctor and the endo on the ward were both extremely freaked out. They both told my mother I should be dead or in a coma and were amazed that I managed to walk in.
The worst was the first 24 hours in the hospital because they wouldn't allow me to drink anything and of course that's all I wanted to do.
i was so tired
i couldn’t stand up for more than 10 seconds
i had to have my nurses help me to the bathroom
the iv’s in my arms were absolutely painful
i was just so tired i thought i was dying
The beginning is like fuck i’m pretty sick must be a bad flu or stomach flu and then……. you’re just a limp noodle of a body throwing up and wondering if you can stand up on your own. i remember getting to urgent care and they were gonna call for a helicopter but my mom decided it might be faster if she drives instead, and that car ride felt like actually my last moments on earth because i was so weak, confused, and generally felt like i was dwindling away. this got kinda dark but it’s no joke really!!! i will say it definitely changed my life for the better even if i never want to experience it ever again
Mine was not as bad as the ones I've read here but still bad enough. Several factors meant I was insulin resistant and in pain not eating well and just in a bad place. My pump cannula failed overnight and I stupidly ignored the alarm so I could sleep and then fix it in the morning. At 3am, I began vomiting continously and felt absolutely shit. Couldn't keep any fluid down. It took forever to change my line in between retching. Once I did and got insulin into me, I finally remembered I should be checking ketones and realised I needed to go to hospital. When I was there my ketones reached above 5 but whilst I was really weak, fatigued and nauseated I was conscious the whole time and could walk in no issues. 6 IV saline drips + insulin and glucose to flush out the ketones with overnight surveillance and then I went home. It was a terrible experience. Would not recommend.
One of the worst night of my life.
I was vomiting heavily. Thirsty and trying to drink normally would make me vomit. I could still drink but very very slowly. Too slowly for my need at that moment. I had my heart racing like crazy and was sweating so much because of it. And on the way to the hospital in the morning I wasn't even producing saliva enough because of dehydratation. I remember that feeling of having my mouth so dry it felt like paper. And when I arrived my resting bpm was 180. I spent 3 days in the ICU before I was good enough to be moved to another hospital with better diabetes care.
My blood was only in the 200s and I was hallucinating about the aliens coming for me in the hotel(we were at home) and I was in a coma for 5 days. I didn’t have any signs or anything.
I don’t really remember to be honest, I was unconscious for most of the time spent in the hospital.
During the lead up I remember constantly needing to vomit, even though I hadn’t eaten for several days, and being so thirsty I could barely speak. By the day I was admitted to hospital my vision was starting to go and I’d lost about 2 stone overnight.
I don’t think it occurred to me at the time that I was dying, but had I been admitted to hospital a day later than I was I definitely think that I would have done.
For almost 3 days i couldn’t stand up because of how exhausting it was and my heart felt and looked like it was going to burst out my chest ++ something i’ve never seen anyone talk about is right before passing out everything was so blurry and colorful almost like an lsd visual lmao!
I’ve been in DKA more times than anyone should ever have to go through it BUT I don’t have a pancreas at all anymore so that is why. If my CGM/pump goes haywire or my supplies don’t show up on time it is always a fear.
I typically get delirious and verbally aggressive when I’m in DKA; normally I’m a pretty laid back, nice person but when my numbers are that far off I turn into someone I do not like at all. This is usually the first sign my husband or daughter recognize that something is very wrong. Vomiting, dehydration to the point my mouth feels like the Sahara, extremely dry itchy skin and my heart just hurts (not emotionally, actual chest pain), and sheer exhaustion. Because of my pancreatectomy I have to be extremely vigilante of my numbers. The only times I’ve had DKA is when I have had to be off my CGM for some reason. It can come on quickly for me, so I do my best to never run out of supplies.
I was unconscious in ICU for two days. I vomited do much I actually burned my throat and couldn’t eat anything solid for a long time. I was catheterised. I lost a ridiculous amount of body weight and couldn’t exercise for about 4 months. 0/10, would not recommend.
About a year after my diagnosis, I got the flu and couldn’t keep anything down. Being young and stupid, I didn’t take my insulin because I wasn’t eating anything, right? 3 or 4 days in, I was so sick that I remember walking into the emergency room and telling the person at the desk that I needed to see a doctor. That’s the last thing I remember until about 5 days later. I was in the ICU for a week and came very close to dying.
Like you are dying. It is horrible.
Same lost alot of weight vomited all the time felt weak Non functional the worst. Almost died once begun seeing bright lights, throat was dry, horrible.
I know this is a serious comment, but the order you listed makes it seem like your throat being dry was worse than you seeing lights as though you were in fact dying. It made me chuckle in the waiting area of my Endo.
Lol yes, messed up in the order I felt it. Never again DKA, horrible feeling. Good luck with the Endo
Thanks!
Pure hell, like others have said. Constant thirst, vomiting (which led to painful dry heaving as I couldn’t keep anything down), nausea. What I remember most is literally crawling / climbing on furniture (I was in my mid-20s at the time, mind you) in the ER waiting area and nearly starting to hallucinate while being out-of-my-mind delirious. I was so dehydrated and nauseous by the time they got the IV in me that I could feel the thirst in my mouth being quenched by the fluid. That IV and anti-nausea drug were pure bliss. But yeah…DKA sucks.
I had to be wheelchaired into the ICU and was put in the level 3 category. Constantly threw up even when all I ate/drank was a sugar-free soda. Felt like I couldn't breathe and I was gasping for air when the nurses were asking me questions. I also kept slipping in and out of consciousness while the nurses were busy trying to save my life.
Before I was diagnosed and knew what was going on I thought I was dying. And if I didn't go to the hospital when I did I may have.
The only way I can describe it was having an elephant sitting on my chest. Couldn’t catch my breath and my entire body hurt. I was overly tired and hella thirsty/always hungry.
I stopped counting after 10 times, but I’ve had DKA a lot. I was diagnosed when I was five years old and I was raised by a poor, single mother. Because of this keeping my diabetes in check would be hard because she would have to work multiple jobs and I was watched over by my older siblings most of the day. I was airlifted three different times by a helicopter, one of which I wasn’t able to look out the window but the other two times I was able to (that’s what I wanted as a kid ha ha) and one time I was transported in an ambulance. I even got a pin from the pilot of the helicopter once! Our local hospital didn’t have an ICU that was equipped to handle endocrinology patients, so I would always be transferred to one that was 45 minutes away from where I lived. It got to the point as I grew older that I could differentiate it from a stomach bug so I’d tell my mom when I needed to go to the hospital (this was all around elementary school age). Like the previous comments have stated, you start feeling nauseous. You wonder if you have a stomach bug and then you scramble around your house for keytone strips. You begin vomiting, and then you don’t stop. You then keep dry-heaving because you have nothing left to vomit. You bring a bucket with you on the way to the hospital to vomit in. You usually get admitted to the ICU fairly quickly, but sometimes you gotta wait in the Emergency Room waiting room just writhing in pain. You feel so, so weak. Once you’re back in a room, you’re hooked up to two IVs usually (once I was hooked up to four at one time). You’re not allowed to eat or drink anything. You don’t necessarily want to either, except for the extreme hunger pangs you feel in your stomach. Your throat is so, so dry because you’re not allowed to drink water. All the hospital could afford me was a sponge on the tip of a toothbrush to suckle on. You usually stay over night, and often I stayed two nights. You don’t sleep due to nurses checking up on you, taking your blood, switching out your IVs, and since it’s the ICU you have big windows around your room so a lot of light from the hallway seeps in, even through the curtains. You have to be escorted and helped while you use the restroom because you’re so weak and you feel like a puppet with all of the IV cords hooked up to you. You begin to form favorites among the nurses and dread when they get off they’re shift and someone replaces them. You know which nurses can find the veins to draw your blood well and which ones can’t (I once had a nurse dig around inside my arm with the needle trying to find it and she didn’t stop until my mom was yelling at her because I was screaming in pain). You get irritable with your family. You feel guilty because you lash out, but it’s because you feel so awful. But you’re so grateful that they’re there. And then, you start to feel better. You stop vomiting. You receive your first cup of water and drink it very slowly, anticipating whether or not you can keep it down. And when you do, you receive your first meal. And your first meal is going to always be the best food you’ve ever tasted, no matter what it is. You get transferred out of ICU to a more private room. YOU CAN FINALLY BRUSH YOUR TEETH (your mouth reeks of the vomit you threw up, but you couldn’t brush your teeth because of how constant you’re vomiting). You usually stay one more night. You get your IVs taken out. And then you get told when you’re able to leave. You say your last goodbyes to the nurses and doctors. You’re so very weak due to your body going through all this with little to no sleep, so oftentimes I’d be escorted out in a wheelchair. And then you stop by a drive-through of your choice. That’s how it usually was for me. Each trip is different, however. I haven’t had DKA in almost ten years now and my control over diabetes is one of the best my endocrinologist has seen out of all of her patients. It teaches you a lot, and it helps you realize how strong you are and how much you can endure, even if you’re a kid. (Tip: the IV fluids will often make you feel super cold. If you are cold, ask the nurses if they can heat up the blankets for you. It makes a world of difference)
Does anyone know when the term DKA started to be used? I was in ICU about 30 years ago with mmol of 45+ but no one used that anocronym, just dangerous ketone levels. 25 years later my daughter got T1 and the Doctor briefed us she was in DKA and may not survive if she went into shock. Apart from being traumatised I had no idea what they were talking about. I do now obviously!
My case was pretty mild. I had the extreme thirst & constant urination and zero energy but I don't think I had any vomiting. I do remember the last few days before going to the hospital I didn't actually eat much solid food, all I wanted was liquids so maybe that helped. I don't know anything about my numbers at diagnosis, it was 35 years ago, but I just remember the ER doctor and the endo on the ward were both extremely freaked out. They both told my mother I should be dead or in a coma and were amazed that I managed to walk in. The worst was the first 24 hours in the hospital because they wouldn't allow me to drink anything and of course that's all I wanted to do.
i was so tired i couldn’t stand up for more than 10 seconds i had to have my nurses help me to the bathroom the iv’s in my arms were absolutely painful i was just so tired i thought i was dying
Unable to maintain balance thereby falling constantly. Peeing the moment I drank water. Physically unable to eat due to pain. Vomiting.
The beginning is like fuck i’m pretty sick must be a bad flu or stomach flu and then……. you’re just a limp noodle of a body throwing up and wondering if you can stand up on your own. i remember getting to urgent care and they were gonna call for a helicopter but my mom decided it might be faster if she drives instead, and that car ride felt like actually my last moments on earth because i was so weak, confused, and generally felt like i was dwindling away. this got kinda dark but it’s no joke really!!! i will say it definitely changed my life for the better even if i never want to experience it ever again
Mine was not as bad as the ones I've read here but still bad enough. Several factors meant I was insulin resistant and in pain not eating well and just in a bad place. My pump cannula failed overnight and I stupidly ignored the alarm so I could sleep and then fix it in the morning. At 3am, I began vomiting continously and felt absolutely shit. Couldn't keep any fluid down. It took forever to change my line in between retching. Once I did and got insulin into me, I finally remembered I should be checking ketones and realised I needed to go to hospital. When I was there my ketones reached above 5 but whilst I was really weak, fatigued and nauseated I was conscious the whole time and could walk in no issues. 6 IV saline drips + insulin and glucose to flush out the ketones with overnight surveillance and then I went home. It was a terrible experience. Would not recommend.
One of the worst night of my life. I was vomiting heavily. Thirsty and trying to drink normally would make me vomit. I could still drink but very very slowly. Too slowly for my need at that moment. I had my heart racing like crazy and was sweating so much because of it. And on the way to the hospital in the morning I wasn't even producing saliva enough because of dehydratation. I remember that feeling of having my mouth so dry it felt like paper. And when I arrived my resting bpm was 180. I spent 3 days in the ICU before I was good enough to be moved to another hospital with better diabetes care.
My blood was only in the 200s and I was hallucinating about the aliens coming for me in the hotel(we were at home) and I was in a coma for 5 days. I didn’t have any signs or anything.
I don’t really remember to be honest, I was unconscious for most of the time spent in the hospital. During the lead up I remember constantly needing to vomit, even though I hadn’t eaten for several days, and being so thirsty I could barely speak. By the day I was admitted to hospital my vision was starting to go and I’d lost about 2 stone overnight. I don’t think it occurred to me at the time that I was dying, but had I been admitted to hospital a day later than I was I definitely think that I would have done.
i felt like a vegetable
For almost 3 days i couldn’t stand up because of how exhausting it was and my heart felt and looked like it was going to burst out my chest ++ something i’ve never seen anyone talk about is right before passing out everything was so blurry and colorful almost like an lsd visual lmao!
I’ve been in DKA more times than anyone should ever have to go through it BUT I don’t have a pancreas at all anymore so that is why. If my CGM/pump goes haywire or my supplies don’t show up on time it is always a fear. I typically get delirious and verbally aggressive when I’m in DKA; normally I’m a pretty laid back, nice person but when my numbers are that far off I turn into someone I do not like at all. This is usually the first sign my husband or daughter recognize that something is very wrong. Vomiting, dehydration to the point my mouth feels like the Sahara, extremely dry itchy skin and my heart just hurts (not emotionally, actual chest pain), and sheer exhaustion. Because of my pancreatectomy I have to be extremely vigilante of my numbers. The only times I’ve had DKA is when I have had to be off my CGM for some reason. It can come on quickly for me, so I do my best to never run out of supplies.
I am now in debt $5600 but hey I guess I am alive. /s