As for the "suddenly running and then dropping like a fly," many diabetics do not have or do not pay attention to early *warning signs* - -
I am so attuned to my body's changes that even if I test and get something quite high, if I *feel* a drop in progress I TREAT ANYWAY.
Far better to overtreat and correct than to plummet and pass out.
I ALWAYS go on instinct, time being of the essence, and even go against a professional, if warranted.
One day at the Medical College of Georgia, a PA was doing my workup before my Endocrinologist was to come into the room. With me suddenly feeling a drop in BG was in progress, he had a nurse come in to check it.
Yep - it said a "safe high 180" - - he was smug and actually making fun of me for the little interruption -
HOWEVER, I KNEW IT WAS DROPPING RAPIDLY!
I insisted firmly I needed some orange juice or cola RIGHT NOW, and yanked out my spice drops and practically inhaled them....he reluctantly had it checked again as he gave me the juice, and it was already down to 53 and falling further....
I am blessed now with all my caregivers (Nephrologist, Endocrinologist, Dialysis Clinic staff) comfortably believing anything I say.
The best advice I can give Kailey is to learn to recognize "changes/differences" in herself and promptly pursue them aggressively, no matter what - not overly depend on persons who have not had diabetes, and simply cannot understand the complexities.
I tell persons I would cheerfully maim or kill, snatching from their hands vital fluids or foodstuffs to treat an insulin reaction - and I mean that, as Kailey must.
In my case, usually/often there is a drop in the tone level of my speech that signals a drop in progress - can/but not always be a tightening in the stomach, overall slightly agitated, sped up shift - she will learn to recogize her own signals, and treat right away, hopefully.
The opposite was a quite familiar thing, too, often working with BG of 500 and much higher and not breaking stride...injected insulin and kept plodding along..:))
(It takes a *long period* of extreme highs to create diabetic ketoacidosis and/or coma.)
We have asked her if she remembers how she feels right before she "forgets what she was doing", which is how she first catagorized her blackouts...she just couldn't remember. She says she doesn't know how she feels before yet, but we are trying to get her to pay attention.
Her problem is that she is like a whirling dervish and just never stops...when she spends the night with me, she wouldn't go to sleep before 1:30 AM, if I let her make the rules!
Even Kailey's "coach" told us in the hospital when she was first diagnosed that whenever he sees one of his "kids", he can't tell by their demeanor anything about their blood sugar...
I have had times when Kailey would be laying down more than usual, so I will take her BS...and she will over 300---which USUALLY causes her to be cranky and argumentative...so we just can't tell...
And you are right about it dropping fast..I have tested her at over 250 at lunch time, and by 5:00 PM, had to give her coke because she has gotten so low---and yet her diet and insulin doesn't vary at all...
You give the BEST pep talks....I just have no way of thanking you enough for this, and telling you how much it means to me that you have taken the time to discuss this with me...
U R the BEST!
sleuth