‘Something was very wrong’: a type 1 diabetic’s emergency story of when his blood turned dangerously acidic
- Diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening condition, sees the body start breaking down fats, producing ketones, which makes the blood dangerously acidic
- The Post’s Simon O’Reilly tells the story of when this happened to him – the rush to hospital, constant vomiting, and the decisions that perhaps saved his life
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) happens when insulin signalling is disrupted and glucose doesn’t enter the cells. The body goes into starvation mode and starts breaking down fats, producing ketones, making the blood dangerously acidic.
DKA can affect undiagnosed diabetics. It can also be caused by illness, injury, post-op reaction or missing a few insulin doses in a row. It is potentially life-threatening, but the survival rate has improved drastically over the years.
Waiting for the work shuttle bus one morning and drinking a cappuccino, I started to feel sick. As the bus arrived, I felt a heavy wave of nausea. Thinking I couldn’t ignore it for a 45-minute highway drive, I didn’t get on the bus.
Less than a minute later, I was vomiting violently into a gutter. I sat on a bench feeling terrible. I headed home, where I lay down, hoping to sleep it off. I woke up an hour later and felt even worse: nauseous, weak, shaking, headache. Being a type 1 diabetic, I knew things could escalate quickly and I had to get treatment.
The place where I lived at the time had few buses. I spotted a taxi coming into the village and hailed it. A young French couple with a small child were closer to the cab and caught it before me. I jumped into the front seat, saying “I need to get to hospital ASAP, I think I am having a heart attack.”
